Go F&*K Yourself! I LOVE YOU! by: Jane Kifer

Talk about the power of intention, or the power of words, or feelings- all that good stuff. Last week I got into some tangled messes with my boyfriend. UGH! Hard big frustrating stuff! And like the pendulum swinging in both directions, When it got really tough and we were both at our worst, I typically, am sorry, feel badly, try to take the high road and see it from his side, blah blah! BUT THIS TIME, I was taking my power back. I came up with that all on my own. No self help guide here. Yes that's right, I wasn't going to be sorry. I embodied that LAST week. I wasn't going to feed into his bullshit tactics and coping mechanisms. I was going to tell him without words, but with piercing daggers out of my eyes, to GO FUCK HIMSELF! Thats' right. Rather than loose it and yell - which never goes well. I harnessed my hate for the unfolding events and I just kept saying in my mind, " GO FUCK YOURSELF". That lasted about a week. It was awful. It never got better! It was ugly and uncomfortable and blah. Yuck. Then this week I thought, hmmmm maybe I should try "I love YOU" and that was super uncomfortable. Then I thought, ehhhh because it is so uncomfortable that means I really need it. Yuck again. So I said it again. Felt it, thought it, shot I love you out of my eyes like an arrow. Things eased, softened, shifted and unfolded in a kind loving way. We were sweeter to each other. I was pissed that my new adage of "Go fuck yourself" wasn't working and I actually had to embrace something I didn't want- or rather was hard for me, in order to achieve what I do want. Last night a crunchy part came up again. Tired, frustrated, sad, beaten down, and annoyed, I asked to stop the conversation. I went to bed in bed, angry - and thought unwillingly, "I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you." And he walked into the bedroom and held me and had an honest sweet connected conversation. This morning was yet another story, I'm not sure I can do this! So much work! I love you I love you I love you I love you..eh eh eh.... I'll keep trying. I'll need some stamina for this.

Allergies & Other Stuff That Comes up - by : Jane Kifer

I have always had pretty bad allergies. Definitely to dust, cats, and to some plants. However there are times in my life where they are fine and other times where they are horrifically awful. About 10 years ago, when I first had my son, a friend randomly said to me in her kitchen, "when you realize you are having some sort of allergic reaction, see what you are feeling." I always remembered that statement and it took a long time to wrap my head around the fullness of it. At first I realized I would sneeze around cats. I made the relationship that I was always alone as a child and all I had around me were my cats. The sneezing was the sadness and fear of being alone and the cat symbolized that and "brought up" the old stuff. But then life went on and I kept reacting in different ways. That isn't to say that I am not allergic. I think it is absolutely physical and I think it gets triggered and out of whack by the emotional part that we store. It wasn't until a month ago that I realized a new HUGE part. Since I moved into my new house with my boyfriend and kids, my allergies have been close to the worst they have ever been. Going to bed at night not stopping sneezing, runny nose, watery itchy eyes. I was miserable. At the same time, living my in my new happy home and picture of bliss and figuring stuff out together as a new unit family is beautiful and amazing. Of course in my relationship stuff comes up and we are working things out. My boyfriend and I would always have this thing happen where he didn't realize he was blaming me for something he was feeling. It was a huge epiphany when he realized what he was doing. He was Not the only one doing it, I was locking in to feeling and being blamed. I was afraid, anticipating and fearful I was going to be blamed. On Guard so to speak. We unlocked this huge part which we would experience for much of our relationship up to this point. It was relieving and shifted things in a huge way for us. Time moved along and I realized, in this new house, I was sneezing every single day, but all of the sudden it stopped! I wasn't sneezing ever! I realized what my friend meant ten years ago when she said, "see how you are feeling." She said she noticed when her allergies come up, she is angry, really angry and not expressing it, holding it in. For me, It is blame, the anticipation of blame and guilt. It consumes my being and comes out in my allergies. Discovering this helps so much, Now I can stop and say " Oh ok, you are feeling scared that you are going to be blamed for something." I can talk myself through it, that I haven't done anything wrong and it is my fear coming up and not necessarily anything that is actually happening. That helps unlock the other parts of where the fear stems from originally from my past as well.

Missing Areas of Your home/Life - by: Jane Kifer

Perhaps the reason you are struggling so greatly, in your finances, love life, health or any particular area- is a major area in your home is missing. There are remedies to rectify this! Get a Feng Shui Consultation and see! It reflects directly to your life. Perhaps and entire area is missing, creating an imbalance and inability for things to move properly! I recently reviewed a house plan with my Mentor and the basic map clearly indicated financial struggle which was one of the areas she discussed with her intentions for herself- to have more for rewards and results for the work she puts out. With this map, no matter how hard she works, she will always be behind. There are things you can do to extend a room, or enliven an area. Steps must be taken for things to shift. Her house was in foreclosure last year, she has struggled financially for years and no matter how hard she works she cannot really get ahead. I am so excited to discuss the transcendental remedies with her! They will help!

Position of Your Desk, Especially a Cubicle - by: Jane Kifer

If you are the boss, or the teacher, your desk better be facing the door with everyone else between you. But, what if you are in a cubicle type desk and there is no way around it. What if you cannot control your back to the door at all. My friend is a dentist, an amazing dentist and she and her partner have a wonderful practice. Their backs, however are both to the door and because they have a beautiful built in unit to accommodate a small space, it sort of has to be there. My desk is now in my cool new garage art studio. I love it. However I face a wall. You must put up a mirror in front of you so you can see behind you. It would even be great to put a wind chime above your head, but this isn't always possible in some work circumstances without people looking at you funny. The idea is you need to see who is coming . It also expands your view from hitting a wall, opens your perspective. If you are able to put of the wind chime, put it up with intentions for your work. And ring it when you think of it to resonate the waves of sound with your intention ringing out into the world. The mirror adds subconscious safety and instantly creates more space.

