Layers of energy

Last month I moved home and city. I finally took the step to leave the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam behind me and moved to Arnhem, a lovely city in the eastern part of The Netherlands, surrounded by enchanting nature and beauty.

In my early 20es I took a seminar with the land artists Marco Pogatschnik and Mary Bauermeister near Kleve, which is not far from Arnhem. We spent the weekend learning about land energies and I remember how something deep within me longed to live in this area.

Over the years I always looked at places in Arnhem and surrounding while my busy life in Amsterdam was running its cause. My soul longed for silence and being in touch with nature spirits, for being nourished by the land energies of rich, old soil. While Amsterdam and most of the Randstad (including Leiden, Rotterdam and The Hague) have been manifested on former sea ground, I always felt that I couldn’t ground there. When tuning deep into the ground below me, it felt cold and wet and muddy.
The moment I moved inland I always felt that around Amersfoort my lower chakras were ‘gaining land’.

Last year, circumstances changed for me and I finally felt the opportunity to leave. Like a surfer on a beach with my surfboard, waiting for the perfect wave but had fallen asleep, fate presented me with circumstances that woke me up, had me grab my surfboard and jump on the wave when it finally came!

I found the apartment of my dreams - a place I have seen in visions many years ago and had forgotten. I’m a sucker for old, stately buildings with high ceilings, beautiful mouldings, huge sliding doors and the sense of ancient glory. In my vision I saw an apartment looking out over trees, the sunlight playing with the shadows of the leaves through the curtains that langure in the soft breeze.

Upon entering my new place for the first time, I could sense the soft, refined energy of the place. Even though it needed a bit of TLC, I could sense that people have lived here happily. The woman who has lived here with her partner before me must have loved the place too as I could sense her energy quite intensely. Very gentle and joyful. Later I learned from my neighbours that an American couple has lived here before me. Things were well kept but since they had rented it, structural things such as walls and floors had to be upgraded a bit.

While gradually making the space more and more my own, I can sense the various layers of former inhabitants. This morning I was cleaning one of the historic lamps that must have been here since the house was built in 1860. Since the lamps are hanging very high, they havent been cleaned for many, many years it seems. While rubbing away the grime the impression of a middle aged lady came up. Upper class, quite stern and pretty grumpy. She seemed to disapprove of other people living here. A very different layer of energy but also very localised. I spoke to her while I was cleaning the lamp and assured her that I will be taking good care of this place, that I love her taste and I appreciate the lamp. What a difference it made to the space! As those lamps hang in the centre row each of the four main rooms, they mark the Tai Chi, the center of the room - which holds energetic significance. Its like energetic command center and in traditional Feng Shui and other traditions, the center of the house has always been marked.

Tomorrow, after my new floor has been put in, I will clean the lamps in the other three rooms and see what will happen there :)

So long!

WHAT IS INNER SPACE DESIGN (ISD)? (English)

Since working with clients and their personal spaces, I felt I was doing something different than "just" working with traditional Feng Shui. I deeply respect the wisdom that comes from Taoism in its purest form (as far as I can understand it as a Westerner). Yet I was born in a very different context in terms of culture, time and space. My cultural references are different from the masters who developed Feng Shui in the East for centuries.

The questions of our modern times are very different from those people experienced in the East about 4,000 years ago. The context of our modern times calls for a more contemporary approach.

At the same time, it is wise to cherish the deep wisdom that we can learn by studying and using the ancient teachings of Feng Shui. It is precisely during this time when we seem to be losing touch with nature that we can learn to sit still and reflect on our role in this universe, our point of view and our personal mission.

Our point of view is reflected in our home. Here we anchor. Some people are more nomadic than others and change homes quite often during their lives. Others remain in one place from birth to death. For most of us, it's probably somewhere in between.

Often a change of point of view reflects a profound transition and change in our lives. Whether we have to change cities or even countries for a new job, a new love or other reasons, or our personal circumstances change (a new phase of life, children are born, leaving home, the decision to separate and living alone or with a new partner, etc.), our physical point of view must also shift. Maybe we just feel the deep inner need to redecorate our current home, because we feel something in us wants to change, grow and develop.

