Feng Shui & the Law of Attraction

I get a lot of emails from beginners asking questions such as, “I really need help with my financial situation, so I bought a Lucky Money Frog. Where should I put it to bring in some quick money?” or “Please help me! I need to pay off my debts fast to avoid legal action. What can I buy from your site that will erase my debts and help me pick winning lottery numbers?” My response (after I stop banging my head on the desk in dismay) is to direct them to read this article.

The Vending Machine Fallacy

While there are sometimes preferred placements for symbolic objects, it’s a mistake to think that a feng shui object alone will have a significant effect on your life experience. This is what Aisling D’Art calls the “vending machine” fallacy of feng shui: the belief that if you put the right feng shui object in the right place, you automatically get whatever you want in return. It’s a lovely idea, but the truth is that feng shui rarely works that way.

First of all, feng shui involves a lot more than just adding symbols or objects to your space. It is a process of analyzing the layout and furnishings of your home, identifying any existing feng shui challenges or problems, choosing and implementing appropriate strategies and remedies, and – after problems have been addressed — adding desired symbols and enhancements. Adding a feng shui symbol without first correcting any problems in that area is like applying a bandaid without first cleaning the wound. If underlying problems have not been addressed, the enhancement is unlikely to be effective.

Secondly, feng shui works from the inside out as much as it works from the outside in. Sometimes we focus so much on how our home environment is affecting us that we forget that our own physical presence and emotional state are huge influences on the energy in our home. This means that how you place your feng shui symbols and remedies is as important as where you place them.

Symbols of Expectation

Feng shui symbols are visual reminders of the positive changes you wish to experience; the power they have comes from how you feel about them. If you are worried about money and decide to place a wealth symbol somewhere in your home, it’s important to do so with a positive outlook. A Lucky Money Frog should remind you that you expect improvements in your finances to be coming along any moment now. If you feel this with confidence, your confident expectation helps fuel the success of the feng shui remedy.

Confident expectation means letting go of anxiety about your income or unpaid bills, and trusting absolutely that your situation is going to improve. If you place your wealth symbol while worrying about money, and every time you look at that symbol it triggers doubts such as, “Why isn’t it working yet?,” “How am I ever going to get out of debt?,” or “I really need this to work; we’re about to lose our house,” your focus on worries and problems fuels the downside of your situation and keeps you in a state of lack.

This is true no matter what your focus is. If you are placing romance symbols in your bedroom, for example, thoughts about how lonely you feel, how desperately you wish to meet someone, or how hurt you were by a past breakup will undermine the effectiveness of your feng shui by filling the space with the energy of loneliness, heartache, and regret.

Anxiety is the Enemy of Success

Many of the emails I receive are written from a state of anxiety or hopelessness – especially where issues of love or money are involved. “I really hope you can help me, because I am feeling desperate,” is a common refrain. The thing is, the best feng shui advice in the world can only do so much when your emotional atmosphere is polluted with worry and discouragement. Consciously focusing your energy on what you want to experience — rather than on what you don’t want – with belief that it can and will manifest for you is critical to your success with feng shui.

When life throws challenges your way, keeping this positive focus can be difficult or feel utterly impossible. It is easy to get so caught up in worry that we forget that thinking and feeling positively is a choice. What has most helped me get through difficult times in my own life is the reminder that “Worrying is praying for what you don’t want.” I’ve learned, when I feel anxious about something, to recognize anxiety as a sign that I have allowed my thoughts and feelings to pull me in the wrong direction and it’s time to refocus on intending a better future for myself.

The addition of a feng shui symbol is only one part of the energy shift in your home; the rest comes from your attitude and expectation and from your willingness to make whatever behavioral changes might also be required. Remember, the foremost principle of feng shui is that everything is connected. When you hope that a feng shui object will solve problems for you, without requiring any other effort on your part, you abdicate your power to the object and leave yourself out of the energy dynamic in your home.

Choose an Empowering Attitude

A more effective approach is select feng shui symbols not for what they are supposed to do for you, but by how powerfully they encourage and inspire you. Then, place these symbols or objects in your home as reminders to maintain a positive outlook as you take inspired action to improve your circumstances. Each time you see that symbol or object, take a moment to visualize your desired outcome and imagine that it is already happening for you. When you imbue your own positive and optimistic energy into your symbols in this way, you empower them to assist you.

This distinction between giving up your power to a symbol, and saturating it with your intention is one of the most important concepts in contemporary feng shui. The role of feng shui images and objects is not to do the work for you; it’s to inspire you to accomplish greater things, with greater ease, faster than you would on your own. You achieve this by using your focused intention and optimism to create an environment that resonates with vitality, success, prosperity, and the joy and satisfaction of knowing your dreams have come true.

photo: © Tomboy2290 – Fotolia.com