Article: Feng Shui Tips for a Festive Season – by Belinda Mendoza

Spread kindness this holiday season and create a Gratitude Jar!  Below are instructions to create your own jar to feel thankful all season long.

Belinda’s Gratitude Exercise for Abundance

This is my version of a gratitude exercise that has worked for me and many of my clients. It’s great if you feel stuck, don’t have enough money coming in, or want more from a current relationship. It resets the clock energetically, raises your money vibration, and brings in new ideas and opportunities. The key to abundance and having a loving relationship is to appreciate what you currently have and not focus on what is missing.  This exercise is done for 27 days (good feng shui number for manifesting).

Materials needed:
A pretty jar, vase, or box, some pieces of paper, a pen.

Where to place:
On a bedside table, home office desk or an altar, to name a few suggestions. I work from home so I’m at my desk each morning and it works well to have it there for me.

When to begin:
First of the month, new moon, or a day of the week that feels good to you. If you miss a day in this process, just keep going.

Instructions:
On day one, write down on a piece of paper something you are grateful for. I like to cut up pieces of paper ahead of time (27 about the size of post-it notes) so I am ready to write each day.

Next day, write something else.  Keep doing this until day 27.  At the end of 27 days, you will feel great, better than before, like a new person.  New things will have come into your life you did not expect.  The universe LOVES gratitude!  Honest, deeply felt gratitude expands energy.

If a relationship you are currently in has become stagnant or you feel disconnected from your partner, this exercise for 27 days just on the relationship, will change it for the better.  Being grateful for what your partner brings to your life rather than seeing what is lacking, will move you both to a better place and feeling. You both need to do one separately.

If you find this exercise challenging because you are in such a low place, be grateful for your hearing, your eyes, your taste.  If you have to repeat some things it’s fine.  If you write I am grateful for my health on one or two days, it’s fine.  The key is to keep going, adding new things, however small they might seem to you.

Examples of things we might not think to write:
“I am grateful for my mailman who always brings me my mail on time or not, it always arrives.  I love receiving checks in the mail.”

At the end of the 27 days, just throw the paper away and start all over.  It’s a great exercise to do with kids.  You can place the jar on the kitchen counter and each family member can write things they feel grateful for.  At the end of the month, have a nice meal together and read them out loud.

Tips for holiday decor

Incorporate green, green, green! The color is a positive representative of money coming into your home and creates a stress-free and peaceful environment. No one wants to sulk around feeling overwhelmed with the holidays so finds ways to add green touches.

Garland is a gorgeous way of decorating with green and should be hung in an upward (smiling) direction to hint on happiness and joy.

Christmas trees are also a great way to get creative and hang sentimental objects and colors to your holiday decor. They bring in the color green and are associated with the wood element. It’s also a fun activity to do while watching your favorite Hallmark Christmas movie and/or listening to your favorite Christmas album while drinking cider or hot chocolate!

Use your scents. The playful use of smells can transform a space quickly and efficiently. In a nutshell, candles and incense are wonderful and trigger happy memories and moments of love, friendship, and kindness.

Fun fact: soy candles are the safest options as they are all-natural without harmful artificial aromas when lit. If you’re a pet owner, be mindful of ingredients in candles to ensure your pets aren’t breathing in harmful contents. The more natural, the better for you and your furry friends!

Design for Energy wishes you a happy holiday!
May you have a joyful season with loved ones.

Article by Belinda Mendoza

Belinda Mendoza is a Feng Shui expert located in Austin, TX. She became fascinated with the ancient Asian art of Feng Shui because its principles helped to catapult her own career. She had more pay raises and promotions when she began using Feng Shui than she had ever had before! Combining Eastern and Western Feng Shui techniques and methods has helped her clients achieve more prosperity and harmony in their businesses and lives over the past 20 years.

Read more about Belinda Mendoza here.