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Activate Your Intentions With Feng Shui
Activate Your Intentions With Feng Shui
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The time between Winter Solstice (December 21st) and Imbolc (February 2nd) is
THE most powerful time of year to envision and activate your intentions for the
“growing cycle” of the next year. The shorter, darker days of winter are the
perfect time to cozy up to the fire of our inner passions; the longer nights allow
us to reflect on what is not working for us, and dream of what we’d prefer to
create.
And in the precious weeks between New Year’s Day and Imbolc, the time is ripe
for visioning and dreaming our future. But if we haven’t taken ACTION to
activate our intentions by the beginning of February, the resolutions we set
remain simply dreams that fade away, and we turn into dissatisfied dreamers.
Imbolc, which means “in the belly,” is halfway between winter solstice and
spring equinox. The Chinese New Year is usually on or near Imbolc. The days
begin to get longer and we look forward to spring. If we’ve activated our
intentions, and keep our attention on them, we can actually harness the energy
of the growing season to fuel our intentions.
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How to Set Your Intentions for the New Year
Between New Year’s Day and Imbolc is the best time to set your intentions.
What is the best way to set intentions?
Start by imagining or “feeling into what we want to create—in our careers, our
finances, our health, our relationship with each other and our relationships with
our siblings, children, friends, and spiritual community. And then, write an
intention for each staging area of our life.
Here are some tips on why and how to turn your goals or resolutions into
Intentions:
I think of an intention as a goal or resolution with forward momentum. Intentions move our
attention toward the benefit of what we prefer to create, allowing us to create what we prefer
with more ease and grace!
This allows us to access the satisfaction of the benefit we are working toward as we are moving
toward it, not just after we’ve achieved the final result.
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Here are some tips on how to Power-Up your Intentions.
1. Pondering/Imagining: When we know that something in our life needs to change, it can help
to start in the imaginal realm, and allow ourselves to envision what change might look like.
This is the first level of power, and if our intentions exist only in this realm, they will quickly fade
away.
2. Thinking/Determining: Once we know the specific change we need to make, we can power
up our intention with our will and determination. This next level of power involves creating a
clear mental image and a body sense of what it is you want to create, and holding that
image as possible for you. (NOTE: Don’t fall into the trap of believing that your determination
alone will be all the power you need. Remember to allow all the support you will need to
flow to you, and to appreciate that support!)
3. Speaking/Sharing: Speaking your intentions out loud empowers them and you! Formulating
our goals into words gives them creational power. Naming what we want to create
graduates your intention out of the mental domain and is the first ACTION step to creating it.
Share your intentions only with those you trust to support those intentions. Mastermind
partners (2-5 colleagues who meet weekly by phone to share their own intentions and
support their partners’ intentions) report greater success than if they’d just spoken their
intentions out loud to themselves.
4. Writing/Accountability: Put your intentions in writing and you add even more creational
power to them. This is why accountability journals are effective. Accountability partners
write and share their weekly or monthly intentions with their partner; they hold each other
accountable for progress. When we know we will be accountable to a coach or colleague/
s, we work harder to achieve our intentions.
5. Setting Your Intentions/Releasing Attachment to Outcome: I have a specific ritual that I use
when I set my yearly or monthly intentions. Part of that ritual includes a process that allows
me to release any attachment I have to specific outcomes or deadlines, so that I’m creating
from the realm the yogis call “Neutral Mind” rather than “Positive Mind” (trying to make
something happen) or “Negative Mind” (resisting something I don’t want). When we live in
Neutral Mind, it’s SO much easier to create what we prefer!!
6. Activating Your Intentions: Our intentions are like seeds, which must be nurtured in order to
grow. We nurture intentions with our attention. Which is why creating Feng Shui Altars is the
BEST way to activate your Intentions. An altar is anything that alters your mood or energy
level; an altar directs your attention to something that uplifts you. Creating a Feng Shui Altar
is like opening a portal, or access point, to the Divine. Your Feng Shui Altar, as it holds and
embodies your intention and calls down the powers of heaven, is a way to direct your daily
attention to what you are choosing to create!
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How Can Feng Shui Help You?
A REVIEW OF FENG SHUI
Feng Shui, although new to the West, is an ancient indigenous Chinese form of life-space design
and has been practiced as an integral part of their culture for over 5000 years. The name Feng
Shui is literally translated as “wind and water.”
The ancient Chinese studied those forces like wind and water, which have the power to shape
the landscape. They developed the Five Element Theory, which gave rise to Chinese Medicine,
Accupuncture, Reflexology, which are systems for balancing the human body, and Feng Shui,
which is a system for balancing the “outer body” of the spaces we live and work in.
