“Be thankful for what you have and you’ll end up having more.” — Oprah Winfrey

OPRAH SPEAKS WISELY ABOUT THE BLESSINGS THAT SURROUND US. Feng Shui utilizes your positive connection to your environment to help clear the way for blessings to enter your life.

You just experienced the blessings of Thanksgiving, a time when people gather with friends and families to share love and feelings of gratitude. As you continue to move through the holiday season, remember that your home is a vessel for all these good feelings, therefore the more harmonious and welcoming you make it, the more you let the blessings in. As we begin to plan for entertaining, it’s important lso to prepare our home’s Feng Shui energy. Preparing a home for the holidays implies a clean home with a fresh energy, so clearing clutter and cleaning are the desired initial Feng Shui steps.

 

Holiday gatherings usually take place in the dining room around a bounty of food. Our dining rooms become our oasis where we nourish and renew our bodies, hearts and spirits. Since the dining room plays a key role in sharing holiday meals and blessings, there are a few enhancements that help make your dining experience a pleasant one. There are also a few things that are NOT recommended for enjoyable dining.

Here are a few general do’s and don’ts to ensure your dining room is following the Feng Shui guides of comfort and safety:

• Comfort is inherent in the positive flow of Chi. Make sure your furniture is comfortable; if not, replace or pad the chairs, and make sure each chair has a pleasant view.

• Ensure safety by making sure there are no sharp edges on the table or chairs. Soften sharp-edged glass tables with cloths or table runners. Round and oval tables are more Feng Shui-friendly.

• Make sure your dining area is defined enough to have its own identity: screens, plants, lighting, area rugs and furniture placement can help define the space.

• Choose art that relaxes and inspires you, and is congruent with the Bagua Area in which the dining room is located.

Dining room don’ts

• Mirrors, especially large ones, can overactivate a room meant to be tranquil and make your guests uncomfortable. If possible, avoid mirrors in dining rooms, or break the reflection with plants, screens, candles, vases, etc.

Dining rooms and the Bagua

The Feng Shui Bagua (Ba-gua) Map is represented as a grid of nine sectors. The Bagua comes from the Chinese philosophy, “The I Ching,” and literally means “eight trigrams,” with the center being for centering and grounding.

Dining rooms should take on the qualities of the Bagua area they reside in. Here are some examples of using the Bagua enhancements for dining rooms:

Dining rooms in Career Area (Water element)

• Items in black or very dark colors; glass/crystal items

• Water features (fountains, waterfalls or aquariums)

• Art depicting water scenes

Dining Rooms in Knowledge and Self-cultivation Area (Wood)

• Items in wood, the colors of blues, greens or black, shapes of columns, stripes

• Healthy plants with rounded soft leaves

• Art depicting nature scenes

Dining Rooms in Friends/Family/Health Area (Wood)

• Healthy floral arrangements or art depicting vibrant flowers

• Photos of family, friends or representing perfect health

• Items in wood and the colors of blues, greens or black

Dining Rooms in Wealth Area (Fire)

• Opulent items in the purple color spectrum

• Art representing wealth such as luxurious vacation spots, stunning architectural homes, etc.

• Healthy, round-leaf plants

Dining Rooms in Fame Area (Fire)

• Photos or art representing achievements or inspiration

• Items in the colors red

• Items representing the fire element with candles and lighting

Dining Rooms in Love and Marriage Area (Fire)

• Pairs of items (candles, love birds, vases)

• Art or photos depicting romance

• Colors of reds, pinks and white

Dining Rooms in Children and Creativity Area (Metal)

• Photos of children or items made by children

• Items in metal and the colors of white and pastels

• Whimsical art

Dining Rooms in Helpful People and Travel Area (Metal)

• Art or figures pertaining to spiritual guides, and/or mentors, helpful people or places where you have traveled or want to travel

• Items in metal and colors of white, black or gray

Dining Rooms in Center Area

• This is an auspicious location for the dining room because food is associated with the Earth Element.

