Mind, Body, Home: Transform Your Life One Room at a Time (11 page)

world to where one would lose focus on matters of the heart.

Number 9

The number 9 holds the energy for completion. And, with any end-

ing, there is also a new beginning. Nine holds the vibration of gener-

osity, giving, loving, wisdom, compassion, and representative of light workers. The 9-House is a great house for someone who is wrapping

up a major phase of his or her life. I often see clients in a 9-House move away to another city or some other transitory time of life.

The 9-House is supportive for ending a phase of life, allowing for

a complete release in order to start anew. In the case of one client, she rented a 9-House following the break-up with her fiancé. In releasing this relationship, she also cleaned up her finances and cleaned out tons of old storage items. She was then able to move on, in fact to a

6-House, where she had a thriving healing practice giving to others her love and compassion. The 9-House will help wrap up those loose ends

of completion.

The 9-House is also associated with humanitarianism and service.

The primary challenge of a 9-House is to not let others take advantage

of your generosity. It is also important to take care of yourself while saving the world. A 9-space would be ideal for a shelter, a nonprofit, or other humanitarian-based business, especially if related to healing the past.

Number 11 and 22

I once had a client who was having serious marital issues. She and her

husband had been separated for over a year with both still living in the same house. She said that they both loved the house so much that it was the main reason that they had not permanently separated and divorced.

When I asked what her address is, it was no surprise that they were

Your Home’s Personality 55

living in an 11-House. Homes with the energy of “11” are extremely

powerful, intuitive, and almost magical. In fact, I rarely, if ever, visit an 11-Home where the owners don’t absolutely love their home. This is an

example of the power of numbers.

While you would continue adding the numbers until you come up

with a single digit, the numbers 11 and 22 are considered master num-

bers. As I mentioned, the number 11 is a special number that makes for

a special home. An 11-House will have very little turnover in the real

estate market. It will not only have the energy of a 2-House, but also that of an 11-House.

The number “11” is considered to be a master number with a special

energy. As I mentioned earlier, an 11-House holds an almost magical

energy. You can usually spot an 11-House walking down the street. It

will sit naturally on its lot and have an irresistible charm. The number 11 holds the energy of intuition, psychic abilities, and perhaps creates a portal for angelic presence. The number 22, while also being a 4, holds the energy of mastery.

You might be wondering if the numerology of your home is the

best fit for you. Maybe you live in a 5-House and can never sit still. Or perhaps you are in a 7-House and are having difficulty meeting new

people. Generally speaking, the home we are attracted to has an en-

ergetic resonance with us. This resonance may be out of habit or it

could be a subconscious knowing of what is best for our soul’s evolu-

tion. For example, the very first home I purchased out of law school

was a 5-House which was the same energy I had grown up with. While

that didn’t really fit my energy or what I really needed, the energy was an energetic resonance with the pattern I had grown up with. Having

awareness of what your own personality tendencies are and what a

space supports can equate to an extremely supportive environment.

Regardless of the house number you live in, it is not by accident.

Notwithstanding, you can also consciously choose a house for its nu-

merical vibration. For example, after living in an 8-House for several

years, I needed to reconnect to my heart and passion in life. I knew

a 6-House would be a perfect fit. Shortly thereafter, I noticed a house I had always loved was on the market. It just so happened to be a

56 Your Home’s Personality

6-House. I immediately called my realtor. When I got her email that

said, “the house has been on the market for 66 days. I will meet you

there at 3:30,” I smiled and thanked the Universe for its confirmation.

If you find yourself in a house with numerology that is not serving

you positively, then there are ways to counteract this. Some feng shui

consultants recommend adding a letter or number to energetically alter

the home’s numerology. In my opinion, this is like asking someone to

wear a mask covering up who they truly are. Instead, I would advise

making conscious efforts to shift one’s own energy within the house.

For example, if you live in a 5-House and want more peace and re-

laxation, then carve out a meditation space in the house. Or if you live in a 4-House, then consciously host more dinner parties. If you live in a 3-House and find that you are spending too much money, then devise

a budget and work on sticking to it. Sometimes having the opposing

energy will bring in more awareness to transform the challenge into a

positive.

C h a p t e r 3

Your Home’s Body:

The Shape of the House

and How it Shapes You

Life begins well, it begins enclosed, protected,

all warm in the bosom of the house.

—gaston bachelard, the poetics of space



Not only does a home’s numerology affect its personality and therefore

its occupants, so does the shape of the house. For centuries, the shape of a house has been likened to the shape of the human body. The windows are the eyes; the front door is the mouth; and the roof being the head. Beyond the typical structure of a house, there are as many shapes of houses as there are body types. The shape of a house will greatly

affect the energy of the house and have an impact upon its occupants.

While a square or rectangle house is the most common and auspicious

shape in feng shui, you have to look deeper. For example, a wide rect-

angular ranch house has a very different energy than a long rectangular shotgun house.

Do you live in a single-story ranch, a multi-story home, or a 5th

floor condominium? Or perhaps you are renting the basement space of

a house or an attic? Not only does the shape of a house impact its oc-

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58 Your Home’s Body

cupants, but so does the space that you specifically inhabit. The overall floor structure or shape of a house and where you live within the space is directly connected with where your focus or growth will take place

while living in that particular house.

