Feng Shui Your Mind

(excerpted from Feng Shui Your Mind)
We are all here in the physical realm to learn how to master our energy. When we allow our spirit to guide us, it’s so much easier to choose peace. Every time we do, we expand our Metal energy. Judgment does the exact opposite – it contracts our Metal energy and separates us from one another. Our soul would never dream of judging others or ourselves. Our soul is very clear that we are all here as diverse, unique expressions of Divine energy. If we purposely focus on experiencing our oneness with each other, we feel connected and experience a sense of deep peace. We also can look at it this way…we get the opportunity to witness all the different ways there are to walk through life. The challenge is to elevate ourselves by choosing to awaken, becoming more expansive in our awareness. Instead of spiraling down into judgment and unhealthy competition, focus your thoughts on inspiration and love. How? See the world from a place of neutrality and curiosity. Choose the enlightened perspective – that person or event is an interesting manifestation of the bigger universal energy. Viewing others this way allows us to peacefully co-exist with those we formerly judged. Free of judgment, we reclaim our Metal energy and channel it to serve our soul. So practice being mindful of judgment. Pay attention when you feel judgmental toward yourself or others. See this as your opportunity to transform judgment (contracted Metal energy) into love and peace (abundant Metal energy). Cultivating compassion for the people you tend to judge, frees up your energy. Compassion allows you to be less reactive which reconnects you with your power to choose peace. You can also rewrite the story: This is a great way to elevate your Metal energy and take your power back. Every time you think of someone who triggers your judgment (because they’ve offended, disappointed, hurt or betrayed you), focus on trying to understand where they are coming from. Through understanding, we are open to feeling compassion for others as well as ourselves. Remember, the idea is to transcend your pain and stuck energy so that you are back in the flow of life. Also, focus on why this person is in your life – what have you learned from their presence? How is your life better because of what you have learned?

As we begin to feel the season of fall coming on, it’s a great time to contemplate the energy of the Metal element, one of the five elements in Feng Shui. In fact, this is Jill’s favorite element and she’s been wanting to write about it ever since we started blogging. What does she love about it? She loves that the Metal energy is all about cultivating deep unwavering faith through releasing everything that doesn’t serve us. When we talk about the Metal element in our book, we refer to the energy as Metal Magic where you cultivate your ability to “spin straw into gold”. Yes, it’s about stepping into our power as the alchemist of our life!
And here’s why…

(passage below is excerpted from Feng Shui Your Mind)
Are you familiar with how monkeys are trapped? The deal is that monkeys are captured by placing a tasty banana into a coconut shell with a small hole. The hole is just big enough for the monkey’s hand to reach in and grab hold of the banana. With the banana in hand, the monkey can not withdraw from the coconut shell because his fist is too big. If he only knew that letting go of the banana would set him free!

And we’re no different. We are so conditioned to think we need to control everything, we get really nervous about the idea of letting go. That’s typical Metal energy out of whack. We assume that if we actually let go, we’ll turn into couch potatoes, too lazy to get anything done. Or, that if we let go, nobody else will do the job properly like we can. And of course, you know, everything has to go perfectly, according to our plan. Before we know it, we’re trapped, thinking we need to keep holding on to that banana for dear life. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Letting go and living in faith is at the heart of Metal energy. That’s what freedom is all about. Look at it this way. When our energy is not consumed by the stress of trying to control everything, we are free to enjoy life. Trusting that we are being guided by God’s loving energy, we can choose to live in faith. Letting go – essential for healthy Metal energy – is such a powerful practice. The benefits are so great. Instead of being run by stress and perfectionism, you reclaim your freedom when you let go.

Speaking of freedom, we are being supported by the universe right now to experience, not only our freedom, but the highest, most powerful part of ourselves–our awakened Self. Most people know that there is a great shift in consciousness going on. It’s as if everything — old cluttered thoughts and outdated beliefs — is being squeezed up and out of us. Just like the monkeys — when we Feng Shui Our Minds and really release all of the clutter, we position ourselves to manifest our dreams more quickly than ever before. Here’s the bottom line. We can either go kicking and screaming in resistance about the challenges that arise in our lives, or gracefully move forward by learning how to let go. It’s really all up to us!