I find it fascinating to guide customers in their journey. Reflect with them, ask questions and listen to the answers that come from the depths. To see them get creative, roll up their sleeves and actively change their lives! Sometimes by choosing a new home, a new place. Sometimes by thoroughly mucking out together. By giving new meaning to existing spaces, moving furniture, grabbing a bucket of paint and a brush and getting to work. It is about creating a new way of seeing, a sense of 'this is me!'.

And the physical 'new' home plays an important role in this because it reflects who you are deep down, wants to be, gives space to your potential, gives you strength and offers you peace and protection to recharge. It is the canvas on which to paint your life, sometimes with small, loving details. A healthy breeding ground on which things (and you yourself!) can grow and change.

Every journey is unique, just as each person is unique and so is every home. This makes it so exciting for me to be able to guide people in this!

If you are interested, please contact me at info@balancingwalls.com

Wat is Inner Space Design? (Nederlands)

WAT IS INNER SPACE DESIGN (ISD)?

Sinds ik met klanten en hun persoonlijke ruimtes heb gewerkt, voelde ik dat ik iets anders aan het doen was dan ‘alleen’ werken met het traditionele Feng Shui. Ik heb diep respect voor de wijsheid die voortkomt uit het taoïsme in zijn puurste vorm (voor zover ik die als westerling kan begrijpen). Toch ben ik geboren in een heel andere context qua cultuur, tijd en ruimte. Mijn culturele referenties zijn anders dan van de meesters die Feng Shui eeuwenlang in het Oosten hebben ontwikkeld.

De vragen van onze moderne tijd zijn heel anders dan die mensen ongeveer 4000 jaar geleden in het Oosten ervoeren. De context van onze moderne tijd vraagt om een meer eigentijdse aanpak.

Tegelijkertijd is het verstandig om de diepe wijsheid te koesteren die we kunnen leren door de oude leer van Feng Shui te bestuderen en te gebruiken. Juist in deze tijd waarin we het contact met de natuur lijken te verliezen, kunnen we leren stil te zitten en na te denken over onze rol in dit universum, ons standpunt en onze persoonlijke missie.

Ons standpunt komt in ons thuis tot uiting. Hier gaan we voor anker. Sommige mensen zijn meer nomadisch aangelegd dan anderen en veranderen in hun leven vrij vaak van huis. Anderen blijven vanaf de geboorte tot de dood op één plek. Voor de meesten van ons zit het er waarschijnlijk ergens tussenin.

Vaak weerspiegelt een verandering van standpunt een diepe overgang en verandering in ons leven. Of we nu van stad of zelfs van land moeten veranderen voor een nieuwe baan, een nieuwe liefde of om andere redenen, of onze persoonlijke omstandigheden veranderen (een nieuwe levensfase, kinderen worden geboren, het huis verlaten, de beslissing om uit elkaar te gaan en alleen of met een nieuwe partner te gaan wonen, enz. ), ons fysieke standpunt moet ook verschuiven. Misschien voelen we gewoon de diepe innerlijke behoefte om ons huidige huis opnieuw in te richten, omdat we voelen dat er iets in ons wil veranderen, groeien en ontwikkelen.

Ik vind het boeiend om klanten te begeleiden in hun reis. Reflecteer met hen, stel vragen en luister naar de antwoorden die uit de diepte komen. Om ze creatief te zien worden, de handen uit de mouwen te steken en actief hun leven te veranderen! Soms door een nieuw thuis uit te zoeken, een nieuwe plek. Soms door grondig samen uit te mesten. Door bestaande ruimtes een nieuwe betekenis te geven, meubilair te verplaatsen, een emmer verf en een kwast te pakken en lekker aan de slag te gaan. Het gaat om het creëren van een nieuwe zichtwijze, een gewaarwording van ‘dit ben ik!’.

