Feng Shui
Feng
Shui Monsters Under
Your Bed
by: Stephanie Roberts
Good
feng shui often requires
making wise decisions
based on your specific
circumstances, rather
than blinding following
an ideal rule. The feng
shui rule for storing
things under your bed
is "don't do it." But
for those who live in
small homes every inch
of possible storage
space is precious. If
you are faced with cluttering
up some other area of
your home with stuff
that otherwise might
be put under the bed,
how do you decide what
to do?
My
preference as a feng
shui professional is
to keep the more visible,
frequently used areas
of the home uncluttered.
If that means storing
some things under the
bed, so be it, as long
as it is done thoughtfully
and appropriately.
There
are two reasons why
your bed is so important
in feng shui. The first
is the principle of
proximity, which states
that the closer something
is to you the stronger
its effect will be.
The second is the principle
of duration, which means
that the longer you
are exposed to a particular
influence the stronger
its effect will be.
If
we were getting our
eight full hours of
sleep every night, we'd
be spending a third
of our lives in bed.
Even with long days
and not enough sleep,
the average person probably
spends 25% or more of
his or her time in bed.
Keeping the factors
of proximity and duration
in mind, this means
that anything that is
close to you while you
sleep will have a strong
effect on you, either
physically or symbolically.
Since
you are probably well
protected from below
by a nice thick mattress,
whatever you've got
stashed beneath your
bed isn't likely to
be directly harmful.
However, in feng shui
the symbolic energy
of an object or image
is just as important
as whatever literal
impact it may have.
If
you are using your underbed
area for storage, take
a moment to think about
the implications of
whatever is down there,
especially if you haven't
been sleeping well lately.
If you don't remember
what you've stashed
under your bed, it's
time to take another
look.
Here
are some things that
you ought to find another
place for:
- Shoes
under the bed can
keep you "running
around" all night
even when you are
sound asleep. No matter
how many hours of
sleep you get, you
may never feel well
rested.
- Exercise
gear, workout clothes,
and sports equipment
are also less than
relaxing. Unless you
want to feel like
you're "going nowhere
fast" in life, don't
store your treadmill,
rowing machine, aerobic
step under the bed.
Tennis rackets (or
other gear for competitive
sports) can bring
a competitive, adversarial
energy to your romantic
relationships. It's
best not to have any
kind of exercise or
sports equipment in
the bedroom at all
if you can find another
place for it.
- Books
and work or school
papers can have an
intellectually stimulating
effect; if you have
trouble turning your
mind-chatter off so
you can fall asleep
at night, make sure
you are not sleeping
on top of a lot of
information. Plus,
chances are good that
if you're keeping
that stuff under the
bed it probably isn't
at all current, so
all that old information
is also energetically
holding you in the
past.
- Guns
and knives. I really
hope you don't feel
the need to have these
in your house at all.
All that potential
violence is not conducive
to a good night's
sleep, no matter how
"safe" it may make
you feel. A feng shui
friend once told me
she'd consulted for
a guy who collected
knives, and who kept
that collection under
his bed. No wonder
he complained of a
long string of failed
relationships! Regardless
of any other qualities
he may or may not
have had, that's a
lot of cutting chi
underlying what should
be a place for romantic
connection.
These
examples should give
you an idea of the sort
of potentially disruptive
effect the stuff under
your bed can have. If
you must use the under-bed
space for storage, reserve
it for soft, cuddly
items like extra bedding
or your winter sweaters.
You
may even find a good
use for that space by
placing something with
positive symbolic meaning
there, so you can take
conscious advantage
of the proximity and
duration effect. For
example, laying a mirror
face up under the bed
is a recommended feng
shui sure for insomnia;
symbolically the mirror
reflects the bed "downward"
thus drawing into a
deep, restful sleep.
For a child who is frightened
of imaginary monsters
under the bed, placing
a super-tough-guy action
figure under there could
provide some important
protection and security.
A
feng shui client recently
asked if it was okay
to keep her empty suitcases
under the bed. If you
enjoy traveling and
want to do more of it,
then having the luggage
under the bed may help
to encourage that. Inside
the suitcases you can
put guidebooks, photos,
travel
accessories, and
other items related
to the places where
you'd like to go. For
example, if you would
love to take a trip
to Paris put a guidebook
to the city, a French-English
phrase book, and a photo
of the Eiffel Tower
in an empty suitcase
under your bed. Add
some French currency
or traveler's checks
for the future trip.
The suitcase and its
contents is now a feng
shui activation to help
make your travel
dreams come true.
On
the other hand, if you've
been traveling a lot
lately and would like
to stay home for a change,
then I definitely recommend
finding some other place
to keep your luggage.
If you absolutely, positively
have no alternative
to keeping suitcases
under the bed -- and
you really want a break
from travel
-- put a rock in
each one and cover them
with a blanket, to help
them settle in for a
long rest and to keep
you grounded at home.
(c)
copyright 2004 Stephanie
Rogerts
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