To Increase Productivity & Profitability...
Feng Shui Your Office!
by P.K. Odle, The Feng Shui Advantage
It’s really not surprising that SONY, DISNEY and other multi-million dollar corporations follow the advice of Feng Shui consultants. After all... the ancient Chinese science of Feng Shui has a 5,000 year history of increasing prosperity and improving health & relationships for those who used it correctly. Unfortunately, there’s NO such thing as a perfect Feng Shui building, because every building has a combination of supportive and sabotaging inherent energies according to its exact compass orientation and the year it was constructed.
Through the centuries many have mistaken Feng Shui for a belief system, when it’s actually a sister science to Acupuncture. They both work with the life force energy of the Universe called Qi (old spelling Chi). Acupuncture uses needles to correct imbalances in your body’s energies, while classical Feng Shui uses the 5 elements of nature to remedy sabotaging energies in your office or enhance supportive energies. Feng Shui simply translated is Wind Water, both of which have currents that move Qi / energy.
All Classical Feng Shui remedies must be out where the air currents can come in contact with them and blend with your décor. If your clients or customers can spot your remedies and/or ask you why you have odd things in your office… you’ve created a SHA or negative affect. In fact, anything that’s offensive to your senses is considered a SHA, such as a bad smell coming from the trash bin of a restaurant that drives customers away.
Did you know… you’re already practicing Feng Shui in your daily life? When you remove or remedy a SHA, like cleaning that smelly trash bin… you’re practicing Feng Shui. On a hot summer day when you turn on your air conditioner or fan, it’s because you want to remove the SHA of being too hot. If you’re cold and put on a sweater, you’re making an adjustment so you’ll feel more comfortable in the environment. Even turning on a light in a dark room is changing the environment to meet your needs.
When your environment is too bright it causes headaches. The simple Feng Shui remedy to avoid headaches would be to hang curtains or at least sheers that can be used during the brightest part of the day. That’s an example of a general environmental Feng Shui guideline. However, when determining which of the 5 elements are necessary to correct your building’s unseen, inherent and visiting energies there’s NO one-size-fits-all answers. That’s because of the unique combination of energies in each building, which are also influenced every year by the visiting Annual Energies that shift on the Chinese SOLAR New Year (generally February 4th). The Annual Energies Shift explains why one year can be better or worse in the same office or business without changing anything.
Here are a few ways you can improve the visible GENERAL INTERNAL Feng Shui influences in your office or workplace...
DeCLUTTER your office because when your office is cluttered… so is your mind and you want a clear mind to be productive. Clutter also uses up your time and energy, which delays your progress. Think of it this way… when you can’t manage what you have, you’re not ready to receive more!
- Speaking of DELAYING your progress... when your office is influenced by delaying energies… you feel like you’re taking 2 steps back for every 1 step forward. If you’re experiencing delays, don’t feel bad… because all office buildings / units have a combination of inherent and visiting energies that contribute to DELAYS, such as delays in; new clients calling to hire you, receiving payment, closing sales and/or completing projects, which leads to clutter.
Avoid looking into a bathroom from your desk. With bathrooms it’s a sanitation issue (no matter how well you clean your bathroom), which affects your health and you’re more productive when your healthy. Keeping the door CLOSED or at least ajar is the simplest solution. Moving your chair where you’re not looking into the bathroom is another option.
Dead or Dying Plants or Flowers have a negative affect on the overall Qi, as does DIRTY WATER. Make sure all plants in and around your office are healthy. Avoid standing or dirty water in or around your office because it only brings trouble.
- With the wrong energy combination even clean WATER can trigger problems. Therefore, be careful when adding water features inside of your office, because you wouldn’t want to trigger an energy pattern that brings you problems, such as: GOSSIP, ARGUMENTS and LEGAL problems. In some cases, Fire colored decorations can trigger the same problems or DELAYS and ACCIDENTS. Fire and Water are the 2 extreme elements and should be used with caution because of the affect they have on the unseen energy patterns. Keep in mind, with Feng Shui... What You Don’t See Can Affect Your Bottom Line, even when you’ve resolved everything that’s visible to the naked eye.
Two doors or OPENINGS in line with each other, such as an OPEN door and window directly across from each other, allows the air currents to carry the Qi / energy straight through your office. I emphasize OPEN, because the majority of Feng Shui books fail to mention that a door or window must be OPEN for the Qi to move through it. CLOSED doors and windows stop the movement of Qi, because it stops the Wind & Water currents. Ideally, you don’t have water currents in your office, but you do want the air currents to gently circulate the Qi in your office to give you the energy to be productive and prosperous.
