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October 30, 2008
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Office at the end of the Hallway |
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Q: My new office is brightly lit and a corner lcoation, at the end of a long hallway. The office is small and the only way to place the desk is facing the door with my back to a wall that is all window. The location is great for me because I can see all of the comings and goings of the general office, but I understand that such direct chi flow can be overwhelming. I read that a crystal ball is helpful in adjusting this energy. Are there other adjustments that can be made to make this energy positive for my business?
A: What you want to do in a situation such as this is interrupt or deflect some of the incoming chi, so it isn’t such a strong influence. Some chi flow into your office is a good thing, and, as you’ve noticed. there may be advantages to the location (awareness of what’s going on in the larger space). It’s the too much, too fast aspect of the chi that can be overwhelming.
Also, because there’s that large window behind you, all the chi coming in may be moving right on through unless you keep blinds drawn most of the time, and that could drain your energy.
Faceted crystals are an excellent remedy for both aspects of the problem. They diffuse the chi coming down that hallway and scatter it in a multitude of directions. You still benefit from the incoming chi, but it’s now spread out more around the office in a softer way.
Although faceted crystal balls are most often recommended as the feng shui remedy for this type of situation, a Swarovski crystal figurine can be just as effective, and is the more subtle choice for an office location. Place it on your desk between you and the door. If anyone comments on it, you don’t have to get into the feng shui significance: just say “it was a gift,” and leave it at that.
You might also see if you can put a large potted plant (“lifelike” artificial is okay) in front of that large window. I think every office can benefit from the introduction of some 'natural' energy (even if the plant is a silk one), and by creating an interior focal point it will help keep your energy and attention from going out the window.
Wishing you great success in your new office,
Stephanie R.Labels: chi flow, crystals, Feng Shui Q+A, office
posted by Stephanie R. #
10/30/2008 09:31:00 AM
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October 02, 2008
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Office bookcase location |
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Q: I am moving to a new office and my bookcase will go with me. My desk will face the door. Should the bookcase be on the wall beside the door where it will face me, or should it be behind me where I won't see it while working? These are the only available locations for the bookcase. I do have constant reference to the bookcase.
A: If you need to access the bookcase frequently throughout the day then surely it would be more convenient to have it behind you, where those items are within reach. Inconvenient furniture arrangements are not good feng shui.
However, it's also not good feng shui to have anything but a solid wall behind you at your desk, so it would be a good idea to sit in a cushy "executive" style chair with a high back, so the padded back of the chair is a buffer between you and the shelves.
You'll want to take the overall size of your office into account. Top priority should be given to placing your desk so you have ample room to move around behind it and to sit there without feeling hampered or cramped. You may have to try it out to be sure: if your chair bumps into the bookcase every time you get up or pull the chair out to sit down, the space there is too small and the bookcase should go beside the door.
Wishing you success in your new office,
Stephanie
Q+A POLICY
The purpose of this Q+A service is to clarify modern feng shui principles and remedies, and to help you make sense of contradictory teachings you’re likely to come across. If you are new to this blog, please read the Q+A Guidelines (see sidebar on left) before sending me a question. Do expect that I will edit your message for clarity and focus, and that it will be several days (often longer) before I post a reply. Keep in mind, too, that you’re getting my personal opinion on the topic. If you ask someone else, you might get a different answer.Labels: Feng Shui Q+A, office
posted by Stephanie R. #
10/02/2008 02:46:00 PM
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July 31, 2008
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Home Office in a Bookcase |
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Q: My office is a tall bookcase located in the southeast corner of my dining room. Everything for my business is located in the bookcase so I'm a little confused as to how I can apply feng shui to it. I have removed all the clutter in the bookcase, moved my reference books to the edge of the shelves and placed a dish of gold coins flanked by red & green candles. My monitor is on the middle shelf flanked by inspiring pictures, the computer is located on the bottom shelf of the bookcase ( the only place it fits) I haven't been able to find anything that deals with a " office in a bookcase."
