Feng Shui Overwhelm

I am noticing a new syndrome which I call Feng Shui overwhelm.  I guess it is not really new.  I had it.

When I first discovered Feng Shui I read every book I could find on the subject and tried every suggestion.  This included moving furniture, buying new furniture, painting the walls, hanging new art, doing strange rituals and freaking out if there was something I could not change.

My friend Mike has noticed this syndrome in his line of work. He is a reliable, creative and competent handyman.  He tells me this is the busiest time of year for nurseries, hardware and paint stores.  And because of this he knows he will soon be inundated with calls from homeowners wanting to hire him.

A large percentage of his jobs will not be new, rather he will be fixing or completing the jobs done by “do it yourselfers.”  And often it is not that the home repairs were shoddy.  Mike says that the homeowner gets tired, overwhelmed and just can’t find the time to do just one more thing.

As a novice Feng Shui-er I felt the same.  I thought I tried everything.  Although I saw so many parts of Feng Shui, I did not see the whole picture – meaning, I did not know what my needs were and I really did not know what Feng Shui could do.  I did not know how to prioritize the areas or issues that were of concern. I was as fixated about the state of my garage as I was of the dining room. I was freaked out that the laundry room was in my romance sector… sound familiar? I really did not know where to start so I tried everything.  I was overwhelmed.

One truth about Feng Shui is:  to delve deep into Feng Shui is to delve into your inner self.  And this can be overwhelming. What is it in your life that is not working for you- is it financial, relationships, a lack of movement, comfort or creativity?  Is it all of these?  Certainly a practitioner does not need to hear this from you to do an analysis of the energy patterns in your house.  But believe me, we will know.

Just like hiring a professional handyman to help around the house, hiring a professional Feng Shui consultant is a wonderful thing.  There are definitely good Feng Shui actions that you can do without the advice of a professional. Do them. And when you have dealt with the clutter and the obvious repairs needed around the house you may be ready for the next step.