The Feng Shui Bagua is, for homes, the same kind of energy grid that a reflexology chart is for the
body. Both show us how to activate areas of our physical domain.
4 YIN | WOOD 9 YA N G | F I R E 2 Y I N | E A RT H
Partnerships
Prosperity Fame
Love
Abundance Reputation
Marriage
3 YA N G | W O O D 5 B A L A N C E | E A RT H 7 Y I N | M E TA L
Health Creativity
Family
Unity Projects
Community
Children
8 YA N G | E A RT H 1 Y I N | W AT E R 6 Y A N G | M E TA L
E N T R A N C E TO YO U R S PAC E
Think of the Bagua as The Board of Directors of Your Life. Each Gua is a Board Member
whose job is to give certain gifts to you. And each Gua must have what it needs to do
its job well; it needs to be activated with the right element.
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The Feng Shui Bagua = The Board of Directors of Your Life
I recommend you treat each gua, or area, of the Bagua as if it’s a member of the Board of
Directors of your Life, as if it wants to help you active your intentions.
4 YIN | WOOD 9 YA N G | F I R E 2 Y I N | E A RT H
Partnerships
Prosperity Fame
Love
Abundance Reputation
Marriage
3 YA N G | W O O D 5 B A L A N C E | E A RT H 7 Y I N | M E TA L
Health Creativity
Family
Unity Projects
Community
Children
8 YA N G | E A RT H 1 Y I N | W AT E R 6 Y A N G | M E TA L
E N T R A N C E TO YO U R S PAC E
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Intentions (Job Descriptions!) for each Gua
Imagine each Gua is a Member of your Board of Directors. I’ve bolded their Job Titles, and the
following affirmations are what each Board Member/Gua is working to help you achieve.
Gua 2: Love/Marriage/Partnership
I lovingly partner with everyone in my life to co-create harmony and joy and support.
I release all patterns that keep me from feeling safe, trusting, open and intimate.
I experience the perfect balance of my own (and my partner's) male and female energy.
Gua 3: Ancestral and Spiritual Family ** This Gua represents your Past
I feel supported and secure in all staging areas of my life.
My sex life is fulfilling and wonderful; I release all old negative programming about sex.
My emotional, mental, and physical health and stamina is improving.
Gua 5: Health/Unity
I enjoy vibrant good health; my body and countenance radiate energy and vitality.
I feel centered, grounded, and "on my right path" in life.
My life demonstrates unity of body/mind/spirit.
Gua 8: Knowledge/Wisdom/Self-Improvement
I am able to tap into my inner wisdom and attract perfect guidance and opportunity.
I am creative and flexible, staying "in the flow" as I work toward my goals.
I take joy in achieving excellence.
Gua 9: Fame/Reputation
I totally accept myself and I now have the courage to do what I have always wanted to do.
I have the respect of my family, friends, coworkers, and strangers.
Others see me as valuable and protect my good reputation.
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As you look at the Bagua, you will see arrows that connect pairs of Guas. 8 of the Guas
partner with another to help you create the successes you desire. The center Gua,
Health and Unity, holds all of the other energies together.
4 YIN | WOOD 9 YA N G | F I R E 2 Y I N | E A RT H
Partnerships
Prosperity Fame
Love
Abundance Reputation
Marriage
3 YA N G | W O O D 5 B A L A N C E | E A RT H 7 Y I N | M E TA L
Health Creativity
Family
Unity Projects
Community
Children
8 YA N G | E A RT H 1 Y I N | W AT E R 6 Y A N G | M E TA L
E N T R A N C E TO YO U R S PAC E
The most powerful Gua, Prosperity and Abundance, is in the top left corner. If you were
standing at the front door of your home, looking in, it is the area in the far left corner of
your home. I call this Gua “The President of the Board” because of her power to help
you manifest your goals.* She partners with the Helpful Friends Gua because he is able
to activate friends to network for you and support your endeavors. And the more
support you have, the more financial success you have... and the more financial
success you have the more you can share with your friends and your causes, and travel
to your favorite destinations. So, you’ll want to create altars** in these 2 Guas with
similar intentions.
In the top right hand corner of the Bagua, you’ll see the Relationship Gua. She rules the
domain of your love relationship and she needs to partner with the Knowledge,
Wisdom, Self-Improvement Gua who supports your capacity for self-improvement. The
wiser and more mature you are, the better partner you make... and the more
supported you feel in your partnership, the more energy you have available for self
improvement. So, these 2 Guas will hold altars which have some similarities. And you
can see that they are both earth element areas, so we’d use altar items that invoke the
earth element, like rocks or pottery or a lovely landscape.
