Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Use the Right Intention to Start off the New Year

So now with Step 1, home maintenance, and Step 2, clutter clearing (starting small), under our belts, it’s time to focus on Step 3 of how to start the year off right. In truth, I often tell  people to start with this step but I also have found that this is the one people can have the hardest time with defining.

It’s about your intention. In my school of feng shui, Instinctive Feng Shui™, we have a mantra shared with us by our teacher and school founder Denise Linn. (My school is Interior Alignment®, which includes studies in feng shui and space clearing.) The mantra goes like this: “where intention goes, energy flows.” Simple enough, but you may be asking yourself, what does that mean?

It means that as we focus on the things we want in our lives, we will build energy toward achieving those goals, and in fact attract more energy to achieving those goals. From a psychological perspective, it makes perfect sense. If we stay focused on our wants and desires, all while taking action toward them, we will be better able to achieve those goals.
In Feng Shui, energy in your home
should flow like a meandering river
(image courtesy of www.123rf.com)

In Feng Shui, we think of it on an energetic level because we know that by working with the energy or chi in our homes, we can better support achieving those goals or intentions in our lives. In the simplest terms, we support this by making sure there is a good flow of energy in the home (consider how easy it is to walk through your home and walk into every room) and make sure that everything in our home makes us feel good (creating positive, supportive energy).

OK, so let’s think about intention. Start by asking yourself what you want out of this New Year. Are you striving for a new job? Or maybe just more money? Perhaps this is the year to find the love of your life? Do you want to start a family? Travel to exotic places? Maybe you’re just looking for life to settle down a bit for you?

There is no wrong intention. The most important thing is to just be honest about what it is you would like – no judgment, just accept it. Once you have this, you need to take it one step deeper. Consider not just what you want, but what it will feel like to actually achieve. This is critical. You need to be able to truly get a sense for this feeling. Take a moment to imagine yourself having reached your goal. What is it like? Are you excited? Filled with joy? Satisfied? Confident? Secure? Loved? That feeling is where the “magic” is. THAT is what makes all the difference. Feel it, own it, and hold on to that feeling more than anything else. Now let go of any expectations for HOW you will achieve it.

It’s not as easy as it sounds. We often throw up road blocks of doubt and insecurity. But if you use your intention, and more importantly the feeling behind it, as a regular reminder for your own happiness, you can knock those self-imposed blockades out of the way.

So with your intention in hand, now you can create your own Feng Shui enhancement in your space to help you stay focused on your intention. For instance, if you want to travel because it makes you feel alive and free, you can focus on the travel space in your home (every home has one, as does every room), and put up pictures of where you want to go or, even better, a representation of how it would make you feel (e.g., simply hanging the word freedom in the room).

You also can use this intention as you focus on Steps 1 and 2. Changing a light bulb? As you replace it, be thinking about attracting more “ideas” around achieving your intention. Clearing out a junk drawer? As you create order, know that it is allowing you to get more organized and prepared for making your intention a reality. Since Steps 1 and 2 are ongoing efforts throughout the year, you are creating opportunities all the time to reinforce your intention.

There you have it. Three simple steps for starting your year off right – and such good timing – not only have you just gotten through the first month of the Western calendar year but the Chinese New Year just kicked off on Friday, Jan. 31st.


And as always, if you have questions, feel free to reach out to me.