Litter Box Feng Shui – Updated!

There’s this thing that no one is talking about. I’m not sure if they just don’t obsess about such things as I do or if they just don’t have cats, but either way, I’m about to give up all my Feng Shui litter box, art of placement secrets right here and now. Unless you are lucky enough to have a fenced in backyard with a cat door, and cats that will happily poo in your garden, you have had to deal with the eternal question of where to put your cat’s litter box. Since I have grown up with cats my entire life, and I have been studying and teaching Feng Shui for over 20 years, I feel like a genuine expert on this topic.

When I was in college, I moved into an off-campus apartment with two girls. One of them got a cat and then left it every weekend to go to her boyfriend’s house in another city. This wouldn’t have been a big deal except that she refused to clean out the cat box. Clumping cat litter was just becoming popular back then and she seemed to believe that because it was so expensive, it would last indefinitely. After several weeks, her cat’s box was becoming intolerable and since she was out of town again, I cleaned it. All I remember about this event afterward is that she was pissed when she came home and insisted that I replace the litter. I have no idea if I did, but knowing me, I didn’t!

I was not aware of Feng Shui at the time, but I do remember the layout of the apartment and I have since Feng Schway’ed it from memory. It does not surprise me one bit to discover that her cat’s filthy litter box was in the Relationship or #2 gua of our apartment. Looking back, it makes perfect sense that we completely lost touch. I am not saying that our friendship ended because of the placement of her cat’s litter box. I am saying that the litter box, in this scenario, accurately reflected the status of our friendship.

In a lot of ways, Feng Shui has some psychology to it. In fact, it is this piece to the Feng Shui puzzle that keeps me so intrigued. Everything in our home or workplace is a reflection of something else in our life. Everything is placed either by accident or on purpose to create or reflect something seen or unseen. We can become aware of subconscious and unconscious patterns and habits when we use Feng Shui on purpose. In fact, that is what makes it so fun.

This brings us back to my original query of where to put the cat box. In order to decide this, we need only look at the primary element of a cat box, sans the pee & poo. Litter represents earth so once we determine which part of the room either creates or supports the earth element, we will have our answer. Conversely, we can approach it from the specific life area within the bagua that seems the most logical.

To keep things on the easy side, I am going with the logical explanation. Since the act of cleaning out a cat box on the daily is indeed an “act of service”, it fits nicely with the #6 gua of the bagua which is the Helpful People, Service and Travel section of the nine gua bagua. (See the bagua example below). When standing at the door to any room, aka the mouth of chi, the #6 gua of the bagua is in the far, front right corner.

Now, let’s face it. Even with the cat box in a Feng Shui appropriate place, it is still an unattractive piece of decor. With this in mind, I have a few suggestions for making it less obnoxious. If you are limited to where you can place the cat box, I recommend hiding it inside a piece of furniture and placing small, round beveled mirrors facing out on all sides of the cat box so that it effectively “disappears.” Even if you don’t have it hidden inside a piece of furniture, placing small mirrors on the outside will then reflect all the things that are around it and it will appear to disappear.

1.) You can put something over it to disguise it.

2.) You can place a small mirrors facing out, around the box so that the box itself appears to “disappear”.

3.) You can go to your local thrift store and find an end table that can be transformed into a perfect kitty box hideaway.

4.) You can order fancy cover from Chewy or some other online source.

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Radio Interview with Business Talk Radio

A few weeks ago, I received a call from a man working at a New York radio station called Business Talk Radio, offering to interview me live on the air about my favorite topic. I was cautiously optimistic and booked my time slot for the morning of Friday, September 18.

As the day approached, I was getting nervous, double checking that my phone ringer was on; making sure it was completely quiet in my apartment so there wouldn’t be any background noise. True to their word, my phone rang at 10am and a few seconds later, I was live on the air with a friendly host named Joey. The next 8 minutes and 49 seconds are a blur. Since I couldn’t listen to the show and be on the show, I didn’t get to hear it until a week later when the station sent me the link below. If you would like to hear it yourself, click the link below!

Logynn Northrhip-09 18 20-Feng Shui-Joey

Big thanks to Business Talk Radio and the host with the most, Joey! Sorry Joey, I forgot to get your last name, but thank you so much for being curious about Feng Shui and a friendly voice on the other end of the line. I feel like we barely touched the surface of all that there is to know and share about Feng Shui, so I am about to start offering a variety of classes about using Feng Shui to create more abundance, better relationships and improved health for starters. I’ll be posting the classes, dates and ways to participate via my blog, website and several other social media platforms in the next few weeks.

If you would prefer to learn about Feng Shui with a personalized on-site consultation that offers specific solutions and cures for your home or business, message me at fengshuidesignconcepts@gmail.com or call me at 512-496-9232.

