Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life

by Karen Rauch Carter

  Children think freely—as if anything is possible. They know no limitations. Those darling rug rats continually ask adults, “Why?” because they naturally and instinctively think, “Why not?” They have not yet been programmed to define themselves negatively like most adults. They express their thoughts, no matter how un-PC, to anyone they choose. They aren’t afraid to draw a tree with blue leaves or a horse with a pink head—until some adult chimes in to squish their creative freedom.

  If this area is enhanced correctly, you may be able to regain your childlike creativity again. From your front door, skip over to the area located in the middle of the right-hand wall of your home (see Figure 25). Now you are smack dab in the middle of the Creativity center of your home. Look at it with your new feng shui eyes. What is it saying about you? If you saw this stuff in someone else’s home, would you think they are free to express themselves or be creative? If not, here is the stuff you can use to make it that way.

  Power Tools for Creativity and Children

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  Metal Metal is the element for this area of the home—so, the more metal, the merrier. Some friends of mine who placed a silver baby rattle in this area found the process of their two adoptions unusually easy. A landscape architect friend had a blacksmith create two iron sconces of calla lilies for his Creativity wall. If this area falls in the kitchen, you can make your pots and pans help you become more creative with your cooking. Some of the best items I have found to announce the new creativity in a home are musical instruments, metal bells, and wind chimes. Make sure the sounds are pleasant to you.

  Creativity and Children location in bagua.

  FIGURE 25

  Living in a motel or dorm room and don’t have that kind of stuff? Place your loose coins, eating utensils, metal picture frames, or jewelry box here. Remember to think of the objects in a literal way when choosing them: a metal toolbox may lead you to become known for your talents as a creative handyman. If you don’t mind that, fine. If you do, find another chunk of metal (brass, bronze, copper, gold, iron, silver, and stainless steel are just a few).

  White The color for Creativity is white. Look around and see what’s white that can activate your creative side. Got milk? If your kitchen is in this area, you can use your carton of milk to get you thinking more creatively as kids do. Drink milk out of a bowl. Drink it and laugh real hard until it comes out of your nose. And don’t forget the graham crackers and Oreos.

  I know someone who bought a white car for her Creativity zone garage—what a big hunk of white metal that is!

  Think of an art gallery with white walls—it is ready to accommodate an unlimited number of styles and materials. Is your space free to flow with your unlimited creative possibilities, like a gallery? Now think of a dark-paneled room with a chocolate brown shag carpet and a ceiling so low you can reach up and touch it flatfooted. The only creative thoughts coming out of people in a room like this are quick exit plans. Find a balance for Creativity in your home.

  Round Stuff The shape for metal in feng shui is round, or circular. Time to get a round metal clock for the wall, perhaps? If not, scan your place for round stuff and put it here—round pillows for the couch, round cans in the cabinet. I have a white round metal floor lamp in my Creativity area. Sure, that Frisbee collection works. So does that plate collection. An outdoor-type friend of mine hangs his expensive bike inside here. (Did the Chinese think about round metal bicycle spokes and wheels when they figured this stuff out?)

  Earth Remember, earth creates metal in the Creative Cycle. So get creative with earth. A plant in a round ceramic pot filled with earth is a great ch’i enhancer for this area. A client of mine had one of those tiny globe key chains lying around doing nothing. She set it on her metal bookshelf to see what would happen. Within six months she was given a new position at work that required world travel—a secret dream of hers. She now says it was her key chain that unlocked her dream of seeing the world. (You will find in the next chapter that the gua adjacent to this one includes Travel. It appears that she raised the ch’i so much that it spilled into the adjacent areas of the home.)

  Yellow Since the color yellow represents earth, it is appropriate to place it here. Those round ceramic pots above would be even better if they were painted white or yellow. A client who wanted a baby placed three plants in small yellow pots (signifying her husband, herself, and a child) in her Children area. With your imagination, intention, and stuff like yellow curtains, towels, or dishes you can help create your dream life.

  The power of intention really has no boundaries or limits except the ones we place on it.

  Flat or Square Stuff These shapes mean earth in feng shui terms. Placing them here, you are adding earth to the space. If you have a wrought iron coffee table nearby, intend it to work for your creativity. If you’re into computers, store your three-and-a-half-inch discs and CDs in this area. Square metal frames are picture perfect hung on these walls. My brother has a marble chess set that works for him—a game for children and adults alike—full of squares and made from one of the earth’s more beautiful materials.

  Television This is the best place to watch Saturday-morning cartoons.

  Toys and Games And with the TV comes Nintendo and Play-Station. Any and all games—especially your favorites—can help activate this area of the home. The only caveat to this one: if your Creativity space falls in the master bedroom, just make sure things don’t get too juvenile in there and that there is no game playing in your relationship.

  Candy Tasty reminders of the joy of childhood can spark the kid in all of us. From saltwater taffy and candy buttons to Skittles and Nerds, pick the sugar buzz that gives you the best memories. This is a great spot for that PEZ dispenser or bubble gum card collection.