Body Image and Other Relationships With The Self - by: Jane Kifer

One of my mentors was telling us a story of a time when he was very very thin. Too thin. No matter how much he ate, what he did or exercised or didn't, he never gained weight. In fact he lost more and more. He was not physically ill, but he discovered something. He discovered that he literally embodied this image he had in his mind that he had seen at one point of a yogi. A very thin yogi. He, in his mind, aspired to be a yogi, he wanted to be (name changed here) Larry Yogi. That was his goal. That imprint in his brain and intention for himself, created his reality. I related to this story in my relationship with money. For most of my life, I have stayed at the same level of finances, no matter how much more I worked or earned, I had the same internal ratio of money coming in versus going out. The balance seemed to stay the same and never get to a greater sense of cushion or security. Over the years many things came up; My mom always had $100 in her account, she communicated that to me at a very young age with fear in her eyes and worry. It had such a great weight attached to it. I always kept $100 in my account. I also realized I really started to make money as a young teen ager, modeling and traveling the world. My mother made me feel awful for it. Pointing out how hard she had to work for a week to make what I earned in one hour or one day. It felt horrible and like I did something wrong. So I kept myself small, at a lower level. But the most prominent thing I noticed after returning recently from New York from a Feng Shui class, I realized things were shifting in my life. My paradigm of what I believed for myself was changing. I could feel it and I could see it, the question was, could I live it? A wave of tingles rushed through my body as I realized, I have received so much love in my life by people feeling sorry for me, needing to help me, because I was alone so young, because my brother was given away, because I moved 9 times in 6 years as a kid, because my husband left me and cheated on me, because I was a single mom. I never acknowledged the vicim part, I always looked on the bright side - not in the healthiest of ways, but I realized a fear that was coming up LOUD and CLEAR, could I still be loved if I wasn't broken and poor? I was cared for and shown love because I literally needed it, I needed help. I couldn't do it alone at 8 years old. It was appropriate for others to feel for me and help me. Now, what if I had a lot of money? OH THAT WAS Scary! But it is shifting and now I realize I can be loved and I can have things! I don't have to feel badly for success- wearing nice things, having nice things, a beautiful home! I was so afraid of my mother's jealousy or shaming, I never allowed myself to have anything. Well now I do! And it feels wonderful. We tell ourselves a story in order to survive at a time but we carry it into our lives and we don't need to. What our body looks like, what our relationship is with money or friendships and partners. Maybe it is an old story and idea that we actually don't need to live anymore, about ourselves or our goals that got locked in our mind at some point to help us at that time, but no longer serves our best interests. Were you shamed as a beautiful young teen ager when you started to grow into a woman? Was it so great that you lived most of your life overweight to cover it up and not make your parent feel badly? We can let it go. It's ok. I promise.

Feng Shui Is a Practice, Not a Belief - by: Jane Kifer

As I was hanging a crystal in a long hallway in my house, I measured the string and made sure it was in the right spot. I meditated, filled my heart with intention as I blessed it and I thought, "Feng Shui isn't a belief, it is a practice." When we first started taking these classes, I connected with the physics of it, I connected with the elements of nature, I connected with feeling and how things flow or get stuck. Nancy listened intently and said " I'm not convinced yet." As we learned more and more and practiced more and more and studied more and more, and we see the results in our lives, we realized very quickly, it isn't anything to believe or not believe or be skeptical of, it is a practice, a moment of concentrated intention of connecting with yourself, with a universal energy. When you are skeptical, or caught up in being disconnected which is where we live most of our day, it is easy to say "Blah, not sure I believe it" But when you STOP and take a moment for yourself, for a breath, for a moment to not attach to any schedule, fear, person, obligation, ego filling work, exercise, accolade, drink, or friend and just "BE" to use the cliche- there is a sort of connection with a universal truth that melts layers and years and inches of attachments away. It is a clean clear connection to something that has no words, shape, sound, - yet is on the precipice of form. Doing the work, the internal and external work, creates the practice of Feng Shui. Years ago I would read books on Feng Shui, or try to anyway! I had no idea there were different schools of thought, I didn't understand it and it seemed to contradict itself. I was worried there would be bad luck if I placed something in the wrong spot or way. Now that I am less afraid and doing the work and studying and practicing the art of it, I realize saying, "Do you believe in Feng Shui?" is as if one were to say "Do you believe in Yoga? or running, or skiing." It is a practice, a passion, a feeling, a way of life- you can do it a lot, a little or not at all. I guess for the skeptics out there I'm just offering, learn more. Put your fears on the table as you consider a different way. When I hang the crystal I don't blindly believe and I don't think, "Well let's see if that works!" That would be attaching to fear. What I do think and the door into this idea for me was, I do see how this hallway is long and flows straight out the door. And I do see how this crystal refracts the light and would naturally diffuse the energy, say light energy into a less linear plane, and if that's all I know then that is enough for me. I have been doing things like this and months into this now I see my life is unfolding in beautiful ways, things I have been open to for a while are now flooding to me easily and quickly!

Depressed and Ugly Remedies - by: Jane Kifer

There is a great remedy for feeling depressed and ugly. Maybe you are just feeling depressed, or maybe just ugly, or maybe a little of both or a lot of both. And if you think the remedy is too much, that means you really need it and need to do it even longer. If you are depressed and down and sad and feeling blue. Go buy flowers! Every Day for 27 days , go buy flowers. Put them in a new area of your home each day. Throw away the old ones as they start to wilt. First sign of gravitational sad decent in the flower, it's outta there! Get a new type of flower each day! Try and go to a new location to get them each day. If that feels overwhelming to do it for 27 days? Do it for 36! If that is beyond anything you could imagine, go for 108 days! It works! Get up, get out, get dressed - Go buy Flowers! I recently ordered dresses, many many dresses. Some fit nicely, some were questionable and some were downright awful and my son asked me what was wrong and why I was wearing a table cloth! But in trying on all these dresses, styles and colors, I wouldn't normally reach for, I realized I felt pretty and girlie. Jeans fit me differently in my aging body, and while that was my staple and garment of choice, I realized and admired my friend who wears dresses so easily, comfortably and beautifully. It sort of makes you feel pretty without even trying. it's like eating a Brie grilled cheese sandwich and drinking wine at noon in your kitchen, its the decadent beauty of the French they seem to embody in the every day. While we are at it, how about wearing red lipstick for 18 days. Talk about adding a little sex appeal to your essence! Italy here we come! This is an energetic shift, Wearing the dress or lipstick doesn't make you prettier, it's setting up rituals that reprogram your subconscious and makes you feel prettier or with the flowers, happier. 27 days, 36 days, 72 days, 108 days! Do it, watch it shift! See the results. While we are at it, if you would like more respect at work or to be in a more commanding position in your job because you are the boss but feel less credible, How's your outfit? Where's your desk? Let's start reprogramming in healthy, positive ways!

