A new decade – new challenges. A change of decade is no small event. Use this feng shui checklist to fine-tune your feng shui of your home and workplace. If you’re already doing these feng shui interventions, treat it as a reminder and perhaps pass it on to your family and friends. New year, new start, so
practical, feng shui means in place for making your goals and dreams happen in 2020.Career success, financial freedom, improved health and a passionate relationship as well as thriving life. These results don’t just happen. Invest in yourself by adding feng shui into your life to get the knowledge, values and mindset to realise and actualise your dreams and goals, present and future.
1) Keep the air clean in your home and workplace.
Feng shui translates as wind-water. If you’re living in a town or city and near a busy road you’re most likely exposed to air pollution. Install an air purifier and a negative ion generator. Don’t use candles or chemicals. Get more air purifying plants such as peace lilies, spider plants and ferns. Open windows – indoor air is much worse in most homes compared to the outdoor one. Learn to breathe coherently. There are apps and VR app BreatheVR uses virtual reality to train you breathing in optimum ways or learn coherent breathing. Become a clean air activist – put pressure on local MPs and join campaigns. Plant trees. Be optimistic, it can only get better.
2) Filter your water.
Feng shui = wind-water. Earth and our bodies are mostly water. Staying hydrated to keep your digestive and urinary systems healthy is an essential lifestyle. Get a water filter – ideally, you should have a whole house water filter (you absorb more chlorine from showering than from drinking water because of water droplets). http://itdoesthejob.com/water/filtration/ Mention my name (Jan Cisek) and you’ll get 15% off the price.
3) Reduce EMFs exposure, electro-smog stress
The latest research suggests that the most dangerous pollution affecting us is the invisible sea of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) or electromagnetic radiation. You are exposed to EMFs all day long, not only in public but inside your home, too. Most of the radiation comes from cellphones, cell towers, computers, smart meters and Wi-Fi, to name just a few. There are many ways to remedy electro-smog such as:
• Connect your computer to the internet via a wired connection and be sure to put it in aeroplane mode.
• If you must use wi-fi, switch it off once you are done, especially at night when you are sleeping.
• Switch off the electricity to your bedroom at night. Or install a demand switch for your bedroom – which will cut off unnecessary electricity/electro-smog during sleep – if possible.
• Get a large wall-mounted headboard with extra protection behind to shield some electrosmog from your neighbours.
• Use grounding/ earthing whenever you can. Research suggests that grounding reduces inflammation (read tip 11, below about vagus nerve and the role of inflammation in most diseases) and helps with protecting from electro-smog. Watch The Earthing Movie: Remarkable Science of Grounding (full documentary) at the end of my blog about grounding / earthing
• When your body is under stress and electrosmog is a stressor, magnesium is depleted from your body (magnesium helps the body to relax) so you need to replace it. My favourite tip is the magnesium spray that I use when I feel I need, usually, just before going to sleep. Bananas are packed with magnesium, which relaxes muscles and boosts melatonin.
“How much more radiation penetrates your body today, compared to 10 years ago?” The answer: “Quintillion times more – that is 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 times more!” (18 zeros)
Olle Johansson, PhD, Associate Professor in Neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden
4) Optimise your bedroom for a healthy amount of sleep.
Good quality sleep is key to health according to the latest research. Sleep in total darkness – or get an eye mask. If you don’t like darkness you can have an orange/red night light – it doesn’t disturb melatonin production which is essential for deep sleep which is key to good health. Always switch off the wifi internet broadband for the night to minimise the electro-smog. The radiation emitted by all Wifi routers is classified as a 2B Carcinogen by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Protect your children. Don’t expose them to Wifi radiation and other types of radiation as dirty electricity, etc.
5) Use the bagua model to focus on solutions to your personal and professional challenges.
The feng shui bagua model is very helpful at getting clarity and focus. Identify what you want to improve in your life and do something appropriate in the corresponding area of the bagua of your home or workplace. Feng shui = intention + energy + ritual.
6) Keep clearing clutter.
Clearing clutter is a process (probably neverending…). You already know what to do. Just do it. If you want to be more specific, check any areas of the bagua model that needs improving and start there.
7) Check for geopathic stress.
Geopathic stress can impact your health. Geopathic stress needs to be checked on a regular base since it’s not static. Different geological factors can produce geopathic stress as well as local building work.
8) Love your home and workplace.
Make regular, positive changes in your home and workplace. Anything that will make you happy and smile. Regular change boosts our dopamine levels and dopamine is our success, performance and motivation hormone.
9) Boost your spiritual feng shui – add some flowing lines and round shapes.
