Chi is the vital energy that inspires and enables the success of your business. Where
the flow of chi through your office is blocked, energy will stagnate, clutter will accumulate, and your progress and success are undermined. Here are suggestions for how to improve the chi flow in an office with layout challenges:
ONE DOOR, NO WINDOWS
Chi circulation is compromised by a bottleneck at the one access point. Chi does not
flow through the office well because it has to go out the way it came in.
Make sure to keep the area around the entry clean and uncluttered, and to keep the door open as wide as possible. It’s important not to position any furniture or storage in a way that further blocks chi flow or that prevents the door from opening fully.
Pay special attention to creating a focal point that will draw your attention as you step into the room and create the illusion that you can see beyond the walls of the room. It is a good idea also to have a second focal point with the illusion of a distant view where it is within your field of vision when you are working at your desk.
Mirrors and realistic landscapes with a distant horizon can act as virtual windows
Keep in mind that chi goes where you attention goes. Anything that creates the illusion of being able to see through or beyond the walls will assist with chi circula- tion and make the space appear less confining. Some good options include:
• A mirror that creates the impression of a larger space and allows your eye to see “through” the wall into the virtual space of the reflection.
• A virtual window created by a large poster or photograph of an outdoor scene with a view of a distant horizon. The more closely this duplicates a realistic window view, the better.
• A painting or print of an interior that includes a prominent view through a window into the distance.
TWO ALIGNED DOORS
Compare the diagrams, below. In rooms A and B, chi flows in the main door and circulates through the room. In room C, the doors are directly in line with each other; chi rushes through the space and out again very quickly. This causes exces- sive chi along that path, and often results in depleted chi in other areas of the room:
A
C
Your goal is to slow down and redirect the flow of chi so it can circulate more fully through the room. Some ways to do this are to:
• Use a screen, curtain, or large houseplants to partially close off the second doorway (without blocking it completely).
• Hang a large mirror on a side wall to create a virtual opening in that wall and divert chi over to that side of the room.
• Hang a faceted crystal ball (40mm diameter is a good size) midway between the two doorways to divert the chi and encourage it to circulate more evenly through the room
OFFICE HAS TOO MANY WINDOWS
In a room that is dominated by large windows, both chi and your focus and atten- tion will be pulled out of the room. (See page 154). Curtains or shades help bring the window-to-wall ratio into better balance. Sheers minize the distraction of the exterior view while allowing natural light into the room. Be alert to how you are functioning, and if you are distracted and restless, try closing the blinds or curtains for a while so you can get to work.
A faceted crystal ball hung on the inside of each window will help to keep chi in the room. (If your windows are sunny, these will cast multiple rainbow refractions around the walls of your room; whether that’s a plus or a reason to avoid this remedy is a personal decision.)
Bookcases below the window will help to hold chi in the room. Display objects on top of the shelves or on windowsills to catch your eye before attention and energy go out through the glass. Curios of all kinds can be appropriate here, so long as they are not so appealing that you get up to play with them instead of getting your work done.
A row of three, six, or nine potted plants—however many you have space for— are an especially good remedy because they bring beauty and living chi into your work space.
plants, curtains, and faceted crystals help keep your focus
—and chi—in the room
Three-dimensional artwork that keeps your focus within the room is a better choice for this type of space than are mirrors or landscapes with a distant horizon.
ACTION STEPS
Review your notes from the previous chapters and, for each feng shui challenge you have identified for your office, note your options for rememdies or corrections based on the suggestions provided in this chapter.
Look around to explore what items you may already have available that could be used as feng shui remedies. For example:
• Artwork
• Photographs
• Mirrors
• House plants (real or “life-like”)
• Side-tables
• Area rugs etc.
What items will you need to purchase (faceted crystals, a large mirror, etc.)?
As eager as you may be to get started putting these remedies in place, I suggest that you hold off on shopping for new items until you have read the next chapter. There’s a key aspect of feng shui that we haven’t fully explored yet—the interac- tions among the five elements—which may affect decisions about the colors, shapes, and materials you choose for your “cures.”
Elements of
6
hroughout the previous chapters you’ve laid the foundation of good feng shui for your office. You have:
• Analyzed the pros and cons of your office location • Cleared out the clutter
• Placed your desk in the most advantageous position available
• Arranged other furniture to allow a good flow of chi through the room • Made a list of potential remedies to correct the specific challenges presented
by your space
Now we are at the final step for optimizing the feng shui of your home office: selecting and placing symbolic artwork and objects to support the areas of the room that most directly affect the achievement of your objectives.
This phase is what many people think feng shui is all about, but really it is the final stage in the process of analyzing, correcting, and optimizing your space. If you place feng shui accessories and enhancements without first identifying and correcting the challenges of your space—including removing clutter, and ensuring a good flow of chi— those accessories will have to work harder to deliver benefits to you.
You have already been introduced to the two main tools you’ll be using in this chapter: the ba gua energy map and the five feng shui elements. In this chapter we’ll take a closer look at how they can work for you to help you achieve your goals.