The Roof Over Our Head and the Rock Under Our Feet - by: Jane Kifer

My boyfriend and I recently moved in together. As we moved into this new space, I suddenly, like a bump on the head, realized a direct correlation with his life and his old space. His sweet little bungalow lifted above ground- teetering over the carport, offered a sweet haven of isolation. He lived there about 8 years. It was beautiful and quaint. There were resounding themes he dealt with, which started to feel like a script or cliche to me, but for him were very real active things he dealt with regularly. They were his reality for sure. He said many many many times that he didn't feel supported. Well poof! How could he with a 3 car open air space beneath him where neighboring tenants and he parked thankfully to escape the no parking ever beach traffic. And his bedroom was in a loft. Cozy, romantic, yes, BUT he could not stand up fully at all. Ever. He bumped his head many times just climbing into and out of the space. He also never in the time that I knew him was able to reach his full professional potential. He has the skills and the credits but his jobs in that time period, seemed to fall short of his full capacity. He is capable and worthy, embodies greatness easily and comfortably but he was unable to fully stand to his tallest potential in the jobs he was in and his bedroom! Also he would get stopped from forward momentum. I don't think the couch placed right when you walked in the door was a good choice. You actually had to turn around and close the door in order to move passed it, or you would walk into the couch. As we were discussing this the other day at what I thought was a pretty cool analysis, he looked at me and added " Huh, All true and yeah, You had a foundation, but it was crumbling" HA! TRUE! My old house was literally crumbling under and around me. Walls cracking, floorboards disintegrating from termite damage and it's about to be demolished. Oh My God! I love it!!!!

New Home, Old Ghosts - by: Jane Kifer

We are in our new home! Wahoo! It is beautiful, amazing and dreamy and the type of home I used to HOPE I would one day live in. As I made shifts with my stuff and understanding about myself, and studying and practicing Feng Shui, it has absolutely materialized. I did many clearings and blessings upon moving in. I picked auspicious days for new things to move the beds into the space. It's beautiful. As I situate myself in my new home, unpacking, nesting, arranging and getting life together in this new space, with a different sort of intention than I ever did before, I have noticed something. I have noticed the recessed ghosts of old parts of me lifting out of me, out of the top of me , my shoulders, my head. It is like spider webs being blown away by the wind. In my old space, no matter how much I changed, painted, got rid of and moved around, though it felt cleaner and different as I transitioned through my divorce and worked on understanding and healing old childhood wounds, there was still a sort of imprint left in deep crevasses I didn't even know I could never get to. Changing my space feels like the ultimate deep cleansing. It's beautiful. Sometimes when I have felt things leaving me as I have made transitions, I have felt so deeply sad- feeling it pass through me as it leaves, because I have lived with those parts for so long, they are a part of me, they have helped to form me, they make me who I am, BUT going through that molting process over and over, eventually leads to a new starting point. A new vantage point. A new level for allowing things in with the unwanted, useless, dead parts gone. Eventually you do make it through the muck, like the lotus flower, to bloom. That sounds so cliche, but it's true. One day the grime can and does disappear. But it takes work! and desire! Imagine if a snake carried around it's old skin forever. That makes no sense! When you feel like you are in the mud and it is dark, just think of the pink petals at the top that are about to bloom!

Voice, Body, Thought ~ Making Dreams Come True - by : Jane Kifer

Intention. Mind, Body, Spirit. If you are going to pray, move your feet. No matter your religion or lack there of, whatever your intentions are, your expectations for yourself or a situation you get them. There are three parts. Say it OUT LOUD. Do some sort of physical movement that expresses it with your body. And feel it, be it prayer or a light shining out of your soul, or visualization. This all works no matter what you believe. Adding these three components materializes life! You are speaking to it, you are physically creating it, you are feeling it - All into being. You could be catholic with your rosary, pagan with your rituals, Muslim with your physical prayers and fasting. You can translate this trinity of intention in anyway that suits you, as long as you have all three parts. In our studies, there is a certain ritual or blessing if you will, that empowers whatever we actually do for a site or a business. It works, it always has. I had other versions in my life before my Feng Shui studies and it always worked. Voice, with some sort of physical representation and feeling, MAKES IT HAPPEN. I did this in my life without even consciously knowing it. I now use ancient practices: Buddhist, Chinese and Indian Mantras and practices that have been used for thousands of years. I feel connected to the other realms as I speak the words and feel the light and use my hands. Try it! I promise.

Dust, Energy, Whatever - by: Jane Kifer

As I pack my life and go through my things and sell furniture to move, I wondered what would shift as all this chi is getting stirred up. Old stuck energy in boxes, dust bunnies, out with the old and in with the new- all getting reorganized and rearranged. I am making a conscious choice, what goes and what stays. Our life is being boxed and moved. Everything in the box has made the guest list of staying in my life! As the process really started to unfold, My son got really sick for a week! Stomach flu, then I broke my toe! Then I also got a horrible cold. Interestingly enough, I am still happy to move and do all the stuff. But it is interesting because I wondered what would unfold as all this stuff got shifted around. This is the smoothest move and most supported I have ever been in making this type of transition and as far as I am conscious of, I am not stressed. I guess it is inevitable though that there is stress and it all needs to come out somewhere. And as much as it is slightly uncomfortable, we are actually doing pretty well. Happy and excited for this new chapter! Welcome!