• Items in ceramics, the colors yellow, earth tones, and rectangle shapes

• Art depicting earth-tone scenes such as fields, deserts, sunflowers, etc.

Ultimately, the best celebrations are the ones where you have really good company, so creating a comfortable setting for your friends and family to enjoy is the ultimate Feng Shui goal for the holidays. Good food, good friends and a good dose of Feng Shui’s Wood, Earth and Fire elements (candles or fireplace to warm up and purify the energy) are the best ingredients for a well-celebrated holiday and a great way to enjoy your blessings.

Feng Shui at work

When people who haven’t studied Feng Shui create a balanced, harmonic environment, we say they are using “intuitive Feng Shui,” because so much of it is the feeling of beauty and comfort your home brings you. A friend recently posted pictures of her fall home decorations: a beautiful spray of branches and orange flowers over a doorway, a bowl filled with oranges and pomegranates, a cone-shaped basket of red and orange flowers on her front door, an array of pumpkins on either side of her entrance leading to the front door, and orange and cream baby pumpkins on her mantle. Without realizing it she has brought the elements of Earth, Wood and Fire into her home to warm it for the grounding energy needed for the fall and winter holidays. I’m sure she’ll have a good holiday season!

What I love about Feng Shui is that “there are no random acts of decorating” — everything has a purpose. A client asked me what kind of area rug she should get for her dining room. After determining that it resided in the Center of her home, the rest was easy. I explained that this was an Earth element area and the rug should be representative of the area (rectangle and/or in shades of gold). This was easy for her because she already had a beautiful hand-blown ceiling light in red and gold. Armed with this knowledge, she narrowed her search and found the perfect rug. Her dining room is now a focal point in her home and makes the room feel very grounded.

Affirmations

Remember that in Feng Shui, intent plays a significant role in enhancing any area of your home or business. That’s why all enhancements need to be made with intentionality; written or stated affirmations, expressed as if they are already happening, are very important: “I have an abundance of blessings through my family and friends.”

Questions, questions, questions

I encourage you to email me with questions, which I will respond in this column or by email.

Reader: According to the Bagua, my Wealth area is in my family room and I have a large bookcase in that corner. How can I enhance it to increase prosperity?

Dear Reader,

The wealth corner is the far left corner from your main entrance door. It is the area of the home in Feng Shui that correlates with your self-empowerment and it is generally positive to keep lots of Wood and Fire energy in this area. Books have elemental Wood energy and their messages often contain lots of Fire ideas — all very good things! Watch out for books or other items stored on the bookshelf that are dusty, that never move (you want motion in this area in your life), that have negative messages (i.e. “HOW TO MANIPULATE PEOPLE” books, etc.), and try not to store books in this area like your first semester college books that you will never ever open again. Leave some space on the shelves for displaying items in the color purple, opulent items and those that represent wealth to you, such as items from a special collection or a bowl with coins. If you have room, place a small bubbling fountain on or near the bookcase. Remember to place your prosperity affirmations here also.

Feng Shui on a shoestring

Feng Shui enhancements do not have to cost a great deal. Decorate with a few candles for warmth, and make your home welcoming through the scents of cooking and baking. And watch the energy shift!
Your dining room represents the nurturing of all aspects of your life. Once you have enhanced the space, enjoy a great meal and express gratitude for all your blessings.

Happy Holidays! I wish you many Feng Shui Blessings.

FOR QUESTIONS OR HOME CONSULTATIONS email me at mtmccull@aol.com and put “Feng Shui” on the subject line, or visit my website at www.fengshuibymaria.com, where you can read past columns, or Facebook “Feng Shui by Maria” where I post pictures as examples to enhancements.

And check out my blog — just go to the website and click on “Blog” and you can view many pictures and I will respond to your questions quickly. I look forward to hearing from you.

Until then … Blessings!

Benicia resident Maria McCullough is the owner and founder of Feng Shui by Maria (www.fengshuibymaria.com). She is a speaker and educator with more than 15 years’ experience specializing in residential, landscape and business consultations.