International Feng Shui Master and Ener’Chi℠ coach Sandy Sue Rector has teamed up with wholesale furniture business owner Joy Rux to create a boxed set – EZ2 Feng Shui: A Simple Guide to Decorating Your Home with Intention – featuring a 26-card deck that makes it simple to enrich the harmony in any space.
[dropcap style=”letter” size=”52″ bg_color=”#ffffff” txt_color=”#6318cc”]W[/dropcap]hat better time than the dawn of a new year to effect positive change in your personal life and your business? This brand new book-and-card set is an easy add-on item at $24.99 retail to sell in a lighting showroom, plus it provides tips that any manufacturers’ representatives or employees can adapt to their own lives.
If the name Sandy Sue Rector sounds familiar to you, it might be because I detailed a workshop she did two years ago for Statewide Lighting in Arizona for consumers interested in adapting feng shui principles. Statewide Lighting coordinated the seminar with discounts on items (i.e. fire pits, candle sets, fountains) in stock that corresponded to the natural elements that were discussed.
Through her Arizona-based business Balance Your Life, Rector is regularly tapped by clients who wish to have a professional feng shui consultant evaluate their environment. One of those customers was Joy Rux, the owner of a wholesale furniture business, who hired Rector to give guidance on her home aesthetic as well as her business. Rux was so impressed by the ensuing results, she too began learning in-depth about the ancient practice. Since studying feng shui is a complicated and time-consuming endeavor, the two came up with an effective solution for anyone who wants to easily apply the principles in a way that is simple to grasp. Intended for beginners to advanced practioners and designers, the boxed set includes a 32-page book, 26 illustrated cards, a map of energy (a Bagua), 5 question cards, and 9 Gua cards (representing Prosperity, Fame, Relationships, Health, Family, Creativity, Self-Improvement, Career, and Travel), plus 13 Yin/Yang Room cards for creating room diagrams that provide suggestions on optimal furniture pieces, ideal colors, and placement directions to enhance and balance energy flow.
Rector gives these insights on how to apply some basic feng shui principles to your life:
Declutter wherever you can — especially the center of the home, where the health sector is (note: the “center” of the home is more of a mathematical equation than an emotional “center” of the living space). This allows energy to flow more freely throughout the home.
Let go of anything that’s broken. All too often we hang onto things with the expectation that one day we’ll get around to fixing them. Even potpourri – after the fragrance is gone – is essentially dead energy, Rector says.
Add fresh yellow flowers to the center of the home. If a fresh bouquet is not feasible, artificial flowers are fine, or a potted plant with yellow flowers. Why is yellow important? “Yellow lifts the energy in an environment,” Rector states. “When we see yellow, it gives us a lift. Flowers are such a high energy; that’s why we bring them to people.”
Candles are also good for uplifting energy. A salt lamp would be perfect, since it emits negative ions that give positive benefits to your health and lift the energy.
Add images of cranes, elephants, or tortoises to the center space of the home – whether they are printed images or sculptures or decorative accessories – because these animals are known for their longevity.
The living room should have nice, comfortable seating and reclining furniture to promote relaxing. Place furniture against a wall for (emotional) support. If this is not possible, a sofa table/console positioned behind the sofa would work with a sizable lamp to give added support.
In the bedroom, have two nightstands with matching lamps to give balance. A solid and tall headboard in fabric or wood – not metal – relates to how supported you feel in life.
For the kitchen, if you’re having a home built or doing a major remodeling overhaul in the kitchen (and therefore can move appliances around), try not to have the sink and the stove facing one another. “It’s a conflict of fire and water,” Rector explains. If you do have this configuration, try putting down a bamboo rug or hang brown/green dishtowels in between 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 front of a fireplace or campfire,” she notes.
In the dining room, Rector recommends round or oval tables because conversation will flow more easily than with tables with (sharp) corners. “It’s best to have a mirror reflecting the table. It doubles your abundance,” she comments. For the same reason, have your lighting fixture above the dining table follow that same shape as the table. Add candles if you’d like to bring in the Fire element.
For children’s rooms, hang pictures that are at their eye level (not the adults), so they can easily see them. Display trophies and awards at their eye level instead of high on a shelf that is out of reach. Since children are so stressed these days, choose calming colors –such as pastels – or light, cool hues. Avoid using bunk beds; in that situation, the energy is being pushing down onto the child on the lower bunk. “Often during a home consultation, I’ll find out that the child who sleeps on the lower bunk is struggling in school more. Position the bed away from the door to makes children feel more secure. By adding a night-light or a salt lamp in the room, it provides a feeling of safety for the child. “I suggest keeping phones and tablets out of the bedroom; they give off too many EMFs [electromagnetic field].”
Bathrooms are considered to be – literally and figuratively – an energy drain. “Don’t have any family photos in the bathroom, as it drains their energy,” Rector cautions. How the lighting is positioned also matters. With vanity lights (and other fixtures), choose styles where the light is facing upward rather than downward; “This lifts the Chi,” she says. Placing a plant in the bathroom will also help absorb the Chi so that it isn’t drained away. “For bathrooms with no natural light, the plant could be made of silk or could be lucky bamboo, which flourishes without a lot of light,” remarks Rector, who suggests leaving the toilet seat down to prevent the energy from draining in the room. “You can have candles in the bathroom to bring in the Fire element, which is a good balance to all of that Water energy,” she says.
For the home office, have your back to a wall and face the entryway into your office. “This is a command position,” Rector says. The phone should be on the right side of your desk, where the “helpful people” energy is.
In the garage, have everything organized, clutter-free, and keep all chemicals safe and secure. “Hang posters and pictures to make it a fun place to be, not just a plain utilitarian garage,” Rector comments, adding, “Keep sharp objects out of sight.”
For lighting, employ upward-facing lighting in hallways and stairs to lift the energy. Try to have as much natural light as possible; dark areas lower the energy. “Crystal chandeliers can lift the energy in a space; I suggest hanging a crystal fixture above a staircase,” Rector advises.
