Feng Shui Your Mind

by Maureen

I’ll never forget the day that I learned about the “cure” for worry.  It was more than 10 years ago.  One day at acupuncture school, I was sitting in my five elements class and our lovely teacher Mary Huse was talking about the ill effects of worrying too much.  Funny thing is, I was probably worrying about something or other while she was telling us because basically, that’s all my mind knew how to do back then.  But then she said, there’s a cure for it all.  What?  That caught my attention…  Yes.  It’s TRUST.  Yes, trust is the cure to combat worry.  It cancels out all of the spiritual, mental and physical ill effects that worry places on our bodies.  That resonated with me so deeply in that moment that I started to laugh.  Why the heck didn’t anyone tell me that before!  As soon as I started to realize how much lack of trust I had that things were going to work out, I had somewhere to go and something to do to help myself.  I just started doing little exercises to get trust back into my life.  And the effects on my wellbeing were fantastic!  So here are some of the tricks I learned along the way to build trust.  In Feng Shui Your Mind, we have also have a lovely little Feng Shui Fix that can help if you are in the worry zone!

1.  Anytime you are in a worry rut, the fastest way out is to make a gratitude list.  Write this list down and read it everyday.

2.  Surround yourself with people who truly get you you are.  Use these relationships to practice asking for what you want and need.  The more you feel comfortable asking for what you need, the more trust in yourself you cultivate.

3.  Take risks.  Take a good look at what makes you afraid.  If you are putting something off out of fear, take the leap and do it anyway.  Every time you confront your fear, you build self-confidence and diminish worry.

4.  Cultivate integrity by following through with your plans.  Being reliable enhances your self-confidence.

5  Celebrate all of your accomplishments and take time to honor each success fully.  Don’t let them slip by unnoticed or diminish their worth by minimizing them.

This is a great way to develop trust in yourself to get the job done!

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.

Oh man! I am so happy! I just feng shui-ed my little life and ended a friendship that reappeared as a blast from the past. Initially I was excited to reconnect with this friend. We had shared many memories together as young adults and initially, had a good time going down memory lane. I tend to be one of those people full of forgiveness, so I didn’t remember much of the dynamics of our friendship until . . . they began to reappear. No matter what I said, she had a passive way of trying to get me to doubt everything about myself. It was so passive that initially it worked. I started wondering and seconding guessing myself about many things about my life. Even things that I actually love about my life, I started to doubt. It was as if her little thoughts snuck in and started cluttering my mind. And I let them!

Honestly, I loved our connection to the past but every time I was with her, I left feeling exhausted and depressed. Finally, just the other day, I realized that I needed to cut the cord. I told her that I felt like I really loved my life and just needed friends that really supported me. Sounds simple, right? I think if someone said that to me, I’d say, “oh I’m sorry, how can I support you more?” But no, I was surprised when that really pissed her off. She attempted to make me feel bad about myself again but this time, I was really clear with a decluttered mind. I was calm, strong and able to be compassionate with her as I held my boundaries. It felt so energizing! I think the little Feng Shui lesson here is to to develop discernment and determine who is really on your side. This is easy to see – people who get excited for you anytime you move forward or experience success are exactly the ones who will support you on your Feng Shui Your Mind journey. They are also the people who reconnect you with your best self anytime you feel somewhat lost or confused. These folks are your kindred spirits, never failing to see the best in you, even when you struggle to find that within yourself. Who are your kindred spirits? Call them today and express your gratitude! Thank them for all the energy they have generated in your life!

For those of you who didn’t catch us last week on Life Conversations Radio, you can go to http://bit.ly/tZrHJO & listen to the archived the show. Maureen & I had a great time as Ade’s guests. Accolades to Ade & his wonderful co-producer, Betty Pegues!! They are two of the most joyful, heart-centered, kind & generous people I have had the pleasure to know. Their show is infused with spiritual teachings & features visionary thinkers, authors, artists etc who show us what love-in-action looks like. There is a reason that their listeners & guests feel so uplifted & inspired through their show that they produce Monday through Thursday each week. What is the reason? Simply this. Both Ade & Betty pour their whole heart & soul into each and every show. They give their best because this is one of the ways they serve all of us, in the vision that we “be the change we hope to see” unfold in the world. With this as their sacred mission, these two incredible people weave their deep wisdom & radiant spirits together, creating an experience that we can tap into, live on a daily basis, or archive whenever we would like a boost of joy. It’s that easy. And it’s that powerful. So kudos to Betty & Ade. You add so much richness to our lives & assist all of us to realize maximum success through minimal effort!! Maureen & I 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.

In class this week, [FengShuiYourRelationships.com] Rebecca said something that has stayed with me all week. She said, “You know, life is not a race. We all know what’s coming at the end of it, so why are we rushing to get there?” Wow, think about it. We can practice being present with all that shows up day by day. Yes, we have much that we need to do on a daily basis in life, but if we don’t allow ourselves to really be present, to be in the moment, we’ll miss out on experiencing our very life! Synchronistically, a couple of days after class, I received an email, announcing that someone in my spiritual community had passed on the day before. Tad was a musician who sang and played like an angel. And there it was. The truth. We all know what’s coming at the end of life. There’s no need to rush through it while we are still here.
As we move into the holiday season, on behalf of Maureen and myself, we invite you to remember to breathe and fully be present whenever you remember to do so. That alone will be an amazing gift you give yourself as well as everyone around you.

