Currently browsing: Feng Shui
Feng Shui in Business Logo Design
The art and science of Feng Shui may be thousands of years old. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t apply it to even the most modern of concepts like logo design.
Of course, proper Chi or Feng Shui energy flow in an office is ideal. But, you also need to complement Chi flow with Feng Shui applied to other areas of the business, such as basic marketing concepts.
I am currently working with a company to help them choose a new logo design to represent their business. As such, I have recently paid a lot of attention to how logos represent businesses in terms of Feng Shui.
Navigating Through Water
I just saw one such logo this past weekend at the grand opening of King Harbor Brewing Co. in Redondo Beach, CA.
Much like people, businesses are born with dominant Feng Shui elements (earth, wind, water, fire or wood). In the case of a brewing company, it might not surprise you that the element is water.
Unfortunately, too much of one element can be overwhelming to the owners and employees of a business. By applying Feng Shui to our logos, we look to complement or channel the dominant element for our benefit.
In the case of King Harbor, they rightly decided to navigate through their dominant water element with a sturdy ship with visible anchors.
The Five Elements
The first thing you must do is determine your business’s Feng Shui element. Some of them are rather easy to determine, while others may require the help of an expert. Here are a few examples:
The five elements of water, wood, fire, earth and metal in their creative cycle.
- Wood: Anything devoted to education, clothing or paper
- Fire: Anything where creativity, athleticism or food is required
- Metal: Anything centered around money (banks/accounting) or technology
- Water: Anything regarding beauty or cleanliness
- Earth: Anything that has to do with construction, agriculture, or moving/building in the earth
Now that we know the primary Feng Shui element of our business, it’s time to move on with design elements.
Logos and other marketing design principles require special attention to color, shape, images, symbols and other elements.
Stimulate With Color
Color is probably one of the most important aspects to choosing a logo. Color can be used to stimulate a variety of human emotions, such as calming, hunger, excitement, etc.
It is important to choose colors that will create emotions that are congruent with your product or service and/or support your business.
The use of blue would be a more soothing element to use than red, for instance, when choosing colors for a massage therapy business.
Moreover, a garden center may want to use green or brown, as representative of wood and earth, than red. This is because red is the color of fire, which is destructive to wood.
Choose the Right Shapes
Shapes and imagery are just as important as colors in your logo. Various shapes occur naturally in nature and represent the five elements. For example:
When talking shapes, a BBQ restaurant would be better-served with a triangular design in their logo representing fire than a wavy design representing water.
A square would only muddy the waters in a cleaning business, which is probably why Swisher Hygiene chose an S in the form of flowing water. The use of fiery red around their S may even help with the disinfecting process!
Final Thoughts
One design element that I frequently see in logos that is contrary to Feng Shui is a line or arc running through the graphic or company name. Just don’t do it. It splits your business.
Whenever possible, use imagery that is empowering, healthy and safe. Whatever colors and design elements you choose, make sure they are harmonious for your business, customers and employees. Whatever your logo represents will probably be represented in your business.
So, all ahead full, my beer-brewing friends!
Next Steps
Spend some time learning about the Feng Shui Bagua to learn more about each of the various design points and be creative in using them in your logo.
If you need a little expertise for your business, contact me right now.
Does your business feel stagnant? Inquire about a Feng Shui Space Clearing or an Office Feng Shui Consultation now because you need your business to be profitable!
Don’t keep this to yourself. Share it on Facebook!
Stay tuned for future posts about Feng Shui in business. Be sure to register for my email newsletter or like me on Facebook to stay up-to-date with my latest posts.
Feng Shui is About Harmony & Balance
While it may be tempting to make your love corner completely pink or your wealth corner completely purple, don’t overwhelm one area without balancing the other spaces in your home’s Bagua.
“I’ve turned my entire relationship corner pink and I still haven’t found love.”
This is a pretty typical of emails I get from people inquiring about Feng Shui consultations.
Whether you want to improve your health, wealth, fame, career, fertility, relationships or love, keep this in mind: harmony and balance.
Harmony and balance shouldn’t just be your desired outcome.
Harmony and balance are also required in Feng Shui placement and decor in order to get what you want.
The Purple House
The following pictures are from a home that was recently listed for sale in Middlesex, England.
For soon-to-be obvious reasons, the listing agent neglected to say much about the interior.
While the home was attractive from the outside, every room inside was completely purple.
Purple is certainly a color of royalty and wealth. And I’m not saying that I don’t like purple.
But this… is overboard.
Residents of homes like this don’t experience an abundance of money while living there.
And people certainly don’t sell homes like this at a premium, especially when you factor in the costs of the decor. (Though, this one received enough viral coverage that someone with a purple predilection may have spent too much money just to have it.)
Moreover, residents in over-the-top homes like this usually have career, health, relationship and marital issues.
