Cre8ive » Cre8tive Body Mind Spirit Emotions

What Does Abundance Mean to You?

Deborah Redfern — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:40:07 +0000

What does abundance mean to YOU? What does abundance mean in each of the following areas….

Abundance
Family
Reputation
Relationships
Creativity
Guidance (Helpful People)
Career
Inner Knowledge
Health

Simple Feng Shui

Deborah Redfern — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:00:24 +0000

You can begin a simple feng shui of your home by observing the objects you have around you. All of the objects in your home have an effect on you. Each carry memories, associations and symbolism: emotions that can raise your energy up, bring you down, or be neutral.

Most of the time, you will not be consciously aware of the connections and symbolism because you are so used to seeing them. This is why having a feng shui practitioner is helpful — even feng shui practitioners often need the eyes of another practitioner to help them truly ’see’. But for today, try this exercise. It is a simple but powerful one that will help you look at the objects around you with more conscious awareness.

All you have to do is walk through your home looking at each object, much as if you have been away for a long time and have forgotten what your home is like. There are two ways you can do this and both are equally valuable and will often give you different pieces of information. You can literally walk through your home, or you can go through your home in your imagination. When I took my Interior Alignment™ training, we ‘walked’ through our homes in our imagination. It was very useful to me as I was able to access information that I knew on one level but did not realize how much it changed the way I felt about my home.

As you walk though your home – either in person or in your imagination, take note of any memories and associations you experience as you look around and handle your belongings. It is very common for emotions to come up as you do this exercise. You might notice, for instance, that you feel really happy in some areas, while other areas feel sad or bittersweet. There may be a conversation going on inside your head, like nagging thoughts, or a to-do list.

Make a note of what you experience. These will be your feng shui adjustments. You may want to do immediately and others over a period of time. For me, it was how our front entrance felt unwelcoming. What bothered me most was the screen door which never worked properly. It was one of the first things I did when I came home from my feng shui training!

Simple…but one of the most effective feng shui techniques you can do.

The Bagua Map: Family Heritage Area

Deborah Redfern — Tue, 27 May 2008 05:47:00 +0000

The Family area concerns parents, ancestors, heritage and influences from the past. It is a good place to put family photos, certificates and trophies of past achievements.

Denise Linn, Sacred Space: Clearing and Enhancing the Energy of Your Home.

In my book Odyssey of the Heart: Paths to Wholeness through Feng Shui, as well as my e-course Dancing with Energy: 9 Steps to Manifesting your Soul’s Desires with Feng Shui, I begin my exploration of the Bagua Map with this very powerful area because it is about new beginnings and past relationships. It is similar to the 1st Chakra in that it is the foundation upon which all is built.

The Family area represents your self image, growth, awareness and your ability to break past obstacles and go forward in life. In learning about, and coming to terms with your past, there is the opportunity to release blocked energy, because in the process of growing up we become conditioned to think about ourselves in certain ways. It shows up in the beliefs we have about ourselves and where we fit in, both within our families and within the world at large.

Sometimes these beliefs grow into obstacles, or layers from our past that tell us things like, for example, we are not deserving, are unworthy or lacking in some way, and they have a powerful ability to block energy.

With the release that can come from examine your family history (writing your personal story is very helpful in working with the Family Heritage area) release comes the ability to go forward in life to create something new — new goals, dreams, attitudes, health and harmony

~*~ Enhance the Family Heritage and Health Area ~*~

when you wish to enhance health on all levels
to break free from the past and make a fresh start
to assist in releasing blockages, habits, or ways of thinking that no longer serve you
to help you manifest your goals
to foster good family relationships and increase family harmony

~*~ Colours to Use ~*~
Traditionally the colours for the Family Heritage and Health area are green and blue.

~*~ Element Symbols ~*~
The Element symbol for the Family Heritage and Health area is Wood. Wood element symbols are healthy plants, flowers, objects made of wood, columns and floral prints, stripes.

~*~ Life Symbols ~*~
Images and symbols that represent good family relationships, happy times, objects that give you a feeling of being empowered, accomplished and going forward in life; Images or objects that represent the goals and dreams you are currently pursuing.

~*~ How to Use ~*~
Use any of the enhancements of colour, element symbols or life symbols in the Family Heritage and Health area of your home. You can also use any of these enhancements as a theme for a home altar when you are manifesting goals.

When is Something Clutter?

Deborah Redfern — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 03:11:18 +0000

There are times when things (objects, projects) in our lives seem to fit the bill of clutter, but are hard to let go of. This is a time to be especially kind to yourself because there is usually a reason for holding on.

