Feng Shui Your Mind

I want to share with all of you how excited Maureen and I are about the adventure we’re on as authors of Feng Shui Your Mind.  Today I realized that, for the past couple of months, we’ve been consistently hearing stories about people loving our book and naturally inspiring their friends to read it.  People have told me along the way, ”a book has a life of its own.” Now I know what they are talking about — it’s all about energy.  In fact, everything is energy, especially the thoughts you allow to live in your mind!!  When Maureen and I were writing our book, I was constantly engaging her in a little envisioning about our book…”let’s envision that people get as pumped about our book and find it as life changing as we do.”  Maureen, being the sweet, go with the flow kinda gal that she is, would always join in.  Together we infused our little book with our intention that it be carried by the Universe to people who want to create a much better life through ease and effortlessness.   And so it is!  My heart is filled with appreciation.  And a ton of awe.  Yes, it’s true…everything is energy.  When we declutter what does not serve us and envision what we are ready to experience, the Universe answers our call.  We love hearing from all of our readers.  We love you!!  Please feel welcome to share your stories with us so that we can share them to inspire others.  The ripple effect in action.  Life, with a Feng Shuied Mind is magical!!

This week the universe has been highlighting how manifestation takes place. In my private practice and among my friends, I have seen how the universe responds when we trust it. I have seen work opportunities spontaneously show up for some, while others have been guided to a much better living situation. Wish list items have just magically appeared, gifted by people who wanted to show their appreciation to those who have made a difference in their lives.  What’s the thread that ties it all together? Trust in the universe. Those four little words have so much power! In all of these serendipitous happenings, the recipients trusted the universe. Be honest. When you have been consistent in your trust of the universe, what have you experienced? For myself, I was led to the perfect life partner many years ago. That relationship is still thriving and delighting me in unexpected, magnificent ways. More recently, my trust in the universe led me to the perfect graphic designer, Monika Cancilla, (monikacancilla.com) who wowed us with a cover for our book that everybody loves, especially Maureen & me! And last spring we were guided to the amazing Joanne Sposito (www.spocreative.com) – who created and manages our websites and blog (we say she’s our virtual angel). The thing is, it’s hard to trust the universe when you’ve had so many disappointments in your life. Right, after a while, you just learn to settle because it’s easier than being disappointed time after time. But the cool thing about life is that it really does reflect our beliefs. Even now! So, at any point, you can Feng Shui Your Mind – release all those old, outdated fear and lack beliefs & trade them in for something new and exciting – trust the universe. Remember, it takes a few weeks to integrate new patterns. Maureen & I invite you to start today. Trust in the universe. Do it consistently & let us know how your life changes. It has to. You’ll see!! And if you need a little help, you can call on us to guide you. We’re happy to do that. To get started, here’s an article to get you pumped from my Spiritual Inspiration weekly column on examiner.com – entitled Infinite Patience Produces Immediate Results. Enjoy!
http://www.examiner.com/spiritual-inspiration-in-san-francisco/infinite-patience-produces-immediate-results

I was just in my library in my house looking for a book and bam!, I ran my finger across the amazing Eckhart Tolle’s book “A New Earth”. I wasn’t looking for it at all but when I realized what book I just touched, I had to pull it out and open it up to a random page. This is what I got:

A big subtitle jumped out at me, “You want peace or drama?”

Oh man, if you only knew my day you’d know how perfect that was to see.
And even better, he went on to say:

“You want peace. There is no one who does not want peace. Yet there is something else in you that wants the drama, wants the conflict. You may not be able to feel it at this moment. You may have to wait for a situation or even just a thought that triggers a reaction in you: someone accusing you of this or that, not acknowledging you, encroaching on your territory, questioning the way you do things. … Can you feel there is something in you that would rather be right than at peace?”

Now the crappy thing that happened today, the one I had to tell all my friends about, feels a little different. I want peace, right? I don’t want to give energy and life to the bad of the situation — of that I am clear. I quickly found that I could come back to my mental feng shui. In fact, one thing that has always helped me Feng Shui My Mind is that I’m always striving for peace as the outcome of any situation. So even though I’ve found myself in some pretty stinky situations lately (filled with misinterpretations and hurt feelings), I’m taking the higher route out. Of course my first reaction is to defend myself and be “right”. But then I remembered to take a breath and listen. Really listen. What did they say to me? What is the situation teaching me right now? Is there an opportunity to connect in the midst of conflict? Is there an opportunity to learn and focus on the deeper spiritual meaning of the situation? When I let all defenses down, the answers to these questions come popping out, as clear as day. At that moment, my scary, annoying or irritating situation can become interesting, light and inspiring. I can interact with it on a completely different level and be more present and at peace. So whenever you are in a situation of big conflict I encourage you to pause… Take a breath, step back and listen. There is no need to react to it because as Tolle says, it is here to teach you what you need to learn, right now in this very moment.

The Universal Principle that is called, the law of least effort, is all about choosing ease and effortlessness over struggle in life. I remember the first time I read that “pain in life is inevitable, suffering is a choice.” Every day we are presented with that choice. When circumstances arise, we can choose to ask ourselves, how is this happening for me, not to me? That question allows us to open to the higher possibilities for growth and unfoldment. It lets us take a deep breath and trust that all is well. We may not know why things are happening, but if we practice non-resistance and have faith that all is truly in Divine order, we experience less struggle, much more ease and far more joy.

