Mind, Body, Home: Transform Your Life One Room at a Time (31 page)

energy of those in the room will receive the same benefits as if the light was completely “on” or “off.”

Living “off the grid” has become more and more common as many

people no longer want to feel reliant upon the government and mu-

nicipalities for power. This is a larger movement toward personal power and autonomy as a culture. Those living off the grid are most likely to be independent thinkers with a strong sense of their own power in the

world.

Mind Body Home Connection:
Electricity

• Do you feel stressed, overworked, or exhausted?

• Are you about to lose your temper?

• Are you mentally cloudy or confused?

• Do you have high blood pressure or other blood circulatory issues?

Internet/Telephone

Living in the Information Age, we have become dependent on the

ability to communicate, and the means to do so are voluminous and

quickly changing. The internet and smart phones have become the

most common means of communication. Facsimiles and land lines are

certainly viable means, but no longer as common. Any of these forms

of communication are literal symbols for our ability to communicate.

When something goes wrong with one of more of these components,

the normal channels of communication are literally and figuratively

upset.

From an astrological perspective, communication is ruled by the

planet Mercury. When Mercury is in Retrograde, meaning it appears

to be traveling in the opposite direction, communication is often dis-

rupted. During this 2–3 week period, cell phones, fax machines, and

other electronics-related items will struggle if there are inherent weak-nesses. Sometimes entire computer systems within a company will go

down unexpectedly, making communication impossible.

196 Mechanicals

Problems with such devices can also happen if we are having our

own personal struggle with communication. For example, I remember

a time in which I was avoiding a conversation that I needed to have with a particular person. Suddenly my cellphone stopped working properly.

It would not allow calls to come through or would simply hang up once

I was on the call. After I finally had the conversation that I had been putting off, my phone instantly began working just fine. Our subconscious mind is much more powerful than we give it credit.

The next time you have a malfunction with your phone, Internet,

cable, computer, or other communication device consider what the

inner message is from your subconscious. Are you avoiding a conversa-

tion, reluctant to receiving certain news or information, or procrastinating on a project? Once you bring the message from your subconscious

mind to your conscious mind, or from the dark to the light, you will be amazed at how random glitches may resolve themselves at no cost.

Mind Body Home Connection:
Internet/Phone

• Is there a conversation you have been putting off ?

• Who or what situation are you avoiding?

• Are you having trouble speaking or being heard?

• Are you experiencing throat-related problems?

Heating and Air Systems

The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, commonly re-

ferred to as the HVAC system, represents oxygen, lungs and breathing.

The HVAC system of a house relates to the oxygen (air) flow through-

out the body, also known as the respiratory system. Just as the breath

circulates oxygen throughout our body, the HVAC should ideally circu-

late air evenly and smoothly throughout the rooms of your home.

Ideally, a space should heat and cool evenly, although this is not al-

ways the case due to how rooms are oriented to the Sun or faulty duct-

work. Similarly, the body should have proper oxygen flow throughout,

although that is not always the case either. Oxygen and blood are the

Mechanicals 197

physical manifestation of chi energy. Where chi energy gets cut off or stagnant in the body, there will be a lack of blood and oxygen to that area of the body. Oxygen is the body’s natural healer. A lack of oxygen causes an imbalance of energy in the body, resulting in dis-ease. A more common instance of poor circulation is cold hands or feet because the

extremities are furthest from the blood pumping heart.

Areas within a home or business that do not get proper air flow are

indicative of stagnant energy. This often correlates with the space having a northern exposure with little sunlight. This in and of itself can make an area more prone to stagnant energy. Homes with a serious

disruption of energy as in the case of a ghost or entity will often be located in an area of the home with improper air circulation, either with a lack of air flow or an unusually cold room.

If there are areas within your home that do not circulate properly,

then try adding extra lighting, a crystal, a fan, or anything else with energy and movement. Abandoning or ignoring that section of the home

is ill-advised as that will further stagnate the energy. You never want to cut off the energy of any part of the home. That is the same as cutting off the energy to a part of your body.

A problem with your HVAC system could correlate with a stressful

time in which we have the tendency to clinch and hold our breath as op-

posed to calming ourselves through breathing. At one point in my life,

I owned two houses while moving out of one and into the other. I was

stressed to say the least. On the same day at practically the same time, the units in both houses went out. I knew this was not coincidental. I

stopped and noticed that I was so busy that I barely had time to breathe.

Both systems happened to need the same part—a new fan motor. I was

clearly overworking myself and needed to cool down.

The
air filter
is the component of the HVAC that requires peri-

odic attention in order to keep the air clean by keeping pollutants out.

Changing your air filter regularly can guard against this physically and emotionally. By not being conscious of this, we let pollutants into our system without setting up proper filters. What toxins or pollutants are you allowing to infiltrate your space? If you haven’t changed your filter lately, think about what else you may not be properly filtering in your
198 Mechanicals

life. Not surprisingly, changing filters regularly will make the HVAC

system run more efficiently, thus saving energy.

Mind Body Home Connection:
Heating and Air Systems

• Are you holding your breath or short of breath?

• Do you need to slow down in life?

• Are you overworked?

• Do you have poor circulation or cold extremities?