Opening Spaces - by: Jane Kifer

When my car overheated on the 405 coming from the eye doctor who understands special prisms and vision in the Valley, en route to picking up my daughter in time and then my son, and then to go teach my advanced student painting class to then rush off and make my son's Japanese play, I would pray my car would make it. In bumper to bumper traffic, as I sat there sort of freaked out, I looked at my quarter full sippy cup of water the kids had left in the car and laughed at how much water my radiator needed and how much I did not have. A lovely "guy" stopped to try and help, but not only did he have no idea what to do and I was afraid he would loose his arm (like my ex father in law did in Spain) as he tried to take off the cap and stopped as I warned him against it. He handed me his tiny water bottle for support. Finally this car full of workers drove by at a snails pace in barely moving traffic and shouted out, "Turn on the heat full blast! It'll suck the hot air out of the engine." So I did! And it worked. There was no tow truck coming in that traffic anyway and I would never have made my schedule. In that 100 degree day, I was thankful for the tip, as I saw the temperature gauge rapidly drop to cool. I got back in the lane and drove in that 115 degree day in traffic with heat heat blaring back to the west side with bits of stuffing flying all around the car in wisps like snow, that my daughter had ripped out of my sewing kit from one of my classes. Tears were falling on my cheeks at the absurd beautiful crazy picture I was living, feeling so thankful that my car was working. I stopped and got lunch, because I also needed fuel! I accomplished everything that day thankfully, but at what price! I left for school drop off and pick up every day wondering if my car would start, and would drive. It consumed me for months. I had put $3000 in my 13 year old car in 3 months and it still needed work! I realized I would be serving the safety and my life and my family better if I made a change! I did the Math and I did something NO good Mennonite infused girl would do and I leased a car! Yes I did it. I love it! I pay $200/month, never have to fix anything and or live in fear. My insurance went up $18 but I save in using one less tank of gas per month. Before I got the new car, I had the huge realization that this broken car was taking up so much space in my life, in my day in my mind in my energy in my worry , my feelings. I had no bandwidth for healthy production of anything because I was too busy needing to deal with all this broken shit to make it through the day and it was EXHAUSTING! As hitting a wall when you open the door reflects in your subconscious, so does dealing with the stress of broken cars, bad relationships, manipulative dynamics with old friends or partners. Fix it, deal with it, move out of the stuff that consumes us and Make an opening to fill with glorious things, you will open up and free so much space for other stuff that those broken parts are taking up. Its like having an iphone full of bad apps. DELETE, prioritize, break old patterns and make changes that work for you. Good relationships, working cars, nourishing endeavors.

Boundaries And Trust - by: Jane Kifer

The yin yang symbol which for years I saw as an over used icon that people had little connection with. Ironically it is the basis for most of what we are learning. In the image there is a black thread around the yin and yang symbol as we know it. The Tai Chi which is the ying and yang comes together and the circle around binds the emptiness and everything. This earth matter boundary creates form and energy. Without earth we wouldn't exist, we would be Tao, we must have earth as transition to define. The earth balances each element as we move through the annual cycle. My teacher said " Boundaries are what create trust." This was such a huge metaphor. Of course the obvious physical reality, coupled with the resounding lesson of everything, boundaries for ourselves, with our children, with what we create in our own existence as form and reality. It's beautiful mind blowing.

The Gift Of Being Annoyed - by: Jane Kifer

I was flying to New York from La, when this elderly gentleman got frustrated at a younger guy and his bag and he started to make a scene. Finally the guy passed and the older gentleman sat there angry. He called for a flight attendant and they could see this is clearly his problem as he explained what had happened 10 min earlier while everyone was getting on the plane. As she knelt next to him and listened , he sunk his head  into his hands and said 'I'm a millionaire, I'm not even supposed to be sitting back here!'

I thought 'Oh dear, lucky you! You are getting the gift of being out of your comfort zone to grow.'  I didn't think he'd take  that so well so I just kept that thought in my head. I did, however, show him where to pull the touchscreen at a slight tilt to work it rather than rip it out of the seat wall and out of its frame as he had done. He seemed to soften after that - well that and a half of a bottle of wine.

Shit comes up and annoys us and bothers us because its screaming to be looked at! It is an opportunity to clear it, heal it, deal with it, make peace with it, unstick it.

Whether you are living life and things come up,  meditating, raising children - anything - when we are annoyed, sad, scared, angry - its an opportunity -even when it doesn't feel like it.

I read a great quote the other day,'Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.' (Neale Donald Walsch) it surely doesn't feel good and is so hard, but its worth it. It has been worth it to me anyway.

Elemental Awareness - by: Jane Kifer

The part that resonates the most, or rather how Feng Shui sits right with me, is that it encompasses so many aspects I believe in and have been drawn to in terms of modes of understanding and organizing our world- from physics, spirituality, energy in a physical form and a non tangible form, it is intellectual, it is earth based on elements and natural factors and the relationship between each. It just all makes sense. When we talk of a "better Feng Shui", it is literally discussing the relationship between the spaces and parts, how they relate. It is all based on a natural cycle of the elements as we see in the chart or map that we apply. Different areas represent different things, but the parts I find fascinating and so deeply rooted in my soul and my entire existence of growing up in nature are the elements: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood. Fire produces earth, Earth produces metal, metal produces water, water produces wood, and wood produces fire. They all relate. One feeds or gives life to the next. And the opposite is true, they can overcome each other as well. This natural cycle and base gives so much understanding to the relationships in Feng Shui. Shapes, material, color, symbols, body parts, family members and many other categories, represent each element in some way. Like white and circles represent metal, Triangles and red, fire. These representations make it really fun! In my helpful people area of my plot by my front gate of my house, I hung an off white curtain with ellipses embroidered on it, from the frame just inside the entry gate. My very guarding neighbor's dog used to hang out there and guard our home. He definitely kept people out! When he left, I didn't want a straight shot of energy from the street to my front door past my gate so I hung a curtain of sorts. Since I started studying Feng Shui, I chose one that was good in color and shapes for that "helpful people, travel" area. It was a good choice. Since doing that, things have definitely aligned for the better and goodness in this area has flooded to me easily.