This week has been a great week for me. It actually started a little rocky with interpersonal disagreements between me and two people in my life. If you know me, this wasn’t so easy for me. I’m a pretty agreeable person and I really strive for peace in my relationships. So when I wasn’t getting that, it was throwing me a little. My energy was way off.. But then… in a most serendipitous way, I ran into this quote —

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…. It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” ~ Melodie Beattie

And boy did that ring true for me. As soon as I looked at these conflicts as opportunities to expand my consciousness, I felt my mind shift. Gratitude really is the most amazing tool we have. It can totally Feng Shui Your Mind in an instant. No one puts it better than Eckhart Tolle, who said,

“Gratefulness for what is there is one of the most powerful tools for creating what is not yet there. What does gratefulness mean? It means you appreciate what is. You value, you give attention to, you honor whatever is at this moment.”

So I invite you to use gratitude right now as a tool to declutter your mind. Feel grateful for everything in your life — even the challenges you struggle the most with–

In the past couple of weeks, I (Maureen) have really been thinking about the whole notion of grace. What does it really mean to live with grace? Yes, it is about accepting what is but I also think it’s about slowing down and really seeing what’s in front of you. When you slow down, you’re able to take everything in a little deeper and have more energy reserves to act with grace. I’ve been thinking about this lately because I’m trying to unwind my busy lifestyle being a working mom, wanting to do everything at home and racing off to work to enjoy my career. However, recently I’ve felt like life was getting off kilter, and speeding up a little faster than I could take in. I tend to be a DIY everything kind of gal, but I’m learning I really need to pace myself. If I make a good home cooked meal for my family, then I’ve got to be present to enjoy it! I can’t be worried about kids spilling things on the floor because I just cleaned it or what we have to do to get them to bed. For that moment, it’s all about relaxing and enjoying it. I’m realizing there is a strong rhythm to my days and life and if I just surrender to that, everything seems to get done without the worry. I also have noticed that when I’m in the flow of life, things don’t upset me like when I’m racing around. I am in what Jill and I call “the flow” and have more graceful energy to respond to whatever shows up. Just the other day I was cleaning up after breakfast and I noticed my kids playing with the french doors off our deck. Normally this would rattle me–feeling the door slam or thinking of the glass I’d have to clean. This time, because I was more aware, I went up to them and asked them what they were playing. I realized that they were playing the most adorable game that pretty much mocked the way my husband and I say goodbye when he goes to work. I got such a kick out of it. If I was in my normal hurried way, I would have never seen this little gem of a moment.

So we asked you last week to pay attention to your thoughts and specifically to those thoughts that bum you out.  And even if you didn’t get a chance to do this, there’s no time like the present!  Start right now! The more mindful you are about these thoughts, the more masterful you become at transforming them to reclaim your energy.  Think of this process as your Feng Shui Your Mind “muscle”.  The more you do it, the faster and easier it will be to get out of any funk.  And anytime we ask you to do something, we like to do it ourselves!  So the past week, we both took time to see if anything was getting in our way.

Maureen noticed that for the first time in over four years her practice was slower than its usual pumping pace.  It had been quite some time that she hadn’t had to think about growing her practice – so with this new lull, she noticed old feelings of doubt arising.  After about a week of letting her cluttered mind get the best of her, she decided to transform the lull into a new, exciting space where she would attract different types of patients.  Her husband is an ex-professional tennis player and he has always encouraged her promote her business to tennis players.  While this was interesting to her, she didn’t really have any connection or ideas about how to do this.  Funny enough, as she moved from fear to faith around attracting enough patients, three new patients with tennis elbow called her out of the blue because of a recent newspaper article about the success of acupuncture with tennis elbow.  That’s what we’re talking about!!

At the beginning of the summer, Jill was feeling anxious and frustrated, knowing fully the power of our book, Feng Shui Your Mind, to uplift and guide people to live their dreams — yet feeling stuck about our next marketing steps.  Maureen suggested marketing via the internet, however, we didn’t have the time or knowledge to make it happen.  So instead of freaking out, Jill decluttered her mind as soon as she noticed her energy being compromised and then envisioned the perfect “angel” to help us out.  Within a day, she was referred to Joanne Sposito –an internet marketing guru who happened to be the ideal person for us!  A few days later, Jill was also asked to be a guest on two different blog talk radio shows.  In reflecting about what’s been happening, Jill’s realizing that the more relaxed she is about manifesting her dreams, the more she lives in the flow of universal energy.  In other words, the more opportunities arise through total ease.  Decluttering creates the space for them to show up!

So take a close look at what’s bugging you and practice embodying deep unwavering faith that you can manifest what you want.  Imagine that your desire has already manifested and allow yourself to feel in your body what that fulfilled desire would feel like.  With the energy you reclaim (from decluttering your thoughts), you are free to practice your power to envision and embody your true desire which is key in attracting it to you!