I often do talks and presentations to the public and find that this concept of balance is easier to understand when I compare the energy of a spa to a toy store.  ​

​The toy store on the other hand is probably the exact opposite! You’ll see bold primary colors in signage, packaging and décor.  Noise including music, talking, and laughter, and both probably rather loud.  There is also brighter lighting to light up all the items the kiddos are  hoping to take home. ​

​The energy of the spa works well to sooth your body for rest and relaxation, just like the toy store has an energy that promotes play, fun, and purchases.  Both have very different vibes. 

​So how do we apply this to your home? By using the Five Element System of Feng Shui we can easily balance the energy of the space while also providing an energy for what is happening or what you wish to happen in the space.  If we’ve ever worked together on a Feng Shui consultation you know about my questionnaire where I ask about specific rooms along with how your energy feels in those rooms.  I then take in the balance of the elements and compare to how we could better tweak them to benefit you more.  If you like a creative space, we'll make it happen.  If you're looking to be more productive, we use the five elements to bring in that type of energy.  Whatever you're looking to feel or do we can bring it in through a special balance of these elements. 
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Interested in learning more about the Five Element System of Feng Shui? We have more posts on each element coming soon. In addition, we’re offering 10% off our virtual Feng Shui consultations through the end of June.  Click here to learn more.

Ready to schedule? Email us at Purelivingwithlisa@gmail.com to score the 10% discount.

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Crystals...they're oh-so sparkly and beautiful!  Did you know though that they can actually shift the energy of your space?  That's why we use them along with our Feng Shui consultations.  They can literally take our Feng Shui work to the next level!

​Perhaps you're interested but not sure where to start?  Well I've compiled my list of Top 3 Crystals For Your Home. 

​Black Tourmaline
I like to use this stone near your home’s entrance.  Not only does it provide protection and a pure, lighter energy at the “Mouth of Chi”, but place it just outside and your plants will love it too!

Rose Quartz
This beautiful loving pink stone belongs in every home!  Place some in the love and relationships area, or our favorite... the center of the home so that love can radiate out!
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​Selenite
Selenite brings a beautiful, airy and cleansing energy to your space.  It will also bring you a sense of peace and calm.  Place this in a meditation room or any room you’re looking to relax a bit.  Struggling with sleep? Add one to your bedside table.

So now that you have an idea where to start, where do you acquire these stones?  Head over to our sister site Good Chi Shop to check things out!  

Are you a Game of Thrones fan?  I definitely am!  My husband and I would plan our entire Sunday evenings around having just the right snacks and drinks, a cozy blanket and we’d snuggle up on the sofa and having a GOT “date”!  We both looked forward to it and what a fun way to finish out the weekend. ​

I’ve been thinking a lot about these shows though, it seems as if there are more and more of them.  In addition to Game of Thrones, my husband likes the zombie shows too, and I’ve even watched The Handmaids Tale.  While there are certain movies that will NEVER be played in my home, I do understand the entertainment and fun that these shows can provide.  

Unfortunately, they can all leave a lingering negative energy in your space.  There’s no denying the feeling after an intense battle scene!  It’s sometimes palpable!  It will leave you with chills or even a spacy feeling for quite some time.

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I’ve begun to plan a solid 10 minutes shifting the vibe of my home after an episode or movie of this type (I also do this after a particularly sad move too).  I like to make sure my home feels as cozy, warm and relaxing as before.  This provides for a better rest of the day, not to mention better sleep that evening.  I've compiled a few suggestions to guide you to shifting the energy of your space after watching these rather intense or graphic shows.

Turn on some cheerful music.  A fun Taylor Swift song or one of my favorite’s is Pharrell’s "Happy" song.  Blast it and don’t be afraid to have a dance party.  This will even shift the vibe faster.

Turn on some soothing classical music.  Music is so powerful and if you find you respond better to a beautiful Mozart piece, by all means…blast it and enjoy.

Light some candles, especially a scented candle of citrus or mint.  Find something to really awaken your senses to a different aroma.

