The Power of Perception

Feng shui can be a bit of a mind game with ourselves.

What I mean by this is that our perception of what we see in our home is so much more important than the face value of something that we see.

Consider people walking into your home for the first time. As they look around they'll see pictures, pieces of art, knick-knacks, your favorite furniture, etc.

What they won't see is the deeper meaning any of these things have for you. It's not just a picture of Italy, it's a memory of when you and your entire family took a vacation to Venice. It's not just a Monet, but a representation of the painting class you took on Impressionism where you met a special friend. It's not just a set of porcelain figurines, but a connection to your grandmother who passed them on to your mother, who then passed them down to you.

This connection we have to the things in our environment becomes the basis for the energy in our homes. If we have positive connections to these things, we have positive energy. 

But there's more.

If you change the perception of something in your home, you change the energy. So if you have a beloved comfy chair given to you by your favorite uncle but your relationship with sours, that chair could suddenly become a constant reminder of that negative relationship -- it lowers your energy every time you look at it. 

This is actually a good thing. Especially in feng shui because specific areas in your home are associated with specific areas of your life. For instance, there's a place for family and there's a place for creativity and new projects. Let's say you have your family photos on the creativity/new projects wall. The family photos would logically go on your family wall, but you love the photos and you want to keep them on that creativity wall. 

Here's the solution: change your perception.

Instead of thinking of those pictures as simply old family pictures, they could be your foundation, your support structure, the people who have made you the wonderfully creative person you are today -- prepared to take that next step of your new venture or dive into that new creative endeavor.

Now you see not just your family photos, but the basis for how you will be successful on your creative path. It can be a powerful tool for you.

The Prosperity Bar

One of my clients was looking to enhance his prosperity space. We were able to find some great ways to do this on his first and second floor by adding to or modifying the space. In the basement, though, he had a beautiful bar with oak stools. On the surface, it may be difficult to see how a bar could support his prosperity. That's when it takes a little probing.

We talked about how he defined prosperity. Often people immediately think of money, but in reality it's what people want to do with their money that defines prosperity for them. This client loved to travel and specifically in the Mediterranean Region (especially Italy and Spain). He already had maps of these regions, so he agreed to place these next to the bar. I also recommended he include Spanish and Italian wines on his bar, and incorporate elements from taverns in Spain or Italy to extend this theme.

In our conversations, he also talked about wanting to have more people over because he loved to spend time with his friends, and make new friends. In fact he felt that his friendships were part of what made him feel prosperous as well. 

With this in mind, we were able to change the perception of the bar from simply a place to drink to a place that represented traveling to his favorite places and building lasting friendships. 

It just goes to show how important your own perception can be to lifting or changing the energy of a space. 

So next time you look around your home, consider what the things mean to you. If they make you feel good, great. If not, try changing your perception until it does. It can make all the difference.