What goes on in the minds of a consultant and her client during a Feng shui consultation…
I have been a Feng Shui consultant for 19 years. My personal belief is that when a client reaches out for a consultation, they are ready for change. It might look like we move furniture around to increase your wealth, align you with more loving relationships or better health, but this ancient Chinese art of achieving balance and harmony goes way deeper than thaou know what he really thinks about those ideas! Here’s a glimpse…
Without further ado…. meet my client, Grant.
As a single man for the better part of two decades I have been surrounded by myself and my past. As a retired person I can utilize my time as I please. I am focused on health and hobbies. I am independent and free. I am proud of my home, and I am comfortable.
Enter Sabrina Matheny a design consultant with expertise in the realm of Feng Shui. Admittedly skeptical, I invite her into my house. Immediately her eyes begin roaming, her energy pulsates as she begins to speak, “You have an energy leak,” she says.
“A what?” I respond.
She explains that the energy is moving too quickly.
She asks me questions about what I want to accomplish in my life and how I utilize my time. She inquires about guests and friends. It comes up in conversation that most of my male friends seem comfortable, but their wives seem restless and a bit uncomfortable. She points out that my space isn’t arranged for conversing. I admit that is not my focus. I consider the outside space to be more important than the inside space. I am not concerned with people sitting inside and watching television, playing games or talking. The beauty is outside.
She said…
I start tuning into a space from the moment I drive up to a house. Grant’s home is stunning. I walk in and notice the gorgeous view of the mountains (uh-oh). The artwork in the foyer is a black and white picture of the Grateful Dead. (I thought he told me he was an artist?) There are a lot of lines with the architecture. His living room furniture is arranged on an angle (Interesting, but where’s the yin? We need curves!) and oriented towards the television. Note to self: this grouping will need to shift to foster connection. Women are good at picking up on the energy of a space, so it’s no surprise to hear that his female guests aren’t feeling the yin in his home…there isn’t any. Women like to connect, and we do that by sharing. This space is lacking balance.
The front door and the back door line up in his floorplan. This is not advantageous in Feng Shui. To make this even more challenging, the sitting area is further away from the fireplace so there is nothing between the sightline of the two doors, increasing the rate at which the energy enters and leaves his home! With his amazing views of the mountains, you walk in, and your attention is immediately drawn to those views. This takes the energy of the person out of the energetic field of the house. In my work this is considered an energy leak. The energy of abundance comes into the home and flows directly out of the home lickity split! (My mantra: where goes sight, so goes energy) My goal is to create some staying power so energy can circulate and energize all the rooms in the house.
We continued our walkthrough, and he shows me a study containing two desks, a large metal flat file cabinet, and a standard file cabinet all of which are lined up around the walls AND a big rectangular table in the center of the room. My body starts to tighten, and I begin to hold my breath. This is my body’s way of indicating that there is stagnant energy in a room. With so much furniture, I can see why. What does he do in this room?
Grant is 6’3. The two desks were antique pieces, a rolltop and a writing desk. I couldn’t imagine him fitting comfortably in the space allotted for his body (Where do his long legs go?) so I ask if he uses those desks.
He said…
She recognizes that there are many rooms in the house that I do not use much. I set them up for my hobbies and interests, but I subconsciously am not able to make use of the space. The spaces are lovely and appeared functional, but that is based on my past associations with my furniture and not connected with my current state of mind and specific personal goals to move forward. The rooms I created are stifling me.
She walks into my study and she immediately tells me that my marble top desk is too small for me. “It doesn’t fit you,” she says. I defend this artifact from my past as a dear acquisition from my time in the Philippines and explain to her that I used to write on it. But truthfully, I haven’t written at that desk since I got my first laptop computer and could comfortably write from my bed or my armchair. I am feeling annoyed and getting anxious.
I am a bit defensive as she continues to move about the interior of my home asking me how I envision my future, what I want from life and what makes me happy. She walks into the master bathroom and tells me that my mirrors are too low. “You can’t see yourself “, she says.
I never considered that an important issue and she continues to tell me that since I am tall, I need to consider my size. “The house is not reflecting you. You need to be able to see your whole self.”
Moi…
I’m sensing that Grant is starting to offer some resistance to change. This typically happens in a walkthrough. I gently remind my clients at this point that no one is moving any of their belongings. We are only talking about change, not actually doing it in this red-hot second. My goal in a walkthrough of a home is to show my client how their current experience in life is reinforced through the placement of their belongings. I challenge them to envision what they want to live, and we talk about the ways they can arrange their home to reinforce the new lifestyle. I’m seeing a pattern with Grant. His priority is not on his physical body in a space. He directs his energy towards his thoughts. By keeping his energy in the upper chakras, the lower chakras are not getting energized, the root chakra in particular. I try to find a way to show Grant that he is discounting his physical presence in a space. Luckily the next room makes my point (quite nicely I might add).
Behold, the master bathroom. (dun, dun, duuun!) Seriously? Bending down to see your head in your own bathroom? This was a first! I listen for anything in his expression that might tell me he has low self-esteem. Nothing obvious. I start to explain how our home must reflect who we are currently or that it isn’t truly our home. If we do not fit into our space physically then we will always be a guest never fully connecting into the energy of the space. Not rooting creates a lot of issues energetically around abundance. Our roots need to go deep for our spirit to soar high.
Click here to continue reading part 2 of the consultation, when I reveal my recommendations and Grant lets you know what he really thinks about those ideas! Here’s a glimpse…
Him…
“I’m buying a crystal to bury where? And that will help me how? You’ve got be kidding…”
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