It is important that you love your bedroom and everything in it and that it is kept clutter free. There are many other aspects of your bedroom that you may not have considered but they are very important, so I’d like to cover a few of them here.

Books in the bedroom – many people like to read before they go to sleep. I certainly do. But it’s also a good idea to really consider what types of books you’re reading before you go to bed. Each book has different energy attached to it, such as the subject matter and even the energy of the author. I’ve said before that everything is alive with energy, and that includes books.

Be careful about reading books that are about violence, tragedies or have sad endings. They can affect your sleep or even, on a deep sub-conscious level, begin to affect your health or your relationships.

It’s not a good idea to keep too many books in the bedroom. Just have the one that you’re currently reading, or one that you like to refer to. A bookcase full of books in the bedroom brings too much energy to a space that needs to be calm.

Don’t treat it as an office or exercise room – the energy of the bedroom is about sleep and it’s about relationships – your romantic relationship, as well as your relationship with yourself. It is your most personal space and the energy should be very calm and it should represent your relationship (or the one you’d like to have). When you bring in the energy of work and/or exercise you are bringing in energy that is very active, which will interfere with your sleep, your health,, your relationship and your life generally. It can very quickly create a sense of overwhelm.

There is also a lot of stress that can be associated both with work and with exercise. With work, you may feel as though you can never ’switch off.’ You always have work on your mind – of course you will if you don’t have a personal space where you can detach from it. You are bringing in your work energy – the energy of your day at work – into your bedroom. This is a recipe for even higher levels of stress.

As far as exercise is concerned, again, this is very active and not the right energy for a bedroom. It is often something that you feel you ‘have’ to do, rather than want to do (pressure). It may even be something that you feel you ’should’ be doing but are not, in which case you are being surrounded with the energy of guilt and even failure.

Don’t overdo the furniture – you’ll want to have plenty of space around the bed and to make sure that you don’t have too much furniture in the room. Allow the energy in the room to circulate freely (including underneath the bed). Allow the room to breathe. If you like big, heavy, dark furniture, make sure the room is an appropriate size to accommodate it. You don’t want the room to feel crowded or overwhelmed with furniture. Overall, you don’t want your bedroom to be too dark (except at night when you turn the lights off).

Generally speaking, lighter woods and other natural materials are best for beds and bedroom furniture. Avoid metal beds because they can conduct electro-magnetic fields.

Think about where the furniture came from as well. If it was given to you by somebody else, or is left over from a previous relationship, think about the energy that it is carrying related to that person and your relationship with them. Is that energy positive and supportive? If not, you’ll want to consider replacing it when you can.

These are just a few simple tips that can help you turn your bedroom into a personal sanctuary that supports you in all ways.

It’s important to understand that there are many levels to this issue and many complexities that I couldn’t possibly cover in one article. So what is discussed here is more of a general overview to help you recognize if you are in this pattern and to what level.

To find out if this is a pattern that has become your reality, start by taking a look at the following questions to see if any of them apply to you:

• Does somebody else (spouse, parent, friend, etc.) like to make decisions for you, so that you find yourself deferring to them on most things?
• Do you hold yourself back from expressing your desires or opinions?
• Do you find yourself going along with what the other person wants/doesn’t want and then feel upset or resentful – and probably guilty for feeling that way?
• Have you lost all sense of what you want, because it’s been so long since your opinions or desires even mattered?
• Are you afraid to discuss certain topics with this person because they will get angry, upset or stressed and so you avoid mentioning them, even though you may want to discuss them?
• Do you find yourself minimizing your accomplishments or holding yourself back in some way so as not to upset this person?
• Do you feel that you cannot be your true self around this person or even that you have completely lost all sense of your true self?
• Does this person undermine you when you have made decisions or agreed on things together?
• Do you feel constantly criticized and not supported?
• Have you squashed your dreams and desires because it would make this person feel uncomfortable?
• Does your home reflect the other person’s tastes, likes and desires and not yours?
• Are there things about your home that you would love to change, but this person won’t let you, or he/she has control over what does and does not get done in the home?
• Are your interests, passions, hobbies, dreams or desires ridiculed or minimized by this person?
• Does this person make you feel guilty if you enjoy yourself or do anything that you really love to do?
• If you challenge this person about something they’ve said or done that you didn’t feel was right, do they turn it around and make you the one who is ‘in the wrong?’