Harmony and Balance
As I said, you need harmony and balance in your home’s decor and placement in order to have harmony and balance in your life. But how?
Most ideal would be to spend careful time in each area of the Feng Shui Bagua to ensure proper and steady flow of Chi, or Feng Shui energy.
At the very least, start by ensuring that opposing corners or sides of your home’s Bagua are balanced.
As you see results from the opposing areas, move onto another pair of opposing areas.
All the while, be sure to pay special attention to the Career & Life Path Area of your home by your front door by making sure that it is clear and clean to attract Chi into your home.
Remember, don’t go all purple on me!
Next Steps
Spend some time learning about the Feng Shui Bagua to ensure proper Chi flow in your home.
If things still feel stagnant for you after making the above changes, contact me right now to inquire about a Feng Shui Space Clearing or a Virtual Feng Shui Consultation because you need healthy Chi flow.
Think this purple home is hilarious? Share it on Facebook!
Be sure to register for my email newsletter or like me on Facebook to stay up-to-date with my latest posts.
In It To Win It With Feng Shui
Watching the Olympics this year reminds me that getting to the top is hard work.
Take the sliding events like the luge, skeleton and bobsled as an example.
In order to be successful at the sliding events, you have to know when to control your sled and when to just let go, allowing that downhill energy to take over.
In order to have a strong race, however, you need to have a strong start.
Feng Shui is no different.
Do you want change in your life? I mean real change.
Are you ready for a new career, a passionate relationship or to get some seriously positive recognition?
If so, read on…
Where to Stop
Do you find yourself undermining your own efforts with negative self-talk?
If so, STOP IT!
Do you find that you surround yourself with objects and artwork that reminds you of negative parts of your past without focusing on your fantastic future?
If so, STOP IT!
If you find that stopping is difficult, let me remind you of something:
If you keep doing what you’ve always been doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always been getting.
It’s time for something new.
Where to Start
If you want something different, you need to change your surroundings and change your thinking.
But, sometimes we need an energy boost to really make all of the changes that are necessary. Where do we start?
Career & Life Path
Target your Career & Life Path Area first, especially if things in your life have stagnated.
The Career Area is near where all of that Feng Shui energy called Chi flows into your home or office at the front door.
Ensure that this area has a clear and clean doorway. In other words, neatly organize or put away the piles of shoes and jackets.
The element for this area is water. A working water fountain, a mirror, or a picture of a calm river flowing into the house would be great here.
Fame & Reputation
Now it is time for you to boost your confidence by paying some attention to the Fame & Reputation Area of your home or office.
Your key color in this area is red… make it dominant and bright.
The primary element here is fire. Add candles, a picture of the Olympic torch, or something else representative of fire here.
Next Steps
After a few days with the above changes, you should feel energized and in control of your life.
Don’t let this new-found energy go to waste. Use it to make changes to the other areas of your home or office using the Feng Shui Bagua.
After you’re done making the changes necessary to change your life, you simply need to learn when to let go and have the Feng Shui energy take over.
Who knows… maybe you’ll be on top of the podium for luge in 2018. Enjoy the ride!
If things still feel stagnant for you after making the above changes, contact me right now to inquire about a Feng Shui Space Clearing or a Virtual Feng Shui Consultation because I want to help you win!
Be sure to register for my email newsletter or like me on Facebook to stay up-to-date with my latest posts.
Valentine’s Day Feng Shui
Love is in the air… or is it?
Are you still looking for true love this Valentine’s Day?
If you have been looking and have yet to find “the one,” don’t fret. There are several things you can do around your home to attract that special someone.
Visualize
First off, close your eyes and take at least five minutes to imagine what your life would be like if you had the man or woman of your dreams as your partner.
Think of what you want your life to be like with this person, not what you think you need to give up or who you need to be in order to have just anyone in your life.
Let your mind go crazy and when you are done, write down the senses that you can remember. How does being in that relationship feel, look, taste and smell? Jot down colors, scents, flavors, etc.
Now jot down the things you remember doing together in your daydream and your moods during those activities.
Emulate
Now, using what you imagined, start to plan out changes in your home to remind you of that perfect relationship.
Bring out the senses to reflect the energy that you are looking for.
The point here is to use your senses to frequently bring you back to the way your dream relationship made you feel.
For instance, if you saw yourself on horseback, riding with your ideal partner, plan to find artwork of a couple of horses (always ensure the art includes the full bodies of the horses).
If you saw yourself meditating by the beach, plan on finding such artwork.
If you smelled roses, plan to get some pure rose essential oil or organic scented candles to match.
Before you implement any of the above, you need some guidelines.
Pair Off
Make sure to eliminate lonely items. I can’t harp on this enough.
