Archive for Leadership
Embracing the winter Solstice, Sacred Ritual for Winter Solstice 2016
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“Solstice” comes from two Latin words: sol meaning “sun” and sistere meaning “to stand still” because it appeared as though the sun and moon had stopped moving across the sky. This
longest night of the year, followed by a renewal of the sun, demonstrates the cyclical order of the cosmos. In this way, celebrating the solstice can be a beautiful remembrance that our lives are part of a larger order, always changing, always renewing.
If we look around us we can see that the rest of nature has quieted down, slowed down, or at least taken its activity underground into its roots or burrows. Since we are a part of nature, So this is the gift of the season: a pause to appreciate and to nurture our roots, our connections that support us so well all year long.
A couple of suggestions for rituals for the winter solstice
- Make a Christmas wreath which is an ancient tradition made of evergreens, holly, and ivy. The wreath’s circle symbolizes the wheel of the year and the completion of another cycle.
- Light a candle on the solstice and shine the light and reflect and meditate on your teachings and wisdom from the year gone by.
- Cleanse your home with some sage or bells.
- Cleanse your own energy field with some sage, rose water, or a nice cleansing salt bath
- Decorating the tree with objects resembling fruits, nuts, berries, to acknowledge
- the gifts of abundance from Mother eart
Feng Shui and Natural Organic Cleaning Products
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Feng Shui is all about having the most supportive, inspiring and healthiest home. One of the first steps to achieving these Feng Shui goals is to give your home a really good cleaning. But because Feng Shui also means living in harmony with the earth, your cleaning should use natural organic products that honor and nurture that relationship.
Using natural home cleaning products supports the sense of smell. Many cleaning products include natural essential oils, and thus will make your home smell nice by offering an “aromatherapy” effect. Lavender is a natural disinfectant. Imagine getting your home clean while enjoying that beautiful relaxing aroma. You can even add a few drops to your clothes before they go into the dryer or a few drops in the vacuum.
Lemon is another magical essential oil. You can use a few drops on stains on your clothes, or add a few drops to a gallon of water when mopping your white tile floors.
Tea tree essential oil offers antibacterial, antiseptic and antifungal properties. It works especially well to get rid of mildew and mold around the house.
By contrast, bleach and other chemicals in non-natural cleaning products can create smells and even toxic odors that are unbearable.
Simple Ingredients needed for making your own cleaning products include:
- Baking soda
- Citrus seed extract: Usually made from grapefruit seed, this natural preservative is a powerful antimicrobial agent. It is often sold as grapefruit seed extract
- Essential oils: lavender, sweet orange; bergamot, rosemary, eucalyptus or tea tree; thyme; lemon or lemongrass; and peppermint or citronella
- Cider Vinegar
And here are some great recipes for making your own natural cleaning products:
All purpose cleaner
9 parts water to 1 part white vinegar
For the Bathroo
10 drops of tea tree oil and three cups of white vinegar. Add to your toilet bowl and let sit for 15 minutes.
Fill a spray bottle with half water and half vinegar for a shower or bathtub cleaner. leave for 30 minutes before rinsing off.
Glass Cleaner
Mix two cups water, 1/2 cup white or cider vinegar, and 1 to 2 drops of lemon essential oil.
Tile Grout Cleaner
Mix 1 part water and 3 parts baking soda mixed into a paste. Apply to grout and let sit; and then scrub.
Cookware
Use sea salt with a little lemon juice or essential oil and scrub. Also, try baking soda and water made into a paste.
If you decide to purchase natural cleaning products instead of making them at home, there are just a couple of qualities to look out for:
- Nontoxic
- Fragrance free
- Biobased
- Reduced and recyclable packaging
- No VOCs
- Pesticide Free
- Biodegradable
Feng Shui principals are becoming so widespread, you can get some great natural brands at the local health food store. Noweven grocery stores carry them.
Happy Solstice and New Moon such a sacred time of year
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“Solstice” comes from two Latin
words: sol meaning “sun” and sistere meaning “to stand still” because it appeared as though the sun and moon had stopped moving across the sky. This longest night of the year, followed by a renewal of the sun, demonstrates the cyclical order of the cosmos. In this way, celebrating the solstice c
an be a beautiful remembrance that our lives are part of a larger order, always changing, always renewing.