From that time when I got to talk live and in person on a 950 am radio show back in 2008 with two builders interested in Feng Shui. I was wearing my now defunct “I’ve Been Fung Schwayed” t-shirt which of course, no one could see, but I loved nonetheless.

Camping and the Art of Tent Placement

This weekend, I went on my very first solo-camping trip up to Red Feather Lakes, CO.  I found a dispersed camp site in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest, parked my car and proceeded to scout out the best location for my tent and hammock.  This site was fairly large, so I had my choice of areas.  One of the many definitions for Feng Shui is the art of placement, so I feel that the art of tent placement fits in here nicely.

As I walked all over the site, I found the area with the best view of the mountains, but it was also very exposed and didn’t have any trees large enough for my hammock.  I walked to the back of the site and found an area that felt magical with baby Aspen trees waving their silver dollar leaves, and curious chipmunks zipping everywhere.  It also had a lot of human trash including used toilet paper, plastic grocery bags and a half full plastic bottle of what I can only hope was apple juice, so I eliminated that spot from my options. The number one rule of camping is to leave no trace, and to leave a place better than you receive it.  If you wouldn’t leave a pile of used toilet paper in the corner of your living room, then don’t do it in Mother Nature’s living room.  (steps off soapbox, and kicks it under the table.)

Once I found two trees for my hammock, I set about the task of tent placement.  Placing a tent using Feng Shui is not any different than placing your bed or desk in the proper place.  In fact, your tent is essentially your bed anyway so it makes perfect sense. Luckily, I had internet access, though I’m still not sure how I managed that one, and I was able to look up my best directions.

When dealing with placement in Feng Shui, it is ideal to know your most favorable directions.  This can easily be determined by using one of my favorite Feng Shui websites: http://www.wofs.com.  Select the option for “Feng Shui Tools” and scroll down to the “Kua Number Calculator”.   Plug in your month, day and year of birth, and you will receive your kua number, your four best and your four worst compass directions, so be sure to avoid those!

Since I am still new to this whole outdoorsy life, I cheat and use the compass option on my iPhone.  Don’t judge.  The area that provided me with some support at my back and a view of the driveway entrance to the site was South/Southeast.  My kua numbers for that area relate to success and health.  Score!  How not to die in your tent? Choose the health and success direction.

As I watched the sun set on one side and the almost full moon rise on the other, I could feel a little fear rising up my spine.   I wasn’t afraid of the potential visits from wild animals as much as I was simply very aware of the fact that I was a single woman, camping alone in the woods.  Also, I had spent the entire day listing to someone playing with their guns by shooting untold amounts of ammunition at nothing in particular, so I was a little on edge.  I could also hear my Mom’s always worried voice in my head, reciting all the worst case scenarios of my situation.

In spite of all this,  I am happy to report that I did more than survive, I had a major breakthrough.  I stood my ground and I did it with a certain amount of defiance.   These are the type of experiences that change us and define us, and when we do them with the intention of creating a safe space, we win.

While I now know that I am totally capable of camping alone, I can say with confidence that it is not something I plan to do regularly.  Being that alone with no distractions, was a type of shadow work that gets to the heart of our deepest fears.  Once we shine the light on these shadows, they lose their power over us.  I use Feng Shui to create safe spaces everywhere I go, and I welcome you to learn how to do the same.

I was inspired to create a little video of my tent placement experiences, so follow me on Instagram @logynnbnorthrhip or @fengshuidesignconcepts to watch them in my stories.  I might even share some of my outtakes!

Loving your home during & after Covid-19

If you are new to Feng Shui, let me tell you, there has never been a more perfect time to get started than now!  With the majority of cities, states and countries “sheltering in place”, people are working from home, homeschooling their children and basically spending every moment inside their homes.  Therefore, it is vitally important that our spaces nourish us in every way possible.  This is actually a wonderful way to define Feng Shui. When used correctly, it brings balance to disorder and chaos.  It creates stability and wholeness.   It invites and nourishes all aspects of life.  It is our not-so secret weapon to thriving and mentally surviving this pandemic.

By now, the reality that we are not getting out of here any time soon, has set in and like it or not, we are all in this together; making the best of a situation that none of us could have predicted.  Our homes can either feel like paradise or like prison.  We have a choice.  This is the time to take stock, and make the changes that need making to create a space that you love.  Feng Shui is a tool of empowerment.  In a time when so many of us feel powerless and out of control to the things happening in our world, it is one small thing that we can all do.  We start within, and expand out.

Having all this “free time” inside our homes, without the typical distractions of life, is eliminating the excuses we often tell ourselves about being too “busy” to do this or that.  As this word loses its power over us, the opportunity to stop procrastinating and take stock of the things that matter takes precedence.  Turns out that this is a great time to organize that closet, drawer(s), garage, guest bedroom, etc. that you’ve been putting off for ages.  It is also a time to take a mental and physical inventory of the things that you see every day, but stopped noticing or appreciating when life became too full of obligations.