If you said yes to one or two of these questions, the situation can probably be quite easily changed by you making a few changes in your energy, specifically some of your beliefs and programming and how you feel about yourself.

The more of these questions you said yes to, the more difficult it can become. It’s definitely possible to change, but the more entrenched you are in the pattern and with the person, the harder it is.

What it all comes down to is how you feel about yourself, what boundaries you set, and what your beliefs are about what’s possible. For example, I know many very intelligent, very talented and successful women who feel intimidated in their relationship with their spouse. Often (but not always) this can stem from a fear the spouse has that if you become too successful, you will leave them or not want them any more, so they subconsciously try to control you.

Any relationship is about growth and hopefully you will grow together. However, sometimes one person in a relationship or family strives for growth while the other(s) want to stay the same. They feel threatened by your growth because they fear it will take you from them, make you feel superior to them, etc., so they make you feel bad for even wanting to change and grow. They don’t want things to change, they want them to stay the same – which means you staying the same, because they feel threatened by you changing.

Mostly this all happens on a subconscious level and you may not even be aware that it’s happening until you’re so deeply entrenched int eh pattern that you have no idea how to get out or you’re afraid of what will happen if you try to get out of it. What the other person is doing to you is manipulation, pure and simple. Not consciously perhaps, and not intentionally perhaps, but ultimately, that’s what it is.

The first step to changing it is to recognize it. The second is to become aware of how big of a problem it is. The third is to realize that you have to make a decision about what you want. The choice is yours – even if it may not be a comfortable one. You can choose to stay in the pattern, recognizing what’s happening. Or you can choose to make a change.

You make a change by learning to value yourself, by speaking up for yourself, by setting boundaries. Hopefully, the other person doesn’t realize what has been going on, is not doing it intentionally and, once the pattern is pointed out to them, is willing to change it. Or, what often happens is that you simply take responsibility for yourself, you change your energy and the other person changes along with you. But be aware that you cannot change somebody else – to create change, you have to focus on changing yourself – and they either respond positively to that or not.

You have to be prepared for the fact that the other person may not be able to come along with you though, and you may have to distance yourself from them in order to truly be able to be yourself and do what you want to do with your life. The choice is yours and it’s not always an easy choice. As with everything, awareness is key. You must know that it’s not right for anyone to ever hold themselves back and make themselves small because they’re afraid of upsetting someone else. You do have a choice and this leads you to step 1 – acknowledgement that you have allowed someone else to control you.

Interestingly enough, one of the things that can really help you in changing this pattern is your house. Since your house is a reflection of you and what’s going on in your life, if you change the energy there and assert yourself, your energy, and your presence more in the house, it can help you with the changes you need to make on a personal level.

There is so much more I could say on this subject, I could probably write a whole book or at least a report. But my intention with this article is to bring this to your awareness, because it’s an issue for more people (particularly women) than you may realize.

