And the Chi Goes On; Generational Feng Shui

Feng Shui has been such a part of my life for so many years that it’s hard for me to remember what it was like when I didn’t know about it. I have clients I’ve followed from one home to another, from one job to another, from one husband to another. Some of my clients and I have been together so long that I have observed a phenomena I call “generational Feng Shui.” This has nothing to do with passing Feng Shui information from one generation in the family to the next. Instead, what I’ve termed generational Feng Shui refers to levels or layers of intentions that develop as a person activates their space.

For example, I worked with a couple, Jean and Pete, who were going to remodel their home, adding onto the kitchen. Because this add-on would be occurring in their Wealth area, they were holding the intention: “adding onto our kitchen, therefore, adding onto our Wealth.” That all went fine. The add-on took place----in both areas, I might add. Due to their increase in money, Pete decided to semi-retire. With extra time on his hands, he took up photography, where he found a passion he didn’t even know he had. They put a darkroom in the basement and Pete began exhibiting in local art fairs, quickly reaching notoriety for his sensitive and exquisite animal photos. Did they start out with that intention? Did Pete say he wanted to be a photographer when we were talking about adding onto the kitchen? No. This phase unfolded later, generated after the original intention was in place.

I worked with a single man named Ned who reclaimed his life after a sad divorce. Readers who have followed my columns throughout the years will remember the four-part series about Ned. He de-cluttered his life, organized his space and began to see some order again. That was the original intention. The space felt so good, so clean, so wholesome, that Ned quit smoking! He never mentioned giving up cigarettes when we were working on his space. It came about later, as the result of his prior adjustments.

Usually these generational Feng Shui outcomes are unexpected. I have a student who incorporated Feng Shui to alleviate some family issues and to assist in her decision about a career. After the ch’i got moving around those intentions, she changed her name, realizing her birth name had nothing to do with who she really was. That certainly hadn’t occurred to her when we first met, but felt very “right” when she decided to do so.

An older woman named Fran was experiencing some health issues when we began working together. As she cleaned out a closet in the Health area of her apartment, she saw some improvements in her own health. Because she was feeling better, she began to volunteer at a local hospital as a greeter. When a permanent part-time job opened up, Fran decided to take it. Since the hospital was located in the middle of an Asian population in her city, the hospital provided her with some basic language lessons so she could speak to the people in their own language. Fran became so fluent that she would be called in by various doctors in the hospital to help translate for patients when there was a language barrier. She even found herself on a city panel as an advocate on their behalf, receiving a lot of recognition for her work with the Asian community. Was this her original goal? I think not. Fran says Feng Shui got her to where she is today, even though she originally called me to help her with some health problems.

Finally, I helped a friend shop for baby clothes for the baby she was adopting from Korea, despite the fact that her original Feng Shui intention was to go back to school. To outline the generations of Feng Shui: Kay was a nurse and was having some problems in the clinic where she was working. Opportunities were scarce there, so we met to discuss her space in relation to the Career area. It wasn’t long before Kay realized that to get the job she wanted, she would have to go back to school for further education. Kay did that, enrolling in a certification program that she could attend during the evenings. Over time, she became friends with one of her class-mates who began telling Kay about her sister who had just adopted a child from Korea. As their friendship developed, Kay was introduced to this sister and met the beautiful little boy they had adopted. The possibilities of adopting a child as a single parent had never occurred to Kay until she began spending time with her new friend and her friend’s sister. With a little investigation, Kay began the process of adoption. By the time she finished schooling, she had been accepted as a potential parent. Oh, and right before she left for Korea, she did get a better nursing position as well. Little did she know what would unfold for her as she incorporated the principles of Feng Shui for what she thought was just a job issue.
The beauty of my job is being witness to the incredible journey that people take when they ask for change. One shift leads to another and to another. One door opens, then another and another. As clarity develops, new ideas blossom. What was the original intention expands into more. And the ch’i keeps going and going and going and.......