To continue with the above example, make sure you have a couple riding on a pair of horses rather than a lonely person riding a horse. Just as important, make sure that there aren’t three people on horses (unless you want a third wheel in your relationship).
Also, make sure you have two sleeping pillows on your bed and two sets of towels hanging in the bathroom. You get the idea.
If I inspect your home, I don’t want to see a lonely ballerina statue or a single man standing on a wave-beaten lighthouse.
Let Your Love Flow
Chi is an energy that must be given room to flow. As such, make sure your Love Corner and all other areas of your home are clean and organized.
Make Room
Even if you aren’t with someone right now, make room for someone special in your life. Is there enough closet space for them? How about room in the medicine cabinet?
Let’s get more granular. Do you still have evidence of prior relationships? Pictures, love notes, coffee mugs… anything that reminds you of your exes? If feasible, get rid of them. As long as you hold onto these objects, you don’t make room in your heart for someone new.
If you can’t seem to let go of a prior relationship, a Feng Shui Space Clearing may be required.
Implement
Now it is time to implement the things you wrote down about your dream. Using guidelines from the various sections of the Feng Shui Bagua, implement these items throughout your house.
As an example, the colors and elements from the Health Area should not look like a bottle of Pepto Bismol exploded pink everywhere. Likewise, if you need to put the picture of the couple on horseback in your Family Area, it would be best served with a green wooden frame. Further, you would want to have any scented candles in your Fame & Reputation Area or your Love Corner instead of your Career Area.
Love Corner
Make sure all of the areas of your Feng Shui Bagua are setup correctly, but also be sure to focus some time reviewing my Love Corner page. There are several additional tips and points that are specific to this area of your home and your bedroom.
Final Thoughts
Be honest with yourself and with others. Love who you are and be proud of it!
Do not try to be what you are not. Tell the world exactly what you are looking for and the world will be more likely to give you exactly what you want.
Who knows… that perfect someone who loves horseback riding and has a greenhouse full of orchids may be at your next house party. How will they ever know that you are looking for them unless you advertise with a detailed description?
Next Steps
It wouldn’t hurt to display your dream at work, too. You never know who might walk past your desk!
If you are having trouble, a professional space-clearing may be needed to get your home’s energy moving again.
When you start to see some positive results, contact me to schedule a Virtual Feng Shui Consultation because I want to help you make sure everything is on the right track!
Is this even a good year for you to find love? A Personalized Numerology Reading may be just the thing you need to make sure you won’t be fighting an uphill battle this year.
Be sure to register for my email newsletter or like me on Facebook to stay up-to-date with my latest posts.
2014: Year of the Wooden Horse
Happy Lunar New Year!
In Feng Shui (and for many Asian groups), this is the “real” time to celebrate the New Year. We often hear it called Chinese New Year, Korean New Year, etc.
Complete with the tradition of handing out little red envelopes of money to friends and children, this is an exciting time for people around the world.
Are you ready to make it exciting for you, too, by learnin how to generate some wealth in 2014?
Before we begin, have you cleaned out the clutter you may have collected during the holidays? If not, click here to review what needs to be done.
Clear the View
Now that we are de-cluttered, we need to begin the new year with a clean house.
Start by wiping down all of the door handles around the house to welcome in new opportunities for 2014.
Wash your windows to see things more clearly in this year of the horse. If you can’t see out, how do you know how far you can run?
So, your house is all clean, as well as clutter- and dust-free so that you can welcome in the new energy for 2014.
Now it is time to check your purse and wallets and all of your jacket and pants pockets. Clear some space for the incoming wealth energy!
The Lost Wallet
Before I get to that, I have a little story:
We found somebody’s old wallet on the ground in a parking lot the other day. It was completely filled with junk… old business cards, receipts, about ten credit cards, etc.
Once we found the driver license, we promptly drove to the address listed and found the owner. The home and the wallet’s owner looked as worn and tattered as the wallet.
The owner of the wallet was surprised he had even lost it and showed us the wallet-sized hole in his back pocket. “It happens all of the time,” he said. Really?
There is a lesson here…
Make Space for Wealth
Clean out all of the old receipts and business cards you collected in 2013 (or maybe even further back for some of us).
Get rid of used tissues (and commit to never replacing them), outgrown childrens’ toys, expired coupons, stale chewing gum… whatever it may be. Clean it all out!
If you have unnecessary identification cards, membership cards and credit cards, take them out.
Now, wipe down or clean your purse or wallet and patch up all of the holes in your pockets.
If you can wash your purse, then wash it. If it’s a nice leather purse or wallet, then find a leather cleaner to bring that new shine back to your most central symbol of wealth.
Welcome in the new wealth by creating a clean and welcoming space for that 2014 cash to find a home!
Make It Red
If you are in the market for a new purse or wallet, look into investing in an attractive red one. Red has the energy to attract as well as to deflect.