Feng Shui your face - by: Jane Kifer

WHAT?!?!?!?! I have been wanting to post this for a while but I do now know enough to even consider starting the conversation, but my son just walked through the kitchen and said the funniest thing, so now I have to share it. Warning, slightly gross! So I have been wanting to say " Did you know you can Feng Shui your face? or your body?" Not kidding? I have no idea how or what that exactly means, but recently I have been reading and understanding that different guas represent different body parts. You could apply the ba kua/Feng Shui map to your face and body. And the "door" literally represents the mouth of the chi or energy. So that I get. But I am still in the dark about the application or understanding of the rest. Maybe certain ailments? and seeing which gua they are in and applying adjustments to shift the health of that part of your body and area? I am guessing here with intuition and smarts, but I am far from knowing what this all means. BUT! My son just walked through the kitchen and said, " If your poop is green does that mean your body's Feng Shui is funky?" I laughed out loud and said " Maybe, or the fake colored popsicle you ate yesterday, which in turn would make things off yeah." And I thought, "Now I have to post the face body Feng Shui thoughts." I'm thinking that if say your hip is out, that that gua would need to be adjusted in the home, a clear indicator that something is off! This may not be Feng Shui, but just plain correlative. I always think that our bodies are a physical seat for the emotional stuff that swirls around and in us. Another "house" so to speak for the energy we live- in us, around us and through us.

Yin and Yang- The complete Tao - by : Jane Kifer

HOLD ON! I know I am all about getting rid of stuff and clearing out spaces and making space to allow goodness to come. BUT the opposite side of the coin must also be embraced. I'm seeing that as I move through my house and think I should get rid of certain things, I realize I actually have an emotional attachment to certain things and use. That is good too.I say KEEP IT! Letting everything go is an imbalance without the realization that we should also hold on to parts also. There is a special blanket from a special person that I got when I was 13. My kids use it , I love it, it is special. I realized I was trying to force myself to give it away. I spent a lifetime holding on to everything afraid to let anything go because of my past, now that I allow myself to give stuff away, so much is unleashed and embraced, However, it's like the pendulum swinging in the opposite direction, slowly coming to a calmer,balanced center swing. So I am going to hold on to the blankets that maybe aren't the prettiest, but mean so much to me.

Feng Shui works!- by: Jane Kifer

Dreams do come true! I knew if I hung in there long enough and kept believing things could turn around, they would! So yes it is true! We got the house!!!!!! A M A Z I N G~ I feel lucky! Things seem to be aligning so beautifully and coming to fruition. It sort of feels like I worked for a long time to come to this point and goodness was in the eaves of my life and now it is flowing to me easily with a direct line and access to making my life better. I could say it is coincidence, and I could also say that clearing out old shit and dealing with my stuff and having intentions and doing the mantras and meditations and the work got me here. It is sort of a dreamy house of perfection and perfect for our needs right now. Thank you universe. I like physics and energy.

Feng Shui Defined - by: Jane Kifer

As my Mentor quotes an ancient Chinese poem " The Winds are mild, The sun is bright, The water is clear, The trees are lush" It represents harmony between heaven and earth. He goes on to describe that establishing such harmony in our homes and communities brings good vital energy to us, bringing more opportunities, goodness and joy. I feel the following words describe this seemingly mystical physical science best. And I quote my mentor "Feng Shui involves awareness of the many ways housing location, buildings, and environment can affect a person's daily activities and moods, and influence health, economic life and relationships. Feng Shui promotes happiness and success by adjusting the interior and surrounding environment of a home or workplace to overcome factors that oppose us and to strengthen what already benefits us." (The Modern Book of Feng Shui, by: Steve Post) Enough said really! Now that doesn't sound weird does it? That sounds totally practical realistic and great I think! And makes it all make so much more sense. Only took years of learning to get to. But thankfully I am now here.

Ironic? I don't think so!- by: Jane Kifer

I do find it interesting that the day my friends from Crump and Pal came to pick up the 20 bags of stuff, power tools, fabric, yarn, etc, neatly piled in the middle of my garage, I received a nice order and check from a t.v. show for my jewelry and found out we were top of the list for a house we are applying to live in! Like in minutes it all materialized. NICE, I like how that works! Poof, physical and energetic lines had a clearer path to get to me without all the "stuff" in the way. Keep it coming, keep it coming, what else can I get rid of lingering around in the eaves of my life and or right in front of my face? Oh that damn steel bat in the yard and the pogo stick my son uses once a year to jump rope with, NOT KIDDING. Maybe I should keep the pogo stick, this house we want has a pool and he could pogo/catapult into it! Hmmmmmm I'll keep you posted, literally.

Scents - by: Jane Kifer

I wore a Rose scent for years! Rose essence saved my life coming out of my divorce. I needed LOVE! Flowers helped, not kidding. I wore young living Rose oil, then moved on from that to Rose spray and Weleda Rose deodorant. I loved it, lived it, wore it- not over powering, but I liked it. The ritual of spraying it and the scent. For 5 years I loved it. I longed for a scent of my own. I had found it. It was perfect. Then! A couple weeks ago, I sort of felt like my energy dropped when I would put it on. I was wanting something new. My deodorant stopped working and soon I didn't even want to wear the spray. I needed a new scent. I didn't know what but something needed to shift. It worked for me so well for a time and part of me thought " You can't change this is the scent you are, you chose, you have loved!" But that's exactly the point, it was all past tense, it isn't where I am today! So I got rid of it. Moving on. I found a new deodorant that works and I love, I found a new spray scent that totally rocks my world and I am good! Just the mere expectation in myself that I should keep wearing it because it is my thing was making me feel obligated and bringing me down. That's not healthy!

All The Single Ladies! All The Single Ladies... - by: Jane Kifer

Do you know how many times I walk into a house and there are images of one, single woman all over! Especially in the bedroom and the relationship wing. Really? And why you might ask is this important? Oh I don't know, all the complaining these people do about their lack of love life, or breaking down - one sided relationship. LOOK AT THE WALLS! It reflects! It is a clear projection and reflection of a core factor being perpetuated. Keep the beautiful image, but carefully select where it goes.