Burn some sage, sweetgrass or incense to shift the energy.  Open some windows and let fresh air flow.

Lastly, I also like to shift the lighting in the space, this is almost like a quick “wake-up call” to the energy.  Turn on the overhead lighting to brighten the room or open blinds and let in more natural light.

I believe that as long as we know we are watching purely for entertainment and keep a bit of a guard up while watching some of these wildly intense shows we can go ahead and have fun.  Just plan that 10 minutes afterwards.  
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Just like cleaning up the snacks, you should clean up the energy!

Here’s a questions for you….now that GOT is over…what are you going to watch? I’d love to know in the comments!

​photo: Jarek Ceborski

Plants do wonders for our interior spaces.  They give life to a depressing office cubicle and bring refreshing energy into a home.  By adding a plant to your space you’re bringing a living object that will cleanse the air and also inspire growth, renewal and forward motion.  Your new green pal may be just what you need to make that lifestyle change or ask for the promotion.  



Plants are considered a Wood Element of Feng Shui which makes since why we associate Springtime with the Wood Element.  This season you’ll find new growth and blooms everywhere you look.  The plants and trees are coming out of their winter hibernation and showing us their beauty.

Here are some basics for plants:

1.       Look for soft rounded leaves
Sorry, cactus aren’t your friends if you’re looking for good Feng Shui in your space. Look for soft leaves with a rather rounded shape, avoiding sharp points. 

2.       Make sure to keep your plants happy
Don’t have a green thumb?  A faux plant is always better than a dead plant on your table.  If faux plants are not your thing, then opt for artwork of plants and flowers in your space. 

3.       Water them with love
When watering your plants, do it with love.  Maybe even talk to them and befriend them. Water with something special such as moon water or natural spring water. 

This season is just the perfect time to bring in a new plant so head out to your local greenhouse and select a beauty. 

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Photo: Jordan Whitt

You may know someone who has smudged with sage or perhaps you’ve even burned sage in your own home.  It definitely shifts the energy of a space and some people really enjoy the scent.  Did you know that by burning sage in your space you’re actually cleansing the air though?  It’s much more than some “woo” ceremony.  You’re making your home cleaner!
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White sage is both antimicrobial and antibacterial.  Just like your favorite salt lamp, burning sage also is believed to release negative ions.  These bind to positive ions which eliminate bacteria, mold, pet dander, allergens and dust.

Burning sage also acts as a chemical free air freshener and deodorizer too.  Have a funky scent from last night’s dinner?  Burn some sage!

For my clients who are allergy or asthma sufferers, I recommend in addition to the use of salt lamps, that they routinely smudge their home.  Of course, those that struggle with these ailments should not be directly inhaling the smoke.  I always encourage another family member to do the actual cleansing, so any smoke does not aggravate the respiratory system.  Additionally, I always recommend having some windows open so fresh air can easily flow through the space.

Lastly, just like the salt lamps, the negative ions of sage help balance the mood. There is no denying the wonderful, refreshed feeling of a recently smudged space. This is like the icing on the cake. No only is the air cleansed in your home, but the general feeling is oh-so good. 

Ready to have a smudging ceremony but need a little more direction?  Check out Good Chi’s Space Clearing Kit for a complete set of all the necessary supplies along with step by step instructions for your very own smudging ceremony.
​(Click here to learn more: https://goodchishop.com/collections/crystals-kits/products/home-blessing-kit)




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Photo: Brittany Collette
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Life has been full of so many new beginnings in my life lately.  If you’ve been following me for awhile you probably know that I recently moved.

Here’s the scoop; we moved to a new city, in a new state due to my husband’s new job, we found our new dream home and interestingly enough its’ numerology equals a 1 (meaning new beginnings), we moved into the home on the New Moon (yet another new beginning), to top this off I have a home office so my entire business had to be packed up and moved to a new space too.  Heck, I even got a new haircut during all this!  Yes, it’s almost laughable how much everything is in alignment to start us off on this new path.  Everything in life is a new beginning right now and it’s so exciting.  Let me tell you though, it took a lot of work for these shifts.  I employed every Feng Shui tool I could think of to create our new life (which is a dream by the way).  In the end I know it was one major tweak that started this huge shift for us. 

