This is your season for growth, and you’ve been doing the work. From going to therapy and making time for intentional self-care to networking during happy hour and at career conferences, you have been spending quality time on your goals. If you’re still feeling a little stuck, you may want to take a closer look at your home and the way energy is or isn’t owing through it. Feng shui is an ancient Chinese practice that helps you design your living and work spaces for spiritual harmony. But it’s about much more than where you place your bed.“Energetically making space in your life and in your home really makes a di erence,” says Patricia Lohan, a Bali-based feng shui expert who helps women put their businesses and lives in order by getting them in alignment with the elements of the practice. “Feng shui helps you create a life that looks like a vision board for what you want in your life,” she says.
START WITH GRATITUDE
When you look at your home, what are you grateful for? Yes, we are talking about ways to change your living quarters to make everything ow better, but let’s begin with
the positives. Paying attention to the joy your house brings, the shelter it provides and the wonderful memories created there will help you see your dwelling with new eyes.
DON’T TIDY, DECLUTTER
“Sometimes a very tidy house still has a lot of clutter,” says Lohan. You may put things out of sight and keep the place neatly organized, but you’re still weighed down by a lot of attachment, and that drains your energy. It can be hard to let go of everything that’s holding you back, so take it slow. You don’t have to overhaul your entire home at once. Start with one room or even one box. If you’re having trouble releasing, consider bringing in a family member, a friend or a professional who isn’t as emotionally connected to your things as you are.
MAKE ROOM FOR LOVE
“When it comes to your bedroom, it’s really important to just think of three words: rest, romance and relaxation,” says Lohan. If that’s not the energy you get when walking into your room, it’s time to reconfigure. Start with cleaning under your bed, especially where your partner would sleep. Also, ask yourself, Is there room for anyone else in here? Is my bed large enough for two people? Would a partner be able to store clothes in my closet? These things may seem small, but making space is a way to communicate your desires to the universe. If you’re already coupled up, it’s important to have the same type of intentionality. Happy photos of you and your partner should be a staple in your bedroom, and you can move the pics of family or religious gures to other social places in the residence—you don’t really need them witnessing your most personal moments together. You’ll also want to pay particular attention to the south- west corner of your house, which in uences romance. Make sure the space is peaceful and holds only items you love, preferably in pairs.
SEE THE PROSPERITY
Ready to have more money owing in? Concentrate on the southeast section of your home and add things that make you feel wealthy. “I remember one client whose southeast area was her toilet,” Lohan says with a chuckle. “So I said, ‘Don’t worry. What makes it feel luxurious?’ ” The client went on to add new towels, beautifully scented soaps and fresh owers. “It’s about creating abundance and prosperity in that area,” notes Lohan.
ATTRACT OPPORTUNITY
Looking for a new job can be all- consuming and frustrating, especially if your LinkedIn and Glassdoor searches feel fruitless or résumés have been met with silence. “Let go of anything that is not in alignment,” says Lohan. If the books in your home o ce are all about your previous line of work, swap them out for texts that are essential to your current industry. Is there something new you want to learn or a company you’ve set your sights on? Bring in a book or object that’s related to it, Lohan advises. “It doesn’t need to be on display; it can be discreetly hidden. But you know it’s there, your house knows it’s there and you’re seeding the desired result. That’s really what I love about feng shui—it helps you create a fertile environment.”
