simple shui | ready. set. summer.

with schedules loosening and the sun eager to linger in the spotlight, the opportunity to try shui is ripe.

because the best way to understand shui is to LIVE it.

around here, the first few weeks of june are a mosh pit. we pounce upon the already crumbling structure of the school routine. and we find ourselves intoxicated with freedom.

but like any good thing, the energy gets sticky if we don’t set some organizing principles.

most people like to hear if they move their furniture, voila! good shui will come knocking. truth is, i’ve seen it happen. the really robust results, however, come from the little things. those, when done habitually, create the biggest transformation in our lives.

so, i’ve distilled shui down to a few rules for summer around here.

{1} make your bed. every morning.

it’s a ritual that serves us well. and when i recently read this navy seal’s commencement speech, i felt the urge to fist pump. because he articulates the precise sentiment of how fundamental good rituals in our lives — like making the bed — are.

{2} create open space. let the eye rest and the house breathe.

if you’ve been around simple shui awhile, you know open space welcomes new opportunities.

however. it has another delicious upside.

when everyone is home, lounging inside out of the atomic rays, open space is synonymous with giving relationships room to flourish and thrive. so, clear space for HAPPINESS.

{3} less is more. and {SURPRISE!}, i am not talking clutter.

okay, it is a type of clutter — this hyper-connectivity of our lives. set limits on TV + apps + the sorts. before the rule is set, establish a list of alternatives so when a bored soul meets a weak moment, options are available. doing this now will have you sailing into #4.

{4} “words you speak become the house you live in.”

oh, hafiz. i love you!

WORDS matter because every single one carries an energy. when low vibe words are used with frequency — should or stupid or hate or those pesky expletives — they leave residue in a home. imagine the mess mud or gum {gah!} makes when mindlessly tracked through the house. words are doing the same thing — problem is , we don’t see or clean up their energy deposits. instead, the words pile up and we feel the effects weeks later in unexpected outbursts or clinging bad moods.

habits don’t change overnight, so try this instead: make it a goal to use the word JOY or LOVE {or something extra sparkly!} 100 times a day. sounds impossible, but boundless power awaits once you begin! {and you can do almost anything once, right?}

{5} sweep.

this simple ritual is one i LOVE doing. and i LOVE this ditty SO much, i submitted an article over at MindBodyGreen, where it was published! my take: the metronomic quality of sweeping gives us an opportunity to become present with what is while layering LOVE in + outside our homes.

{6} gather.

have guests over + feed them. the shui at play here is if you are abundant enough to feed many mouths, you are prosperous. and like energy attracts more like energy. so, invite good company + break bread + enjoy an enchanted evening.

{7} gratitude.

make appreciation so ubiquitous in your home, all those who come into your space feel LOVE. when we notice + articulate what is good in our lives, it literally blazes a trail for more abundance to find us.

for me, simple shui is about the words we use. the foods we eat. the entertainment in our homes. it’s about the rituals that shape our days, and eventually, compose the legacy of our lives. it is about a life filled with quality over quantity, and living with what you LOVE. so, reclaim your house and make a few mighty declarations for the summer months ahead. this attention to LOVE has a marvelous gravitational pull toward incandescent joy!

xo