Contact me if you are interested in getting one of these wallets!
In this case, we are using red to attract the wealth and prevent the draining of wealth.
Moreover, red promotes ambition and determination. It gives confidence to those who are shy and lack positive will power.
Who couldn’t use more of that energy in the pursuit of wealth this year?
The Bagua’s Wealth Corner
Don’t forget to spend a little time learning about the Bagua and the Wealth/Prosperity/Money Corner, in particular. Don’t neglect the other areas, however!
Next Steps
If things don’t start out quite right for you, a professional space-clearing or personalized Feng Shui consultation may be needed to get your home’s energy moving again.
Contact me right now to inquire about a Virtual Feng Shui Consultation or a Personalized Numerology Reading because I want to help you get 2014 off to a great start!
Be sure to register for my email newsletter or like me on Facebook to stay up-to-date with my latest posts.
Feng Shui Your Rental Properties for Good Luck
While some may believe that Feng Shui is only superstition, an increasing percentage of the population consider it essential for good luck and will only consider homes that have good Feng Shui elements.
What Is Feng Shui?
Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese art and science that explains how energy, or Chi, flows throughout our surroundings. In one application, Feng Shui is then used to direct Chi in ways that are most harmonious to the occupants of homes in terms of wealth, health, relationships, etc.
Practical Feng Shui Applications
Moreover, Feng Shui has practical applications. It is likely that even if you don’t believe in Feng Shui or Chi, you will be more naturally attracted to homes that are the beneficiaries of Feng Shui applications… and so will more potential tenants.
How Feng Shui in Rental Properties Affect You
Further, your rental properties are an extension of you. Not only will bad Feng Shui in a rental unit impact your tenants, but it will also impact you. More specifically, if money problems impact your renter, it impacts you.
I have found that if I use the principles of Feng Shui and increase the curb appeal, I can charge more for my units and generally get higher-quality applicants.
So, here are five Feng Shui (and practical) tips for keeping your properties rented and the money flowing in.
If It’s Broke, Fix It!
Do you have any broken items in the property (leaky faucet, stovetop burner, electrical outlet)? Don’t delay in fixing them, as they can cost you much more in time and money down the road. Implore your tenants to contact you at the first sign of a problem.
In terms of Feng Shui, water and stoves are symbols of money. A leaking faucet, for instance, means that money is slipping away.
Landscaping
Whether your tenant is responsible or you are responsible as the landlord, make sure that the yard is properly kept.
Not only can overgrown grass, dead bushes and dog feces be unsightly to tenants (whether it’s their fault or not), they will deteriorate the value of the neighborhood, and therefore, your property.
Front Door
Be sure that all of your properties’ doors, particularly the front doors, open easily without creaking or rubbing.
As this is the tenant’s first experience in the property when they step in, it can set the mood for their entire time in the unit.
For Feng Shui, the front door is one of the most important areas of a property. The front door is the gateway for the flow of Chi.
For the sake of the Career, Wisdom, Family, Wealth, Fame, Love, Children, Helpful People and Health areas of the property, keep that energy coming in!
Junk
Make sure that your lease agreements require that junk is not allowed to accumulate anywhere on the property.
Non-operable cars, a pile of building materials, and even a gathering of children’s toys is not only unsightly, but also hazardous.
Fires, pests and injuries are more likely to occur where there is junk. In terms of Feng Shui, junk also prevents the flow of Chi.
Knowing when junk has accumulated outside is one thing, but how do you know if it accumulates inside? I have a clause in all of my lease agreements where my property managers inspect fire alarms and plumbing twice per year. If they happen to notice a junk issue during a visit, it needs to be cleaned up, per the contract.
Paint
When was the last time you repainted the property? If it has been more than a couple of years, consider a new coat. In between, spray down the outside on a warm day to get rid of cobwebs and dust.
When a home gets run down, its energy begins to fade. This is exactly why major hotel chains and department stores constantly upgrade their properties. They understand the need to keep the energy of their multi-million dollar properties alive and flowing.
Make your rental properties (and even your own home and office) inviting. Even if a property is currently occupied, do you think someone would want to move in if it suddenly became vacant? If not, make it so! Vacancies aren’t fun. I know.
Next Steps
For more help, contact me right now to inquire about a Feng Shui Space Clearing or a Virtual Feng Shui Consultation because you can’t afford negative cashflow.
Be sure to register for my email newsletter or like me on Facebook to stay up-to-date with my latest posts.
(Jessie Kim is a certified Feng Shui consultant and experienced real estate investor. Through her firm, Ms. Feng Shui (https://www.MsFengShui.com), Kim provides personalized, professional, in-person and virtual Feng Shui consultations and seminars. Kim specializes in working with real estate, primarily working with homebuilders on new residential development projects.)