Update on Desk Experiment

A few weeks ago, I challenged myself to clear off my desk----totally. It was part of a New Year’s resolution because I was tired of looking at the same stacks every day. I outlined in a prior blog how I bought a box and at the end of the day put everything in there, leaving my desk totally clear. After a few hiccups, I have to say, I’m loving this.

I come into my office in the morning and I am ready to go. Everything I need for the day is in the box. I start pulling things out according to priority. When I’m done with one item, I take out the next. I haven’t lost one piece of paper so far—everything’s in the box. I must admit I’m waiting for this system to fail me, for something to happen where I’ll have to admit that this box idea just doesn’t work. It’s too simple.

Of course, there are things that have sifted to the bottom of the box that I may never get to and don’t really care about. But I’ll leave them in there for a while. I don’t see the harm in that. During my daily forage through said box, I see these small reminders of obscure possibilities so there’s no worry that I’ll ever forget about them. I just don’t need to repeatedly see them sitting on my desk, taking up valuable space.

So, if it were just the expansive feeling I get when I walk into my office, that would be worth this exercise. But there’s an unexpected benefit to putting things in the box that I can’t explain, which is: I have more time at the end of the day. I didn’t expect this, yet I should know that this is how Feng Shui works. Since I began using the box system, I have done projects and juggled more commitments which would never have happened during the pre-box era. There’s no logical connection here between putting my stuff in a box and seeing the hours expand, except for the energy of it all. As a Feng Shui consultant I shouldn’t be surprised.

Feng Shui for the Future

Over the years I’ve gotten requests for insights about implementing Feng Shui in countless and interesting ways, but this week I got one that beat all. The editor of a science fiction web-site asked if I’d contribute information for an article she was writing about the Feng Shui of a spaceship. I think she was tongue-in-cheek, at least I hope so as that’s the direction I took it. Of course, I haven’t heard back from her so perhaps I missed the point.

Just contemplating the possibilities was a fun exercise. Since the traditional form of Feng Shui is based on the constellations as they relate to earth, what happens when the spaceship leaves the earth’s atmosphere? It would seem to me we couldn’t really discuss what we know about the influence of directions because it wouldn’t apply. Is there a north and south on another planet? Without much gravity this might be hard to determine.

Let’s say we could determine the ming gua number of the captain of the spaceship, presuming he/she/it is humanoid and had an actual birth day. Would it do us much good to know this if directions as we know them are non-existent? I don’t think so. Would it help to know when the spaceship was built so we could employ a Flying Star chart? Again, the answer is no because we need directions to make that work. A Ba Zhai chart is out of the question because the spaceship is always moving around so facing and sitting orientations would be impossible to determine unless you considered the facing direction the way the spaceship is moving when flying through space and the sitting direction is the back. Of course, the argument could be made that you’d want the facing and sitting directions to be determined when the spaceship has landed somewhere. Ah, but once again, we need directions to put sense to this. If I were the resident Feng Shui consultant on a spaceship, I daresay my compass wouldn’t do me much good.


All I could offer her was some good old western Feng Shui tips: watch for clutter, make sure the captain is in full command (high-backed chair, power corner, headboard), the importance of color. I remember those old Star Trek television shows----Captain Kirk always had his back to the entrance of the deck. Those doors would slide open with lightning speed and, guess what----he had to swivel around in his chair to see who was coming in! It’s amazing he made it to anywhere. If those Klingons would have caught on to that Feng Shui snafu, Kirk would have been toast.

So, for all of you out there who are studying or thinking about studying Feng Shui, here’s your future. Get your engines ready. The countdown has begun.

To Barb

This morning I read in the obituaries that a friend had passed away. I knew she had cancer but when I last spoke with her a couple months ago, the tumors had shrunk and she was hopeful. Barb was my personal shopper. She worked at Macy’s and when I needed help I’d call Barb. She’s outfitted me for weddings, TV appearances and just general life. It was always an event spending time with her trying on clothes, listening to her opinions, having her run around the store looking for a different size or a different color. She was always glad to see me. I’m sure all her clients felt that way, but somehow she made me feel as though I was the most important client she ever had and would ever have again.