• Make sure everything is in good repair – remove and/or replace all dead vegetation. If the plants are to be replaced be sure to consider the mature size of the plants so that you are not faced with overgrown vegetation. Trim or remove any overgrown vegetation that is blocking pathways, doors or windows.
• Make sure fences, gates, paths, stairs, banisters, etc. are in good repair. Remove the clutter. Create appropriate storage areas for trash, fire wood, tools, etc.
• Welcome people (and energy) to your front door and into your home. The threshold represents your relationship with society and provides a welcome transition area when moving from one space (outdoors) to another (indoors). make sure the front door opens fully and does not stick. Also make sure that the area is free of toys or any other objects that create a need for caution.
• If necessary, complete the shape of the house by using any combination of landscape, patio, walls, arbor, porch, deck or room addition.
• Wherever you can, use curved, meandering pathways, patios and garden walls. Use strategically placed pots or plant material to soften edges that cannot be changed.
• Create a protective embrace and ensure privacy around the sides and back of your property using fences, trees and bushes. Also provide protection from busy streets, cul-de-sacs, or T-junctions using fencing, trees, bushes and other landscaping.
• The goal is to create a beautiful view from every window and door in your home.
• Your exterior experience will be enhanced by creating an environment that appeals to all five of the senses (sight, sound, smell, taste and touch).
• If possible, provide a path that is separate from the driveway, and is specifically designed to lead people to your front door. When a path and driveway are shared, it indicates that the car, just by virtue of its size, is more important than the people. This situation is made worse when your garage sticks out further than the rest of the house.
• Consider the addition of a water feature to your front yard. Be sure to place it with the water flowing towards the house.

When you pay attention to the energy on the outside of your home, it helps to improve the energy on the inside. It also provides a warm welcome to you when you arrive home and to anyone who comes to visit.

Clutter can fall into any one of the following 4 categories:

• Things that you do not need, use, want or love
• Things that are untidy or disorganized
• Too many things for the size of the space
• Unfinished or broken things

So even if you have a place for a particular item, yet you don’t need, use, want or love it – then it really is considered to be clutter. It is cluttering up your life energetically and taking up space in your life (and your home) that could be used for something else.

Clutter affects you in many ways and the way it affects you depends on a few things. It depends on what type of person you are – for example, if you are someone who wants everything to be in its place and can’t stand it when things are not all neat and tidy, then when something is even slightly out of place it will upset your energy. So if you happen to be living with someone who is untidy and disorganized and can’t stand to throw anything away, your life will feel pretty stressful all of the time.

How clutter affects you also depends on how much of it you have. For example, whether it’s simply that your closets, shelves and drawers are disorganized, or that you don’t have a clutter-free surface in your house. Where in your home the clutter tends to accumulate is also an important factor, as well as how long you’ve had the items. The longer you’ve had them, the more they will affect you in a negative way.

Here are just a few of the effects you may experience from a cluttered environment:

• Feeling tired and lethargic – the more stuff you have, the less you feel able to deal with it. It, quite literally, drains your energy. So much of your energy is tied up with the ’stuff’ that you don’t have enough left to get you through your day effectively.
• Keeps you stuck in the past – if you tend to hang on to things from the past, energetically that will keep you stuck in the past. That’s not to say that you can’t keep certain mementos and things that are important to you, but you don’t need a lot. The more of it you have, the more stuck in the past you are. And if these things are important to you, then why would you keep them stored in a box in a basement or the garage, instead of somewhere that you can see and enjoy them?
• Creates confusion and disorganization - you will waste time searching for things. When you can’t find things it makes you feel frazzled and rushed, and it may make you late for appointments. It tends to create chaos in your life. It’s a way of sabotaging yourself and holding yourself back.
• Attracts to you people who mistreat you – if you don’t love, honor and respect yourself (and a cluttered environment is a sign that you don’t) then you will attract people who don’t love, honor and respect you. Sorting out your home can improve all of your relationships.

These are just a few of the ways in which clutter affects you. As you can see, it’s about so much more than just the ’stuff’, which is why I say it’s not about the stuff. It really isn’t. When clutter accumulates, it’s simply a reflection of what’s going on inside you, of how you feel about yourself and your life.

When you start to think of the things you have in terms of energy, instead of simply seeing them as inanimate objects, it helps you to let go of the things that are not important and focus on the things that really are.

When we look at your home energetically we can see how it is linked to all parts of your life. As energy or chi travels through your home, garden or office, it impacts your prosperity, career, relationships and health.

