| Is your home office a spare room full of whatever | | | | enters and leaves again quickly. A partition or some |
| doesn't fit anywhere else? Does your daily commute | | | | other object, or even curtains, can slow ordiffuse the |
| end with winding your way through a corporate maze | | | | flow. |
| to your own crowded cubicle? | | | | Next is the orientation of your desk within the office |
| Do you sit down at your desk and push piles of | | | | space, and placement of objects in the room and on |
| papers aside to create a little workspace? | | | | the desk. When you enter your office, stop and face |
| If this sounds familiar, and you know that your | | | | the interior. Divide your office into 9 equal-sized areas. |
| productivity is suffering, maybe you want to try a little | | | | Each area represents an area of your life, and also |
| feng shui in your workspace. | | | | relates to a color and an element. The front three, |
| Feng shui (pronounced "fung schway") is the ancient | | | | from left to right, are skills/knowledge/wisdom;career |
| art of placement and design that balances and | | | | life path; and helpful people ravel. The middle three |
| enhances the energy flow in an environment. This can | | | | arefamily/foundation; health; and creativity/children. The |
| be placement of a home on a piece of property, | | | | back three are abundance/prosperity; reputation/fame; |
| location of an office building on a city block, orientation | | | | and relationships/love/marriage. |
| of rooms in a house, arrangement of furniture in a | | | | The idea is to locate your desk, if possible, in the area |
| room or objects on a desk. | | | | "whereyou work". Are you an artist or an teacher? A |
| For a complete feng shui evaluation, you need to | | | | travel agent or a marriage counselor? A banker or a |
| consult with a professional. It's far too complex to | | | | work at home entrepreneur? A few rules of thumb: |
| address completely in an article. I'll just give you a few | | | | 1) Never put your desk directly in front of the door, and |
| examples of techniques you can try so you can see if | | | | don't orient it so your back is to the door. Either face |
| feng shui is for you. | | | | the door directly or so you can see the door without |
| In any situation, there will obviously be believers and | | | | turning. |
| non-believers, and this is true of co-workers as well | | | | 2) Place things in each section of the room that |
| asspouses. To effect change in the corporate | | | | enhance the meaning of that area of your life. For |
| environment or at home, you have to start with | | | | example, the obvious choice for the knowledge area is |
| yourself, and realistically this may be all you can | | | | books relating to your work. A not so obvious addition |
| accomplish. | | | | would be an empty vessel, symbolizing openness to |
| At the center of this belief system is a powerful reality | | | | new knowledge. In the career area might be |
| that you need to be able to embrace: There is an | | | | milestones of your career such as diplomas or |
| energy flow that BRINGS abundance to all of life. | | | | awards, or business cards and brochures, etc. Your |
| Using feng shui to attract things to you means | | | | phone, rolodex, and photo of your mentor might be in |
| removing blockages and enhancing this natural flow. | | | | the helpful people area. |
| This doesn't mean you only need to move the furniture | | | | Family would be photos, or maybe religious objects if |
| around and then sit back and wait for the money to | | | | your foundation is your faith; the health area stays |
| arrive; it removes the suffering and struggle and | | | | open and uncluttered; and something you've created is |
| leaves you working from a place of peace at the | | | | placed in the creativity area. |
| center of your being. | | | | Water is a universal symbol of abundance, so an |
| Clutter is stagnant energy that leaves no room for | | | | aquarium, fountain, or even a picture of a waterfall |
| growth. The tendency to save things because | | | | would be appropriate. The reputation area would |
| "someday you might need them" indicates a lack of | | | | contain whatever you would like to beknown for. The |
| belief in the energy flow that brings abundance to you. | | | | relationship area would contain momentos of loved |
| Your message to the universe is that you don't trust | | | | ones, or symbols of love. You can put pairs of objects |
| that it will provide for you. The flow stops. | | | | in this area: two roses, two photos or photos of pairs |
| This energy flow, called ch'i ("chee"), enters through the | | | | of friends. |
| front door of any building or room and is then | | | | 3) Do the same with the arrangement of objects on |
| dispersed. It also enters through windows. It exits | | | | your desk. Use the same areas, but keep it simple. |
| through doors and windows too. During the day, it | | | | Balance out the presence of electronic equipment with |
| enters through windows, at night it exits,hence a | | | | a plant or bouquet. |
| reason to close curtains. Think of it as air or water | | | | You can also enhance a particular area with color. |
| flow; it's like that. | | | | There are colors that soothe (blue/greens), stimulate |
| If you want more opportunity in your work | | | | (reds), invite collaboration and social gatherings |
| environment, make sure the path to the door is as | | | | (oranges and browns), enhance mental activity |
| wide as the door. This goes for paths, hallways and | | | | (yellows), suggest oppulence and abundance(purples, |
| outer rooms. The easiest way to attractch'i is to get | | | | maroons, reds). There is an element and color |
| rid of clutter; no toys scattered on paths to the house, | | | | associated with each area also, but that is way too |
| no shoes strewn in the middle of the hallway or piles | | | | much to get into here. |
| of boxes between the world and your desk. | | | | Bottom line, though, is that your office has to feel good |
| If the ch'i entering through your door immediately | | | | to YOU. Follow feng shui and your instincts and you'll |
| meets a wall, you can compensate with mirrors. If the | | | | create a more productive, abundant space. |
| ch'i enters and there are windows directly opposite, it | | | | |