11 Home Energy Enhancers

by Erica Sofrina

By the author of Small Changes, Dynamic Results! Feng Shui for the  Western World

When our homes and gardens are alive with energy our lives follow suit.The  goal of Feng Shui is to have our homes filled with vibrant chi (energy) all of  the time.  Here are eleven energy enhancers that will help pep us stagnant chi  both inside and outside the home and either keep your life moving or get your  life moving in a positive direction.

Colors

Surround yourself with the colors you personally love.  You can effectively  use the Five Elements to quickly balance an area that needs attention, or to  work with health issues that need improving. Attract chi to your yard with  colorful lanterns and garden art. (For my readers who are buried under with  snow, dream of the summer!)

Mirrors

Mirrors are considered “activators” and are usually very positive chi  enhancers. Generally the bigger the better except in bedrooms or dining rooms  where we want a calming more ‘yin’ energy. Divided mirrors, smokey mirrors  or those  where you cannot see your face are not considered good in Feng Shui. We want to  be able to see ourselves without distortions. Use mirrors to pep up a dead area,  fill in a missing area of the Bagua expand a small  room or area or behind stoves and desks when you cannot see the action behind  you .

Lighting

Lighting will always bring in more chi (energy) so make sure your home is  well-lit. Dimmer switches are wonderful for cranking up the light when you need  it for study and reading purposes, and provide dimmer lighting for mood and  ambiance. Use spot lighting to illuminate a favorite piece of art, up-light a  plant to warm up a dark corner, or add warm ambient lighting in more Yin areas  such as bedrooms, dining rooms and living rooms. Use solar lighting or outdoor  lighting to illuminate the garden and create a sense of magic. Use up lighting  in low ceiling rooms and down lighting in high ceiling rooms- up lighting to  create the illusion of more spaciousness and down lighting to create a more cozy  space. Candles can be magical chi generators as well and can set the mood for  meditation or romance.

 

Artwork

Your artwork takes up very important real estate on your walls. Make sure it is  current and does not anchor in unwanted emotions. Your own art or that of your  child or children holds powerful chi as long as everyone feels positive about  it. Do not keep art up that you may love but your children are embarrassed  about. Art can be used to bring into your life your hearts desire, so make sure  everything on your walls is positive and reflects who you are now and what you  want to either keep or bring into your life. Relationship pictures should be realistic i.e. no angelic men with mortal women.

Crystals

Crystals are regulators of chi or energy and used for multiple purposes in Feng  Shui. They speed things up when they are sluggish and slow things down when  moving too fast. The crystals we use for Feng Shui ‘cures’ are the 30mm faceted  man-made crystals. Place one of these crystals on a stand on top of an  affirmation or wish box, or hang one in the areas of the Bagua that you want to  enhance. Natural quartz crystals are also amazing chi generators and can be used  to enhance the chi in any area of the home that needs some pepping up. Arrange  them on an attractive scarf  on a table or shelf in a place that needs  extra special energy.

Sound Makers

Anything that makes noise will pep up the chi. We use wind chimes both inside  and outside the home in Feng Shui. Use them on the outside at the front door to  greet and welcome in the chi or to enhance an area of the Bagua within the house that you want to enhance, such as the  wealth area.  Solar chimes with a fairy-like sound ring on their own when  the house heats up and are a wonderful way to keep the energy moving .

Living Things

 

Plants, flowers and animals must all be maintained and cared for in order to  have a positive effect, but when they are, they bring happy loving chi into the  home. Living plants are amazing chi generators. Silk flowers have much less chi  but are fine if dusted frequently, rearranged periodically and thrown out as  soon as they lose their luster.  Dry flowers and potpourri are not  considered negative in Western Feng Shui, they just  fade quickly  are  dust collectors and need to be thrown out within a month or two.

Objects from Nature

Anything from the natural world will generate chi and enhance a home.  Rocks,  crystals and shells you have collected, as well as art objects you  created from nature will bring the wonderful outside into the home. Just make  sure they are attractively arranged and kept dusted and fresh looking and that  you don’t have so many that they look like clutter. I love arranging my shell  collection on crisp white sand in an attractive bowl for my bathroom. Things  that attract nature to the garden, such as humming bird feeders and bird baths  bring a happy chi to your yard.

Hang them so that you can enjoy them from a window of your home. Make sure to  clean bird baths often so that they do not become green with stagnant water or  it will have the reverse effect. We do not want pools of stagnant water  anywhere!

Water Features

Water features are powerful chi enhancers and are recommended almost  everywhere except in the Fame and Reputation area of the Bagua and in bedrooms. Aquariums incorporate all of the five elements and  are wonderful in the appropriate places, provided they are maintained.

A dirty fish tank will have the opposite effect, just as any small animal or  reptile cage that is not well cared for. A water feature near the front door  will enhance the chi coming to the door.

Use birdbaths and outdoor water fountains to attract birds and wildlife to your  garden.

Fire  Features

Chimineas, fire pits and tiki torches are powerful chi generators in the  garden, as are fireplaces in the home.

The more we are encouraged to spend time outside enjoying nature, the happier  and more balanced we will feel in our lives.

Wind  Dancers and  Mobiles

Can be used like wind chimes to enhance the chi outside the home wherever you  need it. Hang them in the garden or at the entryway to invite the chi into the  home. Use wind socks and flags to attract the chi to the front door, which is  the important ‘mouth of chi’ for your home, where all opportunities enter.

Enjoy, and may you attract an abundance of wonderful chi into your lives!