Reprinted from The Austin Homesteader, 2003

We are living in some strange times. The universe-is-tilting, there’s Code Orange, Code Pink, Peace Vigils, Anti-War Marches, hormones in the meat and fake corn, Cloning…. What’s a body to do? Makes you want to retreat a nice cave and hibernate ‘till all this passes. But a good cave is hard to find, and with the price of utilities and oil – could you afford to heat I? Alas, we are not bears or bats and hibernation is not an option. So what are we to do to restore peace of mind and find a bit of tranquility in our lives.

I just finished writing some text for a beautiful image entitled Tranquility on my Web Site. It occurred to me that we could all use a dose of that right about now and since Feng Shui offers an approach to guide us there, I’ll share some ideas with you along with a technique to help you relax any time, any where.

Making Home Your Retreat

In the absence of a good cave to go to, why not makes our homes our retreat – our sanctuary. I know – most of us think of a retreat as a place away from home, some cushy resort where every need is taken care of or a nice little bungalow on the top of a mountain or nestled by the shore. But what could be better than having a place we can go to every day, without spending massive amounts of money to get to. And no, you don’t have to remodel or re-decorate your home to achieve the retreat-feel either. Clear out some clutter, light some candles, and Ommmmm. Well, it’s not quite that simple!

Get Centered

First of all, tranquility is a by-product of perception and inner calm. We can’t always change the world around us a quickly as we’d like, but we can shift the way we perceive or think about things. And we can control our own immediate sphere. So look around, find a comfy place to sit and think about what it is that helps you feel safe, centered and calm. You may find that some ingredients are physical, some relate to the senses, and others are more mystical. It’s helpful to use elements of each because you can’t always plop down in your favorite chair, but you may be able to close your eyes, take a breath and repeat a mantra – which is really nothing more than a sound or phrase you can return to when your mind wanders in directions you’d prefer it not go

Move Your Stuff

Let’s talk about the physical first – partly because nothing is so immediate as the shift that comes from moving your belongings. I’ve had clients gasp in excitement and weep with joy after their living rooms suddenly became the place they dreamed of. Nothing new was added, we just shifted things around and used others in a different way. A space that five minutes ago felt alien and unwelcoming, suddenly feels like home, because each of us has an internal compass that knows when it feels “home.” Here are some ideas.

• Arrange your living room or family room seating in an “open arms” configuration, so that you feel like you’re being embraced when you walk into the room. Couches with backs to the main entrance feel unfriendly and deter people from gathering in the space.
  
• Couches or chairs placed directly opposite from each other create mode oppositional interactions, while U-shaped or L-shaped arrangements promote conversation and consensus, resulting in our feeling calmer in the room.
  
• In your bedroom or study, have a nice reading chair with a light on one side and a table on the other. You’ll find you gravitate toward that spot to meditate, ponder, read and relax. The light should be easy to turn on at arms length, and the table is to put a nice cup of hot tea or icy lemonade on. Remember, everything within easy reach. You’re relaxing…
  
• If your rooms are big and/or your furniture is spread way apart or lined up against the walls, pulling it into a closer conversational distance can help you feel more connected in general. Simultaneously, it also encourages real conversation and feels safer. A good by-product is that the room usually ends up feeling bigger – contrary to logic.

If your rooms are big and/or your furniture is spread way apart or lined up against the walls, pulling it into a closer conversational distance can help you feel more connected in general. Simultaneously, it also encourages real conversation and feels safer. A good by-product is that the room usually ends up feeling bigger – contrary to logic.

The Basic Five Senses

On the sensory level tremendous emotional comfort results internally from the appropriate use of our five senses. Why do you think Realtors adjust the lighting and bake chocolate chip cookies or bread before a prospective buyer comes in?

1. Sight: Lighting is a big deal. Overhead lighting, while sufficient in some cases, does not particularly promote a sense of well-being. Does your home or office feel like an interrogation room? Replace those lights (or get some rose tinted lenses)! Task or mood lighting can change your mood in a blink. Try full-spectrum or soft-lighting bulbs for starters.
2. Taste: Both the fragrance and taste of a cup of tea can pop you right into another another level. Chamomile calms jangled nerves and for some just the smell of a cup of coffee feels welcoming.
3. Sound: A water feature can shift your mood when you enter the room. Listen to it before you bring it home. Not all fountains are created equal. Similarly, replacing the insanity of TV news with your favorite music can de-escalate the fear and stress created by the daily chaos.
4. Touch: Textures make a difference in how we feel as well. This depends on preference, so take a “feel” trip and find out what works for you. Is it velvet, silk, or nubby? What ever it is, having it around you makes you feel well-taken-care-of.
5. Smell: While Potpourri is not for me (dead stuff), essential oils can be used to create a a specific ambience.

