my house is a *shui mess*

when i was new to shui, i went around tidying and prettying up my home according to the bagua – following the basic “profile” suggestions i was learning in books.   

i eventually space cleared. i got intentional and metaphorical, and things shifted – initially.

but there was only so much of that *zhuzhing* i could do before it felt excessive.

i had been putting off learning some of the more “complicated” parts of shui, and i could tell that if i wanted to experience another level of understanding just how powerful our home is, i was going to have to ween off the beginner books and dive into the more “intimidating” concepts.

if you’ve been in the simple shui orbit for a while, you know one of those topics was the 5 elements.

the other: chi challenges.

and what i learned surprised me: our house was a shui mess.

up until that point, i thought as long as our life areas were aligned with the right “chi enhancers” and “loaded” with our intentions, we were good.

i was under the assumption that managing clutter and keeping the house relatively tidy meant we were in the A+ range.

and i believed regular space clearings would “mop up” anything that tugged at those efforts.

so, imagine my surprise learning that…

+ we had a major “rushing chi” feature – energy came in our front door and went right out a back window.

+ we had “leaks” in our wealth area and love area, thanks to both areas having big windows.

+ our office was “under attack” because of how it was positioned on our street.

+ our property shape diminished our ability to retain wealth.

+ the stairs in the center of our home were creating that “up / down” feeling about everything in our lives.

+ and the busy road behind us? it created challenges holding onto the opportunities that showed up. (this one really got my attention because it had been a perpetual experience for me since moving in!)

the thing is, though, every single problem had a consequence i immediately identified in our lives.

all of the sudden, our “well-shui’d” home was not feeling so great – and i had a moment where (like many of my clients), i thought about selling it. i am so glad i didn’t because it taught me a whole new way of working with shui.

and it is why i dedicate so much of my course and House Therapy training to chi challenges.

you can polish and pretty up your home all day long, but if you have certain configurations or layouts working against you? that splinter needs to be identified and treated, too.

everything mentioned here was eventually remedied, and i paid close attention to the “coincidences,” shifts, and any reprieves on their heels. not only were the changes so noticeable (and welcome!), this became the foundation for my consultation process. ask any of my students and clients – or even become one! – and they’ll tell you: learn to really understand the chi flow, and your home (and life) will feel wooed to the max! xo