FALL/WINTER 2003
IN THIS ISSUE

It All Starts With Intentions
Color
Sound
Members Only
Practitioners Page

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It All Starts With Intentions….
by Robin Keller, ASID, FSII of Chameleon Spaces
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I have always struggled when asked for Feng Shui "Tips". To me, Feng Shui 
is more than a quick tip or fix. Feng Shui in its truest and finest application is 
a process.

This process starts with intentions. It’s been said many times that the road to
Hell is paved with good intentions. I do not believe this to be true. I believe 
that the road to Hell is paved with disinterest. Disinterest means lack of interest
or concern. When you have intention, you have not only concern but intent as 
well. This is exactly what is needed to start the Feng Shui process!

Intentions start with your thoughts and the words that come out of your mouth. 
So first you must carefully examine what you think and say. Does this "self talk" 
support your intention or hinder it? You first must support your intention at this
basic level.

Sometimes despite our best intentions, we cannot reach our goals.

This is not because we are stupid, lazy, or lack will power or knowledge.

It is because our intention is in conflict with a core value (A core value is a belief 
that is at the core of your personality). If this is the case, you will most likely 
need to modify your intention to agree with your core value. Below is a core 
value conflict from earlier in my own life.

My intention was to lose weight. However, I struggled with an eating issue. 
When certain individuals frustrate me, I tend to overeat.

I have a core value to be nice or keep the peace. The only way I knew how to
be nice and avoid saying things I wanted to say was to keep shoveling in the 
food.

The result was that I had to modify my intention to include behavioral change 
that supported both my intention and my core value. When dealing with these
certain individuals, I practice stress-reducing techniques to prevent overeating.

After you have determined your intention, supported it with your thoughts and 
words, and aligned it with your core values, you need to share it with the
universe. Share it with your love ones. Write it on sticky notes at your desk. 
Somehow, someway, share your intentions. When you share a well-defined 
intention that does not conflict with your core values, the universe usually replies
with fulfillment. Of course, simply declaring your intentions is not enough; you 
must also create an environment that supports your intentions.

You need to be very careful with intentions though. It’s has also been said that
you should be careful of what you wish for because you just might get it. 
To take my life as an example, as soon as I proclaimed my intention of 
becoming pregnant, low and behold my intention came true.

The only thing between you and your goal is your resistance to define it! 
Often it is difficult to do this work alone. A certified Feng Shui Practitioner 
can help.
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Robin Keller, ASID, FSII of Chameleon Spaces, out of Michigan, is a 
professional member of Feng Shui Institute International and American 
Society of Interior Designers. (For more about Feng Shui as a Process, 
check out the article on my website www.chameleonspaces.com  and 
click on the chameleon calendar page, April- Feng Shui Tips).
http://www.chameleonspaces.com 
248-790-2237
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COLOR
By Diantha Harris, ASID, FSII
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Color is something we all know and experience. Even people with sight 
impairments like blindness or color blindness react to color through the 
vibration unique to each color. One of my most interested and loyal clients 
is colorblind and yet when he has a consultation, he chooses just the right colors.

The theory behind color therapies in general is that our body uses up color 
as we go through our different challenges. For example, when I was having 
trouble speaking up for myself, I found myself in a "blue" period: I wore blue, 
painted my bedroom blue, bought blue sheets, ate blueberries by the quart, etc.
No wonder! Blue is the color of the throat, and therefore the voice. 
Once I learned that phase of that lesson in speaking my truth, I moved on to 
another color.

And so it will be with your feng shui clients. Through archtyping and the initial 
intake interview you will be able to glean which color or colors would best 
support your client. As an example, I once had a client who yearned to be a 
mother. She and her husband were told they could not have children. 
In spite of that, they endured years of fertility treatments.

At the end of all of that, they called me in for a consultation. I ended up putting 
a bottle of Aura-Soma color in the children area of their bedroom. The bottle 
used was called "Star Child" and contained both blue and pink. It was forgotten
about and they went on with their lives. Within a year, they were pregnant, 
and a year after their son was born, their daughter arrived!

I’m not saying that color is always such a miracle maker but color IS powerful 
and a wonderful ally for us as feng shui practitioners. It is easy to use, usually 
inexpensive, and very effective.

In the case of many people inhabiting the same space, try to find an area that 
each one can call his/her own. Even if it has to be limited to a decorative pillow
or a mat on a favorite picture, giving each person in the family something in the 
color they most need is a wonderful gift of support.

In addition, when dealing with a family and helping them decide colors for walls,
clarify what purpose the room will be used for, then choose the color. 
Nancilee Wydra, feng shui master and founder of the Feng Shui Institute of 
America, has always said that terra cotta is a great color for a gathering space, 
the reason being that it is a shade of orange and orange is the color of sociability
and fusion, the goals of a gathering space!

In a very real way color can be said to be a language which reaches across all boundaries. While each culture has assigned to colors different symbolisms 
which are unique to their culture, each color of the rainbow relates specifically 
to a chakra, a musical note, organ, endocrine gland, gemstone, fragrance etc. 
As someone once explained to me, these are all like the same notes, but 
different octaves. If we could play a huge piano reaching hundreds of octaves, 
the notes we hear at much higher octaves would not be heard but seen as 
colors! Other octaves would have scents etc.

So when your body wisdom encourages you to wear certain colors or to eat 
foods of a particular color, pay attention, for it is your inner wisdom, the gold 
within, trying to guide you to what your soul and body need at that moment in 
time! In addition, when your clients talk to you, listen to what lies beneath their 
desires. Then choose the color that best relates to that desire to help support
them. Color can be one of your most effective tools in your feng shui practice!
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Diantha Harris, ASID, IACT, FSII
Coming soon: Simply...Color, a new book about the environmental and 
physiological effects of color!
www.lifepnet.com
312-371-9233
P.O. Box 596
Eastport, Michigan 49627

Diantha is a professional member of American Society of Interior 
Designers, Feng Shui Institute International, and The International 
Academy of Colour Therapeutics in England.

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Sound
(Excerpt from the book Feng Shui: Principles for Building and Remodeling)
By Nancilee Wydra, FSII
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In nature objects in motion create sound. Even the wind finds a plethora of
instruments on which to play a tune.

Mothers hum lullabies to soothe their infants. We utter an exclamation when a 
child tumbles and cries out in pain. Laughter spontaneously erupts when we are
amused. A multitude of sounds, whether learned or not, burst forth from the 
depths of our humanity. Where there is activity there is sound. Because our 
homes have sound-reducing exterior walls, we must pay more attention to
replicating the music of nature inside. When designing a home, consider how 
simple human actions can create a symphony of vocalizations.