For example, if your house is only one level, then your focus while

living in that house will primarily take place in day-to-day life at your present level of consciousness. On the other hand, someone living in a

house with a large, roomy attic may find themselves working through

belief systems to expand their spirituality and higher state of con-

sciousness. A house with a large basement for storage will lend itself

to storing items and therefore emotions. Meanwhile, a home with no

basement may force its owners to face the past and deal with old emo-

tions that haven’t been processed.

We are ultimately attracted to the house that is a vibrational match

to us. The shape of the house is integral to this. It is not uncommon for a couple having their first child to move to a different shape of house entirely. As their lifestyle changes, so does the shape of their home.

Not only does expansion in the size of the house mirror the size of the family, but the number of stories and where the bedrooms are located

on those floors becomes paramount. It is no wonder the ranch-style

homes achieved overwhelming popularity during the 1950s baby boom.

The one-level ranch puts the focus on the routine of everyday family

living with all bedrooms on the same floor.

Consider the shape of the house you currently live in compared to

your previous homes. Do you see a pattern? During one of my moves,

I went from a cozy single-story home with a large basement to a tall,

two-story home with only a crawl space. With two floors of tall ceil-

ings, a roomy attic, and a high roofline, it not only felt physically expansive, but also proved to be spiritually expansive as well.

Take a moment to think about the levels of your home. Do you live

in a single or multi-story home? What level do you spend most of your

time on? How does it differ from your previous homes? You can usually

start to see a correlation between the houses you have lived in and your life situation at that time.

Your Home’s Body 59

For example, living in a single-story house may have allowed you to

focus on the present, perhaps while in college or raising a family. Did you experience a spiritual awakening in the multi-story home with a

roomy attic? Or did it reveal old patterns that needed clearing that were no longer serving you? Often, after living in a two-story home people

want to move to a one-level home for practical reasons. And for others

who have been living in a one-level home, the expansion of multi-sto-

ries is freeing. Like relationships, we often seek the opposite traits from what we previously experienced.

Our Childhood Home

As we burst out of the womb and into this big world, our home be-

comes our first line of defense, second only to our crib. Our home is

our safe place. For this reason, we often unconsciously replicate our

childhood home years later as we become adults. We are naturally at-

tracted to a similar shape of house and in some cases even a similar

floor plan as the home we grew up in. Because it was our safe place

as a child, we find the energy of a similar home familiar, comfortable, and safe. We go back to that which is familiar, especially when/if the time comes to have children of our own. A couple may disagree in their

search for a house as each one is unknowingly attempting to replicate

their own childhood experience.

Even if you lived in many different homes growing up, there is most

likely one home in particular that you consider your “childhood home.”

Think back to the floor plan of that home. Do you see similarities in

your childhood home and homes you’ve lived in since?

Too Little, Too Big, or Just Right?

Our energy field shrinks or expands in accordance with its surround-

ings. When you walk into a building, your subconscious mind begins

roaming around and exploring every nuance of the space. If you feel

safe, your energy field expands into the space a little more as you get
60 Your Home’s Body

comfortable. In our home, our energy field continues to expand into

the entire space as we settle in.

Think of a plant growing in a glass box. It will continue to grow

until it rubs up against the walls. If the box is too small, it might even start to bend in order to keep growing. Place a plant in a tall, skinny box and it will grow tall and skinny. If a plant were in a long, wide box, then it would grow out wide. The same is true for our energy in our home.

It will take the shape of the box—our home. This is also the reason that spaces built with sacred geometry feel good to be in. Our energy field, which is also based upon sacred geometry, fills the space. It is like beautiful music rather than a missed chord.

Have you ever felt at some point in your life that you have outgrown

a space, maybe to the point of even feeling claustrophobic? Your energy field is literally rubbing up against the walls and craving expansion. In big cities, such as New York City where spaces are tiny, most city dwell-ers will tell you that they spend very little time at home. Because the city itself is so expansive, they are able to expand their energy beyond a 400-square-foot apartment. When they come home to sleep, the space

feels more like a protective nest. Nevertheless, when space is a premium it is important to be discriminating about every piece of furniture and item you have in the space. Clutter only takes up more space and causes the walls to feel more closed in.

When I conducted workshops in New York City, not having enough

space was a prevalent theme. Interestingly however, the week before

my trip to New York, all of the clients I was seeing in Nashville were struggling with the opposite problem—too much space. Yes, it is possible to have too much space. A space that is too big stretches your energy field too much and too thin and perhaps your wallet too. You will

feel scattered, unsettled, and often unsafe. I had one client in this predicament. As she was furnishing the unused rooms, she realized she was

just “staging” her own home. It was not her energy in those rooms. By

moving to a smaller space, she was able to gather her energy back and

use it in a more focused way rather than feeling scattered.

A similar problem happens sometimes with couples moving from

a small, cozy space into a large, expansive home. As soon as they move

Your Home’s Body 61

into the larger space, they start having marital problems. The expan-

sion of their energy in the new home takes them in different directions.

You can also see this with businesses sometimes that move into a larger space in order to accommodate more business just to have their business drop off as soon as they do. The expansion of energy is too much