Archive for the Feng Shui animals and pets
“Spider awakens creative sensibilities. It weaves a web of intricate and subtle fabric, as if to remind us that the past always subtly influences the present and future…the spider found within the web reminds us that we are the center of our own world. We are the keepers and the writers of our own destiny, weaving it like a web by our thoughts, feelings and actions.” (Excerpt taken from Animal Speak, by Ted Andrews.)
The spider’s web while delicate and graceful is remarkably strong; each thread is strengthened by the thread before and after it, strength building upon strength until a vast and powerful web has been built.
Our lives are much like the spiders web. Each experience builds the foundation for our next experience and our reaction to it. We create our own reality our beliefs; our thoughts and our actions create the web through which we live our lives. Our web can support and nurture us, just as the spider’s web supports it. Or our web can trap us behind gossamer threads of fear and prevent us from fully experiencing what life has to offer.
Before hurricane Irene blew through my yard and town there was a fabulous, large spider web just outside my living room window. And the Webmaster, the spider itself, was gigantic! It must have been about 2” in diameter with fully 1” being just body!
As I watched the spider sitting calmly in the center of its web I wondered if it would be able to weather the impending storm in safety. Throughout the day as we prepared our home for the worst, I found myself drawn back again and again to the window to watch the spider. “Spiders are the combination of gentleness and strength, and they have learned to combine both for survival.” We can learn much from spider as a totem.
The morning after the storm my husband and I were surveying the exterior of our home and property to check for damage, and much to my surprise, I found the spider and its web glistening in the sunlight, as though it was just another day.
This is interesting. I’ve recently found myself pondering my future and what form it will take. In the process I’ve felt as though I were shedding what has gone before as what is yet to be shines upon me, like the sunlight shining through a drop of rain sparkling with promise and light.
According to www.whats-your-sign.com, “Not only do Spiders and their webs draw attention to our life choices, they also give us an overview of how we can manipulate our thinking in order to construct the life we wish to live. Spiders do this by calling our awareness to the amazing construction of their webs. Fully functional, practical, and ingenious in design – Spider webs serve as homes, food storage, egg incubators – seemingly limitless in their functionality. When we consider this ingenious diversity, we can also consider the web-like construct of our own lives. How are we designing the most effective life? When we see our decisions, choices and actions as far-reaching, effective tools in life – we can see how we weave a web that can either serve us or enslave us. The Spider symbol meaning beckons us to be mindful of our behaviors – be smart about the life we weave for ourselves. “
“Spider teaches you to maintain a balance – between past and future, physical and spiritual, male and female. Spider teaches you that everything you now do is weaving what you will encounter in the future.” Ted Andrews.
Hmmm.
© 2011 Harmony Life®, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
Feng Shui Lifestyle™ articles, tips and conversation http://www.fengshuilifeandstyle.com
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE, BLOG OR WEB SITE?
You can, as long as you include the copyright and link above.
For those of you familiar with my blog posts and other articles I’ve written, you’ve heard me talk about a Feng Shui Lifestyle™ or living a lifestyle with the principles of feng shui. A Feng Shui Lifestyle™ is a lot about inner work and inner work is about coming to an understanding and acceptance of who we are, what we are and our circumstances. It’s about embracing who we are and living life to the fullest every minute, good, bad or otherwise. It’s about embracing life right now not waiting for someday in the future – embracing and experiencing joy and satisfaction today.
My oldest dog Gaby, who’s almost 9, recently began experiencing seizures ranging from mild to grand mal. It became so bad that we could no longer take our daily walks. This was a major change in our daily routine, the girls and I loved our daily walks and I could see that this change was making Gaby unhappy. But unhappy or not, I didn’t want to risk another seizure, so walks were out.
Then one day, while in New York City, I was inspired. I would buy Gaby a dog stroller! Yes, a dog stroller and then we’d all be able to continue our daily walks! You can imagine how excited I was. I immediately set about looking for a stroller for her but found that the ones available in our local stores where for smaller dogs. So I went online and found the perfect stroller and since Gaby is not a ‘pink’ kinda girl, pink was, of course, the perfect color to choose! (I love the humor and contradiction of the color choice!)
Several weeks later, after returning home from work, I went out to get the mail and there was Gaby’s new stroller! It had arrived! I was so excited I assembled it immediately. And then we were off on our first walk in almost a month!
