Summer is an ideal time to lighten up and play. Thus, it is perfect synchronicity that the Friday, August 14th new moon is in the sign of Leo. The corresponding area to energize, or bring into alignment, in your home or workplace is the Children, Creativity, and Joy gua. This is the right center sector when you divide your space into a grid of nine areas, similar to a tic-tac-toe board. It lies opposite Family, the area you may have energized last month. As you may know, new moons are about new beginnings. It is an ideal area to energize this month if you would like to have some fun, tap into your creativity, or go after your desires.

To energize your intentions and wishes:
1.    Be clear about what you want. 
2.    Believe you can have it. 
3.    Take inspired action regularly. 
4.    Get out of your own way (release fear), to allow things to manifest.

Look around your home, and particularly your Children, Creativity and Joy gua, for any evidence that is associated with holding you back or things you’d like to change. This might include: clutter or debris; anything broken or in disrepair; things you no longer enjoy or find useful; clogged areas; electric or plumbing problems; broken, stuck, or foggy windows; areas of low energy. Check your yard for overgrown areas or places filled with weeds, debris, ants or wasps.

What can you do to shift things? Repair what needs to be fixed, remove clutter, and clear out all items that do not bring you joy. The process of keeping our spaces vitalized is a life-long activity. It gets easier with time but it never goes away.

The Children, Creativity and Joy area is related to the Metal element from a feng shui perspective. You can enhance this area using any metals (gold, silver, brass, aluminum, etc.), white, gray, and pastel colors, round and oval shapes, things made from petroleum (plastics) and substances dug from deep within the ground (gemstones, big rocks and boulders), whimsical things, and colorful flowers.

Metal element is an “organizing” element. It also pertains to the traits of clarity, precision, organization, order and focus. When Metal is balanced, you can easily sort information and experiences into patterns, solve puzzles, and bring order through rules and guidelines. You are more likely to have clear thoughts, be focused and communicate effectively. When Metal is deficient you may feel unprotected, find it hard to focus, have little or no routine, and lack a sense of purpose. Excess Metal manifests as criticism and judgments, perfectionism, obsessive compulsive behavior, as well as sarcasm, aloofness and indifference. 

Metal out of balance may leave you feeling anxious, anguished, and in tears. The organs associated with Metal are the Lung and Large Intestine. If you are experiencing anxiety or anguish, or you have any difficulty with breathing, intestinal issues, skin conditions or rashes, balancing your Children, Creativity and Joy gua may strengthen your emotional and physical health. 

The best time to work on this area this month is from August 3rd-13th. You can tune into the results beginning with the August 14th full moon. Remember: new moons are about new beginnings and full moons are about beginning to see the fruits of our labors. Working with one specific area of your home each month is a simple and effective way to attract beneficial chi that is in alignment with the cosmos.

Contact me if you would like some help. A short half hour or 45 minute phone session may get things moving along for you. See the end of this newsletter for a specia offer that might work for you too.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of touring Joy Farm, a National Historic Landmark, at Silver Lake, NH.
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Currently privately owned, this farm was the summer home of poet and painter E. E. Cummings (1894 – 1962). What nice synchronicity that the Creativity and Joy sector of your home is the area to refresh this month.

From the moment you enter the private road that leads to the farm, it is easy to see where he got some of his inspiration! Joy Farm is set deep off the main road with wide open views of Mount Chocorua and the Sandwich mountain range to the west. 

The original cape-style home is surrounded by beautiful gardens that draw your eye outside and toward the backdrop of the mountains. Some of the feng shui features include:

1.    Privacy … Cummings did not want uninvited guests and instructed the property’s caretakers not to tell people where he lived. The access road is hidden. It looks like a path in the woods.

2.     A beautiful ming tang or spacious green area in front of the house. The wide open, rolling fields in front of the house create a perfect gathering spot for beneficial chi, a key concept in feng shui. 

3.    Views of nature … the house opens to the mountains off in the distance. The second floor was a large, unfinished attic with a wall of screened windows with gorgeous views.

4.    Ying yang balance and flow. The original farm house had dark wood, small rooms, and low ceilings. This was contrasted by thick woods framing the wide open fields, and gorgeous views of the mountains off in the distance.

5.    Simplicity … similar to many homes of this period, the small, clean rooms had a nice flow of energy. The furniture was simple and fit the space. Nooks and crannies were well used for storage or built in, cozy seating areas.  

 
Although Cummings is best known for his poetry and his unconventional use of lower case and grammar, he was also a prolific painter. His name is often printed as “e e cummings;” he preferred that his name be spelled “E. E. Cummings.”

We are fortunate that some of the people who grew up with Cummings and cared for his property are still in the area. My daughter recorded some stories and produced a short audio postcard for NHPR’s Word of Mouth program. Scroll down the program page to listen to 3 minutes of reflection.  

Recently Madeline Gerwick and I chatted about how dust dulls one’s light. One day Madeline observed that her office, including her plants, were quite dusty. She hadn’t noticed it up until that point. Once she became aware of it, she knew that she needed to do something about it. She spent a weekend thoroughly cleaning her office and bringing it back to life. As she did, she also noticed that her own energy level improved and her prosperity increased.

Although you may not notice it at first, dust is very light and subtle. As it accumulates over time, things begin to dull and “lack luster.”  The chi of our spaces decline and our energy begins to mirror it as well. We may grow tired and weary sooner than usual. We may lose interest or stop caring about things that matter. We slow further and get off-track. Once this happens, it takes time to reset the process and begin again.

A solution? Keep your space as dust-free as possible to help your personal light to continuously shine! Dust regularly or hire someone to help you out. Dusting regularly removes the slow growing seeds of decline. It refreshes our spaces, which is then reflected in ourselves, spirits, attitudes and outlook.

Alix Haisha recently launched the first contemporary Feng Shui art source to provide a certified body of work for wherever you may need to implement certain shapes, colors, elements, and symbols in certain areas in your home and office. She has over 100 images from 20-something countries, all sorted into each area of the bagua; more importantly, she's here to work with you to create and customize work to meet your needs! 

Be sure to check out her site.  If you wish to purchase anything, input "peg108" during checkout to receive a $9 discount.