En hierin speelt het fysieke ‘nieuwe’ thuis een belangrijke rol want het weerspiegelt wie je diep van binnen bent, wil zijn, geeft ruimte aan je potentieel, geeft je kracht en biedt je rust en bescherming om op te laden. Het is het doek waarop je je leven kunt schilderen, soms met kleine, liefdevolle details. Een gezonde voedingsbodem waarop de dingen (en jij zelf!) mogen groeien en veranderen.

Elk traject is uniek, net als als mens uniek is en ook elk thuis. Dit maakt het voor mij zo enorm spannend om mensen hierin te mogen begeleiden!

Mocht je interesse hebben, neem dan even contact met me op via info@balancingwalls.com

Lunchtime musings: Clutter and the processing of ... stuff

While I’m sitting on my balcony with my lunch bowl, enjoying the autumn sun, my gaze falls onto my opposite neighbour’s balcony.
It belongs to a lady who moved in a few months ago. Since she spends a lot of time moving things to and from her balcony right opposite mine, I couldn’t avoid watching her from time to time.

There was A LOT of - what looks to my eyes - clutter. Old blankets, broken stuff, plastic flower bouquets, broken kitchen appliances.

Sometimes she would move things, sort things out and clean up the space, only to fill it up with new old stuff.

I talked to her briefly (more shouting friendly words from one balcony to the other while the sound of traffic interrupting the conversation). She seems like a very kind and lovely person.

So while I’m sitting here with my lunch, I’m contemplating the chaos… From a Feng Shui point of view this would likely count as clutter (well, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, by all means!).
But as a therapist I wonder: what is this brave woman processing? She seems to process a lot of stuff - only to clear out and bring in more stuff to process… What is her history, her story?

Clutter / stuff is so much more than just… well, material objects. Its a reflection of what we accept into our lives, our energy field.

We all have clutter. Our clutter can be old, broken, dirty stuff, it can be unpaved bills, digital clutter on our devices, clothes we dont wear, magazines we never read, mind clutter… you name it.

One of my teachers, Karen Kingston, has written her famous book ‘Clear your clutter with Feng Shui’ about it and many have followed her with their own books, TV shows and advise.

While I do help people to clear their clutter, I have also realised over the years that clutter stands for something deeper which more often than not needs to be looked at more closely.

Clutter represents our shadow. It makes out shadow visible. The shadow we want to hide. That we are ashamed of. It shows that we are not perfect. And there it is, visible to all, in the form of our clutter.

Thats why clutter is such a shameful subject…

Instead of hitting yourself over the head with that big shame hammer, I rather suggest to make yourself a nice cup of tea and sit with it. Contemplate your clutter without immediately jumping into action (or avoidance). Sit with it. Watch it. Observe yourself: what comes up? Breathe… Sip your tea.

And eventually, when the time is ripe, you could decide to take action. But please, be kind with yourself about it! Have patience with yourself.

The soothing home - part 1 - Clutter Clearing and its effects on your health

Nervus Vagus

Recently I stumbled upon the work of Stephen Porges, the father of the Polyvagal Theory.
The Vagus nerve is the biggest nerve in our body and (in very short) affects our stress and relaxation reflexes. ‘Fight or flight’ - or relaxation, you could say.

So what does the Nervus Vagus have to do with our homes, you might ask?

Some of you may know that I am also a classical homeopath and can combine Feng Shui with personal health. Over the years I realised what a big effect the health of our home has on our personal health. And that there is a strong interaction between home and health.

Our home is our safe haven. It is here where we ideally unwind, feel safe and be ourselves. It is here where we can be creative - be it with our cooking, with decoration, with art, music, writing or many other ways.

Our home has to function well for us in order to be soothing and replenishing. This has a positive effect on our CNS (central nervous system).

This starts, in fact, with a well designed home that takes the main Feng Shui principles into account:

- Does the Chi move freely and smoothly?
- Does it create a calm, relaxing space?
- Is there a good balance between Yin and Yang?
- Are the 5 Elements well represented and in their right place?
- Are the main rooms such as bathrooms, kitchen, bedrooms, living room, etc. in the right sectors according to the Bagua?