It all started when my husband was getting anxious to move to a new role with his company.  Things were beginning to feel stagnant for him and he was ready for a new challenge.  He was working hard to find his next role so I wanted to do what I could on my end.  While I incorporated Feng Shui into his office, I knew that this shift needed to come from home.

In Feng Shui there is an area of the home connected to your career.  I often help people employ this space to help them tweak their job or reach a professional goal.  For us in our previous home it was where I had a beautiful cabinet.  On top I’d typically keep beautiful decorative pieces, especially since it was one of the first items to see upon entering our home.  Unfortunately, we had lost our beloved dog Bear and we just naturally placed some items on top of this cabinet.  We had a family photo, his collar, and a few mementos as we needed to see this daily while grieving.  While I’d picked up most of his items, I just couldn’t bring myself to move his final pieces from this cabinet though.  When I made a point to investigate the career gua of our home to assist my husband in his career,  I realized that not only were these sad items in this area, but they were also the first thing you saw when you entered the room and even entered the home.

To shift the energy, I knew that I must find a more appropriate space for these items from Bear and I made a lovely little memorial area for him in a different area of the home.  Next, I thoroughly cleaned and dusted the cabinet, smudged it with some sweetgrass, and then decorated it beautifully.  I added a gorgeous lamp and then some smaller decorative pieces that had some sparkle. Lastly, I finished off with a small plant.

Like clockwork, an amazing new job opportunity was presented to my husband.  Fast forward six months and here we are.  Still finding our grounding in a new space, but loving it.  I’m laughing at all the synchronicities with this new beginning.  No, it’s not magic, it’s just manifesting and turning our goals and dreams into reality using Feng Shui.  I’m so happy that I could help my husband reach this goal and that we have the home that we’ve always dreamt of.

Photo Credit: @tumbleweedcreation
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Often in a consultation I’ll be talking to a client and mention a rather bold aspect of their home such as lighting, wall color, or furniture style and it’s as if they’ve never seen the piece before.  I’ll be honest, sometimes I can’t help but chuckle a bit on the inside.  I’m amazed at bold items that some people get used to seeing every day and forget that they're even there.  We get so used to seeing our home through our own eyes that we don’t always see it as a visitor would and I’m completely guilty of this too!

My husband and I recently listed our home for sale.  It was a home that would work perfect for a family with a large kitchen, several bedrooms, finished basement and great yard.  We decorated as we liked and lived in the space as we always would even though its just the two of us.  Upon selling I did a few updates such as painting a rather bold paint color back to a neutral, tweaking some décor that was used in the space and also taking a spare bedroom that I’d turned into an office space and turned back to look like a bedroom. I just knew I’d thought of everything.

The professional listing photos were taken, and they were beautiful.  It looked like a beautiful, pristine, well designed home.  Problem is…no one was interested! We double checked the price, we discussed with the realtor what the issue was. Then one day over breakfast we were looking at photos online of the home wondering what was going on!  There were literally NO showings.  Then while clicking through photos suddenly it dawned on me.  Our lifestyle is not that of a family with children.  My husband’s a little “type A” and loves a spotless home, our overall aesthetic is pretty clean lined with a touch of rustic industrial, and the main piece of furniture that you saw upon entry was a wine cabinet.  The pillows on the sofa were beautiful, but they didn’t read as “cozy up to watch cartoons”.  Even the upstairs bonus room was filled with business books and my raku pottery collection.  Probably not the place a parent would feel great with their kids running around while they’re trying to decide to buy it.
I just knew, that while the home looked great and worked for our lifestyle and even to someone else with a similar lifestyle, I just wasn’t seeing the home through the perspective of EVERYONE.  While the professional photos were beautiful, it wasn't possible to understand the comfortable feeling once you walked in.  The people searching online were just seeing the pictures of a home that may not appeal to them and then not getting the chance to really experience the space.  I took the time to go through each photo to see how the space was being viewed through the eyes of potential buyers and it was very eye opening.  Many changes to the space occurred as I tweaked even more items to appeal to a growing family. 
It is so easy to think you’re on the right track only to be surprised (I like I was).  I’ve began to use photos more in almost every consultation.  I’ll ask the client to look at the photos they sent me and we go through them together.  So often people will be surprised and see items they forgot were even there!
Looking to make some shifts in the energy of your home but aren’t sure where to start? Take some photos! Maybe even head to a coffee shop to go through them so you can see them outside of your space. This will really help you get a different perspective.
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​I often get called by clients to discuss issues of either not bringing in enough money or money continually running out.  We begin by doing the Synchro Alignment visualization process where we discover the client's deeper feelings of the home and how the home may be adjusted to better provide the client a connection to the home and a sense of wealth. 