Life can be overwhelming, and there just isn’t enough bandwidth to always give it all the attention that it needs and deserves.  When I feel overwhelmed, I find something small that I can do that will have the biggest impact. Since I don’t have a dishwasher, and I don’t wash things immediately after using them, focusing my attention on my ‘sink full of dirty dishes’ is often my favorite place to begin.  My point is, start small.

To help you get started, I am going to share a few Feng Shui pointers that are universally true, will help you feel better in your space and don’t require any previous knowledge or understanding about Feng Shui.

The first thing that you see when you enter your home, has the biggest impact on how you feel while you are there.  From the front door, the ideal room to see is the living room.  We want to invite the chi, which is just an Eastern word for energy, to chill out and get cozy. . . . to relax.   If the room you see does not make you want to relax and unwind,  it may be creating a form of anxiety and restlessness.

Homework #1 – Walk into your home through your front door.  What do you see?  How does it make you feel? Do you feel overwhelmed?  Do you feel calm and relaxed? What can you change?  Are you willing to make changes to feel more productive and focused?  If yes, keep reading.

Homework #2 – I want you to walk around your house and look for doors that hit each other.  Now, in case you aren’t sure, let me explain.   Are there any doors in your home that either hit or have the potential to bang into each other?  It’s more common than you might think. This happens most frequently between a closet door and a bedroom door.  These are called “fighting doors” and they create an on-going, but low-level type of tension.  There are two ways to combat this, but that is something better addressed in a private consultation.

And speaking of doors, it’s best that they be allowed to open fully.  By this, I mean there should not be any furniture, shoes, or toys preventing them from opening, nor should there be any items permanently stored behind them.  This door problem is similar to doors that bang, but it is easier to fix. Homework #3 – if you have something blocking a door from opening fully, find a new place for it, or get rid of it.

There is a rule in Feng Shui called the “command position”.  This means that when you are working at your desk, lying in bed, cooking or even lounging on the couch, you can see the main door to that room.  This is a huge thing in Feng Shui.  I like to compare this rule to the Vito Corleone character in The Godfather.  He would NEVER be caught sitting with his back to any door.  Being in command position demands respect.  It creates a feeling of safety, security and support.  It is so important on so many levels, that I can’t emphasize it enough.  Homework #4 – are you in command position when you are working, sleeping, cooking and lounging? How does it make you feel? Is it possible to move your furniture or yourself in order to be in command?  Are you willing to try it?  If you absolutely hate the way it feels to be in a commanding position, you can always move your furniture back.  Why not give it a try? It’s not like you have anything better to do now that you get to stay home all day and all night.

And lastly, let’s take a look at your stove.  Do all the burners work?  Do you use all the burners?  Is it clean?  The stove, in Feng Shui, is symbolic of abundance and prosperity.  If it is dirty, or if some part of it isn’t working correctly, that will have an impact on the flow of finances. 

I do realize that these tips and homework may bring more questions than answers, but the first step is awareness.  The next step is action.  Since I cannot do in-home consultations right now, I am offering remote consultations at a discounted rate.  If you are interested in learning more or feel like you are stuck, give me a call, text or respond to this post.  I’d love to help.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall …

Right, so we’ve all heard the much-quoted phrase from Disney’s Snow White, but what happens when the mirror is not on the wall? What if the mirror is sitting on the floor and leaning on the wall; or worse, what if it is hanging so low that no one can actually see themselves in it?  Did the evil Queen stoop down to look at herself and ask the mirror who was the fairest in all the land?  Hell no!

The reason that I felt the need to make this the topic of this month’s Feng Shui blog is because about a year ago, I saw this Feng Shui aberration at a local business. Since they did not hire me to do a Feng Shui analysis of their business, I couldn’t give them my unsolicited advice, but it has really been bugging me!  The mirror in question was located in the ladies room and it was just leaning up against the wall, showing me my headless body (see photo above).  My first reaction was, did they just move in? No, they had actually been in business for several years.  Did they just run out of wall hangers?  Doubtful.  Was this intentional?  Were they just being lazy?  I will never know, because as it turns out, they are no longer in business here in Boulder. So, before this happens to anyone else here, I am finally sharing my unsolicited two cents on this topic.

There are only two times when it is ok to have a mirror leaning up against the wall rather than hanging on it.  The first, is that you just moved in and haven’t had a chance to hang it.  This excuse has an expiration date of no more than one week, truly.  The second is that you just ran out of wall hangers.  That’s it.  Those are the only two legit reasons.  Wait, I just thought of a third reason.  If you happen to have one of those giant mirrors that is not made to be hung up on a wall, then yes, that is fine, but make sure that you can see your entire self in the damn thing, okay?