Gaby in her new stroller
As you can see, she’s cozy and happy as can be!
What’s this story got to do with a Feng Shui Lifestyle? Everything. Gaby’s health changed and our lives changed with it. Instead of being angry or resentful of the changes, we wasted no time with, ‘why me’, ‘why now’, ‘what does this mean’ and instead moved to acceptance. And from a place of acceptance we were able to see a new path, a new way of living and being, one that followed the flow instead of fighting it. And following the flow is what a Feng Shui Lifestyle™ is all about.
P.S. Gaby also takes medication to stabilize and control her seizures, I am happy to say that she has been seizure free since making her Feng Shui Lifestyle™ changes and beginning the medication.
© 2011 Harmony Life®, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
Feng Shui Lifestyle™ articles, tips and conversation http://www.fengshuilifeandstyle.com
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE, BLOG OR WEB SITE?
You can, as long as you include the copyright and link above.
This week’s blog post is in question and answer format.
Q= Is there a ‘proper’ place to put pet beds and litter boxes that will optimize feng shui?
A= Great question! Our pets are important members of our family and should be treated as such.
Dogs are pack animals and are happiest when they are with the other ‘pack’ members. A dog bed in your living or family room placed where they can see the rest of the family and are out of the path of traffic is ideal. You might also consider a second bed in one of the bedrooms where your dog can be with a family member at night.
As long as the dog bed/s are kept clean and out of the way they’re a good Feng Shui thing! A happy pet is a source of vibrant, positive energy!
A litter box is a wonderful thing, like a personal bathroom it serves an important purpose and helps keep things contained (always good in these situations!) Keep your litter box in a location that is out of the way, a laundry room, a spare bathroom, a quiet corner in the family room - all locations can work as long as the litter box is kept clean, and the area around it is clean.
A great way to enhance this area while de-emphasizing the litter box itself is to incorporate a floor screen and place the litter box behind it. Or get one of the litter boxes with a domed lid, this provides your cat with a sense of privacy and it keeps the box and its contents out of site. Anything that makes our life easier and more beautiful is good Feng Shui. Keep it clean, keep it tidy and out of the way!
© 2011 Harmony Life®, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
Feng Shui Lifestyle™ articles, tips and conversation http://www.fengshuilifeandstyle.com
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE, BLOG OR WEB SITE?
You can, as long as you include the copyright and link above.
As I sit here staring into the beautiful liquid brown eyes of my dog, Marni, I feel completely surrounded and embraced with love. Those eyes simply resonate with devotion, kindness and trust.
Marni and the look of love!
Have you ever wondered if your pets understand you? What they think, or even if they think? I have. I believe that our pets have a deep and profound connection to us; that they are able to sense our mood, our feelings and even our thoughts. My hairy girls certainly understand it when I’m talking to them!
Gaby and Marni – the hairy girls!
Several years ago I bought a book by Penelope Smith called, Animal Talk, in it she shares 8 powerful tips to help you connect to the energy, the spirit of your pet.
I was re-reading them today and realized that these 8 steps are universal, they can help us connect to our pets and they can also help us connect to our energy and the energy around us. So I’m going to share them with you! (The following excerpt is adapted from Animal Talk by Penelope Smith)
Step 1 – Be humble and receptive.
Step 2 – Believe in your own intuitive ability to give and receive telepathic communication. Don’t invalidate your perception of impressions, images or messages in any form.
Step 3 – Be ready, receptive, mentally quiet and alert. If your mind is busy, full of thoughts and background static, you can’t listen and receive.
Step 4 – Cultivate flexibility – that is, a willingness to learn from all beings and to change your ideas. Watch for judgments and preconceptions that limit receptivity …be open to surprises, welcome the unexpected.
Step 5 – Be emotionally peaceful. Having an emotional investment…can influence what you receive.
Step 6 – Be alert and calm. Don’t force the communication or try too hard. Notice your body posture and tension… shift into receptive mode. Lean back, open your chest and hands, breathe slowly and deeply, relax and listen.
Step 7 – Let communication assume its own form, whether it be feelings, images, impressions, thoughts, verbal messages, sounds, other sensations or simply knowing…let the sense of meaning unfold by itself. Don’t analyze, evaluate or criticize. Remain innocent and nonjudgmental. Accept what you get.