C h a p t e r 1 2

Outdoor Spaces:

How We Relate to Others

Don’t ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up.

—Robert Frost



• Front and Back of Home

• Front Porch

• Patio/Deck

• Balcony

• Fence

• Garden

• Driveway

• Swimming Pool

• Trees

By now, you are probably seeing your home in a whole new light and

just how much it is a representation of yourself—physically, mentally, and emotionally. Each aspect of the home is an aspect of yourself and as you make changes to your home, you make also changes to your-199

200 Outdoor Spaces

self. As we begin to move out of the actual house and into the outdoor

spaces, you will start seeing how you relate to others in the world be-

yond those with whom you are cohabiting.

Our outdoor spaces, such as the yard, deck, patio, or balcony, are

aspects of ourselves. Just as these spaces extend beyond the physical

house, they energetically connect us with the rest of the world. When

we step outside into our outdoor spaces, we do so to commune with

others—whether it is nature, neighbors, or animals.

There are varying degrees of outdoor spaces depending on the type

of living space. For example, most single-family homes have a yard,

while a condo space may have a balcony at most. Some living spaces

may even have shared outdoor spaces, such as a rooftop garden area in a high-rise condo unit. In this instance, the outdoor space is communal in nature, which is commensurate with the social lifestyle of condo living.

Those who live in a home with no outdoor space at all may experience

a stark contrast between private and public spaces. This is usually the case in large metropolitan areas where space is at a premium and social living takes precedence. With no transition from one to the other, they may find themselves seeking an equivalent area at a nearby park or coffee shop.

On the other extreme, some seek solitude and desire more space be-

tween their private life and the rest of the world. Accordingly, country or farm life is more appealing to some. The more yard or acreage, the

more distance you desire from the rest of the world. Whether a simple

balcony or acres of farmland, the space that extends beyond our home-

stead represent our arm’s length or bridge between our private life and public persona. Let’s take a look at each of these aspects in more detail.

Front and Back of House

A friend once shared a dream with me. In the dream, her front yard

looked like a normal, sunny, neighborhood yard, while in the backyard

it was heavily raining as she stood at the edge of a cliff. At the time, she was giving the appearance that all was well in her life, while in reality she was at a major crossroads paralyzed in fear. Her dream is an exam-Outdoor Spaces 201

ple of the stark symbolic differences between the front and back yard.

The
front yard
is our public persona, or what we want the public to see. The
back yard
, on the other hand, is what we don’t want the rest of the world to see. It represents aspects of ourselves that we would rather just keep private from the world. They are in essence a flip side of the same coin.

You might wonder how this differs from the symbolism of closet

and storage spaces. We are aware of what is going on in our backyard—

we just don’t want others to know. Whereas, with regard to a closet, we are not even aware of what lurks inside because it is buried too deep

within our subconscious to face it. The backyard is more exposed than

our storage spaces in that it is viewable by us, our close friends, and neighbors, but not to the world at large.

The backyard represents hidden aspects, or our shadow side, of our-

selves in how we relate to the world. While you may give the appear-

ance to your friends and coworkers that everything is great, i.e. nice

front yard, you may actually be unhappy and confused about your life,

i.e. unkempt back yard, as represented in my friend’s dream. Or per-

haps the opposite is true. Sometimes our backyard is where our true

sanctuary lies hidden from the world. This is often the case with shy or quiet people.

In the case of one client, her front yard was in dire need of yard

maintenance with weeds and fallen leaves overtaking the yard, but I

was astonished when I went to her backyard. It was a beautiful oasis of flowers and artfully placed yard décor. While most of the backyard was

well-loved, it was the Love corner of the yard (based upon the Bagua

Map) where the heart of the beauty lay. She admitted that she experi-

enced a real disconnect between her reputation at work as being bossy

and rigid with her relationship at home as being soft and loving. This

was a great example of hiding or not expressing our true beauty into

the world.

In order to live a truly authentic life, it is best to connect these two worlds into one. I advised my client to add a pathway from the front

yard into the back yard in order to connect her two worlds. Often we

hide the best parts of ourselves from the world. Other times, we put

202 Outdoor Spaces

up a false front in how we show up in the world. By bringing the “back

yard” forward and the “front yard” back, we start to combine these as-

pects to bring forth a wholesome, authentic expression of ourselves

into the world. If the front and back yards are separated by a fence, then it is important to have a door or gate opening that allows access to and from the front and back yards. Like all doors within a home, the door

or gate should be operational and easily opened and closed so that there is no discord between the energy of the front yard and back yard.

Think about whether you spend more time in your front yard or

back yard. This could include leisure time enjoying the outdoor spaces

or work time tending to the lawn or gardens. Where is your favorite

outdoor spot? For myself, when I am feeling more social, I will take

a book or my computer and spend time on my front porch. At those

times, I enjoy seeing people walk by and waving to neighbors. At other

times when I am feeling more introverted, I will head to the back deck.

Do you spend more time working on the front yard or back yard?

In which space have you planted more gardens or maintained the lawn

with more effort? Notice where you are intuitively drawn the next time

you are inspired to work in the yard. At times you may have a desire to work on your outward appearance, such as buying a new outfit, while

at other times you may be drawn to work on your inner self, such as a

massage or therapy service. The same is true with your yard spaces. At