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Everything as we know it is comprised of these five elements: water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. In turn, these elements correspond to an organ within the human body. For example, the wood element is associated with the liver, fire element with the heart, metal the lungs, earth the spleen, and water the kidneys. If we link these elements to our living space we can see how a balanced environment means a balanced body. Just as the elements play a role in our overall person, the planetary bodies overhead does much the same. In this respect the impact is on our behavior and personality. Each planet has a defining quality and the moment we were born the planets overhead imprinted their energies onto our auras. 

By configuring a natal chart and as a result a location chart, one can determine the directions these planets were in at the time of birth. This becomes a tool used within a building, home, or room to determine where that planetary energy will fall for that person. For example, one might have a sun line running right across the center of their home giving that individual a sense of confidence, self-assurance and overall warm feeling. 

Chi is another component to the equation of health from a holistic approach. The Chinese refer to chi as the cosmic breath of life flowing through everything and everyone. The idea is to bring auspicious or healthy chi into our bodies through the air we breathe, the environment we live in and the food we ingest. Obviously, choosing a dwelling with lush vegetation verses an overhead airport or five-lane highway makes the difference between chi that is healthy (Sheng chi), and chi that is polluted (sha chi). 

The climate where we reside in also plays a vital role when it comes to our health. Overly windy, damp, cold, or hot climates directly relate to illnesses of the lungs, joints, and cardiovascular system respectively. The foods we ingest and the atmosphere we ingest them in will impact how effectively the body can absorb them and the type of chi it contains. First off, many people consume a diet high in acid producing foods such as meats, eggs, dairy, white flour and refined sugars. These foods create an acid level within the body making us prone to illness. 

Disease loves an acid environment where it can flourish as oppose to an alkaline environment. So you guessed it, choose a diet rich in alkaline foods such as whole grains, vegetables, nuts, and alkaline water with coral calcium. Secondly, people are ingesting foods with pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics. The key here is to buy organic foods and buy what you will consume. Unfortunately, the American mentality is all about stock piling stuff. The concept of buying in bulk is not necessarily a good one. Remember, in order for that food to last there is something called preservatives. Not to healthy sounding, is it? Finally, where are we consuming this food? 

Hopefully in our kitchen that follows all the principles of feng shui, and not in our car racing down the highway. Speaking of feng shui, the kitchen is one of the most important rooms for our health and wealth. Your kitchen should be organized, have healthy images of fruits and vegetables displayed throughout, a working stove that is kept clean, and a refrigerator and pantry with food not past their expiration date. 

The chef should have full command of the door so they are not vulnerable when they are preparing your lovely meal. No one wants to ingest tension with his/her salmon and salad. This holds true when you are eating at a restaurant as well. You have no idea the type of mood the chef is in while preparing your entree. The key here is to take a moment and rub the palm of your hands swiftly together and then place them over your food while meditating with a prayer. This exercise clears all negative energy and replaces it with your positive energy. While we are on the topic of rooms that affect our health, let’s take a peek at the one room that impacts our health the most-the bedroom! First, we need to establish whether or not we are actually sleeping, let alone if it is a healthy sleep. The following guidlelines are what we like to call our *Healthy Bedroom Checklist* 

1. Make sure your bed is in a commanding position to the door entry. In other words, you should be able to see the door from the bed, this way if the boogey man comes to get you, you’ll be the first to know! In actuality the premise of this statement is simply all about our fight-or-flight mechanism. This mechanism is built into our genetic make-up and gives us the ability to kick it up a notch if the body senses danger, such as having our back to the doorway. Not something we want activated when we are trying to get some sleep. 

