IN MY “CIRCLE OF LIFE” COLUMN A YEAR AGO I shared that I was experiencing “the best of times and the worst of times.” Our first grandchild had just been born, and because of complications he had to remain in the NICU for a week. The week he came home, my mother passed away.

Now a year has passed, and time has demonstrated its healing qualities. Mom continues to be our angel, while the baby happily grows and thrives.

This very special child of ours came into this world bearing the brunt of a genetic syndrome called Joubert’s. Fortunately, they determined through numerous tests that he has a mild case, but he still experiences weakness in eye tracking and muscular strength, and he has respiratory issues. His parents have been on top of it from the start and through the help of weekly therapy and various specialists he is thriving, meeting his goals and overcoming his challenges — all with a big smile and a happy attitude. Now he is 1 and we could not be prouder of our little fighter.

So what does all this have to do with Feng Shui? Feng Shui is all about creating a positive energy field in your environment that then transfers to you and affects your life. When your home energy is cluttered, messy and stuck, you feel the same way. Through years of working with me in Feng Shui my daughter has become cognizant of the enhancements that will clear the energy for her family’s well-being. She uses the Bagua in her home to locate areas for enhancements.

Using the Bagua to enhance the Children and Creativity Area

In the Feng Shui Bagua (Ba-gua) Map, represented as a grid of nine sectors, the Children and Creativity Area is located in the right middle side of your home/office/business. The Bagua comes from the Chinese philosophy, “The I Ching,” and literally means “eight trigrams,” with the center area for grounding. In the “I Ching” the Children and Creativity Area of your home or business is called “Joyous Lake” because it is associated with the qualities of pleasure, encouragement and nurturing that children need.

Enhancements for the Children and Creativity Area inside your home or business

• Art, photos, collages or posters depicting children

• Whimsical, playful and colorful items, toys, sculptures

• Things having a personal association to your childhood, such as handmade items and memorabilia

• Items in colors of white or pastels

• Things made of metal — brass, steel, pewter, silver, gold, aluminum, copper, etc., such as furniture, lamps, candle holders, frames, figurines, jewelry

• Quotes, affirmations and sayings pertaining to Children and Creativity.

What if the bathroom is located in the Children’s Area?

My daughter did a beautiful job decorating the baby’s nursery, which is in the Helpful People Area. It is a peaceful, harmonious room. She has a dilemma, though: Both her master bath and guest bath reside in the Children’s Area. Bathrooms have a bad reputation in Feng Shui, but they certainly need to be located somewhere in the house. If you take good care of the energy in the bathroom, celebrate it and make it a beautiful room, it will in turn nurture your energy.

When enhancing a bathroom it’s important to keep the toilets and drains closed when not in use, and keep bathroom doors closed, too. With any bathroom location, it’s a matter of keeping the energy clean and clutter free, as well as balancing the Feng Shui elements and using your favorite enhancements stated above.

The Children and Creativity element

The Children and Creativity Area is a Metal element area. Yet bathrooms have predominant Water Feng Shui element energy, which will weaken the Metal. You can strengthen the Metal element and control the Water element by adding the Earth element. Therefore go with Earth and Metal element colors in this area of your home. (Light yellow and sandy colors for Earth and white or gray for Metal). Definitely limit the color and attributes of water, which are the color black, glass and mirrors. To learn more about the elements go to http://www.fengshuibymaria.com/newspaper-columns.html.

Feng Shui at work

My daughter took these recommendations to heart and transformed both bathrooms into uncluttered, clean, beautiful rooms with positive energy. Since there is already a great deal of white with the tub, toilet and counter, she brought in a soft, sandy, buff color in art as well as wall colors, gray towels and shower curtains in a gray-and-gold print that ties it all together. She enhanced both bathrooms with whimsical art of healthy children at play, hummingbirds representing “joy” and pictures of her little boy in metal frames. She added yellow candles, sweet scents and of course used affirmations like the examples below. Her bathrooms have become joyous places.

I was asked by a guest why I have pictures of my grandchild on every wall in my guest bathroom. I told her it was my Children’s Area and I wanted to feel his happy, healthy energy each time I used it. Another guest said that I should have a camera in there to record the people’s faces as they see pictures of my grandchild making his silly faces — truly heartwarming.

A client told me that she had the realization that she had the power to “let go of worn-out things, worn-out conditions, and that a divine order was now established in her and her world.” She was saying this affirmation while cleaning a very old, stained toilet. She realized that she had the power to replace it with a shiny new toilet. Off she went to Home Depot! She is creating those positive changes that little by little affect your life.

Affirmations and inner work

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 are very important. It is also important for them to be expressed as if they are already happening.

Examples of affirmations for the Children and Creativity Area: “My little boy is healthy and happy”; “His eyes are tracking, he’s reaching, holding, sitting, standing, crawling and walking”; “He is thriving in every way.”

Feng Shui on a shoestring

Feng Shui enhancements do not have to cost a great deal. Cleaning a bathroom, emptying the trash, keeping the counter and cabinets uncluttered, closing the toilet lid and burning a candle can create a huge transformation in the energy flow of the space.

So where are we now? Still working with our little boy; watching him sit up, stand, feed himself, roll over, babble consistently, play with his toys, walk in his walker. The second physical therapist evaluation proved to be a big boost, as he had doubled his scores in most areas. Still work to do — but this little angel is always happy and in a good mood and has been a true delight in our lives. We thank our children for all their work with him, thank mom for watching over them, and thank Feng Shui for clearing the energy so they can thrive as a family.

For questions or home consultations, email me at mtmccull@aol.com and put “Feng Shui” on the subject line, or visit my website at 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.

Come to my next class through Parks and Recreation and receive $40 off a home consultation. The class, “Balancing the Elements,” will be held Saturday, March 8 from 9 a.m. to noon. The Parks and Recreation Guide is now available, if you’d like to register. Mark your calendars and invite friends.

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.