The topic for today’s article isn’t so much about achieving financial independence, but more on living a full and meaningful life of abundance. The steps outlined below draw their ideas from the concepts in feng shui. Also known as Chinese geomancy, feng shuiFeng shui (风水) literally translates as “wind-water” in English, and is one of the Five Arts of Chinese Metaphysics, classified as physiognomy (observation of appearances through formulas and calculations). The feng shui practice discusses architecture in terms of “invisible forces” that bind the universe, earth, and humanity together, known as qi. is a pseudoscience originating from China, which claims to use energy forces to harmonise individuals with their surrounding environment. As mystical as feng shui may appear to be, it is a concept that is fast becoming less foreign in Western societies.
Today we will be looking at 8 steps that could help you lead a path towards wealth and abundance. Coincidentally, the number 8 is also considered a highly auspicious number in the Chinese culture.
On the Path to Wealth and Abundance
Conventionally, wealth is usually taken to mean having lots of money. But it can also mean just having – having great health, having the love and support of family members, and having happiness. When we have all these in abundance, it augurs that we are very healthy, very well-loved, and very happy.
Money Area or Financial Power Spot
Before we start on the list, there are a couple of terms we would first need to know in order to understand how feng shui affects one’s wealth and other aspects of life. In the list below, you will encounter the words money area or financial power spot.
When entering a room and if you are standing at the door looking into the room, the money area or financial power spot is located at the left-hand corner along the rear wall. See the following illustration to get a better picture.
The room can be broken down into a total of 9 sections, each representing an aspect of one’s life.
A particular area of a person’s life could be enhanced by paying attention to how a specific corner or section of the living space is arranged, coloured or decorated. As a guideline, the following grid shows the sections within a room with respect to the dweller’s aspects of life:
N.B. Note that in the above room layout, the door entrance is located at the bottom of the grid. The colours shown signify the key colour for each of these power spots, with the alternative colours shown in the upper right corner of each square section, where available.
Here are the 8 steps to achieve wealth and abundance in your life.
1
Eliminating Clutter
Clutter in a living space is an obstacle to flowing energy, which is a crucial element of feng shui. As such, clutter leads to stagnant energy, and if clutter is found at the money area of your home, it can clog up your cash flow.
Clearing and eliminating clutter around the home is the first important step towards freeing the energy flow and leading you on a path of wealth and prosperity.
2
Fix the Broken Stuff
Things which are broken around the home should not stay broken for long. Any item that is broken at a specific section of the home represents a broken aspect of life, that something is not right with that area of life. A pipe leak for example, could represent an outflow of the good stuff that the area of the living space represents.
If a pipe is leaking, get it fixed by a plumber. If a clock is moving slow, have the batteries changed. It is crucial to have any broken item repaired and not neglected too long in its damaged state.
3
Pay Attention to How You Handle Money
Paper money is a physical representation of the essence and intangible value of money. As such, it should be treated in high regard. How does your cash sit in your wallet? Is it crumpled and creased and slipped in between old receipts that should have been discarded a long time ago?
Is your wallet, the accommodation of your paper money, in a state free of clutter as your home should be? If it isn’t, it’s time to treat it like your own living space. When you treat your cash with the reverence it deserves, the energy of money flows back to you.
4
Do Not Neglect Your Finances
Pay your bills on time and balance your chequebooks regularly. Keep tabs of your own account and finances, and stay on top of things. Treat your ins and outs importantly, and your wealth will be looked after well.
Place your chequebook and bank statements at the money area of your office, and fill the place with purple, blue or red. It’s all part of the energy flow that goes with the concept of feng shui and how it returns to you.
5
Enhancing the Power Spots
Enhance the potency of your money area by placing a symbol of prosperity at this corner. This symbol could be represented by the bamboo plant of fortune, the money toad, the maneki-neko or beckoning cat (photo above), or simply a bowl of coins that you can place your loose change at the end of a workday.
If you consider your expensive watch (or any other object of status) to be such a symbol, you can place this at the money area as well. Anything that carries a personal meaning that could serve as a reminder of the goals you want to achieve in life, even if it is a picture of your dream home or car, could be used to represent a symbol to enhance this power spot.
6
Colorise the Money Area
We have established above that the money area is located at the rear left side of the living space. Once you have identified where this corner is at your home, you can accent it with the colours of green or purple. These two colours reflect abundance – the colour green symbolises vitality and growth, and purple is the colour of wealth (see the grid chart above). You can also use the colours red, blue, green or gold as well.
In my own practice, I have the deep purple of Amethyst crystals accompanied by the green from a plant.
7
Live Generously
It has been said that money is a form of energy, and it needs to flow through your life. Money saved is only money coming in, not going through. Giving generously within your means promote the flow of money energy through your life and makes space for an even greater abundance. I have seen too many real-life cases of this to not ignore this important tenet. Pick any of the world’s richest person, look at the charity foundations that they run, and ponder over why their money never runs dry. Compare that with another rich person or celebrity who indulges on him- or herself with total abandon, and check if going broke or bankrupt is a part of the story.
Remember that giving doesn’t have to be just about money. If you don’t have a lot of money to offer, give generously of your time, energy and effort. When you help a village community build new infrastructure and give your all, it won’t be surprising to see that the abundance you give, you receive many folds in return.
8
Be Grateful!
The last item on our list, is to always be grateful for what you have. We often compare ourselves with someone who is better off, and sometimes wonder why we are not as fortunate. After all, we have also been taught to compare ourselves with someone who is better, so that we may strive to improve ourselves. When it comes to skills, yes. But when it comes to haves and have nots, it is important to see how fortunate you are compared to so many others who have less. Come to that realisation, and be thankful for what you have and already own (I came to this realisation during my mid-teenage years).
Count your blessings that you are part of a loving family, are living comfortably, and have a job…because many others who live somewhere across the world from where you are, may not have any of these…or all three.
Always be grateful, and spend a little time at the end of each day to be thankful to God or the universe for the blessings that you are enjoying. The more you notice and appreciate the little blessings in your life, the more great things will manifest themselves in your life, including money, wealth and abundance.
Feng Shui for Prosperity
Our 8 Steps to Wealth and Abundance above outline easy steps on how you can improve the wealth and abundance in your life. These steps involve little to no money, and are easy to put into practice in your daily life.
A true experience of wealth and abundance is not measured solely by the amount of money that you have or can acquire, but also by the simple pleasures already existing in your life. Being grateful for these little blessings can go a really long way towards achieving true wealth and happiness.
You may also want to read: 10 Money Wasters You Can Avoid
