Over Memorial Day Weekend, I had time to stop and smell the roses . . . . Only, there were no roses--just shorelines along the Alameda coast across from San Francisco. Parts of the paved asphalt trail needed repair, especially the parts that were affected by tree roots that made the roads pop up.
Pondering the times of peace after times of war led me to the Vietnam War and the aftermath of guerilla warfare. I can be fairly certain that as I traverse these trails in sunny Northern California on a May day that I won't be stumbling upon landmines that could potentially blow up some limbs or take a life. I think in sadness and in gratitude of Sheryl Crow and other celebrities who give charitable donations to help those who have suffered at the hands of war.
In the context of feng shui, I also thought of the two cycles of creation and destruction. Both cycles are necessary. For example, a plant sprouts and grows to bear fruit. Yet, the same plant must dry up and wither to reveal the very seed that can bear fruit. In fact, some plants even need to be eaten by birds or burned by fire to have viable seeds that could bear fruit. So these two sides -- creation and destruction -- are both on the same coin.
One side of the coin is yang, which is the creative cycle. The other side of the coin is yin, which is the destructive cycle. If we continue to use the coin analogy, other ways to distinguish yang from yin:
1) Heads is yang. Tails is yin.
2) Top is yang. Bottom is yin.
3) Male is yang. Female is yin.
4) Humans are yang. Animals/plants are yin.
5) People are yang. Buildings are yin.
Just because there are two sides to the Universe does not mean that there is no free will though. We each have choice in activating creation and destruction. One of the ways to do this is through permaculture.
Permaculturists, people who create permanent agriculture, have long known that people can co-exist and bring out nature even more fully by strategically helping it.
1) One way to help nature is to prune trees so that you actually get more sizable and delicious fruit. They needed to clear away some branches to actually bring more life to the tree!
2) Another permaculture practice is to clear away seedlings to make room for the bigger trees. If too many seedlings grow into trees in too little of a space, it ends up draining the overall resources and none of the seedlings get enough nutrition to survive and thrive when threatened by bugs, viruses, or other invasions.
3) Yet another way to help nature is to create and contain fires, especially for some species of plants that actually need fire to grow. Manzanita is one such tree that needs fire in order to survive. In fact, because fires are so hard to come by, some plants have actually entered the endangered species list!
So one thing we can actually learn from permaculturists is to strategically destroy in order to create. This is a constructive use of destruction that ultimately serves the cycle of creation and re-creation. So even though creation and destruction are both inevitable parts of life, we need not feel powerless. In fact, we have agency and we do have power to co-exist with the Universe around us.
In fact, that is how feng shui came to be: how to live with the Universe, maximize on the beneficial creative flow of energy, minimize destructive elements, and still not be at the whims and effect of negative forces. So even if we still live during times of peace and war, we can still act like the stars and contribute to the causes we believe can create more hope and healing on Earth.
Here's to the overall betterment of humankind!
Cheers,
Gloria
P.S. Help me add value to your life with feng shui! Post a query on my Facebook fan page: http://ping.fm/WcQ2x
Monday, May 31, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
How to Use Feng Shui to Bring the Sacred Feminine of ?The Matriarch? in Your Everyday Life
By now, you perhaps have celebrated the back-to-back dual-day celebration of Mother's Day (Sunday) and Mexican Mother's Day (Monday)! In my opinion, once a mother, always a mother. So every day is Mother's Day!
What does feng shui say about “the mother” and its role in our everyday lives?
QUALITIES OF THE FENG SHUI "MOM"
When we look at the feng shui compass, the intercardinal direction of Southwest pertains to the Mother. The qualities of the matriarch are receptive, nourishing, yielding, and devotional. These are universal qualities that every culture seems to attach to the archetype of the mother.
The part of the body that corresponds to the matriarch is . . . the belly! Any surprise about that in the feminine's ability to bring life onto the planet?
To provide nourishment to the young in the form of milk already gives us a hint about the cow's association with the matriarch.
The room in the house that best befits the mother is the kitchen. This goes back to the belly and the nourishing qualities of the matriarch.
The kind of food that bring out the feeling of being fed is the starchy variety, such as yams, taro, sweet potatoes, rice, wheat, cereals, sugary stuff, and desserts.
HOW TO BRING THE FEMININE INTO OUR DAILY LIVES
1. The Southwest. So when desire to embrace the feminine in our lives, we can investigate the Southwest portion of our homes to clear the clutter and bring in positive associations of mothers to that area. Any female role models you uphold, such as Mother Teresa or Aung San Suu Kyi. Some folks create an altar here to house Madonna or the Virgin Mary. Of course you can go beyond female role models to test textures and colors that bring up the feminine for you.
