Attitude & Intention

Changing Your Thoughts and Emotions is a Critical Element of Feng Shui Success

When feng shui obstacles are present in your home, moving things around into a better arrangement is an important step. But you have to get out of the way as well, and trust that a shift is happening even if you don’t see evidence of it yet. Making feng shui changes is like planting seeds in a garden. When you plant a seed, growth begins long before you see a fresh shoot poke up through the soil. If you dig the seed up every day to see if anything’s happening yet, you destroy the plant before it’s had a chance to develop.

In addition to making appropriate feng shui changes to your home, you must also make a conscious effort to shift your attention away from what you don’t like about your current experience. In feng shui, we say that “everything is connected;” that works both ways. Not only does your space affect your experience (which is why you want to remove obstacles and add enhancing imagery), but your emotional energy is also at work in your space. If your energy is fearful, doubtful, anxious, and distressed you fill your home with agitated, disruptive, depressive chi. That makes it difficult for your circumstances to change for the better, no matter how much feng shui you do.

This means that when you rearrange your furniture or put a feng shui cure into place, you must do so with an attitude of trust that what you are doing will make a difference to your experience. Stop fiddling and tweaking and asking, “Did I do it right?” “Should I try this instead?,” and “Why isn’t it working yet?” When you constantly move things around while worrying about your problems, you’re just moving your problems around while undoing any progress that might already have been made.

Imagery Helps You Focus on a Positive Outcome

One specific action you can take is to find or create an image that represents what you want to experience. Is there something that you would love to do or a place you would like to travel to, if your circumstances or health allowed and you had plenty of money? Find a picture that represents that dream, and keep it close by. Or find an image that has a positive, personal meaning for you.

When you feel discouraged or anxious, look at this image and imagine that your troubles are already in the past and you can now enjoy your chosen experience. Allow yourself to feel happy and carefree and grateful, even if only for a moment, and even if you feel like you are faking it at first.

We often believe that our thoughts and feelings are driven by our circumstances. “How can I change my focus when I feel sick and worried?” you wonder. But we can choose our thoughts and we can choose our feelings–although it may not seem that way if you’ve been riding the worry train for a long time.

When you feel achy and ill, you have a choice whether to focus on how awful you feel and how long your health has suffered, or on how wonderful it is that soon you will be feeling better. You aren’t denying that you are ill; you’re just choosing to find something more positive to think about for the moment.

You can look at a pile of unpaid bills and sink into worrying about money and thinking about how hard up you are, or you can look at those bills and think, “I’m so grateful that the day is going to come when I will have the money to pay these.” If that’s more than you can manage, at least look out the window and feel glad that the sun is shining–find something (anything) to put your attention on that takes your mind off your troubles and gives you something better to focus on, one moment at a time.

To be Happy, Act Happy!

Making feng shui adjustments to your home is step one. Step two is to stop waiting until your circumstances change to feel better. One role of your feng shui remedies–whether a transcendental cure (such as a daily ritual) or a physical symbol or image chosen for your home–is to remind you to hold on to these positive attitudes.

Choose to feel better now in your mind, even if your body hurts and your bank balance is shriveling. That’s how you align your energy with the feng shui adjustments that you’ve made to your home. Start being the change you want to experience, one moment at a time, and circumstances will start to shift for you. If that feels impossible, find some small way to distract yourself from your problems: pet your cat, or take your dog for a walk, or spend 10 minutes watching silly pet videos on YouTube! Anything that makes you laugh is good feng shui!

The changes may be subtle at first. You may have to look closely for signs of improvement. But if you expect them, and look for them, you will see them. When you do, say “thank you!” and know that more are on the way to you, right now.

Additional Reading

Blog posts about the importance of Attitude and Intention are collected here.

photos: plant – © Mitarart – Fotolia.com; koi – Exotic Arts Gallery; dancing cat – podzad