Imagine you come home to a cluttered space. You enter the gateway of your home and the first thing you see is an uncared for yard with bins, no plants, bikes blocking the entrance… You open the door and stumble over shoes. There is no space to hang your jacket so you throw it over the pile of other jackets and find your way - sidewards - to the living room… It looks like a bomb has exploded! The kitchen sink is full of dishes, the fridge is empty, there is dirt and a crack in the wall… (Shall I go on or do you feel enough stress in your body already by reading this? ;) )

Now imagine you come home form a long day at work. You enter the well cared yard with lovingly planted plants. Flowerpots with roses and lavender mark the entrance to invite you back home. You open the door and breathe deeply… BACK HOME! Your home welcomes you back into its loving, caring space. There is a gentle smell that marks your home (did you ever notice that every home has its own smell, just like a person?) The first things you see make you happy - a picture on the wall in the hall, a well picked wallpaper, a vase with fresh flowers, … Some people like minimalistic, very orderly spaces, others love the fullness and certain level of creative chaos - all good!

Well, I could go on but I’m sure you got the point!

Can you feel how both scenarios make you feel in your body right now? How one creates stress and the other one creates calmness?

Reflect on your home today - start with one aspect first such as the entrance. How does it make you feel? How does your body react? Does your energy level go up or down? How does your heart feel? Softening or closing? How does your belly feel? How is your breathing?

What is the one little thing you could do today, right now, to make your space more loving and inviting for you to feel more at home?

If there is anything you need my help with, please feel free to contact me.

Wishing you a lovely day,

Lioba

Great Interior Design - Bad Feng Shui - part 1

As an avid user of Pinterest I often search for pictures I can use for mood boards for my clients. I often stumble over stunning interior designs which from a Feng Shui perspective potentially create a few problems.

I thought it might be fun to start a series in which I discuss those ‘flaws’, including designs which make you wonder if it really that necessary to stick to Feng Shui rules all the time (I personally dont and I am a Feng Shui practitioner and teacher for many years :) )

Your comments are very welcome!

Here we go:

1. MIRRORS IN THE BEDROOM

2. YANG SHA TOWARDS THE BED

3. HEADBOARD TOWARDS THE WINDOW

4. PLANK WITH STUFF ABOVE THE HEAD

5. EXPOSED HEAD SPACE

6. WELL, THIS WOULD BE NIT-PICKY ;)

Finding the right colours for the North-East sector

One of the trickier bits during a Feng Shui consultation is to find a perfect colour match for spaces that encompass the North / North-East and East sectors within one room.

See, pithing the 5 Element theory we have the Nourishing cycle:

WATER -> WOOD -> FIRE -> EARTH -> METAL.

The Controlling cycle:

WOOD -> WATER -> METAL -> EARTH -> FIRE

and the Destructive cycle:

WATER -> FIRE -> METAL -> WOOD -> EARTH

While the North sector stands for the WATER Element and the East sector for WOOD (which follows the WATER), we suddenly have the Yang EARTH Element of the North-East in-between.

And since EARTH is in conflict with both Elements WATER and WOOD, what do we do?

I have asked this question to my various Feng Shui teachers over the years and never really gotten a satisfying answer from any of my teachers. So this is what I came up with:

North-East sector / KEN / Yang EARTH, The Mountain

The North-East sector (KEN, the Youngest Son / Mountain) forms the lower end of the Tao line that connects the Yang and the Yin part. The upper part ends in the South-West sector of K’UN, The Mother and Yin EARTH sector.

KEN is also known as ‘The Mountain’ and represents the youngest son of the 8 Trigram family. He stands for Wisdom, Knowledge, Self-Development and Study. The time on the clock is 3am and his sector stands for early spring.

You could picture KEN sitting in deep meditation on the top of a mountain in a remote place of the Himalaya. On the far horizon, being so high up, you can start to get a glimpse of dusk. The night sky slowly merging with the very early morning light. Picture soft pastel colours such as a soft yellow, pink, slightly green and light blue. The space is very quiet, crisp and clean.