If we look around us we can see that the rest of nature has quieted down, slowed down, or at least taken its activity underground into its roots or burrows. Since we are a part of nature, So this is the gift of the season: a pause to appreciate and to nurture our roots, our connections that support us so well all year long.
Winter Solstice is one of our oldest celebrations, datin
g back to the dawn of modern civilization some 30,000 years ago. For ancient people, the winter solstice was an awesome, mysterious, and powerful phenomenon tap into this magical time with ritual, intention and meditation.
A couple of suggestions for rituals for the winter solstice
- Make a Christmas wreath which is an ancient tradition made of evergreens, holly, and ivy. The wreath’s circle symbolizes the wheel of the year and the completion of another cycle.
- Light a candle on the solstice and shine the light and reflect and meditate on your teachings and wisdom from the year gone by.
- Cleanse your home with some sage or bells.
- Cleanse your own energy field with some sage, rose water, or a nice cleansing salt bath
- Decorating the tree with objects resembling fruits, nuts, berries, to acknowledge
- the gifts of abundance from Mother earth
How Do I Take the Right Feng Shui Compass Reading?
Posted by: | CommentsHow to Use the Luopan Compass
Luo means “a net that encompasses everything” and Pan means “utensil or plate.” This refers to the union between Heaven and Earth and specifically to the electro-magnetic field that holds all matter together. The Luopan has been developed for the past 2,000 years and every traditional Feng Shui master of note has added to it throughout this time.
Explaining the Parts of the Luopan
1. The Magnetic Arrow: The arrow points south
2. The Feather Dots: These are the two dots at the center of the dial; you can adjust them to align with the “T” end of the arrow.
3. The Number Representation: Although, not visible in the diagram to the left, many compasses have a ring with a dot pattern that represents the trigram’s numeric representation, e.g., South has 9 dots.
4. Cross Hair Alignments: The Red Cross hairs (in the photo above) designate the facing and sitting directions depending on which direction you face while holding the compass.
5. The Eight Trigrams: Various rings in the compass show the element, symbol and direction.
6. Western Alphabet Designations (A-X): These are used to specify the sitting and facing directions, within 15 degrees, in order to determine the gender of the sitting and facing numbers.
7. Compass Degrees: The outer most dial (very thin outside ring in the figure to the left) represents the Western compass degrees.
How to Obtain an Accurate Compass Reading
1. Establish the sitting and facing directions of the building.
2. Remove all jewelry and any metal (i.e., belt buckles, etc.) that could affect the magnetic reading.
3. Stand outside facing the building at least 10 feet back from it; away from electrical power sources and cars or any other large metal objects.
4. Standing straight, with your body parallel to the building’s exterior wall, hold your compass at waist level.
5. Align the feather dots in the center of the compass with the feather of the arrow.
6. The vertical cross hairs (red strings) indicate the facing and sitting directions of the building and will have a corresponding western alphabet designation (A-X). Since you’ve already established the sitting and facing side of the building imagine your compass IS THE BUILDING so no matter which side of the building you are standing at to take the reading the vertical cross hairs will correspond to alphabetic direction that the building sits and faces.
7. Take several compass readings from different parts of the property until you are sure of an accurate one.
Take care of your luopan—it’s your best friend. Keep it out of extreme temperatures; do not leave it in a car. Keep it away from electrical sources. Store it in a horizontal position. Although it has not been scientifically proven, it has been noted that a woman’s menstrual cycle may affect a compass reading. Therefore, you may want to take a few extra readings to confirm that you are getting a consisting reading.
Feng Shui for living your Bliss
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Share unconditional love
Smile
Connect with nature
Learn to forgive
Trust your intuition.
Take care of your body
Release negative emotions
Learn from others and past experiences
Have some quiet time each day
Do what you love
Be of Service
reduce your attachment to possessions.
focus only on the present.
Think positive thoughts.
Visualize daily.
Choose your friends wisely.
Create energy flow: Enter into your home and ask yourself the following questions
What gets in your way?
Are any areas blocked off from you?
Are you able to open all the doors fully?
Are there large piles of clutter?