2. The Belly. The belly is a place where we can decorate. Use of henna, photos of pregnant ladies' bellies, a cast for the belly, or simply a mound of clay soil adds to the décor. Some use belly rings. I would suggest staying away from piercings, as this piercings do not encourage the fullness of a belly to show. In feng shui, we want the voluptuousness of the belly to show fertility and promise. Piercings deflate this energy.
3. The Food and Drink. To physically digest food is a way of literally bringing in feminine energy into every cell of your body. The nutrition you get as well as the association of the feminine with the food helps boost your feminine reserves. So drinking milk helps – any milk, for that matter. You can even add honey to it. Any variety of starchy foods that leave you full (or more like stuffed!) encourages the absorption of feminine energy in your life. When in moderation, you will keep the feminine in balance. When overeating, you will actually create an imbalance.
4. The Room, The Kitchen. Lastly, this brings me to the kitchen. Of course the kitchen is more than just a place for women. I love the film Julie & Julia because it showed Julia Child's husband in the kitchen as well – he was photographing her process. A kitchen that is clean and in good order, meaning that you know where to find everything, is already a good start and is indeed honoring the feminine.
So enjoy bringing in “the mother” into your home and everyday life!
Cheers,
Gloria
P.S. Want more updates? Go to my Facebook Fan Page here: http://bit.ly/cLtFG8
What does feng shui say about “the mother” and its role in our everyday lives?
QUALITIES OF THE FENG SHUI "MOM"
When we look at the feng shui compass, the intercardinal direction of Southwest pertains to the Mother. The qualities of the matriarch are receptive, nourishing, yielding, and devotional. These are universal qualities that every culture seems to attach to the archetype of the mother.
The part of the body that corresponds to the matriarch is . . . the belly! Any surprise about that in the feminine's ability to bring life onto the planet?
To provide nourishment to the young in the form of milk already gives us a hint about the cow's association with the matriarch.
The room in the house that best befits the mother is the kitchen. This goes back to the belly and the nourishing qualities of the matriarch.
The kind of food that bring out the feeling of being fed is the starchy variety, such as yams, taro, sweet potatoes, rice, wheat, cereals, sugary stuff, and desserts.
HOW TO BRING THE FEMININE INTO OUR DAILY LIVES
1. The Southwest. So when desire to embrace the feminine in our lives, we can investigate the Southwest portion of our homes to clear the clutter and bring in positive associations of mothers to that area. Any female role models you uphold, such as Mother Teresa or Aung San Suu Kyi. Some folks create an altar here to house Madonna or the Virgin Mary. Of course you can go beyond female role models to test textures and colors that bring up the feminine for you.
2. The Belly. The belly is a place where we can decorate. Use of henna, photos of pregnant ladies' bellies, a cast for the belly, or simply a mound of clay soil adds to the décor. Some use belly rings. I would suggest staying away from piercings, as this piercings do not encourage the fullness of a belly to show. In feng shui, we want the voluptuousness of the belly to show fertility and promise. Piercings deflate this energy.
3. The Food and Drink. To physically digest food is a way of literally bringing in feminine energy into every cell of your body. The nutrition you get as well as the association of the feminine with the food helps boost your feminine reserves. So drinking milk helps – any milk, for that matter. You can even add honey to it. Any variety of starchy foods that leave you full (or more like stuffed!) encourages the absorption of feminine energy in your life. When in moderation, you will keep the feminine in balance. When overeating, you will actually create an imbalance.
4. The Room, The Kitchen. Lastly, this brings me to the kitchen. Of course the kitchen is more than just a place for women. I love the film Julie & Julia because it showed Julia Child's husband in the kitchen as well – he was photographing her process. A kitchen that is clean and in good order, meaning that you know where to find everything, is already a good start and is indeed honoring the feminine.
So enjoy bringing in “the mother” into your home and everyday life!
Cheers,
Gloria
P.S. Want more updates? Go to my Facebook Fan Page here: http://bit.ly/cLtFG8
Saturday, May 1, 2010
3 Easy Feng Shui Ways to Treat Your Cloth Diapering System
Where Cloth Diapers and Diaper Covers Meet Feng Shui Compatible Colors
The world of cloth diapers may be overwhelming to new moms and first-time expectant families. So many choices: cotton, hemp, bamboo, fleece, and more! That's just the cloth diaper materials from which to choose! What about diaper covers to keep the wet diapers from getting everything else wet? So much to learn and so little time before your little one comes and grows bigger . . . . Plus, who really has all the money in the world to invest in your experiments? As a fellow mom, I believe that you also want the best investment for your bucks. Feng shui can help.
Because feng shui is several millennia old and the patterns derived from such longevity prove the sustainability of different energy cycles in nature, I'm going to break this down and apply it to your everyday diaper changing experience. What this means is that you can use feng shui to decipher the most durable products. Here's how!
