Remember last week when you sat down to your thanksgiving meal ready to feast on all the traditional dishes that brought about memories from your childhood? You sat around enjoying the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade as the kitchen filled with those wonderful scents that took you back in time to grandma’s house. Your tastebuds started working overtime in anticipation of consuming your best meal to date! You had not one but two servings of your favorite dishes, knowing good and well it would be another year before you would get to savor those flavors again.
Fast forward now to after the pumpkin and pecan pies… remember thinking they would have to carry you to your car? You really wanted to take some of the leftovers, but the thought of putting one more morsel of food into your mouth was unbearable. Your body was f.u.l.l!
Those breathing spaces are just as important and maybe even more so in that they can affect everybody calling our place home. Homes have physical cues just like the body, but not everybody knows how to read them. Let’s take a look at what we can do to keep our homes happy and healthy through the holiday season.
Mindful eating Mindful eating is all about being present with our surroundings as we enjoy a meal. It’s taking a breath between bites and tuning in when deciding what’s good for your body in the moment. We need to be mindful when considering the needs of our home as well. When we design our space we want to be sure everything in it has a purpose be it in use or in appreciation. Inanimate objects vibrate as electrons move within atoms. This energy is felt even if we are not conscious of what we are sensing. It’s the way you feel when you are relaxing on a comfortable couch or feeling inspired by a beautiful piece of art. If something is a part of your décor because it was gifted to you and you don’t particularly care for it, but don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings…get over it. Move it on. It will be better off living in someone’s home that can truly appreciate it’s form or function.
Tune into your body before going for seconds Checking in to see if we are full before we order that dessert is a healthy practice to keep our bodies in shape. The same is true for keeping our homes fit. Before purchasing more stuff, stop to consider if your space can accommodate it. When I work with a Feng Shui client, I always insist they submit a floorplan of their space. I do this because knowing the size of your rooms connects you more intimately to your space. These clients always have better results in accomplishing their goals than those who send a rough sketch to appease me. When you understand what size you wear, your clothes fit better. Same idea here. You might adore a 9-foot couch, but your space might be better suited for a love seat.
Eat regular meals When I get busy, I can forget about eating until my stomach growls. If I choose that moment to start thinking about finding food, you can forget about my making a healthy meal. I end up eating anything that will stave off my hanger pains. Regular meals keep our blood sugar levels consistent and therefore our moods.
Ignoring our home’s needs can be just as dangerous to maintaining the overall vitality of our homes. Routine maintenance is important in keeping a home’s energy balanced. When there are rooms that are cluttered they have a lower energy and can affect the guas (rooms) opposite them. They weigh down the higher energy, lowering the overall vibration of the home. Make sure all things in the home are in good working order and repaired when necessary. Also keep that clutter to a minimum by remembering the golden rule in home maintenance… one in, one out. If it’s time for new towels, donate the old ones. If you love dishes, then designate one cabinet for them and when it is full, no more come in until you gift or sell a set.
Interrupt the craving process This time of year, there is a magical potion known as eggnog on the shelves in the dairy section that I cannot resist. Just seeing the name on the carton gets my tastebuds fired up. I think that the marketing for it is genius as you can only get it this time of year, which makes me drink it more often. To keep my waistline intact, I eat a small pack of nuts before I grocery shop and skip the dairy section altogether. I can also be very impulsive when shopping for household items especially if something is on sale or is the last one of its kind. I made such a purchase recently.
I needed a mirror to shift the energy in my bedroom. I found the smallest round mirror the store had and saw that it was marked down. I thought the shape would help balance some of the lines in the room and it was a great deal. Being such a great deal, it was a final sale item meaning no returns. That did not deter me. I never stopped to consider how it would look over the bed, and as luck would have it, it looked terrible. If I had left that day and gone home to mull it over, my intuition would have signaled it would be a no go. But I was caught up in the Christmassy feeling of the store, the sale and crossing this task off my list. Taking a break state is always advisable when you get the urge to purchase something in the spur of the moment. Even it’s just a walk to your car and back… take some space away from the energy of the store to feel your own energy and determine if it’s the moment or the item that’s pushing you to buy!
Get plenty of sleep and exercise We all know the physical body needs to be a healthy mix of activity with rest and so too does a healthy home. It’s the yin and the yang. If we have too many yin things, our space will feel heavy. We need the breathing room (empty spaces) along walls and in corners to allow the energy to circulate. If our home is too sparse, then the body won’t be able to relax. We need creature comforts to snuggle in and cuddle up to feel safe and loved. If you look forward to bedtime at 2 p.m., you might need more yang. More yang means less items. Read that again. We are talking about fewer items in a space and that includes your closets and drawers ladies! Remember, everything vibrates! Tucking it out of site will not change that. It may be out of physical sight, but it can still be felt by the physical body. If you can’t get to sleep at night, then you’re staring down the barrel of needing more yin energy. Take a look at your sleeping space to determine if you are putting your body, i.e., your bed, in a harsh energy like facing a doorway. Keep in mind that if you have a lot of mirrors, they are energy activators, so consider editing the number or covering the mirrors with a scarf at night.
Take good care of your body Homes, like bodies, need to be cleaned and cleared. They need fresh air, and sunshine and clear energy to take care of all the people in their charge. If you enjoyed the company of friends and family over the thanksgiving, you might want to not only do the dishes and take out the trash, but also sage your home. Everybody can put a smile on their face for a few hours at a dinner party. But energy can’t hide behind a façade. All energy connects, and if you’re a sensitive being you can feel that dissonance. Don’t let their issues linger in your space. Allowing their energy be it high or low to stay long after you said your goodbyes will shift your energy in your home. You will feel out of sorts and probably find reasons that you are to blame like, you weren’t as welcoming as you should have been, or maybe people hated your sweet potato casserole. No sister, it was simply that they have their own vibe that’s now mingling with yours and needs to go home with them. Light that sage, hit every corner including under the bed, wash those sheets and pat yourself on the back. You just survived another holiday. One down… one to go.
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