  Magic Tricks These games are especially good because they take a lot of imagination to create and perform. If you are into magic, place your hat and wand here.

  Parties Like Fame, this spot loves the energy of a party. So go ahead, throw that body-painting party you’ve been dreaming about since I mentioned it earlier. (Tip: use water-based paint!)

  Music Crank up the stereo and fill your space with musical creations. This spot will gladly accept any musical style from soft sounds to hard rock. Receivers, speakers, and music collections all help the creative energy in this location.

  Art This consummate symbol of creativity performs like no other in this area. Pick something you love to be your symbol of imagination.

  Hobbies or Crafts Unless it is juggling flaming torches (you don’t want fire melting your metal), you may be the most creative with your hobbies and crafts here.

  Bed Looking for some new, creative positions? Then move your bed into the Creativity position of the room.

  Lightbulbs or Lights Having bright ideas is what this symbolizes. Just make sure they are plugged in and in working order. They don’t even have to be on to help you be creative.

  Bells A metal bell is a fantastic way to enhance your creativity. Given the right intention, a bell can do many things. It can stimulate creativity, focus attention, become a warning device, interrupt negativity, or even say thank you.

  Bells don’t have to be ringing, chimes don’t have to be moving, and crystals don’t have to be reflecting light to be working for you in feng shui.

  If you place a small bell in the Creativity area of your desk (see Figure 13, Chapter 3, for desk layout), it will stimulate creativity in business, Skills and Knowledge, and focus your attention to the task at hand. If it is protection you are looking for, place a small bell on or in whatever you are looking to protect—your purse, briefcase, laptop, car, or the front door to your home. This tiny, innocent little sound can be very unnerving to people with thievery on their mind.

  Ring a bell in the company of people who need to come to a decision. It will cut down the time dramatically. My friend Susan was asked to work with a particular designer who took too long to make decisions. They were working on a big, high-profile even
t. His indecisiveness was affecting her work and pushing the deadlines. She pinned a small bell to her jacket, and whenever she needed a decision from him, she rang the bell. As if trained by Pavlov himself, he responded to her questions quickly and, to his own amazement, quite creatively. The conversations they had were “clear as a bell.” Susan swears the project would have never been pulled off without the bell.

  Just as the teachers of old used to ring a bell to gather the children together or make them pay attention, ring a bell to get coworkers or friends to stop gossiping or having backbiting conversations. Try it. Watch them stop, look at the bell, and discontinue their negative train of thought. Sure, they may think you’re loony, but who cares? It really works!

  A bell can also be a great tool in business. Ring it to announce the closing of a deal or to announce a big sale. Remember the ringing of the old cash registers? The bells were ringing cash into the register and saying a kind thank-you back to the customer—a much happier experience than today’s beeping scanners and humming computers.

  Matthew bought a failing hair salon. At his new salon, the manicurists were always in mini catfights, slinging nasty names at one another like kids on a playground. The stylists were unenthusiastic, which made for very few appointments. He knew the salon needed help when he bought it. He also knew he could trust feng shui to turn it around.

  Upon the advice of his feng shui consultant, he got a bell. He gave it to the receptionist and told her to ring it every time she booked an appointment. It started out slowly, but each time she rang the bell, the bitchy manicurists would stop their conversations midstream and usually didn’t go back to them for a while. Eventually, everyone got excited when they heard the bell ring, wondering if the appointment was for them. In a short time, the bell was ringing a lot and the employees were positive and excited about working there. Soon, Matthew saw profits. The only thing that was changed in the equation between the successful and unsuccessful owners was the introduction of the bell.

  Symbols of Creativity A child’s finger painting is one of my favorite items that expresses creativity. Take a moment to think of what statement you would like to make in your home. I have seen ch’i enhancers that included everything from Mozart to Madonna, from the Egyptian pyramids to I. M. Pei’s glass pyramid at the Louvre. Find your favorite poetry or music and accommodate them here. It’s all about what you think is the ultimate in creativity, so don’t worry about anybody else’s opinion.

  Symbols of Children If you are trying to bring children into your life through adoption or childbirth, enhance this area of the home with things that give the illusion that they are already here. A couple of well placed Teletubbies can do a lot more than you think. (If you don’t know what Teletubbies are, you’re really in for a treat when the kids do arrive.)

  Hazardous Materials for Creativity and Children

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  Of course, if there is good stuff to put in this space, there must be some not-so-good stuff too. Here are some of the worst.

  Fire The stuff that melts metal is not welcome here. If you’ve got a fireplace in this area, you have compromised metal. The most often used cure for this condition is to place a mirror that visually dominates the fireplace. In feng shui terms, you are placing water over the fire. It is also helpful to have a metal grate in front of the fireplace, or perhaps have the mirror in a metal frame. A friend in Florida placed her aquarium inside the fireplace for a creative water cure since she used it so little. A row of small vases along the mantel—each holding water and a single flower—makes a dramatic and fun cure. Carved ducks and fish can allude to water as well. A painting with black or blue as the dominant color introduces cool water symbolically. Candles are not good mantel subjects in this sector.