2. Avoid TV’s, clock radios, computers or any type of equipment that throws an electromagnetic frequency (EMF) in this room. Any appliance plugged in runs off an A/C current or alternating current. Once that appliance is turned on, it emits an electrical current and a magnetic frequency as well. Depending upon the type of appliance will determine the magnetic field length. So what’s the problem? Well, the human body operates much like the Earth and that means our electrical field runs on a D/C current, one way in a smooth motion. A/C currents alternate direction 60 times per second. That’s a lot of movement and friction to the human cell. It’s like standing around lightening or subatomic particles all night long. Not a very good idea. Not only will this disrupt your sleep, but also over time it will wear down the immune system and mutate the very core of the cell. 

3. Avoid placing your bed opposite a wall that houses a toilet. Bathrooms in feng shui are considered to drain the chi or energy from the house and as a result our bodies. If you sleep with your head against this draining energy all night long, or with the bathroom door open to your bedroom, you will feel drained in the morning, not to mention the number of times you will be running to use the facility. 

4. Use window treatment that fully blocks light that may filter in from the street. The pineal gland is responsible for setting the cascade of hormones in the human body. In order for this to occur properly it is important the room is fully dark when sleeping. 

5. Avoid positioning large pieces of furniture especially with right angles near the bed, sleeping beneath beams, or placing heavy objects above your head. Sleeping around any of the aforementioned items will result in suppressive chi energy pushing against your body resulting in sleep disturbances along with annoying aches and pains. The key here is to avoid the situation all together. However, if you find yourself in this scenario, it’s time to pay the feng shui practitioner a call! 

6. Stay away from decorating the bedroom with water fountains and plants. This is the only room we suggest to lay off on these feng shui favorites. The fountain will have you running to the bathroom all night long, while the plants will have fun consuming the oxygen. Well, at least they will feel refreshed in the morning! 

7. Avoid positioning your bed catty corner or on a southern wall. Chi spiraling around the back of your head all night long is exactly what happens when you head is not securely grounded against a wall. For that matter, not just any wall. We like to see the head of the bed against the north wall so the body is in unison with the Earth’s natural electromagnetic flow-out of the North Pole and into the South Pole. 

8. Use natural materials. Cotton sheets, wood furniture and hardwood floors compliment the human body. Synthetic materials outgas leaving us with allergies, headaches an array of other annoying ailments. Following the *Bedroom Checklist* and being mindful of the principles of feng shui is an excellent way to bring your life into harmony and balance. Throw in some additional eastern practices of tai chi, yoga and meditation and you are on your way to a happier and healthier life!

Harmonious Living Certified Feng Shui Consultants Phone: 732-355-0430 * 732-904-7636 * Fax: 732-355-0431 Mary Jane Kasliner, BS, CFSC, Shelley Mengo, CFSC www.harmoniousliving4u.com 

* E-mail: consult@harmoniousliving4u.com 

Biographical Information 

Mary Jane Kasliner and Shelley Mengo received their formal training from world-renowned Feng Shui masters. They hold professional certifications in Western Feng Shui from the DeAmicis School of Feng Shui. Mary Jane supplements her certification in Feng Shui with a Bachelors Degree in Health Science and an Associate Degree in Applied Sciences while Shelley supports her certification with over twenty years in business administration. They employ Classical Feng Shui and all of its counterparts including European Geomancy, Western Feng Shui, Native American Medicine Wheel, Numerology, Astrology, Baubiologie and ergonomics in business and industry. 

They also introduce the use of crystals in their work since they are very powerful for adjusting energy patterns both in the human body and in the environment. Their company has been featured in several newspapers and the media offering a full range of services for a variety of professional and private clients. In addition to their consultations, they own and operate a comprehensive Feng Shui certification school and teach Feng Shui workshops and seminars for professional organizations, Better Homes New Jersey Realty and local community programs. 

They write articles for Holistic Magazine and are authors of: Controlling Chaos Through Organization and Feng Shui and Keys to Managing a Stressful Environment. They are also in the process of writing a series of books on Feng Shui. They are members of the International Feng Shui Guild and have continued to further educate themselves attending seminars in states such as New York, California and Pennsylvania on Feng Shui topics. Their work embodies the principles of Feng Shui creating an environment for success and harmony in the lives of those ready to effect positive change.