Yin Feng Shui: The Introduction

Yin Feng Shui: A Gentle, Stress-Free Guide to Harmonizing Your Home is now available on Kindle. This is the introduction.

"Yin is receptive: relaxed, open, flexible... It is a state of fluidity, spacious and vast..."

- Roderic and Amy Max Sorrell in The I Ching Made Easy

I once took a yoga class that was called "Yin Yoga." Amid the rushing traffic and blaring sirens of Los Angeles - where even yoga classes can have a competitive and perfectionist edge - this class was a haven of softness, positivity, and non-judgment. Rather than concentrating on how flat our backs were or how aligned our toes were with our heels, we were encouraged to relax and surrender. Tears of joy came to my eyes as I felt my heart open to the moment. As the candles glowed, the relaxing music played, and students of all ages and body types moved through the gentle movements, the teacher said something to the effect of, "Yoga does not need to be one more thing to stress out over."

As a feng shui consultant, this resonated deeply with me. It seemed so many people I talked to, including many of my clients and workshop attendees, thought of feng shui as, "one more thing to stress out over." Indeed, with so much arcane and seemingly incomprehensible information out there, it can be a subject that feels overwhelming and even scary to approach.

In fact, this is something I know firsthand: the first time I wanted to try out feng shui, I was 21. I had heard of it somewhere, and I intuitively sensed that it had the potential to help me arrange my apartment. When I went to the bookstore to find a good introductory book on the subject, however, I got so confused by all the math, and so frightened by all the "bad luck" talk, that I left without buying anything other than a sage bundle, deciding that staying positive and following my intuition was better than infusing my efforts with fear and unease.

Years later, imagine my surprise when I discovered a positive and accessible approach to the subject (as taught at The Western School of Feng Shui), and found feng shui to be the tool that pulled me out of a negative life momentum and finally helped me get my life flowing in a highly enjoyable and scintillating way.

To share a little about my personal feng shui success story, when I was growing up I never really felt safe, comfortable, or like I actually belonged in either of my homes (my parents shared custody of me and my brother). In fact, in my primary home I endured a number of years of sexual abuse from my former stepfather. As an adult, I found it impossible to trust people or situations. Looking back, I realize I never even really knew the meaning of the word "home." It was only when I learned about feng shui principles, and started applying them, that I began to profoundly shift and dissolve my feelings of disempowerment. Creating a soothing environment for myself was a healing balm for my soul: just taking steps in that direction was like giving myself the parenting and loving care that I didn't receive enough of as a child. Once I began to feel safe in, and nourished by, my home, instead of feeling like life was something I had to guard myself against or run from, I began to enter into my most ideal life flow. Best of all, I finally knew that I was the captain of my own ship: that I had the power to create the feelings and conditions I desired, and I was no longer at the mercy of whatever happened to befall me.

This is why I wanted to write this book: to share the encouraging wisdom that I have gleaned from my many years as a feng shui consultant, teacher, and author, and to make the amazing, life changing benefits of feng shui accessible to everyone, right away. I've included the core concepts and kernels of wisdom that seem to come up again and again, with countless clients, readers, and students - the stuff that you can easily understand and personally incorporate, immediately and with excellent, noticeable results. 

Yin Feng Shui is presented as a number of stand-alone tips that also work together as a holistic body of knowledge. As you move through the book, you'll notice that amid all the nuts and bolts, there are two topics that I discuss frequently, from a number of different angles. The first is staying positive and enjoying the process. This is because feng shui is most effective when you remember that it's all about you: how you interact with your space and experience the world around you. The whole point is for you to be comfortable and happy, so approaching everything you do from a positive standpoint is ultimately what fuels your continued happiness and success. The second is clutter clearing. A clutter-free home is a yin home. In other words, it's a calming, nurturing place where the yang aspects of your life - things like career, finances, and all forms of external and success-oriented activity - also have the space they need to breathe, flourish, and thrive.

You'll discover that the information in this book is presented in a gentle, non-linear, easy to digest, and generally yin (receptive, relaxed, meandering) way. You can read it from start to finish, or you can skip around. Either way, reading it will soothingly infuse you with perspectives and methods that will benefit you for a lifetime.

I have personally witnessed these principles and techniques working again and again, not only for myself, but also for my clients and friends. And I am overjoyed to be able to share them with you! Now, you too can have personal (and totally affordable!) access to the straightforward feng shui essentials: you'll have all the tools you need to comprehensively beautify and balance your home, while healing your life and magnetizing a wealth of beautiful blessings...without stressing out in the slightest!