Grime - by: Jane Kifer

I'll admit it, I don't like dealing with it! GRIME! Slime. The yuck under your stove, top of the fridge, the walls!??!?!? When my old amazing antique Wedgewood stove broke and a repair man came, he pulled it out to deal with it and he looked at me and slowly uttered with his southern draw, "Y o u, maht want to take dis oppOtunity to deal wi dat." As I looked at him, paused and turned my head in the direction he nodded towards, I saw the GRIME. The dust and built up YUCK from tenants ago that wasn't even mine! Not only was I carrying my junk in my home, but other people's junk too! EEEEWWWWW, I scraped, wiped, cleaned and did it all again. He patiently worked and waited and once I felt it was clean, he pushed the very old stove back. JUST WIPE IT! This is a lesson I definitely need to tell myself! It literally is a reflection. What do we allow on our surface, in the eves of our psyche? At our foundation? Interesting to consider. Jane Kifer

Broken Things - by: Jane Kifer

The object BROKE, the metaphor is HUGE. Whenever I accidentally break a cup or something, I always try to back track and see exactly what I was thinking about at that time. It's usually pretty interesting to say the least. I have hung on to very special pottery for most of my adult life, that a very special, grandmother like person made. I hung on to every inch of it in an effort to hang on to every inch of her. Even if it was cracked and leaking, even if it was chipped. I needed to. She was my safety as a child. She saved me, she was the one who was there! IT was the least I could do! She was so very special. I needed to cling (because that is the word I choose to use, it clearly has other connotations...) to any connection I had left to her that I could maintain now that she died - she died 21 years ago! It occurred to me through studying Feng Shui, that this was not healthy. As much as I love and loved her as much as she helped form me and I value her, I am literally clinging to the broken parts. Not the alive, vibrant parts of her. I needed to let it go. I took a photo of it, which used to work for me, but even that, I see now, is clinging to some of the broken pieces. I will delete them, but this was a helpful way for me to transition into giving things away, it was a start. I can let these these special shards of pottery go when I put them in the green bin to go back into the earth. When I recently let go of about 6 items of hers, I laughed out loud and suddenly realized she was laughing at me for keeping all that broken stuff for all those years. If she were alive, and I can hear in the alive part of her spirit now, she would have smashed them to the ground and said, "LET GO JANE, they are broken, why do you want these?!" Once when I was making jewelry with a German steel tool, I was pondering something about my intention around a certain area in my divorce. I was wondering if in setting certain boundaries, I was being rude and mean and if I was looking at all the parts. As I twisted the wire around the beads in the necklace I was making, all of the sudden, the German steel unbreakable- last 20 years tool, snapped off! Flew across the room and shot straight into the wall! I sat there, slightly frozen and looked up where it flew and hit and thought, "Oh shit." I was still. I thought, "Oh my god, I am really glad that didn't hit my eye. That would have sucked." Then it metaphorically hit me! Poof! What? Do I need to be hit in the head to "see" it?!?!?!? and make it clear for me? That thought I was having when it all went down, suddenly became VERY clear, and I stopped second guessing myself based on fears. All of those broken things we hold on to: intending to fix, intending to glue, intending to make into art, intending to take to repair, intending to give to someone who could easily fix it. GET RID OF IT! You are literally hanging on to the broken parts. Let them go. Perhaps look at it as if the "thing" is telling you it's time and purpose are OVER, say thank you very much and move on!

I Ching - by: Jane Kifer

Hahahahahaha! Yes we are studying the Iching. Amazing. I have no idea how it works as of yet, but the part I mostly connect with is, it is called "the book of changes". As I have read and done some readings, I realize this the most- I, typically seek fixed answers. What is this answer, what shall I do , when will this get better? And with most of these readings, I am dissatisfied. Mostly because there is not an absolute answer. OF COURSE, and I have come to wrap around that pretty little brain of mine, that things change. Sometimes, it is a slow, yet active patient change. Sometimes the change is a paced evolution, not less kinetic or effective, but not a finite, direct, instant answer. This is something I realized in getting back together with my boyfriend. We had a breakdown of sorts at one point. I blamed him for all the wrong parts, only to finally see all the parts that worked and the parts I also contributed to what I call the breakdown of us. In reaching out to him again, I had to believe that things could be better. It was a new understanding that people can change and grow and evolve. Of course the old fearful adage, "people don't change" tried to creep in and I said, STOP, WAIT! I sure as hell hope I have grown and changed and am making better choices for myself and my life, I would have to believe he has too. I knew I had to believe this for him as well (I saw the change in him on a core level, but I was still skeptical and stayed away) if I honestly hoped and believed that for myself. Turns out I was right. haha. We both had "changed" for the better, we went through our deepest darkest fears alone and emerged clearer with less baggage towards each other. Now in terms of the iching and any life question I have asked, the answer is always the same, in a way, Hang in there! Maybe that is just my "fortune" and lesson on this plane, but the continuous theme is ever so clear. I think I finally have started to hear it.

Fascinating Logo Facts - by: Jane Kifer

As we study business and logos, it is fascinating to see a logo and it's positive or negative components as it relates to Feng Shui. Based on the Ba Gua, if you apply the map to your logo, it is apparent where the challenging areas are and where the successes are. The logo for my children's school, has a sort of loop around the name with an opening- not a fully closed circle, in the relationship corner. I saw this, but knew nothing about the relationships between the heads of school and anyone they dealt with. As time evolved, I realized the relationships are not great and there is poor communication and no one seems to ever like each other or get along. Amazing! Then I looked at our old school which is a triangle. It lacks the relationship and abundance areas, and this is clearly a challenge in the school, it is constantly loosing money, there are many different modes of thinking which result in not being able to move forward because of the lack of cohesiveness amongst the varying interests and ways of those involved. It's totally intriguing!I love how everything has symbolic representation in ways we don't even know about yet!