I initially met Barb in about 1996 when she called me for a Feng Shui appointment because she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. I went to her apartment where she lived with her little boy, the delight of her life. Despite her cancer diagnosis, she was upbeat, funny, and invincible. At the end of the appointment she gave me her card—at that time she was a shopper for Dayton’s.

Over the years I had regular contact with Barb. She moved to a townhouse which I visited a couple times as a Feng Shui consultant----once because she had just moved in and another time because her cancer was back. On the reverse side, I’d have need for something to wear so would spend time in the dressing room with her. She was honest about what worked on me and what didn’t—and never pressured me to buy a thing. She’d call to keep me up on what was on sale (Dayton’s was now Marshall Fields) and what was "perfect" for me; likewise, I’d let her know when I was teaching a class she might like. We weren’t best friends, but she was definitely a part of my life. We never socialized together, but we still had friends in common. I kept up with how proud she was of her son as he grew up to be a young (and handsome, I might add) young man. I listened to her opinion as Marshall Fields was bought out by Macy's. Barb was so full of life, it never occurred to me she would die from her cancer.

In fact, just a couple weeks ago I thought I’d contact Barb to let her know there was going to be a Fashion Feng Shui class here in Minneapolis in May which I thought she’d enjoy. Plus I hadn’t heard from her for a couple months and needed to catch up. I didn’t know she was busy dying.

Here’s to Barb—for whom the heavenly cannon resounds your approach and the angels rejoice with the thought of you in their midst. Thank you for being my friend. May you rest in Feng Shui bliss.

McFeng Shui

Countless people forwarded an article to me about Feng Shui being integrated into a McDonald’s restaurant in California. Doesn’t that beat all? A fast food restaurant (where flow means how quickly people can get in and out) incorporating colors and features that will slow people down and let them linger. There’s something odd about this. It doesn’t seem like a good business idea for a restaurant where turn-over is key to profit, especially fast-food restaurants who want to get people to eat and leave so another group can take their place.

I may be wrong here, but I don’t think people going to have a meal at McDonald’s are looking for a Feng Shui experience. Does Ronald McDonald fit into this picture? Will he have to tone down his colors and act more mannerly? What about those indoor playgrounds for kids? Will they be piping in soothing music while kids are squealing down slides?

And let’s face it----McDonald’s doesn’t exactly serve healthy food. I know they’re working on improving their menu, but truly a Big Mac/fries and Feng Shui are mutually exclusive, no matter how you look at it. If this restaurant was going to serve organic and natural food, adding Feng Shui to the environment would make perfect sense.

I guess we should celebrate that Feng Shui has become so mainstream that McDonald’s is now using it----well, one of their restaurants is. It will be interesting to see if their sales top their

other restaurants.

Creeping Clutter

For the last few weeks I’ve been working on a drastic clearing of my desk. Not that it was totally out of control, mind you, but it did annoy me and wore me out. So I bought a decorative box where everything would go at the end of each day, thereby leaving my desk in a totally clear, totally expansive, totally open gesture, preparing for new possibilities. I loved this look. I had controlled the outside paper, duties, lists and put them in a box with a lid. Well, an interesting and curious phenomenon developed.

I basked in this emptiness for over a week. I’d peek into my office during off hours just to look at the desk, admiring such perfect Feng Shui. I’d walk in each morning, take out the box, and look through the stack. Everything was there in that stack that I’d need for the day----I just had to go through the papers. I didn’t lose anything in another stack somewhere----it was all in one place. It was mainly the top half of the stack that was most relevant and I would go through it several times during the course of one day to make sure I hadn’t overlooked anything. The system was working flawlessly.

Then, and I recall the exact moment and the exact situation, one evening I remembered something I had to do right away the next morning. I jotted it down on a piece of paper and, because of its urgency, didn’t put it in the box, but instead put it on my desk so I definitely wouldn’t forget to deal with it when I walked in the next day. Sure enough, the next day, there it was. Over-riding the box and the system which I had set up seemed innocent enough just this one time, but it opened the gates. That next day I wrote a couple more things down and also had a letter to follow up with----left them on my desk so right away the next day I’d jump right on it. You can see where this is going.

