I’m no Feng Shui master. But that never stopped me from applying Feng Shui to bring harmony, love, success and prosperity into my life over the years.

Throughout my life, I’ve been obsessed with understanding and practicing ways in which to facilitate the flow of energy to generate favorable outcomes. So, needless to say, Feng Shui kept popping up on my radar time and again.

However, as a non-expert, I keep hitting the glass ceiling in understanding the nuances of Feng Shui. The deeper I dig, a lot of the information comes across as complex, overwhelming, contradictory and even frightening from my non-expert lens.

I cringe at the thoughts that I may have inadvertently placed objects and furniture in spots that activate bad Feng Shui.

Just like any other practice, I’m sure that even the best Feng Shui masters undergo many trials and errors in figuring out the complexities in moving life energy through spatial arrangements.

It took me a while to learn where to place three-legged toads to attract money and abundance. I’m still trying to figure out where to put and activate many other Feng Shui cures around my home. Nevertheless, there are some basic principles and practices that I’ve been applying, which has catapulted my life to greater heights.

The following are a few key principles with easy Feng Shui tips that you can apply immediately to shift the energy around you for the better:

1. Treat yourself like a VIP in your own home

What would your home look like if you were expecting a visit from a VIP (alive or deceased) whom you always admired?

Ask yourself this question as you arrange and re-arrange objects and items around your living space.

More importantly, treat yourself like you would treat this VIP in your home.

With this in mind, here are some easy tips you can apply to turn your living space into your own castle:

• Enter into a clutter-free environment as soon as you walk in to your place
• If there are shoes and coats in the main entry, put them away in closets and storage cabinets
• Water-related images or symbols (such as fish, ocean, mermaid, etc.) represent abundance
• It is ideal to place water-related images/objects in the entrance of your home (they are NOT suitable for the bedroom though — which I learned the hard way)
• Use fine cutlery, dishware and napkins as much as you can (even if you are by yourself), and don’t put them aside for special occasions only
• Get rid of chipped mugs and plates or anything that’s broken
• Make sure that the light bulbs in lamps and light fixtures work
• Fix loose or broken knobs and handles of doors and cabinets

2. Treat your home as a 3-D representation of the life you desire

Ever wonder why you feel inspired and energized in beautiful places?

Very few can argue that environments don’t affect our mental-emotional states. When our mental-emotional states are elevated, things and circumstances that we desire flow to us more effortlessly.

With this in mind, apply the following around your surroundings to enable what you desire to flow into your life with ease and synchronicity:

• Place items, images and objects around your place that represent happiness
• Ask yourself honestly when you stand in front of each corner of your home if the objects/images in that corner make you happy
• Big and leafy plants are ideal as they create the appearance of flow (avoid prickly plants such as cacti)
• Get rid of dead and dried plants and flowers
• Create soft effects through objects that are round and curvy — for instance, get round tables instead of square or rectangular tables with sharp corners for your living room
• If you have tables and furniture with sharp corners and edges that you constantly bump into, you can cover them with cloths with warm or soft shades to create a softer look
• Don’t place sharp objects (such as knives) on display

3. Feng Shui can be quite literal

It took me a while to comprehend how literal symbols and objects are in manifesting our reality.

Whether or not we are conscious of it, images and symbols are always sending subliminal messages.

On that note:

• If you don’t want a live crow in your bedroom, don’t put an image of a crow in your bedroom
• Similarly, images of your parents or relatives in the bedroom may not be suitable if you don’t want them to hang out in your boudoir at all times
• If you are partnered or want a partner, place things in pairs in the bedroom to create symmetry (e.g. matching bedside tables & lamps)
• Mirrors multiply everything they reflect, which may be ideal for your living room if you want more friends and visitors (but they are NOT ideal for your bedroom if you are in a committed relationship or want to be in one)
• Leave some room in your closet or dressers for your partner’s (or potential partner’s) clothes and accessories

4. Colors in Feng-Shui

I have noticed that people react differently when I wear or display certain colors, whether at the workplace, a social setting or in my own home.

Use the following colors of Feng Shui to create the energetic environment you seek:

• Royal blue and gold signify abundance and prosperity (ideal for living room, hallway, study, office) — you can subtly wear these colors in job interviews
• Pink and rose bring harmony and love (you can wear them and place them strategically around your home or outside)
• Navy and indigo blue heighten spiritual experiences (perfect for sacred spots or altars)
• Red activates action and passion (wear or display this color to create momentum)
• Orange and yellow represent friendship and active social life (ideal for living room)

5. Less is (literally) more

When in doubt de-clutter.

I know that you’ve heard this many times. But, the importance of de-cluttering can never be emphasized enough.

Unless you have a Feng Shui master guiding you, it’s a bit challenging to know exactly how many fish and the type of fish along with their weight, size and color would be suitable for your fish tank.

Then knowing where to place the fish tank in your home to attract or avert specific things and circumstances is another challenge.

However, you can rarely go wrong with de-cluttering. This way you are allowing the universe to fill in the void of empty spaces rather than inadvertently placing the fish tank in the wrong direction.

The less you have, the more energy can circulate around your home and fill the vacuous spaces with new things and experiences.

Tips:

• When you are having a hard time letting go of an item, ask yourself: what’s more important to you — your well-being or the item?
• Even if you feel like you want to keep many of the items you have right now, you won’t miss them once they are gone (Remember: out of sight, out of mind)
• If you haven’t worn an outfit in a year, give it away

There you have it. These are practical and easy tips you can apply right now to bring drastic improvements into your life, which will be noticeable immediately.

How you feel when you practice and live according to these key principles will be an indicator of what you are attracting into your life.

Most importantly, remember to have fun and bring a lighthearted approach in applying Feng Shui into your life.

Featured photo on top by Silviarita on Pixabay.com

Originally published at Medium on 20 February 2019