* If you are only going to set up one Altar in your home (see below for more on altars) to help you achieve
your intentions, it should be in the far left corner of your home, in the Abundance Gua.
* * An Altar is any grouping of items that directs your attention and alters your mood and energy level.
More on this below.
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The center area on the left side of your home, Family and Community, represents your
family of origin and your social or spiritual community. It represents the foundation you
were given in life; it refers to your past. Directly across, in the center of the right side of
your home, is the Children, Projects, Creativity area that represents your future and can
be activated, with metallic items, to support your children, your own inner child, your
projects and creativity.
The center of the front of your home is called Career/Life Path and it represents who
you came here to BE. It’s a water element area, so it’s the best place in your home for
a water feature. It partners with the center of the back of your home, the Fame and
Reputation Gua, which governs what you are known for DOing, which is the fire
element area and is the best place in your home for a fireplace or candles.
4 YIN | WOOD 9 YA N G | F I R E 2 Y I N | E A RT H
Partnerships
Prosperity Fame
Love
Abundance Reputation
Marriage
3 YA N G | W O O D 5 B A L A N C E | E A RT H 7 Y I N | M E TA L
Health Creativity
Family
Unity Projects
Community
Children
8 YA N G | E A RT H 1 Y I N | W AT E R 6 Y A N G | M E TA L
E N T R A N C E TO YO U R S PAC E
THERE ARE 2 WAYS TO ACTIVATE YOUR 2014 INTENTIONS WITH FENG SHUI
1. The Quick and Easy Method: This method involves less time for you, and it gives the
“President of the Board” her marching orders, it tells her what you want to achieve in
2014. All you have to do is place your whole list of 2014 intentions on your
Abundance Altar.
2. The Complete Version: This method takes a bit more time (and some expert
guidance, which is why I’m offering the playshop to help you do this!), but it
activates all the Guas, so they are ALL working together in alignment with your
intentions. This sets up a powerful energetic grid in your home and opens up 9
portals, or divine access points. You’ll set up 9 Altars in the 9 Guas, and put your
written intentions for each, along with some items that represent those intentions, on
each Altar.
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Method #1: Activating Your Abundance Gua
WHAT IS AN ALTAR?
Most of us have seen altars in churches and temples. Without needing to be told, we
somehow know that the items on the altar are visible symbols of our connection with
the divine.
Most westerners did not grow up with the tradition of creating home altars or shrines,
but most of us have created what one of my teachers, Denise Linn, calls the “subliminal
altar:” an artful grouping of photos, a deliberate arrangement of items on a dresser,
desk, coffee table or end table. An altar can also be something you hang on the wall.
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This Abundance Altar contains:
• A wooden altar piece created by a talented artist friend; it represents the Tree of Life.
• Around it I’ve hung some beads from Peru given to me by a dear friend.
• In front of it sits a crystal box holding the bark offered to me by 3 very special trees.
• Sitting on top of the bark is a star with the names of everyone who just graduated
from my first group online program. Putting my children’s, friends’, and clients’ names
on my Altar is one way I “hold powerful intention” for those in my care.
Since the Abundance Gua is a wood element area, make sure that you have
something wooden (a picture frame, a wooden bowl or box) on your altar. Depictions
of trees empower this gua even more.
Choose a powerful image for your altar, one that gives you the body-sense of having/
being/doing/enjoying the process of achieving your intentions. I chose the Tree of Life
because my work with clients allows them a deeper, more nourishing relationship with
Mother Earth, the land they live on, the homes they live in, those they live with, and with
themselves.
Place on your Abundance Altar the written intentions you are now working to manifest.
Once you have your Altar set up, use a ritual that allows you to access the mental state
the yogis call Neutral Mind to active your intentions. (See below.)
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Method #2: Activating ALL of the Guas
This method uses the Feng Shui Bagua to place altars that will up-level your health,
relationships, finances, career, education/wisdom, reputation, travel, and your
relationships with children and parents/siblings.
I’m facilitating a playshop to guide you through this process, available [here]. If you
can’t make the class live, the audio and PDF will guide you through the process.
Once you have your Altar set up, use a ritual that allows you to access the mental state
the yogis call Neutral Mind to active your intentions.
You will want to use a ritual to activate your intentions that allows you to embody the
powerful state of moving forward toward your Intention—without activating what the
yogis call Positive Mind (in which you are forcing or contolling to make it happen) or
Negative Mind (in which you are actively resisting what you don’t want).