By taking a look at what is going on in the health area of your home, you can often make a direct association with a particular health issue. The portion of your home that relates to health is located at the middle of the far left section of your house as you stand facing the front of the building. Once you locate this area, there are several things you can do to help encourage chi to flow smoothly, resulting in better overall health.

One of the easiest steps you can take is to remove any broken items from your home, particularly from the health area. Things that no longer work the way they’re supposed to, such as a stopped clock or a broken chair, can actually create health problems. For example, the broken chair could be associated with someone in the house experiencing back problems, especially if the chair is located in the home’s health area.

Because wood is the element most closely associated with health, and blue and green are the best color choices for creating harmony, incorporating these materials and colors into your home’s health area can be very beneficial. Placing healthy, live plants in the area is an easy way to bring wood, together with greenery in this important portion of your home.

Another strategy involves decorating your health area with pictures or items that represent good health. These items vary from person to person because individuals associate different things with robust health. However, it’s important remember that exercise equipment with do nothing for your chi (or your waistline) unless it is regularly used. In fact, putting a treadmill in your health area and then ignoring it could do more harm than good. Unless you plan to regularly use your exercise equipment, get rid of it. Any unused items, including exercise equipment, are energy drains regardless of which portion of your home they reside in.

While your home’s health area is the place to start to improve your physical well-being, other areas of your home may also impact your health. For example, very high ceilings, a rear entrance directly opposite the front entrance, a bathroom or stairway located in the center of the house, or stairs directly opposite the front door all tend to create energy drains that may result in fatigue for the home’s occupants. To remedy this, hang a round, multi-faceted crystal in the problem area in order to create and circulate additional chi.

Sleep deprivation can certainly have a negative impact on your overall health. If you suffer from insomnia, it is a good idea to look at your bedroom and determine how you can improve its energy flow in order to promote a good night’s sleep. Some common causes of sleep problems include too many mirrors in the bedroom, colors that are too bright instead of soft and restful, pointed corners or objects that tend to create “energy arrows,” and items stored under the bed, which generate stagnant, negative energy that is absorbed by your body when you’re in bed.

When you balance and harmonize your home’s energy, you can become healthier, happier and more prosperous.

• Do you feel exhausted from the day-to-day grind?
• Do you ever feel stuck and frustrated with parts of your life?
• Do you find yourself working harder, yet not accomplishing your goals?
• Do you ever feel dissatisfied or empty with the direction of your life?

Join me for an interactive and informative tele-seminar/webcast where we’ll examine the energy in both your inner and outer environments. You’ll learn the importance of being clear about the things that energize you and what drains you. If you want to accomplish something new, you cannot do it with old, tired energy.

When you’re aware of just how your energy is being used and how different things in your environment affect you, then you focus more on doing the things that energize you. This makes your life a lot easier – and you become much happier. You achieve more success in your business and career with less effort and experience more peace, calm and balance in your life.

On this tele-seminar/webcast, you’ll learn:

• What drains your energy the most
• What energizes you
• How your personal story affects your success and happiness
• How your home may support or sabotage your efforts

When you have the Energetic Edge in your environment, you cannot help but become more successful in all areas of your life.

Date: Tuesday, August 3rd
Time: 1pm Pacific; 2pm Mountain; 3pm Central; 4pm Eastern (9pm U.K.)
Attend: by phone or webcast

Here is the link to attend (you’ll find the phone number here as well if you want to call in by phone):

http://AttendThisEvent.com/?eventid=14126898

Presented by Linda Binns, The Energetic Edge Expert

Whenever you want to bring in something new, you must be ready to let go of something to make room for it. When you think about everything as energy, then it makes sense that in order to create something new in your life, you have to let go of old energy.

In Feng Shui we recognize this as we talk about clearing clutter or removing items that no longer have current value for you. The purpose in doing this is to remove old, negative energy that is keeping you stuck or tied to the past. This helps to make room for what you do want to come into your life.