Damn Laundry Room - by: Jane Kifer

I have a bag started to get rid of stuff! yay me,- NO, not yay me. I put it, once again, for the holding period until it is full, in my laundry room. Fine enough, NO NOT FINE enough! It is my relationship corner and let me tell you , we are constantly doing laundry! Emotionally, constantly getting old patterns and shit out! So exhausting (and amazing). I made a deliberate choice to put a pinkish, beige, whiteish abstract painting I made in there, and I hung pictures up of two birds facing each other and a little post it of two hearts. That helped actually, things calmed down and became less "house cleaning" with our hearts. I stopped gathering bags to give away there, but , yesterday I thought one little bag hung up would be okay right? Ugh I am going to go move it. We had the wonderful experience of cleaning out more emotional stuff last night. Not my favorite way to spend my time, but worth it in the end- always. I need to go move it. Next to my desk seems okay, only thing is the kids get into it and pull everything I want to give away back out and then I'm cleaning up even more! In my bedroom I also honored the relationship corner more. I put a photo of my partner and myself, TWO PLANTS that are healthy and blooming. The relationship corner of the house and or of the bedroom are the most back right corner from walking in the door. Keep in mind not every home is a perfect square, like my little dilapidated bungalow of perfection, but unless the area is missing in some way, this should be honored with intention and awareness for healthy relationships. Trust me!

Headboard Means Support - by: Jane Kifer

Let's talk Headboards! Turns out they are sort of important, especially for a couple. It needs to be wood and solid and attached to the bed. It is there to support you two! Make changes. It's important for your relationship. I finally bought a bed as an adult and I LOVE it, I am a grown up- Wahoo! Thankfully it has a great headboard- as I started taking the Feng Shui class I realized it's importance- whew, good choice Jane. They also say that there should be space under the bed, not on the ground type of bed. AND NO CLUTTER under there! Put the wrapping paper, sweaters and JUNK SOMEWHERE ELSE! This is not a storage dumping ground, this is a sacred space where you spend half of your life. Don't sleep on a heap of stuff like the princess and the pea, believe me, those quantum particles will be felt in your life! My mentor actually said, if you are trying to have a baby, it is helpful for the space under the bed to collect ling particles- a sort of energetic dust in creation. I, however, am NOT interested in conceiving at this time, so I make sure to sweep under there often!

I Am The Teacher, You Are The Student - by: Jane Kifer

Have you noticed whether you are the teacher or the student, some classes are chaos and some classes are organized? Well, check this out- The teacher's desk should always face the door to have the "command" position. The students should have their back to the door. Since this understanding, I have noticed in my own classes, this phenomenon. When I am facing the door and they are between me and the door, everything is under control and calmer. When My side or back is to the door, NO ONE is listening and it feels like all hell is breaking loose with the 4-11 year olds! And that is not so much fun. So Now I intentionally make sure I am facing the door! It doesn't matter what direction or layout they are as a group as long as I , the great maestro am facing the door. Then we can all be present and offering our best selves for the class.

Feng Shui Your Purse - by: Jane Kifer

Seriously? Feng Shui your purse? What does that even mean? Oh yeah, it means clean the (excuse my language) shit out! And while you're at it- your car? I drove around with all those bags I so amazingly collected in my house of stuff I didn't want anymore, for about a month. Sure let's carry around extra weight everywhere we go, in my purse, in my trunk, let alone the crazy mess of children I allow in my car. When I bought a new car, it helped a little and we all try better to clean stuff up and out like my daughter's 5 pairs of shoes or food that gets forgotten on the way to school in a bowl that got missed for 4 days. YUCK! Bad feng Shui! Bad Feng Shui!, that's just bad everything, I don't need to become a master to see that those areas definitely need a little effort, and I mean a little, as in pick it up and put it in the trash or the sink. There is an absolute metaphor for the heavy extras you carry in your bag or purse, the random old papers, the 15 bracelets your daughter made you, the 3 balls, a skateboard washer that goes between the bushings that your son decided he didn't need anymore, the 2 dice from what? The crumbs from the toast you threw ON your purse as you ran out the door one day, CLEAN IT OUT! Or how about the tampons and pads you carry around in a pretty leather pouch "just in case" but never get used for whatever reason and because they are organic, they have already disintegrated and unraveled out of their protective papers and are worn and discolored from the purple leather pouch they are in . Geez. What am I actually trying to be prepared for since it has all been in there a year and never touched? Get rid of it all! Now if anything goes in my car, it goes OUT! I force myself. As much as I don't want to deal with it, I make myself, and it instantly frees mental space of my "to do"list. As much as it's easier to say you don't care and leave it all there forever, what it represents in not dealing has far greater impact on your life than a mere forgetting about it. You see the difference when you do deal with it. Take it from me, I am not a pack rat, But it has taken my whole life to be able to get rid of things. My mother got rid of everything, even things with a heart beat. I'll leave the story there. But as a result I held on to everything! It was an epiphany to realize I was holding on to everything because she let everything go! I moved 17 times before I left home at 17. I lived with everything in view to know it was there. I traveled the world as a teenager with my bag on my lap for security. I mean 9 hour flights to Greece and Italy. My stuff was my safety. I overcompensated for everything that left my life as a child. Holding on to my stuff was holding me back. It has been so incredibly freeing to let things GO! You can do it, let it go!!!! Good luck, be free.

Mirrors, Windchimes and Crystals- What!?!?!?!? - by: Jane Kifer

When some people hear we are becoming Feng Shui masters, they say," Isn't that about a bunch of mirrors and stuff?" - Uh, sort of? and not really? In honor of sticking with what I have learned and know as opposed to trying to share the breadth of what I have No idea about! One thing I have learned is, your bed should essentially have eyesight of the door, if it does not, hanging a mirror on the opposite wall so that you can see the door from your bed is a great choice to make! Oval is better in this case than corners) And if your back is to the front door when you are at the stove, hanging a little wind chime above your head is a good choice. Now WHY?! is a great question. Traditionally for safety, you need to see the door for your safety, if someone is entering . In terms of your bed, for obvious reasons, but in terms of the stove- If the door opened and your back was to it and you didn't see or hear someone entering, all that wind that flies in when the door is opened will blow the fire bigger and splatter the oil you are cooking in your face. So when the door is opened and the wind blows through, the chime will ring a little to warn you and allow you to be aware for your safety. That is the 18,000 year old thinking. So essentially these adjustments of the chime and mirror, are to make you less vulnerable and put you in a more commanding and secure positioning for your welfare.