You want a clear view of your office door... without being in line with the door. To identify this danger zone, picture 2 parallel lines coming straight forward from the 2 sides of your doorway. If you're in that area, you’re in line with your doorway. Therefore, you'll be HIT directly by the Qi coming through when the door is OPEN. If you have no choice except to work in-line with your office door, CLOSE the door or at least keep it ajar to direct the Qi away from your chair. Unfortunately, when working in a cubicle you don’t have the option of closing a door to prevent the direct HIT of Qi.
- According to your date of birth… the location of your office door could bring you PROSPERITY, VALUED FRIENDS or CONSUME your money. From the magnetic center of your office, the precise 15° location of your office door and/or OPEN windows determines which of your Personal Directions are activated. Having your office door in your PROSPEROUS or VALUED FRIENDS (aka REFERRALS) Personal Direction is extremely beneficial, even when the energy patterns at your door aren’t very supportive.
Sharp corners, caused by oddly shaped rooms, pointed directly at your chair or office door are considered an 'Angle or Metal SHA'. Prolonged exposure to the direct HIT of Qi caused by these angles contributes to instability and insecurity as well as health problems. Some remedies for this type of SHA are rounding the sharp edge off the corner, concealing it with molding, moving your chair elsewhere, or placing a tall plant in front of the angle to block the direct HIT of Qi.
Avoid exposed beams above your chair, which makes you to feel uncomfortable and contributes to various health problems after prolonged exposure. If it’s impossible to move your chair out from under an exposed beam… add molding to the lower sides of the beam to deflect the direct HIT of Qi from coming down on you from both sides. Another solution is… attaching a board to the bottom of each beam that’s at least 2 inches wider than the beam. After the board is attached to the entire length of the lower end of the beam you’ll have at least a 1 inch lip on both sides of the beam to deflect the Qi and stop it from hitting you.
You want your back toward a solid wall! The wall provides support so you can relax and be more productive. When your back is toward a window… keep the window CLOSED, so the air currents don’t HIT you directly. Move your chair so you aren’t being HIT directly by the Qi / air currents, if the window can’t be kept CLOSED.
- Ideally you want your back toward your Personal 15° CREATIVE or ANALYTICAL Direction, depending on the type of work you’re doing. From the moment of your birth you have specific 15° directions that support your right & left brain. For instance, it’s much better to do your marketing when your back is toward your Creative / Right brain direction. You’ll want to use your Analytical / Left Brain direction when working on your budget or taxes. Think of it this way… with your supportive direction behind you the Qi / air currents from that direction will propel you forward and therefore your business forward.
When choosing a Feng Shui consultant, ask them if they work with the 5 elements as remedies for your office’s unique combination of inherent and visiting energies. Also, inquire if follow-up questions are included in the price of the consultations and if they offer annual updates. I find that most clients need additional guidance to be certain that they implement their necessary remedies correctly, which is why I keep a copy of your report to respond to follow-up questions and to be able to offer annual updates by mail.
In addition, you’ll want to verify that the consultant you choose will teach you where ALL your 45° and 15° Personal Directions are located in your current office or workplace. Be aware that… barely 5% of Feng Shui consultants worldwide can determine all of your 15° Personal Directions. However, my unique 3-part report includes all of the above information, plus a diagram of ALL your Personal Directions ... which I’ll teach you to use so you can identify all your Personal Directions in any building anywhere in the world for the rest of your life. There’s no need to be disappointed, if you’re somewhere in the world and can’t have an on-site Feng Shui Advantage consultation, you can order your personalized Self-Mastery TOOLBOX on-line to learn how to manage ALL of your Personal Directions.
© 2006 P.K. Odle. All rights reserved.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
P.K. Odle is a celebrated classical Yi Jing Feng Shui consultant and the Executive Director of the world-renowned American Feng Shui Institute®, where she has taught since 1998. She created The Feng Shui Advantage's "Lifetime Keys Personal Directions Self-Mastery Toolbox." To learn more about using the ancient Chinese science of Yi Jing Feng Shui to improve your Health, Relationships and Finances... through 16 weeks of FREE TIPS subscribe to her award-winning eNewsletter, The Feng Shui Advantage MONTHLY, at http://www.FengShuiAdvantage.com. The next issue could change your life!
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