But this doesn’t just apply to your home, or to your office environment. The same concept also applies to your personal environment – your thoughts, beliefs, actions, life situations, relationships. To be able to open up to new energies, you have to be able to let go of the old. To be able to manifest what you want, you need to let go of what no longer serves you. This is true in every area of life.

For example, if you want to lose weight, you will have to let go of something in order to have the new reality of a fit, healthy body:

• You may have to let go of hurts from the past that have caused you to gain weight now

• You may have to let go of beliefs that do not serve you – such as I’m not good enough or feeling that you need to be ‘invisible.’

• You may need to let go of old habits, such as eating unhealthy foods and not exercising.

• You may need to let go of people who are not supportive – who encourage you to eat what is not good for you and tell you that eating healthily and exercising are a waste of time.

• You may need to let go of feelings of guilt or shame and non-acceptance so that you can learn to accept yourself and love yourself enough to do what you need to do to have the body that you want.

If you want to attract a loving relationship:

• You may have to let go of hurts and disappointments from past relationships

• You may have to let go of limiting beliefs, such as I don’t deserve to be loved

• You may have to let go of people in your life who tell you that you can’t have what you want, or who are not supportive.

There is a saying, and I’m not sure where it comes from, but it’s very appropriate here: “To reach for something greater, you must first let go of what’s in your hand.” I think that sums it up quite nicely.

If your life is already full, you will have trouble attracting new experiences and opportunities. You’ll have to let go of something to make room for what you want.

You can certainly use your environment to help you with this. When you let go of physical things in your home or work space, you are releasing energy that you don’t need. This, in turn, will help your personal energy and will help you to let go of people, situations, beliefs, etc., that no longer serve you.

Even more interestingly, when you actively look for what is no longer serving you in your life with the intention of letting it go – new, unexpected and wonderful opportunities just start showing up.

Everyone’s life seems to be so busy and full these days, that it’s difficult to remember to take time for relaxation, for fun, for enjoyment – for you. Bringing more joy and fun into your life and doing things that are good for you doesn’t have to be difficult, and it doesn’t have to be time-consuming either. Here are some very simple ways to change things up a little:

Treat yourself to wonderful food (I don’t mean chocolate). Go out for a really special meal, or take the time to find a fabulous recipe (these are easy to find on-line) and enjoy the process of shopping and preparing the meal. Use a tablecloth and candles and soft music – make it a special occasion.

Allow yourself some time to listen to your favorite music – just listen to it. Don’t do anything else while you’re listening. Or go to a concert with friends. Let yourself really feel the music, let it uplift you.

Arrange a get-together with your closest friends. Don’t make it something where you have to do a lot, just enjoy their company. Relax with them.

Do something fun. What is fun to you? When was the last time you did it? Make it something silly and enjoyable and time-wasting. Allow yourself to be silly for a while. Whether it’s a visit to the water park or playing lawn tennis in the back yard or spending time with a coloring book and crayons, give yourself permission to have fun.

Bring some color into your life by painting a wall or two, or hanging a colorful poster or picture or accessories.

Bring fresh cut flowers or vibrant, colorful plants into your home – bringing nature indoors has a very uplifting impact on your energy.

Treat yourself to a makeover. Get a new hairstyle, get your make-up done, or treat yourself to some new clothes or a day at the spa.

Buy yourself something special. It doesn’t have to be something expensive, it could be a beautiful cup to have your daily tea or coffee in, or a book that you’ve been wanting to read, or a new pair of shoes.

With so much going on in our lives these days, it’s so easy to lose sight of ourselves and to lose the joy in life. If you take time to do something special for yourself – particularly if you do this every day – you will start to reclaim the joy in life, the joy in just being you. Take this list and add to it. Keep it near you and every day pick one thing you can do for that day. When you honor yourself in this way, you acknowledge that you deserve to enjoy your life, that you deserve the best, that you can open yourself up to live your best life. The only question then becomes, how much good are you willing to receive in your life?

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