Does the thought of gathering with your family for the holidays make you feel stressed? The holidays are portrayed as a time of joy and family traditions, but for many people, feelings of loneliness, obligation, and stress surface as the holiday season begins. Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s between November and January. That is a lot of celebrating; honestly, all that holiday togetherness is not always easy. Use the Feng Shui tips below to reduce family stress during the upcoming holidays.
I have talked with several people who are feeling stressed about the holidays and family gatherings this year. A client asked me for Feng Shui tips to make her holidays with her family more enjoyable, easy, and fun. Even though many of her family members live in the same town, they only see one another during the holidays.
Many arrive at her home in a pleasant mood. It is not long until opinions differ and the silent judgments begin, witnessed by the sharp looks on their faces. As the pleasant mood fades, it is easy to see that every idea or thought becomes guarded.
At first, critical comments are spoken softly, as if no one is listening. Soon, the tension builds, and the volume increases until people are uncomfortable; a few are visibly angry, and others avoid talking to anyone. My client wants to use Feng Shui principles to create a peaceful and cooperative environment in her home. She also wants people to have fun.
THE FAMILY
One way to reduce family stress during the holidays is to evaluate your home's “family” area in the bagua and implement Feng Shui adjustments. An area of the bagua (Feng Shui energy map) is devoted to family. This area includes current and future family members, family health, family harmony, ancestors, and unresolved family issues.
It is located in the middle left side of our home (see bagua). The items in this area influence our current and future family experiences. It is worth a good look around. What is there? What do the items in that area reflect about our family's peace, harmony, health, cooperation, and fun?
This is an excellent area to adjust Feng Shui for family peace, cooperation, harmony, and healing this holiday season.
THE ANTICIPATION
What we think as we anticipate our family gathering influences what we experience because our thoughts set our focus point—yes, our focus determines how we see the situation.
As you think about your holidays, what do you think will happen? Do you feel a sense of family togetherness? Is there open communication between family members? Is there a history of holiday chaos? And the big question,” What do you want?”
Take a few minutes to imagine your family gathering just how you would like it, and then visualize it happening that way. Our anticipation sets the stage for our experience.
Once in the situation, we make choices based on our focus point and expectations for the gathering. This holiday season has great potential because we can create wonderful memories, have fun, heal old wounds, and feel appreciation for our family.
FENG SHUI TIPS TO REDUCE FAMILY STRESS DURING THE HOLIDAYS
- Decide what you want in as much detail as possible.
- Set an intention, see it happening, and feel it as if it has already happened.
- Clear any clutter from your home, especially the ” family ” area in the bagua. If you only take one action from this list, clearing clutter is the most critical action you can take. Clutter is the most draining force to any area of the bagua. Wherever I see clutter, I know there is a problem in one or more areas of life.
- Do one good deed each day.
- Take time to fill yourself up. Our giving is much fuller when we give from the place of fullness. What makes you feel recharged? A walk in nature, listening to music, taking a hot bath, talking to a friend, reading a good book, meditating, going to the gym, or meeting with your Feng Shui Coach.
- Decorate the entrance to your home with lights and live plants.
- Decorate the inside of your home, especially the “family” area, with lights, shiny decorations, live plants, and candles. If you have a Christmas tree, the “family” area is an excellent place to put it.
- Use scents of the season, such as evergreen boughs, mulled cider, frankincense and myrrh, spices, peppermint, and others you like.
- Energize the house before people arrive by burning incense, offering blessings and prayers, saying your intentions out loud in the room, playing uplifting music, or hiring a Feng Shui Consultant to perform a house blessing ceremony.
- Celebrate and treat yourself to a hot bath, a soothing massage, or a cup of tea. Congratulations on a job well done.
- Cleanse your home's energy after everyone leaves to release any tension left behind by your guests. Schedule a Space Clearing with a Feng Shui Consultant to release the previous year's energy and uplift the space for the new year, bringing you good fortune, radiant health, and prosperity.
Feng shui is medicine for your home, and Feng Shui adjustments are your actions to create a space that supports your goals.
Nancy Dadami is an Inner Peace Strategist, Medicine Painting Mentor, and Feng Shui Specialist. She helps empower leaders, visionaries, creatives, and entrepreneurs called to growth, learning, service, and freedom to thrive by living the best version of themselves, creating a life of abundance, self-awareness, purpose, and inner peace. Learn more Linktr.ee/nancydadami
Joan, thank you for your comment. Glad to be of help.
Energizing is a must, especially for this time of year. Here is to your success
Great suggestions. Love the list at the end especially. Very helpful and energizing! Thanks!