To read more about living an awakened and inspired life, check out my new online column. I am thrilled to share with you that I am now the San Francisco Spiritual Inspiration Examiner. The first two articles I have written are now published. I will be posting articles on a weekly basis, giving you simple, potent, and practical ways to infuse your life with inspiration, ease and ever expanding joy. You can find the article here

What is it about Feng Shui that allows us to create such profound shifts in awareness that translate into living a life that’s filled with miracles? Well, I have discovered that Feng Shui is the ultimate map. Think about it. Everything is energy, right? And Feng Shui is all about the dynamics of how energy flows. As we say, once you know “how to harmonize your own energy with universal energy, the results are amazing–doors open, opportunities arise and life feels truly magical.” It’s so interesting to observe how this works in life. The more we practice letting go, the freer we feel because we’re not wasting our energy trying to control people and circumstances that we have absolutely no control over! I see this time and time again, not just in my life, but in my practice, I hear so many of my clients sharing similar stories. Although initially it tends to be really hard and we can feel anxious about letting go, it seems the more we practice it, the easier it gets. Like a well toned muscle.

Click here to listen to a portion of our tele-course The Metal Element

And Maureen always says, we feel stress when, instead of going with the flow in life, we oppose it. So, as the year draws to a close, Maureen and I invite you to set an intention (or two). Try embracing the practice of letting go when circumstances are not yours to control. Open to experience something more expansive to flow into your life. Remember, the key to those magical doors opening is in your hands. We welcome your comments!

Maureen and I are honored to be guests this week on Life Conversations Radio–”the best internet radio station on the planet”. This is so awesome for us as their future guests include amazing luminaries such as Doreen Virtue, Sonia Choquette and many others.
On December 8th from 9-10:30am PT, we’ll be talking about how to maximize peace and balance during the craziness of the holiday season on our appearance Get out of the Madness of the Holiday Season & into the Flow of Spirit!! Tune in and get potent Feng Shui Your Mind tips on how you can transform the madness of the holiday rush as well as the annual anxiety and depression that comes with being around certain members of your family. This year, instead of feeling stressed, sad or lonely one more holiday season, why not start a new tradition! When you know how to tap into the power and energy of this sacred season, you can take in all the joy and peace it has to offer.
Here’s the link to our appearance on Life Conversations Radio — http://bit.ly/tZrHJO) — please join in and call us with your questions! You can reach us at 347-426-3346 or you can ask us questions via the “Ask Life Coach Ade” fanpage on Facebook.

We are going on week 4 of our 6 week live global teleclass, Feng Shui Your Relationships~Living in the Flow of Love & Abundance!! I am having such a blast teaching this class with my dear friend and colleague, Rebecca Grado. What a journey this has been for us…meeting amazing kindred spirits from all over the world who are committed to expanding their consciousness. We have been applying the power and wisdom of Feng Shui to relationships and recognizing that the ultimate power to transform our relationships resides within us! And last week we looked at the relationship between love & abundance. Rebecca said something that has stayed with me all week, “Abundance is a vibration”. Wow, I have returned to that idea many times this week, reminding myself that my vibration is determined–minute to minute–by how well I am keeping my mind Feng Shuied. What a fun way to stay in the flow of abundance! When I notice that my energy isn’t as joyful and optimistic as I’d like it to be, no problem. I just do a little decluttering, which allows me to feel better instantly and even breathe more deeply as soon as I replace the cluttered thought with my new, inspired thought. Then it’s really cool to notice the synchronicities that show up, the thumbs up from the Divine as I like to think of them. For example, while we were teaching the class on abundance, I got a voice message from my daughter-in-law telling me that her aunt saw my book and wanted to purchase a copy. I love paying attention to synchronistic happenings because they remind me that when I keep my energy in the high vibe of love and abundance, I am positioning myself to manifest my heart’s desires.

(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!

As we continue to tap into the power of the Earth element as it relates to relationships, we revisit one of our favorite images~the pipe! Why the pipe? Well, because the Earth element is all about balance, that’s right, balance.
We are here to receive the Light (Divine energy) so that it can be shared, through us. How does this work? Well, picture a pipe with openings at either end. The opening at the top of the pipe represents our willingness to open to the Light of our Creator~that Light is pure, unlimited love, abundance, generosity, peace, kindness, creativity, etc. You know, the good stuff we’d all like more of. The power of the Earth element assists you to stay open to receive that Light. The more aware and awake we are, the more we turn to the Light to guide us which allows us to live in the flow of ease and effortlessness. This is a Kabbalistic principle and the Kabbalah actually means, “to receive”. Now, the opening at the other end represents our willingness to share the Light with others. As we write in our book, sharing is also a form of Earth energy.

So this week, we invite you to pay attention to your experience of opening to the Light and sharing the Light in your life. Imagine your own “pipe” and see how wide or narrow the openings are at either end. Great! Now let’s apply this principle to relationships. In order for a relationship to be healthy, giving and receiving need to be balanced. If things are out of balance where one person is doing the bulk of the giving & the other person is pretty much the receiver of the energy, ya know what’s going to occur, right? That is a recipe for frustration and resentment. Low, unhealthy energy. So, become aware of how mutually supportive your relationships are and remember to keep the flow of giving and receiving in balance. As you apply this principle to your daily life, cultivating balance within your relationships, you will notice ease and magic showing up increasingly. Try it out and you’ll see what we mean!