Lavender and rose are known for their ability to reduce stress, while rosemary can act as a stimulant. Essential oils are available everywhere these days, but a little goes a long way. Make sure that what passes your sniff test doesn’t antagonize someone else in the house.

Your Sixth Sense

No, not the movie! And no, Bruce Willis does not come with it…sorry. Intuition – we all have it. Use it to guide you to what brings you comfort and what’s not working. But here, I’m also talking about your inner world – the one less tangible, and probably the most important when we’re talking peace-of-mind.

Who was it who said, “Perception is nine-tenths of reality?” Well, it’s true. An entire room full of people witness an event, yet each has a slightly different take as to what “really happened.” Emotions, past history, point-of-view, innate optimism or pessimism all influence how we view and process “reality.” Given any particular set of circumstances, we have a choice about how we view them, use them, respond to them. Even in the present circumstances of uncertainty, there is opportunity for us to embrace the challenge of deciding how we will respond in our thought, actions and hearts. It’s absolutely personal, but DECIDE – don’t just respond.

“Sitting”

Consider taking some time to climb off the roller-coaster and be still using this proven technique that works to adjust body chemistry, blood pressure, heart rate and anxiety. It can also boost intuition and give you a sense of inner tranquility in the midst of chaos. Just don’t close your eyes if you’re driving! It’s called the Relaxation Response (adapted from the book: The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson, M.D.) I use it successfully in my Intuition Development Classes, and have taught it to Diabetes Support groups learning how to manage their own body chemistry and stress. Try it every day for 15 minutes, starting with just 5 minutes if you need to tip-toe into it. I call it “sitting” to stay away from the term meditation, which conjures up judgments about whether you’re doing it “right.”

Essential Elements:

• A quiet environment
• Comfortable position
• A mental device (phrase, sound, candle flame)
• Non-judgmental attitude

The “Sitting” Technique

1. Sit quietly
2. Close your eyes
3. Relax all muscles, starting with your feet and move upward to your facial muscles. Remain relaxed.
4. Breathe in through your nose, exhale via the mouth and be aware of your breathing.
5. Continue sitting in this way for 15 – 20 min. Use your mental device to help keep focused if your mind wanders or fixates on a thought.
6. Keep an open attitude. DON’T JUDGE yourself. Allow feelings, sensations, and thoughts to emerge. Be an observer.

Tranquility

Although tranquility results from a combination of conditions, both external and internal, individual needs can vary. For example, one person may need space and minimalist décor, while another might prefer being surrounded by rich colors and sumptuous fabrics, and yet another needs a woodsy, natural theme to feel at peace. Tolerating surroundings that are contrary to who you are can make you feel out-of-place, anxious and frustrated – draining your energy. Taking time out to “sit” and enveloping yourself with materials that calm and relax the senses help create the sacred space you need to feel at peace with the world.

Peace can be found in environments that speak to who you are and guide you toward who you want to become. Tune up your office or make your home your retreat. Every time you walk in you’ll feel the relief envelop you. Relax, breathe and recharge. Peace of mind is just a breath away.

The post What’s A Body to Do… Peace of Mind is Just a Breath Away appeared first on Nancy Wesson Consulting.

Reprinted from The Austin Homesteader, 2003

When folks ask what I do,  I tell them I’m a Feng Shui Consultant, Intuition trainer, and Professional Organizer.  It’s always  interesting to watch and hear their responses, which range from barely disguised rolling-of-the-eyes to  fascination.  The first question is usually:  “You mean you can TEACH INTUITION?”   and closely followed by:  “What’s it got to do with Feng Shui and Organization?”  Nearly everyone has a story about some time in their life that they knew something without knowing why they knew it.  Some will even admit it!

We All Have It

First the answers.  Yes, you can teach intuition, but it’s a little more like training than teaching.  Teaching implies an “it”  that is outside of us, knowledge we don’t already have.  Training, on the other hand, seems more about learning to use something we have access to or we have the option to access, if we only had the tools. 