Step 8 – Practice…step back from your normal routine and expectations and be willing to learn and discover.
Incorporate these powerful steps into your life and you’ll be on the way to a deeper level of understanding and awareness in all things.
Harmony and insight are just around the bend!
© 2010 Harmony Life, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE, BLOG OR WEB SITE?
You can, as long as you include the copyright and the following information:
Feng Shui Teacher, Designer and Entrepreneur Laurie Bornstein, is the author and creator of ‘Feng Shui Lifestyle’, her FREE monthly ezine filled with Feng Shui and Lifestyle Marketing articles and tips, empowering and inspiring you to live and work in comfort, balance and harmony.
Visit www.harmonylifedesign.com to learn more.
“In every moment the universe is whispering to you. There are messages for you carried on the winds. There is wisdom for you in the morning songs of the birds outside your window and in the soft murmurs of an ebbing sea. Even ordinary, everyday events in your life carry communications from the realm of spirit.” ~~ Denise Linn, The Secret Language of Signs
Have you ever wondered if there is meaning behind life’s everyday occurrences? Those times when you’re outside and suddenly find yourself surrounded by butterflies. Or a groundhog makes an appearance and stays instead of shuffling off to a den or secret hiding place. Or perhaps a hawk swoops by every time you venture out. Are these random occurrences? Is there meaning behind the appearance of these animals at this time?
Yes and no.
If you feel that there is a connection, some meaning behind these sightings then there is. If on the other hand, you barely noticed any of the animals or barely felt a connection, then probably no not at this time.
Sometimes we pass one another randomly, other times there is meaning in the passing.
I believe those times I see an animal that isn’t usually around people or my area, or when I see an animal repeatedly, these visits are visits meant for me and the meaning of these visits is for me to divine.
Let me give you an example from my life right now. Over the past three weeks every time I go outside or I’m looking out my kitchen window a beautiful, large Tiger Swallowtail butterfly drifts by. And it stays as long as I do. Sometimes, it’s the yellow and black version of a Tiger Swallowtail and other times it’s the mostly black version.
Butterfly dancing on flowers
At first I thought it was a wonderful sign of the vitality of summer. But as the sightings gained in frequency I began to feel a deeper connection and symbolic meaning.
According to Denise Linn in her book, The Secret Language of Signs, butterfly signals a powerful new beginning, a time of transformation, beauty and new awareness, a rebirth.
And Ted Andrews, author of Animal Speak, says butterflies represent the process of transformation. Butterfly shows up when we are changing, evolving somehow.
Butterfly reminds us that life is a dance, a journey from moment to moment, flower to flower, experience to experience. The sweetness of life is experienced in the dance….or perhaps the sweetness of life is experienced in how we choose to dance.
Butterfly is a totem that has flown into my life on several occasions. The first time I recall was during my first Feng Shui training. I had a powerful dream in which a butterfly emerged from its chrysalis, spread its beautiful wings and lifted off. Initially, my sense was to name my business Emerging Butterfly, but then I realized that I was the butterfly emerging. Emerging from what I had been and lifting off, flying into what I was to become.
Butterfly showing up in my life now is also meaningful. I am at a time of change and transition in my life once again. Only this time, the transition involves my family and our relationships to one another. As we move from parent and child to adult relationships we all must release our past patterns and embrace each other as we are now: loving adults. (Course, I’ll always be the Mom!) And in this transition, I feel our space condensing, strengthening, and crystallizing.
There is such beauty and opportunity in change. I am grateful that butterfly comes to remind me and show me how fun the flight of life can be!
“Those who dance are considered insane by those who cannot hear the music.” ~ George Carlin
Butterfly invites you to embrace the dance!
© 2010 Harmony Life, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE, BLOG OR WEB SITE?
You can, as long as you include the copyright and the following information:
Feng Shui Teacher, Designer and Entrepreneur Laurie Bornstein, is the author and creator of ‘Feng Shui Lifestyle’, her FREE monthly ezine filled with Feng Shui and Lifestyle Marketing articles and tips, empowering and inspiring you to live and work in comfort, balance and harmony.
Visit www.harmonylifedesign.com to learn more.
