Feng Shui Tips for Your Home Office
More and more people are incorporating the principles of feng
shui into their daily life. It's interesting and age old practice. Giving
it a try won't hurt for sure.
Even if you don't follow the Asian belief in feng shui, you'd probably be amazed to discover how many people do. So, even if you don't, it's a fun way to look at a different way another culture incorporates harmony into their daily work life.
(article continued below...)
In Asia, feng shui is of vital importance to both personal and professional success, and has been for hundreds of years. Certainly, anything that has endured the test of time is something worth exploring. For the purpose of this article, let's look at the home office variation of the way large corporations feng shui their business offices.
Ideally, you should have a separate entrance to your home office, but if you don't, choose a room near your front or back door. Also, separate your office space from the rest of the house in order to keep your private life separate from your professional life. If you keep your office space as part of a large room, like your living room, try to partition it off with a bookshelf or other sort of partition.
Under no circumstances should you have your back to a window, for that leaves you symbolically vulnerable to attack. On the other hand, sitting directly facing a door could make you vulnerable to incoming Chi. So the best option is to have your back facing a wall that contains a painting or picture of an earth element such as a lake or mountain or forest. Second best is to position yourself at an angle from a doorway, facing a wall that depicts a water element such as a picture or painting of a river, or fish or even contemporary modern art with wavy lines.
Next, focus your attention on your desk. You can energize it with objects depicting the five elements, to encourage both work and luck. To do this, follow the guidelines of the 'Lo Shu' grid, as follows:
- North - Your beverage cup
- Northeast - A crystal, perhaps a paperweight or other crystal object
- Northwest - Your computer
- East - Flowers, preferably fresh
- Southeast - Some sort of small, green plant
- South - Something red in color, or even a desk lamp
Look at your ceiling. Is it flat? Good! Flat ceilings promote the flow of Chi, but if you happen to have raised ceilings or exposed beams, hang some wind chimes or bamboo flutes to counteract such negative results.
Next, look at your window. Harmful elements can come in to your home office through windows, but you can reverse them by placing plants or wind chimes in front of it. Plants like cactus and bamboo symbolize good fortune and so make sure you have some in your home office. Plants with sharp or pointy leaves also ward off harmful elements and influences. Try to allow a 7 -9 inch space between pieces of furniture, which gives the energy in your office plenty of elbow room.
Try to keep your home office as clutter free as possible so that feng shui energy has plenty of room to flow. Of course, storage space is not clutter, but make sure your files and papers are stored in an orderly manner, again to enhance the flow of feng shui energy throughout your space.
It is believed to be good to take a walk before you venture into your office every day, in addition to one at the end of your work day. This is a sort of reminder to you to separate your work life from your home life.
Hanging a picture of painting of some type of water scene on the East side of your office will represent a flow of energy. You may even use a desktop fountain or aquarium in your office space. Now, place a smooth leafed plant somewhere on a shelf or surface in the corner that is nearest your water item, but of course, if you don't have a green thumb, you are more than welcome to use an artificial plant.
That particular corner can also hold other items, such as red eggs, which stand for wealth creation, or a red envelope that contains several coins, or place a crystal hanging from a red ribbon there. Anything round, or a picture or carving of a red fish is also handy, while a lotus flower symbolized wonderful achievements from humble beginnings might be just what you need.
Feng Shui is believed to enhance one's awareness to how the environment affects our state of mind, but even if you don't believe that, you should still realize the benefit of a clean, well organized office decorated with eye pleasing decorations will make your office so much more comfortable. Feng Shui also help one to remain focused on present tasks by preventing you from leaving incomplete or future projects in your work area, thereby distracting you from your task at hand.
Of course, there are other benefits as well, and many Feng Shui experts believe that properly Feng Shui'ing your office space increases prosperity enhances health, increases concentration and helps reduce stress and even insomnia. The possibilities of Feng Shui are almost endless. If you're curiosity is piqued, check out books on Feng Shui from you local library or conduct a search on the internet. Feng Shui consultants can even come into your office space and advise you. At any rate, it's an interesting and century old practice, so why not give it a try?