Negative Mind: We are in Negative Mind when we are aware of what we don’t prefer,
what isn’t working. We need Negative Mind (even though it sounds like a bummer)
when we are trying to discern if something is good for us or not. But we don’t want to
get stuck in this mindset.
Because we’re all moving towards whatever we have the biggest “emotional charge”
on, good or bad. If we are holding onto an old negative story, it’s likely we’ll re-create
it on some level.
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Positive Mind: We’re in Positive Mind when we are aware of what we choose to create,
what is working, what we want to attract. This is an easier mental state to be in than
Negative Mind, but it is not the most powerful state. While we’re in Positive Mind, we’re
“working” mentally -- thinking, figuring, planning, second-guessing. We’re also very
attached to outcome.
It’s HARD to create what you prefer in this state, because you feel you have to WORK to
make it happen, instead of playfully allowing it to happen. Also, attachment to
outcome is the root of all suffering.
Positive Mind often leads to Negative Mind... and, if we avoid depression, back again.
Neutral Mind: This is that powerful place where we drop into Oneness with All That Is.
This mental state happens when we surrender to both what we don’t want (Negative
Mind) and what we do want (Positive Mind).
In this state, our hearts are open and aligned with our minds. In this state, the mind is
the servant of the heart.
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STEPS TO SETTING A POWERFUL NEUTRAL-MIND INTENTION
The thoughts and emotions you have as you arrange your altars will reverberate in your
space, and will affect you every time you see it.
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After you’ve created your altar, and surrendered your intention to the Divine, rest in the
state of knowing that your intention is coming to you.
You go about your business, taking aligned action, without worrying about when or how
your intention will manifest.
You trust that your success is coming, and every time you look at your altar, it will evoke
the state of excitement, gratitude, and joy.
As you see your altars on a daily basis, allow them to alter and up-level your
mood... they are reminding you of your future!!
Creating your Altars opens a portal, an access point, to the Divine that will call down
the unseen powers of heaven and call forth all forms of support.
You may find yourself receiving dreams or flashes of intuition that point you in a
direction. You may meet people who can help you. Be aware of and grateful for all
synchronicity.
You’ll want to call on what I call your Spiritual Support Team (your Guardian Angel and
Spirit Guides, the Goddesses and Archetypes you are working with) for their assistance.
You will also want to set monthly and weekly goals that move you toward creating your
intentions. I recommend that you find an Accountability Partner; email your weekly
goals to her on Monday and be accountable with a progress report on Friday of each
week.
And every time you see your Altar/s, allow yourself to know that your home is partnering
with you, the Guas are “holding the space,” holding the divine portal open, for unseen
support to flow to you.
To keep your Altars working for you, you need to attend to them at least monthly. This
means directing your attention to them, remembering the intentions they are holding,
and renewing your body-sense of activating those intentions.
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Monthly New Moon Ritual
Each month, on the New Moon, pay special attention to your Altars.
• Mist them with a room mist to invoke the Water Element
• Place a pinch of sea salt on them to invoke the Earth Element
• Light a candle to invoke the Fire Element
• Burn some sage or incense to invoke the Air Element
As you do this, speak your intentions aloud to the Divine. Ask for support from the
Spirit of Your Home, giving thanks for its ability to partner with you as you create
the life you prefer.
But to use it most effectively, you’ll want to know that setting up and activating your
Feng Shui Gua Altars is just one step of 7 in using Feng Shui to create the life you prefer.
As you can see, what I’ve shared in this Guide is only part of Step 5. The other part of
step 5 I’ll be teaching and facilitating in my Jan. 26th playshop Activate Your Home for
Success in 2014. You’re invited to join or listen to the downloadable replay!
www.transformingspace.com/newyearintentions
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In signing up to receive this Guide, you’ve become part of my online community, with
whom I share monthly tips, tools and techniques to help you create the home and
workspace of your dreams!! I love hearing from my community about your needs.
If you would like additional support to create a home and workspace that truly works
for you, I have other resources:
Mess to Success: Banish the Shame, Release the Clutter and Create Your Vision for the
Peaceful Home You Deserve! This 4 week tele seminar has given so many graduates
exactly what they need to make their de-cluttering and organizing efforts successful.
Transform Your Home into an Abundant Success Sanctuary Group Program. This
signature program is an online group experience designed to support you to create a
home that truly supports you in every way. Group members receive my personal
support and training—without the investment of working with me privately.
Create the Success You Deserve Journey is a 3 month private program, the deepest
dive we can take together. I’ll be your personal Professional Organizer, Feng Shui
consultant, Space Clearing practitioner, and Success Coach. You will have my one-on-
one support to create a home and workspace that works for YOU!
Melody LeBaron
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