Sometimes, holding on to the past is a way of keeping the door open on a part of your life that is almost over. It is similar to being immersed in a book you really enjoy or strongly identify with. When the book ends, your experience of being a part of the story will end as well, and often there is a bit of reluctance to finish the story.

So, in your life, holding on to something may be needed in order to:

give yourself permission to let go of a part of your identity that you’ve outgrown
allow time to absorb changes in your life
get closure on a part of your life that is over

So when is it clutter? It is individual. No one else can really tell you what clutter is. For me clutter is an awareness of the ‘mind chatter’ attached to the item in question. Examples of mind chatter are self-criticizing, admonishing, and energy-draining, unpleasant thoughts that do not feel good. If there is no mind chatter, it isn’t clutter.

If something you’ve been holding on to you begins to ‘talk back’, you will know that you are getting close to being ready to release it. When the time is right, you will be ready to come to completion – whether it is finishing the project or finally letting something go. Until then, trust your feelings!

Instinctive Feng Shui

Deborah Redfern — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 02:53:01 +0000

The impulse to put Feng Shui principles into our homes is often instinctive. I once did a consultation for a newly married couple who had just bought their first home together.

Many of the rooms were filled with unpacked cartons. There was little furniture and the walls were bare – except for one room. It was completely furnished and decorated, and had a very warm feeling. And this room just happened to be in the area of the house that corresponded to love and marriage. I have seen similar ‘coincidences’ many times in my work as a feng shui practitioner. As I mentioned I believe good feng shui design is instinctive and natural.

I also see that when we begin having difficulties — with relationships, self expression or life in general — those instincts are thrown off. In other words, we get out of alignment with who we really are, what our priorities are, and what our goals and dreams are. When we are out of alignment our instincts are not as sharp.

Feng Shui looks to see what out of alignment and offers balancing adjustments. In Interior Alignment™ (the type of feng shui I teach), we strongly take into consideration the goals and dreams you have for your life. It is really feng shui life coaching.

I will be writing more about feng shui life coaching in future articles as this is where my private feng shui practice is leading me. It is an area I am very excited about. Basically, when you are aligned with your purpose and goals, you will be pulled back on track — naturally. And when your living environment mirrors and reflects your purpose and goals, when all is clear and in alignment, the law of attraction will also work for you.

Different Kinds of Clutter

Deborah Redfern — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 05:25:39 +0000

Clutter-clearing is modern-day alchemy. It is one of the fastest ways to completely transform your life. Denise Linn, Feng Shui for the Soul

There are different kinds of [tag]clutter[/tag]: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Often these overlap – one type of clutter can cause another type of clutter.

Physical clutter is complex: it can be simply having too much to fit into your space, but that is not necessarily clutter. It is in the eye of the beholder, but if you do not use or love those possessions it is clutter. Some prime examples are clothes: ‘mistake’ purchases worn only once or never at all, things that don’t fit you at your current size, trendier items that are not currently in vogue or collections that got out of control.
- Physical clutter also shows up as paper — magazines and newspapers, and sometimes books.
- Junk drawer or places where you put all the stuff you don’t know what to do with but can’t bring yourself to throw out.
- Things you are storing for others (could be the family heirlooms for example.)
Mental clutter is the stuff you carry around in your head:
- judging thoughts like: “I told you so” or “you’ll never achieve that goal” or “who do you think you are?”
- endless to-do lists you are trying to remember
- nagging thoughts like: I should exercise more often. I shouldn’t watch so much TV
- decisions you have been putting off, jobs that are waiting to be done
Emotional clutter is a little different from mental clutter though it can cause mental clutter. Emotional clutter is when we do not release emotions after the event is finished; it is holding on to the past. Some examples are:
- carrying regret, blame, and grievances from the past
- being fixated on fears so that it holds you back
- unfulfilled dreams
- people or situations that have not been released
- memories of how things used to be
Spiritual clutter is when you do not honour and nurture yourself and can manifest as not really being present in your life. You might find yourself filling your life with mindless activities that do not bring you joy, holding on to belief systems that no longer serve you, or being in environments that are not supportive.

All of these types of clutter overlap to a certain extent though it is often not apparent until you begin the clearing, or the unravelling process. When you release clutter in one area of your life, it often has affect somewhere else. And when you make changes in your inner life – belief systems for example, it is valuable to physically change your environment.

Through coaching you can learn how to release these patterns so that you can step into your [tag]higher self[/tag] living fully in the present.