That’s INTUITION: we all have it, have had it since birth – but in varying degrees have been:

• trained out of relying on it
• learned to distrust (because it’s not visible or “scientific”)
• scoffed at
• told it’s only our imagination
• told it’s only a “dream”

Westerners , as a society have a certain amount of pride in more left-brained/linear  pursuits.  We are only now – in the last 10 years – beginning to publicly acknowledge our curiosity with and need for more right-brained, creative, non-linear  approaches to life, health, and problem solving. 

To the second question, “What Intuition got to do with it?”  I would say first, that Feng Shui is about being aware of our environments, the symbolism that surrounds us, and  how to use that awareness to our best advantage.   That awareness includes not only what we can see with our literal eyes, but what we can “see and feel” with the other senses. 

Awareness

Intuition is one of those senses that, while always present, is left to languish from under-use.  Who needs to tune into what’s happening “out there” when we have telephones, computers, paparazzi and the government telling us what’s “true, real and proven.”  If you felt a slight twinge with that last statement, I think you’re ripe for wanting to develop that 6^th sense that will guide you along your own path and to deciphering for your own truth.

Here’s the deal:  as kids we cried when something didn’t feel right and received certain feed back that either confirmed the feeling or ignored it.  Those kids that were always ignored, might have learned to turn off that sensor. 

Survival

Further, as physical organisms, we are designed to respond only to those stimuli that are necessary for our survival.  For example, frogs brains register a response only to visual stimuli which alert them to food or danger being present.  Froggie EKG  have shown that they respond to rapid shifts in light patterns and sharp, erratic movements.  Both are indicators that a nice, juicy bug is within striking distance. Or possibly, “something big comes this way,” signaling the end is near.    That fact might explain why you see so flattened frogs – cars (for the most part) aren’t darting within tongue range and by the time you can see the shadow – well, you get the idea…

Information Overload

As humans, we receive SO MANY stimuli, that if we responded to all of them,  our brains would be in constant overload.  So we must filter to receive those that are most pressing.  The dilemma as I see it is, that we have so MUCH information coming in now, that we need to rely on something other than the linear-analysis paradigm to determine what’s relevant.

There’s not enough time in this life time to apply the linear approach to the information we receive in a couple of days.  So we need to apply a smarter filter (intuition), then use the linear method to fine tune.    It reminds me of something I read from another Professional Organizer, and will paraphrase:  ‘We receive so much data each day it would take us a year to process all of it.  It’s a little like drinking from a Fire Hose.’

Intuition as a Filter

Harnessing your intuition is like using an Anti-Virus program.  Your Intuition-filter deletes the information you don’t need,  allowing you more time to focus to use  the most relevant data.

Once you become a bit proficient or start recognizing and trusting the signals you receive, the practical applications are boundless.  In my earlier years of learning to identify relevant information, I had no idea what do to with it.  And frankly, sometimes you might receive information and have it verified ONLY to let you know that a certain feeling is a signal to “pay attention,” and that you are – in fact –  on track.  Here are a few examples from my own experience. 

The Dream

When my sons were young (ages  two and four I think), I had a dream  I knew to be precognitive.    It had that particular feel of dreams that had manifested in exact detail on other occasions. In the dream, I was driving with my boys and encountered high water.  This was totally unexpected, and as the dream ended, roiling, muddy waters were threatening to wash us off the road.

At the time of the dream, it was 105 degrees outside. Furthermore, we were experiencing one of the most severe droughts in memory.   So, when I put three life jackets in the back seat, friends thought I’d gone a little daft.  They  were still there when  my oldest son, Travis, was invited to be the Ring Bearer in a friend’s wedding.  It was  February  and torrential rains were the order of the day, along with bitter cold, and the flu.  When the wedding-day came, we were all sick and didn’t really want to go anywhere – especially to a wedding an hour-and-a-half drive away.

We departed, and about two miles out of town I had the most bizarre urge to stop at a  Dry Cleaners to call and verify that the wedding had not been postponed.  It felt pretty ridiculous, but I had the feeling I needed to stop, and justified it with the phone call.  No such luck – we were still on. 

Early Warning System

As I hung up, a man walked in the door and said “ I have no idea why I’m here, except that I thought I might find someone on the way to Fredericksburg. I need to let them know that the river is cresting.  If they try to cross, they’ll be swept off the bridge.  It’s very dangerous!  Please tell anyone headed in that direction to turn around.”  I didn’t need to be hit in the head by the proverbial 2X4. I knew that information was my signal.  That’s the river we would have to cross to get there, and it was still  an hour away. 

We made another call,  turned around and headed home – where I took the life jackets out of the car. 

The post What’s Intuition Got to Do With It? appeared first on Nancy Wesson Consulting.