Getting through your Workday the Feng Shui Way
by Carole Provenzale • Farmingdale

Think about it. Every day, most of us get up, go to jobs we don’t really care for and hold our breath until the weekend. When we finally get to Friday, we’re relieved, but it is only for a short time. Saturday’s are taken up with all the things we didn’t get to do during the week because we were working so hard. All kinds of fun stuff like going to the cleaners, waiting in line at the bank and the ever-popular food shopping. And please don’t forget the cleaning! Sunday’s if we’re really lucky we can collapse to get ready for another wonderful week. A friend of mine recently commented that she feels she is living a Ground Hog Day life– that nothing ever changes. Can changing your perspective and a little Feng Shui help? You bet it can! Here are some tips, advice for not only getting through your day but enjoying it as well:

• Grace your Entrance– to your building, your office or even your cubicle. Put your name out there for people to see and let it remind you it represents your space and your power. There is a very strong intention in putting your name out to the universe; use it as often as you can.

• Bring things from home, surround yourself with things that make you feel good. Lots of people bring in pictures. It’s a wonderful idea to create the spaces around you with people and things that you love. It can remind you of why you are working so hard and what you hope to achieve through your work.

• Think positively! Positive thoughts not only give out good "vibes" to those around you (which you will get back) but thinking in a Positive way increases your energy and you can make better use of your time. Perhaps the author of The Little Train That Could knew exactly what he was talking about.

• Grace a wall with all your accomplishments. Big or small, all these achievements that you’ve already made in life count. Add to them things that you have never done but always wanted to: That trip to Paris that you never have time to take, ballroom dancing, another night class. Putting what you have already accomplished together with what you hope to create in your future shows you how far you’ve already come and how much further you can go in your life.

• What is all this talk about Feng Shui Colors? While it’s true that Feng Shui is associated with different colors for the different areas of your life, primarily it’s important to surround yourself with a color you love. You can later use the Bagua (a Feng Shui "map") and determine which colors are appropriate in which areas from a Feng Shui perspective and add them as accent colors. However, your surroundings should be of colors that make you feel good.

• Bagua your desk. Here’s a simple thing to do. You can get a Bagua online and print it out. Hold it in front of you with "Career" in front of you and use it as a layout over your desk. The exact center of your desk relates to health, you’ll want to keep that area clean and clear. What’s at the back left? That is your Wealth area and you just might want to put something there that is lucky for financial issues. Feng Shui Consultants will often say a Red Envelope with 3 or 9 coins in it is lucky for that area. Any relationship issues? Try looking at the back right hand corner of your desk. For relationships we ask you to look for things in "two’s." Two little statues, a picture of two items together, or just two flowers (silk, not dried please) can sit atop your computer. Look at each area of the Bagua and determine what’s best for you to put there based on what you’d like to change or accomplish in your life.

• The Five Elements. I know, a little more involved depending on whether you’re doing a room, a desk, or an entire exterior of a home or business. The Five Elements are: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood. There is a constructive and destructive force to the elements and you need to be mindful of that when using them. If you put them in a circle with Fire on top going clockwise to Earth, Metal, Water and then Wood you’ve got the right sequence. Some people wonder what to use when doing such a small space as a desk. Your Fire element can be as simple as something with the color red, which represents fire. For Earth? A tiny plant will do fine here in a little ceramic pot. You get the idea. No one even needs to know you’re using Feng Shui Principles!

• There’s a lot of fuss about Clutter and rightfully so. If you’re surrounded by clutter please remember that it relates to your mind. You can’t think straight, you can’t find anything or you forget appointments. Whoever came up with the saying A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place was a genius. Get more organized and you’ll feel much better and more balanced.

• In the world of cubicles many of us find ourselves in, there’s not much we can do to bring the outside in. Or is there? A small picture of a landscape that you love or a tiny desk top water fountain that you hear as well as see are different ways to feel in harmony with nature and your surroundings. If you’re lucky enough to have a window, check your view. If it’s not the most pleasing sight you’ve ever seen, hang a few sun catchers or a small wind chime. Change your perspective and you just might change your life.

• Finally, don’t be so worried about changing things around and doing the wrong thing from a Feng Shui Perspective. There is nothing you can change that can’t be changed back if it’s something you’re not in tune with. Try different things out and find what’s making you feel better at work. It may not go with every Principle of Feng Shui but it’s whatever works best for you. And don’t be afraid of change– sometimes it’s good to get things "moving" (yourself included) that have been "stuck."

While you still may get a touch of "Ground Hog Days" now and then, when you walk into your work space now you should feel a new sense of well being and harmony in your surroundings. That and a good cup of coffee are perfect ways to start your day at work!

Carole is a graduate of The Metropolitan Institute of Interior Design and has been a Certified Feng Shui Practitioner since 1997. She owns/operates Feng Shui Long Island, providing caring, affordable consultations for homes, businesses and realtors. Visit her website at www.FengShuiLI.com or call (516) 454-8107.