A: The reason you haven’t found any advice on how to feng shui your “office in a bookcase,” is that having your office in a bookcase is not good feng shui. The remedy is to get a better (bigger! dedicated!) office space, rather than cramming your business life into a few shelves in a corner of your dining room.
I realize that if the only space you have available for your office is a bookcase, then that’s what you have to deal with, at least for now. The bottom line, though, is that your feng shui tactics are going to be limited to the kinds of things you’ve already done. Yes, getting rid of clutter, adding some inspiring imagery, and finding a spot for a prosperity object or two are all good ideas, but those adjustments only add up to making the best of a bad situation. They are never going to turn a bookcase office into a favorable situation.
One of the key points I make in my book, Fast Feng Shui for Your Home Office, is that in feng shui terms, your office is a microcosm of your business. That means that any drawbacks (or advantages) of your office space are symbolic of obstacles (or opportunities) likely to be typical of your experience with that business. Fast Feng Shui for Your Home Office includes a Home Office Assessment that helps you to determine how well your space is working for you. (You can take that quiz here, although for a full discussion of the answers and possible remedies you’ll have to read the book.)
Here are some of the problems associated with your office-in-a-bookcase situation:
1) You face the shelves, so have no field of vision into a middle or far distance (blocked vision = blocked forward progress, limited ability to envision your future/path)
2) Because it’s a tall bookcase, whatever is stored at a level above your head when you are seated in front of it is likely to be “hanging over you” and/or “weighing you down” and creating some oppressive chi around your workspace, and that’s not good.
3) There’s no way you’re in a Command Position in the room if you sit facing the bookcase. When you are not in “command” of the space, you are not in command of your business. When you sit with your back to the room you are in vulnerable position, which may show up as being "stabbed in the back" or "blindsided" in your business in some way. A good office layout enables you to sit with your back to a wall with a view of the doorway. A small mirror carefully positioned on one of the shelves may be able to provide a view of the doorway, but it’s a stop-gap measure at best.
4) Your office shares space with another function (dining), which weakens the office “chi” in that space.
5) Cramming your office into a small space cramps your business and limits your growth, no matter how much clutter you remove from the shelves.
On the plus side, if you have to fit your office into a small space somewhere, the SE corner of your dining room is a pretty good choice. Although I generally prefer to use the doorway orientation of the ba gua for interior spaces, if you recognize the SE as the compass sector associated with prosperity then that’s a plus.
On the downside, what you have isn’t really an “office”: it’s a bookcase that you’re using as your work station.
In this situation, it would be better to work from a notebook computer than you can set up on the dining table during your business hours. That way you can choose a seat at the table that puts you in the command position and enables you to sit facing one of your favorable directions.
Another option might be to rearrange the space so the dining function takes up less of the room and you have more square footage for your office. This might require getting a smaller dining table, or moving some other furniture out of the room, for example. If that’s a possibility, you can arrange rugs, furniture, houseplants, etc. to visually define a separate work area.
Even better would be to take over the entire dining room as your office – at least most of the time -- and eat meals in the kitchen. Of course that’s only possible if you have an eat-in kitchen and family members who won’t mind giving up the dining table to you. Which is more important: a family dining room, or a more spacious office for your business? The answer to that depends on your personal/family/work priorities.
Sorry I can’t provide some quick and easy “this will fix it” suggestions. The best I can do is commend the actions you’ve already taken and suggest that you make finding a more spacious and feng shui appropriate work area a top priority. Make a list of possible options that might be available to you, consider budgetary needs, etc., and start to take whatever small steps you can in that direction.
Wishing you great success with your business, wherever it is housed,
Stephanie R.
Q+A POLICY
The purpose of this Q+A service is to clarify modern feng shui principles and remedies, and to help you make sense of contradictory teachings you’re likely to come across. If you are new to this blog, please read the Q+A Guidelines (see sidebar on left). If you send me a question, do expect that I will edit your message for clarity and focus, and that it may be several days (or longer) before I post a reply. Keep in mind, too, that you’re getting my personal opinion on the topic. If you ask someone else, you might get a different answer.Labels: Feng Shui Q+A, office
posted by Stephanie R. #
7/31/2008 10:14:00 AM
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