One of the most important principals of Feng Shui is clearing clutter
One of the most important things you can do for your finances is simply to clean up. Throwing out junk and getting rid of things like excess paper, empty boxes, and broken items can go a long way toward energizing your home for prosperity. In particular, de-clutter your SE corner of your home, of your living room, and of your bedroom. This is the wealth sector and if it has piles of junk, then financial chi can’t circulate.
This includes, Your car, purse, garage, computer inbox, desk top
- Clean you’re Front Door.
- Replace Burned Out Light Bulbs.
Clean you’re Windows. - Remove Dead Plants
- Repair Broken Mirrors
Tighten Lose Door Knobs and Handles.
Feng Shui for Love and the bedroom
- Remove clutter Eliminate the old to bring in the new.
- No TV or Exercise Equipment!
- Always have things in pairs
- Check the statues and art in your home
- Bed placement
- Soothing Colors – Colors on your walls, bedding and window treatments can help create serenity in your home. Switch to light green, blue, lavender, peach, pink or neutral tones for peaceful energy.
- Full spectrum lighting is the best lighting to have especially in the office.
- Water features are great for creating a relaxing atmosphere, this year they should be placed in the east.
- Plants: Greenery is always a welcome sight. Have as many plants as you possibly can in your home. Ensure however that they look healthy. Cactus and dried flowers are not recommended.
- Sound: Play relaxing music
- Photos: Have many happy images of your family throughout the house, especially in the kitchen/dining, family room.
- Art Work: Have art work that you love and things that inspire you, it is very useful because they are going into the subconscious all day.
- Remove Energy Stimulants – You’ll want to avoid gadgets, big and small, that send out powerful electromagnetic energy causing many sleep and health issues.
Create A Sleep Ritual – There are many different types of rituals that will help your body wind down for a harmonious night’s sleep. You may want to spend a couple minutes writing your worries down or anything you must remember for the next day so your mind can let go of the anxiety. Other suggestions include drinking herbal tea, meditating, doing gentle yoga, taking a walk, writing in a gratitude journal or taking a warm bath.
For a Childs bedroom
A mirror at the foot of anyone’s bed is not advisable, but it is especially important for a child.
Bunk beds are not advisable for children.
Try not to have heavy furniture in the bedroom, or bookcases or shelves that seem to take over the room. Less is more in a child’s room if possible.
Be careful of what is hanging from the ceiling in the center of a child’s room.
De clutter the child’s bedroom as much as possible
Improve the health of your child by placing live green plants in the bedroom.
As I follow my bliss, my bliss starts chasing me!
Today and every day my bliss is my compass for success and happiness.
I do what I love and find my bliss. I keep doing what I love and I live my bliss. I give myself completely to what I love and I become my bliss!
Bliss builds in my world today with every conscious decision I make!
Today I find my bliss in the sweet spot where my talents and my passion merge.
I am a bliss magnet!
I follow my bliss! I experience my bliss! I become my bliss!
WWW.SDFengShui.com (858) 736-7241 AmandaCollins.me@gmail.com
Feng Shui for living your Bliss
Small Acts of Kindness, it’s contagious and it makes the world a brighter place
Posted by: | CommentsSmall Acts of Kindness, it’s contagious and it makes the world a brighter place
Did you ever think about how many people you come into contact with every day? It’s amazing, really! From the lovely soul you stand next to at the tea shop or store, to your co-worker you eat lunch with every afternoon, the person next to you at the gym or yoga class. There are so many beautiful people who we cross paths with on a daily basis and we don’t even realize it.
One small act of kindness can make someone else’s day. If someone is a little rude to you never know what is going on in their life so don’t take it personally.
I invite you this week to do 3 or more if you like small acts
• Smile at someone
• Hold a door open for someone even if you are a little ahead
• Offer to help someone
• Pick up liter on the street
• Give a homeless person your doggie bag.
• Say “I love you” to someone you love.
• Help a mother carry her baby stroller up the subway stairs, or hold a door open for her.
• Say “please” and “thank you”—and really mean it.
It’s like yawning, It’s contagious when you do it you will inspire so many!!!
Go on!!! Have fun today!!!
Please feel free to share your stories and experiences here