Doing the Dishes! - by: Jane Kifer

I'd like to make an analogy and relate the importance of clearing stuff out in Feng Shui or just life in general. People want to do the cures and have "magic" occur, but they don't want to deal with their "stuff". That is sort of like making a cake or cooking dinner in dirty dishes. Sure go ahead make a cake in pans that haven't been washed, see how well that goes over! It almost doesn't matter what your intentions or actions are if all your efforts are made in crusty dirty old cake pans. EWWWWW! When you clear out old stuff, things etc- you are creating space for what you do want. It is very simple. You cleaned out a drawer, one drawer and it is essentially like you are saying, I am making space for what works for me, for what I want in my life. I now have room for what I would like to put in my life! Receive in my life! Have in my life! I like the expression "When you pray, move your feet". I'm not traditionally religious, but whether you call it prayer, intention, or if bitch and moan is your method- take action, somewhere, anywhere. Baby steps do wonders! Consider The Butterfly Effect, "The butterfly effect is a term used in chaos theory to describe how small changes to a seemingly unrelated thing or condition (also known as an initial condition) can affect large, complex systems. The term comes from the suggestion that the flapping of a butterfly's wings in South America could affect the weather in Texas, meaning that the tiniest influence on one part of a system can have a huge effect on another part. Taken more broadly, the butterfly effect is a way of describing how, unless all factors can be accounted for, large systems like the weather remain impossible to predict with total accuracy because there are too many unknown variables to track."- Thank you wisegeek for your eloquent explanation! That being said, we don't control all the parts, but we can do our best, And I mean truly our best, which in turn seems to affect everything.

The Story - by: Jane Kifer

It truly amazes me how we get caught up in the paradigm of our own story and repeated language of a situation. Things like " I have no time, I work too much, I have no money, I wish I had a boyfriend, I'm sick again"- or even the stories we were told growing up. The "truths" recited to us about a situation that we carry on as real and formulates our perception, only to grow up and realize, maybe that isn't true, or we see it differently. None the less, I have worked a lifetime on creating new language and shifting perceptions about preconceived notions I might have towards myself about things like money or love in my life. I am by no means discrediting things and yes positive affirmations work in the short term, but for me I felt like I was functioning a little from fear- or rather running from it I should say!, and that if I took a breath or said it wrong, my intention for a positive shift fell flat on it's face. With Feng Shui, I have noticed this wonderful physical representation of our emotional stuff. Where and how things are stuck. Feng Shui is like a representational map that parallels our internal universe. It's the basic level of quantum physics and the relationship between particles and how (don't be scared) energy flows. For some people Energy is a foo foo new age word and for others it's an annoying every day over used California word, but where I am most intrigued is where the physical (energetic) movement of particles in a contained way creates form. All those books my molecular biophysicist brother had around make total sense to me now! The scientific formula version of understanding and my "feeling" translation of understanding is like two languages or studies of the same topic. The tree is green and the tree is tall. Not one or the other. In our Feng Shui classes, it has felt like a drink of water. The talk of energy or Chi, really comes down to the relationship of parts on a subatomic level that gives rise to the realities we feel, are and live in our every day lives. Shifting those physical parts gives rise to the subconscious shift inside ourselves that lead to a better life. My point being. Really look around, see how you feel and move something. Is your instinct " Oh I can't do that- or move it, see it, get rid of it, etc.. it's from my aunt, or I've had it for ten years"? If these are your responses, you are probably holding onto subconscious stuff that isn't in your best interest anymore. perhaps it served you well for a time, but it no longer has a purpose and holding on to it, only holds you back from your true goals and things every changing for the better.

"Clear Your Clutter" Cliche - by: Jane Kifer

I'm the queen of clutter, no sooner do ten bags of stuff leave that 5 more come in! Papers all over my desk. It is unrealistic of me to think I can have a super clean desk. I am productive with everything out. Screeching halt, STOP. Ok ok , yes that's fine, BUT go through the "stuff" on your desk weekly, or ever. It can be cluttered but fresh clutter. Current clutter. The parts I want to talk about are the 5 bags of stuff you are planning to give away but sit in your relationship corner, the back right corner from your front door. Or your abundance corner, the back left from the front door. That stuff builds, and gets stuck. For years I have gathered bags and bags of stuff to get rid of behind my dryer, perfectly organized and contained- out of the way and on its way out. Except it sat there for 6 months- for years. But I told myself I was letting stuff go. You know what? my boyfriend and I spent most of our first 2 years of our relationship clearing junk out of our emotional lives. We were constantly cleaning house with our emotional stuff. It was exhausting. I didn't realize it until I started studying Feng Shui, that I needed to move that stuff. I then had the epiphany of the metaphor I had created in my things. I was really good at gathering what to give away but getting it out the door was a whole other looming job! I asked my babysitter if I could pay her an extra hour and she would load all the bags in her car and drive to the community center 3 blocks away where I donate things and drop it off. It took her 15 minutes and she was happy for the extra hours worth of pay and I was relieved and free. And I had help! Go figure! Once you deal with the stuff and see how free it feels, you can't not deal with it after that. The stagnation disappears in all levels of your life.

Move Your Feet - by: Jane Kifer

Like with every new consult, I asked for the floor plan signed and birth dates of family members, She said "Ugh I didn't know I'd have homework?" I smiled and slightly shouted! "It isn't homework, if you don't even want to get me the floor plan, sign it and get me your birth dates, How do you expect me to help you!?!?!?!?!" She laughed and said "OK" Lesson of the day! MOVE YOUR FEET even a little bit.

Your Door - by: Jane Kifer

When you open your door, does it get stuck? Does it make a noise? Does the handle jiggle? Is it hard to open? Does it hit something when opening? Do you have to climb over something to get to it? Stand outside the front door. Take 9 deep breaths in and out. Open your door and notice what is there. Fix the creaking, tighten the loose screws, clear the path to it. It should open easily, smoothly, with nothing in the way. Repaint it! This is the entry way for all good things to come to you and reach you. Let's welcome all goodness coming to us in! Maybe it's travel and helpful people or your career or skills and knowledge. Notice and pay attention to your front door and say Hello to all great things coming your way!