Spiritual or transpersonal dimension is an important aspect of being a human being. Spirituality or transpersonal psychology is defined as having a large view of life. People who have a spiritual/religious connection are healthier, happier and live longer according to 3300+ studies (Koenig, 2012). Have images and things that remind you of your spiritual and transpersonal nature. “Life is probably round.” said van Gogh. We want furniture that embraces and enfold our bodies. Research suggests that people prefer round and curvaceous objects. Curveleanerity is spiritual. Add round objects, globe lamps or lights, spheres, big round bathroom mirrors which are universally seen as holistic and spiritual. According to Nassim Nicholas Taleb (author of The Black Swan and Fragility) modern non-fractal architecture that dominated by straight lines, will be replaced with more flowing and organic lines, similar to Zaha Hadid’s ideas. Take some time to do download an editable Your Spiritual Health Programme – an evidence-based spiritual/transpersonal approach to spirituality (it takes about an hour to complete). Read more about spiritual feng shui
10) Improve your local feng shui – go green.
Social and local aspects are important for thriving communities. Local and global are so connected. Having a window box will attract positive energy from outside. A nice, attractive doormat will expand the energy of your home. Plant a tree.
11) Populate your home with photos of friends and family to boost social connectedness
Environmental psychology research suggests that people who have strong social networks (social connectedness) and display lots of pictures of family and friends are happier and healthier.
Having pictures of friends and family optimises your vagus nerve which is the most important and longest nerve in the body that runs from the base of the brain, then divides into two before travelling through the neck, chest and to your gut. It works for many vital functions such as controlling your heart, body temperature and regulates your immune system and inflammation. Research shows that stimulating the vagus nerve with bioelectronic devices can reduce inflammation which is at the root of most illness. “Most diseases have some kind of inflammation component, from cardio-vascular medicine to Crohn’s, psoriasis – even cancer. Some cancers rely on inflammation to thrive. ” says professor Peder Olofsson, from Karolinska Institue in Sweden. Social connectedness has also been clinically proven to improve heart rate variability (HRV), which can reduce stress and anxiety. Pictures of friends and family can work as a primer and anchor for your immediate social connectedness.
12) Have lots of books around.
76% of us report that reading makes us happy and improves our lives. The latest research suggests that you don’t even have to read them to get the health benefit. If you want to boost your luck factor – read this book (scientifically proven), which will help you boost your luck in any area of your life – or just read the summary of The Luck Factor according to Dr Richard Wiseman – Four Scientific and Practical Principles for Increasing Your Luck.
13) Create a sacred space.
This is the space that you can use for any activities that require some personal space. It could be just your favourite chair or space in your garden or balcony. For some, their bedroom or bath in the bathroom serves as sacred space.
14) Make your home and workplace interesting and vibrant.
Surround yourself with objects that you love, that represent your values, your interests and who you are becoming.
15) Do regular space clearing.
Feng shui is about energy called chi, qi or in physical science, called charge. Get a natural space clearing mist or just make your own from essential oils. Avoid traditional space clearing methods such as candles or sage, since they pollute the air.
16) Fix things.
Anything that is not working needs fixing because it can drain your energy and become a distraction. Make a list and fix one thing a week.
17) Improve lighting.
Light is energy and one of the most powerful feng shui remedies. Make sure that you don’t have any energy-saving lightbulbs since they produce electro-smog and dirty electricity. Change them to traditional incandescent ones or LED. Get at the Himalayan salt lamp to use instead of candles.
18) Make sure that you feel safe, supported, comfortable and energised.
We thrive when we feel safe, supported and energised. Do whatever you need to do to make your home safe without being obsessed about security. Is your home working for you or against you? What does it do? Trust your intuition and instinct do make the necessary improvements in order to thrive and become more.
19) Have a party.
Once you’ve made some positive improvements, have a party (small or big). Friends and family can positively space condition your home or office. Enjoy and share your home.
20) If you’re not sure, consult your feng shui expert.
When in doubt, it’s always a good practice to consult a feng shui expert. Make sure that s/he practices personal-centred feng shui and has expertise in electromagnetic radiation and geopathic stress for a comprehensive, holistic and modern feng shui analysis.
How to put these new year feng shui resolutions into practice?
Behind how feng shui works there are tested psychological principles such as placebo, priming and anchoring.
Ask yourself three questions which will help you put feng shui in your life and make an improvement.
- How can I use feng shui in a symbolic way to mark the new start? For myself and for others?
- Which any symbolic, feng shui interventions can make a change to myself and others?
- What are the specific feng shui interventions I need to put in place to maintain and manage my new year feng shui resolutions?
A personal example
To start with, I’ve made the following changes in my home:
1) I’ve bought new towels – blue since the blue colour is the colour of 2020; and a couple of new air cleansing plants (spider plants and ferns) and donated some money to a charity to plant more trees somewhere on this planet;
2) I’ve cleared some old books (a gave them to a local charity shop) to create space for new books that I will buy this year (for example, I’m looking forward to speed reading ‘How To Thrive in a World Without Work’ by Daniel Susskind, published on 14 January 2020).
3) As a reminder of the difference between knowledge and wisdom, and that knowledge has an expiration date and wisdom is timeless, I’ve printed my favourite quote from Lao Tzu, author of Tao Te Ching and stuck it on the bathroom mirror:
“If you want to become knowledgeable – learn one new thing, every day.
If you want to become wise – unlearn one thing, every day.”