Recommended colours for the NE sector

These are the colours and the atmosphere that I often recommend for this sector. Through the softness the colours feel like they are merging the WATER, EARTH and WOOD Elements in one room very nicely. The colours also go well with the rather cool morning light that shines through the windows of a North-East sector.

Attention to Detail

Some of you may know that, besides being a Feng Shui consultant and teacher, I am also an avid student of homeopathy. It has always been my passion and since two years I am studying at the School of Homeopathy in England where we not only learn classical homeopathy but are also introduced to the Sensation method which has been developed by Rajan Sankaran about 20 years ago.

This new method has revolutionised homeopathy and brought it to a new level of not only case taking but also how we perceive ourselves and our patients. It is probably no accident that this method has been developed (and still is) mainly in India as it is deeply rooted in - like the name says - the sensation that we have on the deepest level. This level passes our rational mindset and connects us to the language of our subconscious, to involuntary gestures or sounds we make, to the deeper meaning of drawings and images we may produce, to the sensation we have in our dreams, etc. This part in us speaks archetypal language and it is from this level that we connect to our remedy. 

I have always been fascinated by this idea and have seen homeopathy on this level work miracles many times. There is no rational way to explain this other than that, on some mysterious, unexplored level, we all do seem to connected to everything that is. Many wise people have pointed this out for centuries and throughout many different cultures so there may be some truth to it after all! 

How is this connected to Feng Shui? On first sight there doesn't seem to be a real connection and many people startle when I tell them about my rather peculiar career path(s). After all, Feng Shui is connected to interior design somehow and homeopathy is a medical profession surely?

Yet the way I perceive it is that both disciplines use bilateral thinking, keen observation and an almost detective-like way to connect seemingly unrelated dots. Its the attention to detail that connects both disciplines in my eyes. 

When I come into the home of a client, I automatically assess the state of the walls, which often give me a clue as to how the client is able to maintain boundaries. The floor tells me a lot about how the person is grounded - or not. The colour scheme, state of furniture, level of clutter - all those details tell me about the level of energy a person has, where possible problems may lie and how to improve the situation. Like in homeopathy, small details can give me the clue as to what be the main problem why the client may not feel at ease in his or her space.

Both disciplines deal with healing. Healing a space is similar to healing a patient. Our home is our '3rd skin' and it is necessary that we feel at hom win our skin(s)! Although a messy home may not lead to physical ailments necessarily, it may cause a state of low energy and depression over time. Our home is always a reflection of our inner state in one way or the other. Even a 'perfect' home tells me something about the owner.

And finally, a very important and sometimes neglected aspect is that there is no judgement. We have all been there and sometimes we stil are. There is no right or wrong. There can be discomfort which are caused by blockages and those we will do our best to help our clients or patients to remove so the Chi - or, homoeopathically speaking, our Vital Force - can flow again. 

For me this is a most fascinating journey which will last a lifetime. I will post about it once in a while to share my thoughts with you. If you like to comment, please do so! 

Spring - The Awakening of the Wood Element

'What pattern connects the crab to the lobster and the orchid to the primrose and all four of them to me? And me to you?' - Gregory Bateson

AWAKENINGS

Last night I returned from a short trip to England where I spent my free time at some of the most enchanting gardens on the North Devon coast. 

Surrounded and engulfed by all the budding and bursting Chi, it was very easy to feel the various qualities of the Wood Element: its strong, upward-moving vital force, the vertical movements and its vast palette of greens. 

After the long period of introspection during the Water phase of the winter the Wood energy makes it easy to once again feel optimistic, determined and energised. I even feel compelled to drag out my old, long forgotten membership card for the gym, spring-clean my house and myself, buy colourful clothes, walk with a spring in my step and smile at strangers on the streets.

Wood stands for expansion, for purpose, fervour and determination. The Wood in us inspires us to strive for higher goals, to face challenges with an optimistic mindset, to be brave and take action! It is the archetype of the Pioneer. 

