Age 8: The Life-Changing Magic Of Ritual

I was mid-tailspin with frustration cleaning my room when my dad sat me down one Saturday morning.

I didn’t understand why this chore was so important when all my friends were outside carefree. “There’s always something else to do before I can go outside!” I cried. He explained that it was because I waited until the weekend to clean my room. “If you did a little something every day before going to bed, you wouldn’t have to do it all on Saturday.” Honestly, I can’t recall what kind of mess I was making at 8 (Barbies, maybe?), but something clicked. I began noticing those “little somethings” every day that could be tidied or put away, and I have never looked back. To this day, I am a BIG believer in the power of ritual. The effort might seem inconsequential, but devotion to ritual rouses life-changing magic in our environments!

College: Simple Is My Superpower

In graduate school, there was a requirement to 
teach a class in our core courses.

Each professor would assign a book chapter, and we would be graded on our understanding and presentation of it. My chapter: Foucault and power relations. This was not my ‘dream’ topic, and I felt really overwhelmed. I vaguely remember breaking it down into an easy-to-understand game. But what I carry with me to this day is my professor’s note to me after that class:

“Your creativity never ceases to amaze me. You are a very good presenter. Lively, engaging. You took some really rough material and, by using your game approach, got students to engage it at some level. The game was fun and instructive. You yourself had good command of the material. A really fine job. Thanks, in other hands that chapter would have been a disaster.”

This ability to keep things simple – it’s not a shui thing. It’s my superpower.

2006: How The Skeptic Became The Enthusiast

When we stepped into our new home and nothing felt right, I blamed the recent move.

Our home catered well to our needs, but I couldn’t get comfortable. Something was different about us in this new house. Our financial obligations had increased, leaving our resources without any elasticity. The stress was strangling, and our marriage bore its marks. On the edge of a really bad day, I grabbed a book and let it fall open. I saw two words: FENG SHUI.

Loaded with skepticism, I began an online search and was soon reading my first Feng Shui book. I made a few of its recommended changes, expecting nothing to work. Except. Every shui suggestion I followed was acknowledged with a positive change – which had me wondering if I was interpreting everything as a sign. Slowly, our home was feeling less like a stranger in our lives, too.

I decided to put Feng Shui to a more rigorous test. Sitting at my “power positioned” desk, I sent three cold emails to local PR companies – none had current job listings. Within a week, each of those emails had blossomed into an interview. And a few weeks later, I had a part-time freelance gig I could do from home. In that exact moment, Feng Shui appeared bulletproof and I wanted in.

2008: Feng Shui Is Happening Everywhere!

I was standing among a group of parents, making small talk, when ‘the question’ heaved my way.

“What kind of work do you do?” This used to start a somersault sensation in my body because if the person asking the question has never heard of Feng Shui, things could get weird. This was no exception. I answered and the awkward pause happened. Someone broke the silence remarking Feng Shui was ‘off the beaten path.’

“The truth is,” I explained, “everyone does Feng Shui whether they know it or not. If you have a space arranged with furniture/things/stuff, shui is happening right in front of you. So, the only question really is how is it working for you?”

Shui has been around for thousands of years, and its applications have been consistently tested and sustained over that duration. So, the way I see it? Feng Shui is simply one a way of perceiving the world – rooted in so much common sense that we are the ones ‘off the beaten path’ if we don’t draw from its wisdom.

Today: “Every time I tell you something, you see more than I do and that’s the best part.”

This is one of my favorite client compliments ever because it totally embodies what I LOVE: teaching shui so it’s applicable and inspiring for you.

Once you begin making informed choices to create an enhanced level of support in your surroundings, you discover energy works in your favor so you can live more fully!

When I started down this path in 2006, I had no idea my curiosity would one day become Simple Shui. All these years later, my practice continues to pull me forward in surprising ways. I am incredibly grateful for and encouraged by the support of my teachers and mentors, every client and friend, my gorgeous family, and of course, our home. It’s from this collective gathering I have learned so much about manifesting LOVE in the world. And as I consider the path here, I know my story is a combination of the magic and miracles that happen consistently when we live in alignment with Feng Shui’s wisdom.