Page 70 - enLIGHTenment December 2016

New eNergy for the New Year

ADD IMAGES OF CRANES, ELEPHANTS, OR
FENG SHUI YOUR SHOWROOM
TORTOISES TO THE CENTER SPACE OF THE

HOME – whether they are printed images or
Many know Melissa Leib as a successful, second- sculptures or decorative accessories – because
generation lighting representative based in San
these animals are known for their longevity.
Francisco. Fewer are aware she is a graduate and

professional member of the International Feng Shui
Guild with her own feng shui consulting business.

She was living in Japan, teaching English at a business school, when Melissa

Leib rst got acquainted with feng shui. She learned couples would o en
take a feng shui master with them when looking at apartments, and her

employer and his wife consulted with a feng shui master when they were

trying to conceive. A er observing their success (which involved hanging
ve empty, white picture frames on the wall across from their bed), Leib

became further intrigued.
There are several types of feng shui and Leib has adapted the most com-

mon as a practice that combines traditional feng shui principles with what

she calls “a Western perspective with respect to architecture, property
layout, and land location.”

In her career as an independent sales representative, Leib has occasion-
ally helped her clients improve their pro tability by employing feng shui

principles in their stores if they are interested and open to it. Here, she

reveals some basic tips that could help showrooms move merchandise
faster, increase tra c ow, and a ract potential

quali ed employees.
“One of the rst things I tell customers to do is

declu er. Don’t hang onto lighting xtures that have

been around for years in the hopes of nally selling THE LIVING ROOM should have nice, comfort-
them. Let them go; they’re taking up too much
able seating and reclining furniture to promote
valuable real estate and energy,” she says.
relaxing. Place furniture against a wall for (emotional)
While it may seem like basic housekeeping, Leib
support. If this is not possible, a sofa table/console
emphasizes the need to dust xtures and bulbs.
positioned behind the sofa would work with a siz-
“Dust se ling makes [the energy] dead,” she comments. “Don’t hang xtures able lamp to give added support.
that are missing an arm, have broken glass, or a burned-out bulb. Broken

glass is considered ‘sha ered opportunity.’ You want to keep the opportuni- IN THE BEDROOM, have two nightstands with
ties for wealth and prosperity moving and not stagnant.”
matching lamps to give balance. A solid and tall
Interestingly, Leib has performed a few case studies – including one with
headboard in fabric or wood – not metal – relates
a prominent California lighting showroom – to test how well the feng shui to how supported you feel in life.
suggestions worked. “It’s proven to be very successful for them,” she notes.

“You have to remember that this is not a ‘ x it and forget it’ mentality. Things FOR THE KITCHEN, if you’re having a home built
change in a space all the time, which could throw the balance o . Maintain-
or doing a major remodeling overhaul in the kitchen
ing that balance is something that you keep tweaking.”
(and therefore can move appliances around), try not
For lighting showrooms, where they position their crystal displays can to have the sink and the stove facing one another. “It’s
make a positive di erence from a feng shui perspective. Considering the
a con ict of re and water,” Rector explains. If you do
showroom as a grid-like format (when walking into the space), Leib suggests have this con guration, try pu ing down a bamboo
somewhere in the middle row and to the right to be a good spot. Another
rug or hang brown/green dishtowels in between
key area for crystal – a Water element – is at the front, to the le . The
entrance is considered to be “the mouth” of the space. “Flowing water is
them to balance it out. The kitchen is considered to
be a Fire element; everyone gathers there. “Think

of it like the old days where families would gather in Continued on page 70
front of a replace or camp re,” she notes.

68 enLIGHTenment Magazine | DeceMber 2016
www.enlightenmentmag.com