  A client of mine who spent tons of money and time trying to get pregnant had a historic photograph about three feet long hanging in her Children section. Unfortunately it was of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, complete with homes a-blazin’. In other words, no disasters, please.

  Red Stuff Red keeps this area heated up—not what metal likes. I have seen a red silk Japanese kimono hung over a fireplace here that eventually “burnt out” a couple from pursuing their dream of owning their own business.

  Triangular or Pointy Objects Since these shapes represent fire, it’s best to leave them out of this space. Eat your bowl of Doritos somewhere else, my friend.

  | When the Feng Shui Wind Blows, the Cradle Will Rock |

  People’s inability to successfully conceive and bear children has been such a significant portion of my practice that I am going to dwell on this topic a bit. Given the impatience of those who want a baby, here are a few generic feng shui tips to use for conception:

  Don’t sweep under or around the bed. Because you want energy to settle in, don’t stir it up by vacuuming. Gently and slowly clean the bedroom area as needed. Helpful hint—clip those toenails outside.

  Enhance the Children section of the home with things for a new baby. You must give each item the intention of being for “the baby that is already on its way.” Strongly visualize using these items on the baby. If these items only remind you of what you want but don’t have, it will slow the process even more.

  Place a spiritual or religious object in the bedroom that can be seen from bed. Do this with the intention of surrendering yourself to a higher power (for example, Mother and Child).

  Affirm your desire. If you are buying into your negativity and perhaps the negativity of others and feel totally hopeless about ever getting pregnant, say something like, “My seemingly impossible wish now comes to pass, and the unexpected now happens. Thank you for the gift of creating the new life within.” Say it over and over until you believe it. Release all incompatible thoughts.

  I have heard of people rubbing a fertility statue and swearing it works, and I have heard of people spending $40,000 on fertility stuff and getting nowhere. Take an inner inventory of what your mind chatters about in regard to this matter. If it is saying, “This is hopeless, I’ll never get pregnant,” you will have an uphill battle to fight. Fight back with affirmations.

  Don’t hammer nails into your house or do any major renovations while trying to conceive. Once again, this stirs up the energy as well as temporarily unsettling the house.

  Partly fill a bowl with clean water. Take it outside at night and place it in the moonlight for at least three hours. Bring it in and place it under the bed in the vicinity of the woman’s abdomen. Do this for nine days. Pump up the feng shui with the visualizations and blessings discussed in Chapter 12. (Considered a traditional cure, this ritual relies on extended intention and the moon’s yin energy to work.)

  | Banishing the Balancing Bunnies |

  My friend consulted with a client who moved into a home that had the Creativity and Children corner of her home missing. She had a miscarriage after moving in and was also considering changing careers because she just wasn’t inspired any longer—she was a children’s clothing designer. It’s hard to get creative about designing children’s clothing with your Children and Creativity section of the home missing!

  When the consultant went outside to see what was actually in the missing piece, the owner said, “When I first moved in here, two rabbits decided to make this area their home and actually had babies here. But they started to eat the plants, so I called someone and had them removed.” From a feng shui standpoint the rabbits were exactly what she needed—moving, living, breeding objects. But she took it all away. The rabbits were actually balancing the home but she didn’t know any better and reversed her own fate.

  They went back inside and the consultant asked the owner to meditate and tell the rabbits she was sorry and invite them back. She also said to feed them if they returned and maybe they would not eat the existing plants. They both meditated on it immediately. They went back outside and there was a little rabbit just sitting there looking at them from the corner of the lot. Well, you guessed it. The wild bunnies moved in, and
two weeks later, not only was the owner inspired in her career; she took a new job that allowed her to have her own department, which meant more creative freedom, something she had always dreamed about.

  | Too Much of a Good Thing? |

  A friend of mine—a fellow feng shui consultant—was desperately trying to have a baby, to no avail. Every time she found out from her fertility specialist that she was not pregnant, she added more enhancements to her Children and Creativity area. She eventually became overwhelmed with the entire process. Another feng shui consultant visited her one day and noticed that my friend had way too many enhancements in the Children section, making it feel out of proportion and balance. “Here’s a case of ‘Too much of a good thing can be bad for you.’ ” the consultant said. “This is why you feel overwhelmed.” The consultant also noticed that there were fifteen empty containers, from silver teapots to vases and other vessels, in the Children area of the dining room; she suggested filling them up—perhaps with children’s things. My friend and her husband wrote out wishes for a child and then placed them inside the containers. She also asked a friend’s child to choose some toys to place inside them as well. Within six weeks (after previously spending months working with fertility doctors) she was on her way to motherhood. (As I am writing this, she is pregnant again—no doctors needed.)