Feng Shui for Real Life

Whether your travels are for pleasure, business, or both, when you take along some Feng Shui for your hotel room or temporary residence you make your trip more enjoyable and harmonious. One way to make your hotel room your own is to put together a “Feng Shui Travel Kit” so you can make simple changes in your room. Your kit should include a small picture of your family, two or three pretty light scarves, a small nightlight, lavender soap, and a lavender scented candle. This kit is the essential way to make the hotel room Feng Shui changes that will help you feel refreshed, relaxed, and ready for anything that comes your way.

The Feng Shui planning for your trip starts when you first make your reservation, and ask for a room well away from the elevator, ice machine, the hotel lounge, or the pool. These areas generate a lot of strong chi that could interfere with your ability to relax. Then, check out your room carefully when you arrive at your hotel. If it has any odors, immediately request another room. If possible open the windows or door to the patio or balcony to let some fresh air and new positive chi into your room. This will help remove any negative energy that could have been left behind by a previous guest. Place your lavender candle on the dresser to bring a pleasant aroma into the room and help you unwind.

Unpack as soon as you can to settle in to your new surroundings and bring your own positive energy into the room. You want to avoid “living out of your suitcase,” even if you are only staying one night, because you will never truly feel relaxed on your trip if you don’t unpack. Place the small picture of your family on the night table to help keep you connected to your loved ones not traveling with you. Set up your laptop or tablet in the Power and Wealth area of the room, which is the area in the far left corner of the room. Keeping your computer in this prosperity area will help ensure a successful trip.

After you unpack, run the water in the shower and the sink for a minute or two to get the chi flowing in the bathroom. When you take a shower or bath, use the lavender soap from your travel kit to help you get past jet lag. As soon as you can, treat yourself to fresh flowers, and replace them when they fade. This is especially important when you are on business travel, because when you see this powerful symbol of the Wood Element your business contacts will be successful.

Be sure to keep the bathroom door closed at all times during your stay to allow the chi to flow around your bed rather than into the bathroom and “down the drain.” This is especially important if you can see the toilet from the bed. Place your night light in the bathroom so you won’t be disoriented if you get up in the middle of the night.

If the mirror is directly across from the bed, use the scarf from your travel kit to drape it before you go to sleep. This symbolically helps to reduce the active -- or yang -- energy in the room and helps you sleep soundly. If the TV is in a cabinet, close that before you go to sleep. If it's not, use another scarf from your travel kit to cover it. If the corner of a night table or dresser points at you, this sharp angle is called a “poison arrow,” that could also interfere with your sleep. Drape another scarf over the point to blunt its effect.

Also before you go to sleep, check the clock to make sure the alarm is set to "off" if you don’t need it, or set to a station with music that is familiar to you if you do need to wake up early the next morning. And be sure to adjust the volume to a pleasant level.