1. You may use 100% plant-based dyes to individualize your cloth diapers. This gives you an instant splash of color and joy to your diaper changing routine. Beets are one of my favorite dyes to work with because that plant is so generous and the color stays pretty long. You can do this as an arts and crafts project before the baby comes. Throw a diaper dying party, if you'd like! Maybe that can be your baby shower idea -- tell people to bring dozens of cloth diapers to the party to have them dyed.
2. If you have no time to dye your cloth diapers, then keep them in their natural color. Cotton diapers will stay white, bamboo and hemp diapers would be beige. Both of these colors are complementary colors and fit for the growing newborn, infant or toddler.
3. Now onto the diaper covers.... There are polyurethane covers that are white -- still a good choice, especially if you want to see if something got dirty or not. Fleece diaper covers come in a variety of colors. I still veer toward the beige variety. Cotton diapers are also a close runner-up, especially with the gPants and gCloth Inserts. What I noticed about the gDiaper company is that their cloth inserts and diaper pants come in feng shui compatible colors that do not clash. For example, their vanilla gPants has an orange logo and their brown gPants has a grey logo. Both of these examples are colors that do not clash in feng shui. Even though I tried the gDiaper company's system, here's the system that won my heart:
I LOVE wool diaper covers and prefer them to be in their natural color. Although I have tried several different wool covers, I still prefer the BioBottoms variety. The border of their diaper covers have green, purple, yellow, red and blue threading. The way that these are threaded represents all 5 elements in feng shui and none of the colors clash with each other, which means that this product can last over time. I particularly like the liner that keeps liquidy poop in and when I found out that the company that originated the BioBottoms diaper cover model has been around for decades I was not the least surprised given the feng shui color compatibility incorporated into their diaper cover lining.
So I hope this article is helpful for moms-to-be and papas-to-be alike. :-) Happy diaper changing!
Fondly,
Gloria
P.S. Want more inside scoop on feng shui topics not often covered by the media? Join my Facebook fan page and post a question there! :-) Click here for the link: http://bit.ly/cLtFG8
The world of cloth diapers may be overwhelming to new moms and first-time expectant families. So many choices: cotton, hemp, bamboo, fleece, and more! That's just the cloth diaper materials from which to choose! What about diaper covers to keep the wet diapers from getting everything else wet? So much to learn and so little time before your little one comes and grows bigger . . . . Plus, who really has all the money in the world to invest in your experiments? As a fellow mom, I believe that you also want the best investment for your bucks. Feng shui can help.
Because feng shui is several millennia old and the patterns derived from such longevity prove the sustainability of different energy cycles in nature, I'm going to break this down and apply it to your everyday diaper changing experience. What this means is that you can use feng shui to decipher the most durable products. Here's how!
1. You may use 100% plant-based dyes to individualize your cloth diapers. This gives you an instant splash of color and joy to your diaper changing routine. Beets are one of my favorite dyes to work with because that plant is so generous and the color stays pretty long. You can do this as an arts and crafts project before the baby comes. Throw a diaper dying party, if you'd like! Maybe that can be your baby shower idea -- tell people to bring dozens of cloth diapers to the party to have them dyed.
2. If you have no time to dye your cloth diapers, then keep them in their natural color. Cotton diapers will stay white, bamboo and hemp diapers would be beige. Both of these colors are complementary colors and fit for the growing newborn, infant or toddler.
3. Now onto the diaper covers.... There are polyurethane covers that are white -- still a good choice, especially if you want to see if something got dirty or not. Fleece diaper covers come in a variety of colors. I still veer toward the beige variety. Cotton diapers are also a close runner-up, especially with the gPants and gCloth Inserts. What I noticed about the gDiaper company is that their cloth inserts and diaper pants come in feng shui compatible colors that do not clash. For example, their vanilla gPants has an orange logo and their brown gPants has a grey logo. Both of these examples are colors that do not clash in feng shui. Even though I tried the gDiaper company's system, here's the system that won my heart:
I LOVE wool diaper covers and prefer them to be in their natural color. Although I have tried several different wool covers, I still prefer the BioBottoms variety. The border of their diaper covers have green, purple, yellow, red and blue threading. The way that these are threaded represents all 5 elements in feng shui and none of the colors clash with each other, which means that this product can last over time. I particularly like the liner that keeps liquidy poop in and when I found out that the company that originated the BioBottoms diaper cover model has been around for decades I was not the least surprised given the feng shui color compatibility incorporated into their diaper cover lining.
So I hope this article is helpful for moms-to-be and papas-to-be alike. :-) Happy diaper changing!
Fondly,
Gloria
P.S. Want more inside scoop on feng shui topics not often covered by the media? Join my Facebook fan page and post a question there! :-) Click here for the link: http://bit.ly/cLtFG8
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