The Wood phase (spring) comes out of the Water phase (winter) and will expand into the Fire phase (summer). Now it is time to put our roots down, to grow and to flourish!

THE 5 ELEMENTS IN US

We all have an individual 5 Element make-up. Based on our birth date, time and place of birth our 5 Element profile tells us our birth Element and how it relates to the other four Elements.

Some of our Elements may be stronger than others (even overpowering), some may be weaker or even be missing initially in our chart. Which means life will nudge us to put some extra energy in developing the characteristics of the weak or missing Element! 

In a perfect world all of our 5 Elements work perfectly together hand-in-hand. Which would resemble a perfect state of physical and emotional health! The same applies to our homes where all 5 Elements need to be represented and well placed in order to create a healthy Chi flow. 

Our individual 'blueprint' of the 5 Elements says a lot about us: why we may be more emotional and artistic, for example, than our partner or sibling. Or perhaps react in a certain way which also slightly puzzles ourselves. Why we love certain colours or landscapes and dislike others. 

It may also explain why during this time of spring a person with a strong Wood Element may feel slightly irritated (emotionally or physically - think of the irritation of a hay fever!) as the Wood energy will be enhanced and therefore be overpowering. (In TCM the Wood Element reigns over the liver and gallbladder. If those Elements are not in harmony we tend to over-react or may feel indecisive and confused). 

THE 5 ELEMENTS IN OUR HOME

In Feng Shui we observe the interaction of the 5 Elements on the material and energetic level in a space: Are all Elements equally represented? What Element type of house are we dealing with? What Element type of landscape is the home surrounded by? Is there an over-emphasis of certain Elements, are certain Elements weak or missing? And how do the 5 Elements in the house relate to the 5 Element profile of our clients? 

The 5 Elements form three cycles which either nourish each other or control or even block the other Elements. A thorough reading of the 5 Elements in us and around us give very important clues as to where we may be stuck and how to move the obstacle. It forms the basis for the Feng Shui analysis. 

If you are curious about your own 5 Element profile, have a look HERE and click on the '5 Element report' icon for more information! This report will be calculated for you personally and gives you ±45 pages of valuable tips and information around your birth Element and how to use it to enhance your home and life. 

If you feel physically or emotionally out of balance and live in or near Amsterdam, I highly recommend you pay a visit to my lovely colleague, Sandra Guy from www.heavenlystaracupuncture.com !

Virtual Clutter Clearing

For a while now I have been pondering about the fact that there is a very interesting similarity between the ever expanding virtual space and the physical space:

Think about your own browsing experience: what sites attract you and which one's do you click away in a fraction - and why? 

How does the space of a website make you feel? How does it speak to you? What kind of an atmosphere does it have? What tone is it written in? Is it written en designed with awareness? Does the space of the site feel cluttered or clean? What is its purpose? How much integrity does the website have? Is its main purpose to take from you (mostly your money) or to give to you (mostly valuable information)? How about your own website (if you have one)? Do you maintain it regularly? Does it have any unnecessary information (aka 'brain-clutter')? Do you speak to your potential readers from your heart? 

Another aspect is the desktop: since many of us are staring at it for a great amount of time each day, we may need give this some thought. How does your wallpaper look like? As this is an image you look at each day (even if it just peeks out behind gazillions of open windows) this may bring a smile on your face, connect you to something or someone you love and will be with you for the time you are spending with your computer / tablet / phone. 

How crowded is your desktop? Are there files and programs all over the place? Or are they neatly structured in an impeccable filing system? And if so, what happens in those neatly sorted filing systems? Do yo upkeep your information up to date and de-clutter regularly or are you an information hoarder (guilty as charged! ;) ) 

Feng Shui as I understand it is about awareness and becoming more and more conscious of our immediate environment - be it physical or virtual. Since our thoughts, feelings and belief-systems tend to become matter, it seems important to keep our virtual space as clean and de-cluttered as our physical space. 

What is your take on this?