Soon I had a stack----again. It wasn’t big and it wasn’t all over the place, but it was the beginnings of a full-blown stack. I sadly realized I didn’t trust my own system. I must have figured I’d meander into my office, think I had nothing important to do, and leave. This, of course, is never the way I work, but what else could it be? Of course, the question remains unanswered as to why I’d undermine my own perfect method of maintaining a clear desk. Perhaps afraid of the outcome? Perhaps needing to feel overwhelmed/important? Clutter is infectious, particularly when it starts in the mind.

Sitting Tall at My Desk

As a follow-up to my last blog about my New Year’s resolutions of clearing off my desk, cleaning out my closet, and blessing my house, I have much to report. I have done or am in the process of all three activities, but it has been the desk clearing which has impacted me the most. The reason I resolved to clear off every item from my desk is because I was tired of walking into my office and seeing piles of projects, reminders, and phone messages. I was tired of feeling overwhelmed with it all; I was tired of not knowing where to begin. I was.....well, tired.

Of course, clearing everything off the desk requires some thought----like, where is all this going to go? I had to have a file or some place to put the things I was working on and the things I needed to jump on first thing in the morning. So I bought a decorative box and started there. That ubiquitous pile of must-do actions was stacked up neatly and placed in the box, which, for now, sits conveniently under the desk. I piled up all the related items for a couple of on-going projects I’m always working on (too big for the box) and decided to put them each on a shelf in my book case. However, that required I clear off a couple shelves. Then where did that stuff go?

I went to my closet. I could put the shelf things in there, but I’d need to clear off some space in the closet first. Some used folders, some old magazines, and some out-dated information were all cleared out to make room for the shelf items which were being moved to make room for the desk items. Anyway, it did all work but this domino transaction took more than an afternoon.

My procedure now is that each day I come into my office, pick up the box, and start looking through it to see what needs to happen. At the end of the day, it all goes back in the box, leaving the desk open and receptive to new things. After a couple days, I did put a candle and a photo back on a corner of my desk so the office didn’t look abandoned.

Today I go into my little office and feel expansive. My desk is primed for new possibilities. Interestingly, along with clearing up my desk, some problems with a printer who has been trying to reprint my first book magically cleared up. In Feng Shui, there are no accidents.

Year of the Rat Resolutions

I myself am happy to be moving into another animal year. The pig year was okay but there’s something about the rat and its new beginnings that I’m anticipating with hope and excitement. The rat is the beginning of the Chinese twelve-year animal cycle so it's an especially New Year. Chinese New Year’s day is February 7 this year, so it means there’s still time to refine, or make, January 1st resolutions if you haven't done so already.

Traditionally, the Chinese clean their homes, pay all their bills, make amends with anyone they’ve harmed, buy a new outfit and celebrate for two weeks until the New Year culminates on February 21 when they celebrate the Lantern Festival. It’s the biggest holiday they have. Sadly, if you’ve watched the news, snow has hit some areas in China very hard making it difficult for migrant workers to get back to their families for this important celebration. I’ve been taking to heart what I can do to mark this passage, and here are a few things I’m going to do before February 7th:

1. I’m going to go to Patina to buy a decorative box and remove everything off my desk. Everything. Most of the time anyone coming into my office would say it's pretty organized. However, I have projects stacked into piles; I’ve got things I want to consider in the future in another pile; there are some decorative cards people have sent me which I’ve propped up; I’ve got a small area of trinkets. It’s all annoying me so it's going to be gone for these two weeks. I’ll just have to dig through the box to find what I want. This will be inconvenient, but will force the need to file better.
2. I’m going to take clothes I don’t wear but always think I will to the closet in the lower level and let them hang there. I want to get down to the actual pieces that matter and see where to go from there. This will be frightening since I already think I have nothing to wear.
3. I’m going to bless my house in some fashion on each of the 14 days. I may do some specific rituals; I may visualize I’m blessing the space; I may enlist my husband. This will be comforting.

What better example of implementing Feng Shui than by moving things along, making room for something new, honoring what you have. Elaine has a word for this----she calls it guerilla Feng Shui—it’s drastic, obvious, and in my face. But it’s a new year, a new time, and I’m ready.