Take a good look around your home. Do you see things you love and cherish, or things that are just there “because”? Feng Shui expert Alice Inoue shares her reasons to dump/ donate that display case of oddities;
I often see items on display in homes that I’m curious about, and when I ask the occupant to tell me about them, a common response is, “Oh, my mother-in-law (who she says she can’t stand) gave us that, and I really don’t like it”. Or, “I don’t know. The landlord had it there when I moved in, so I kept it”.
Remove What Doesn’t Support You
To “up” the energy in your environment, make a commitment to take away anything you do not absolutely love so that what you have left will support you energetically. Note that if there are things that you acquired during a time of sadness, that energy of sadness is still being “beamed” into your environment. Everything holds the energy of the time and space it was brought into your life. Keep this in mind when you are deciding whether or not to keep something.
How an item holds energy
Some items in your environment can be considered neutral—such as a CD player. You may like its style, but basically, it is there to play music. Imagine that one day you and your spouse get into a heated argument about an issue you just can’t agree upon. You become emotional and, in turning your body, you bump a lamp that falls onto the CD player, leaving a gash on it. It still functions, but now holds the emotional energy of that negative interaction. Each time you put a CD in that player from this day forward, you are reminded (consciously or subconsciously) of that issue and the argument that ensued. That CD player is now no longer a neutral item. It is not supporting you in your environment, and can energetically drain you instead.
What if my spouse and I disagree about an item?
When there are two or more people in a household, a difference of opinion often arises as to whether something is energetically supportive, especially an item in a common area. Let’s imagine the item in dispute is a funky wall hanging that you absolutely love, but your spouse thinks is unsightly. How can you come to an agreement? One way is to reassign the meaning of the wall hanging to represent the love and respect you have for each other. First, I would suggest that you rate the wall hanging on a scale of 1-10 as to how much you love it, 10 being the highest score. Then have your spouse rate the same wall hanging, but with 10 being highest amount of dislike for it. If you rate it a 9 and your spouse rates it a 7, then based on this rating, you love it more than your spouse dislikes it. Next, I would ask your spouse if he or she loved you enough to allow the wall hanging to represent your love. If so, your spouse has the opportunity to transform it from an “eyesore” into a gift of love because you like the wall hanging more than he dislikes it. The wall hanging takes on a new symbolic meaning, as a reminder of love instead of an instigator of disharmony. Each time you see it, you are grateful and see it as a gift, while each time your spouse sees it, they remember how much they love you.
Gifts you do not like
Finally, if you receive something you don’t like, don’t display it! We are always afraid that the gift giver is going to come back and say, “Hey! Where’s that wooly mammoth statue I gave you?” However, you disempower yourself by putting it in your environment if you know it doesn’t support you. I always say to honor the intent of such a gift, feel the love behind the gift, be thankful, and then give it away or donate it. It is okay to do this. By not doing this, you neglect to honor yourself, the most important person in your life.
Alice Inoue is a life guide that uses the modalities of feng shui, astrology and spirituality in her work. Her offerings include award-winning, mind-body-spirit themed books, as well as a series of feng shui instructional DVD’s. For more information visit www.aliceinspired.com. Sign up for her newsletter on feng shui, astrology and life wisdom.