Mirrors are the workaholics of the Feng Shui world.  When used correctly, they offer a plethora of benefits. Mirrors can be used to open up a space, to deflect something negative, they can double the number of stove burners that are visible (which can benefit finances) and they can let you know that your boss is standing behind you while you should be working, but are actually looking up shit on Facebook, Pinterest, Amazon, etc.

Mirrors are the heavy lifters in Feng Shui.  They are so important, and can alleviate so much dysfunction and confusion in a home or business, everyone should hire them.  If you would like your home’s mirror prescription filled with specific recommendations, I’d love to help.  Schedule your personal Feng Shui consultation by none other than yours truly.  I have appointments available during the day, the week and on weekends, so let me give your mirrors a job that will make them proud to be of service!  Call today to make 2020 your best year yet!  512-496-9232 or email me at logynnbnorthrhip@gmail.com.

 

 

 

The Feng Shui of Moving

Some people hate to move.  I love it, well, that’s not entirely true. I love the opportunity for a fresh start that comes with moving. I love getting to know a new space, figuring out how to connect with it and learn from it. Looking back through my old address book, you know, the kind made out of paper, I can see every address that I have had since I moved away to go to college.

Including the move that I just made, I will have moved 18 times in 31 years, or on an average of every 1.7 years.  I guess you could say I have gypsy roots; either that or I just like using my home to heal. Either way, I definitely have this down to an art form, and I have learned a few things along the way. I could talk here about all the benefits of moving a lot, including the inability to become a hoarder, but I’d rather talk about using the spaces we live in to heal the broken parts within us.

Consider for a moment the possibility that every home has a purpose beyond the obvious. What if our homes were lined up to meet us, waiting for the chance to get to know us like a potential new relationship partner? What would they want to tell us? What would they want to know about us? What if every single house has a language that until now, we have been deaf to hear? What if I told you that Feng Shui is the language of our homes? Would you be willing to learn that language so that you could communicate and learn from it?

Feng Shui has been called a lot of things over the years, but until now, I don’t think that anyone has taken the time to get to know its true self. There is so much more to Feng Shui than the definition it has been given, and I am here to explore its gifts and its true purpose for showing up for me, for you and for the world.

When we move to a new place, we are confronted by a lot of changes all at once. It can be very chaotic and full of anxiety, but it can also be exciting and mysterious.  Most of the time, it is actually all of the above!  I started my deep dive into Feng Shui shortly after I got married and we decided to buy a house.  Since then, I have been utterly fascinated with everything that my homes have stepped up to teach me, and I want to share this gift with the world.

The number one thing that I have discovered is that there is nothing truly random about the homes that we choose.  There is also nothing random about being attracted to a house with rooms in one place or another.  Why are we attracted to this house more than that one?  If you take away the external factors like cost and location, one house may seem just as good as another.   Usually, we react to a home because of something within us. When we operate on a wholly intuitive level, we fall in love with a home because it reminds of something, someone or some history within us.

Every thing in our home, every room placement, every seemingly randomly piece of furniture or artwork, has a subconscious source.  It isn’t until you work with a consultant  (worth every penny) or chose to dive in on your own (much more difficult), that you learn to see the messages hidden in plain sight.  The truth is literally staring right back at you.  The challenge is to learn to stare back, and see the gift it is there to give.

Let me give a real life example.  One of the things that I no longer attract are homes with doors that fight.  This is a very common design in apartments and houses where space is at a premium.  For some reason, architects frequently create homes plans with a front door that bangs into the closet door behind it.  I am SURE that if they knew that this was a Feng Shui no-no, they would stop doing it, right?!

When I think back to the homes I’ve had that provided the most yelling, arguing and fighting, they all had two doors that either banged into each other or had the potential to bang into each other.  For a very long time, I always seemed to find those places and move into them.  However, since moving to Boulder 18 months ago, I have stopped attracting those type of homes.  It just isn’t an issue anymore.  That is what Feng Shui can do when you use it for healing and self-awareness.

I’ve been using my homes to test out my own blocks, the blocks that I discovered because of the journey that I live daily with Feng Shui awareness and tools.  I can’t NOT do Feng Shui.  It is woven into my DNA after studying it, helping others learn from it and applying it to every aspect of my life for over 20 years.  That is when you know that you are doing the thing that you soul wants you to be doing.  It becomes the thing that you can’t imagine not doing.

My goal is to help others heal their lives using this beautiful and sacred tool.  If you are ready to dive in and explore your inner world with Feng Shui, call me today at 512-496-9232 or email me at logynnbnorthrhip@gmail.com or fungschwaygirl@yahoo.com.  I’m here to help.  Are you ready to wake up and create the life that was meant for you?