We then proceed with a floorplan review. One of the main things I look for when a client mentions struggling in this manner is to look for the placement of the front door in relation to any rear door.  Having a front and rear door in perfect alignment creates a line of energy flowing right out the door.  Energy that enters your home will run directly out the back taking all your money with it!

Fortunately, there are easy ways to address this.  Here are a few examples of how I’ve approached this situation.

Mary, a recent client struggling with finances was wanting a beautiful bookshelf for her space, so we strategically placed it in between the two areas.  It creates a shift to the line of energy while also providing a beautiful place to store books and place decorative accessories.

In a yoga studio, I arranged a decorative screen to counteract this flow.  It also added a decorative element to the space hiding the ugly door that led out to the dumpster.

Many times, I’ve also used large plants and placed them in a way to direct energy away from the back door.

No room to add any pieces?  Hang a cut crystal prism in between the front and back door.  This will help divert the strong line of energy from the front to the back.

These are just a few small tweaks to counteract a common problem, there are many more depending on your situation and goals.  Want to see how you can bring in more financial abundance?  Reach out and let’s connect and learn more about your space.

Spring is slowly awakening.  I just know that you're as excited as I am.  This season connects to the Wood Element of Feng Shui.  Think of a plant that's been dormant through the winter, that is slowly waking up and ready to grow and expand.  We're just the same!  We begin planning our summer flowers, gardens, outdoor plans and of course cleaning and organizing our space.  (That is unless you've been "Marie Kondo-ing" all winter. )

​You probably know that clutter is a huge “no-no” in Feng Shui.  I actually tell my clients that the better they clean and de-clutter prior to introducing Feng Shui tactics, the better the outcome will be.
 
Perhaps you’re one of those people who are just overwhelmed by their clutter.  Do you think of decluttering and just feel paralyzed?  Do you think; “Where do I start? How would I start?” or “ Oh brother, maybe just put it off until next month.”  If this is you, I’ve created a few tips for fighting that feeling of overwhelm.
 
1.       First and Fast – I don’t know who taught me this, but it’s a favorite of mine. I used to be terrible at procrastination and this simple concept literally changed my life.  The concept is to take the one job you want to do least and do it first.   Just dive in and get it done and do it fast.   Stalling won’t help you here.   Really give it your all!!!   Once this piece is complete than you’re sure to feel a bit lighter and the rest of your tasks will be oh-so easy!
 
2.       Create a Plan – Create a system for your decluttering and cleaning.  Take the few minutes to write it down because I swear it makes a difference! To create your plan, start in one area, perhaps the “First and Fast” area you just addressed.  Then decide on a path going forward, for example, moving left to right, top to bottom or in any direction that feels right to you.  The left to right, top to bottom works especially well in kitchens, but play around and see what will work for you.
 
 
3.       Progress Not Perfection – It doesn’t need to be the most spotless, perfect place you’ve ever seen.  Just make sure you’re able to make progress in the space.  Maybe tomorrow, you can make even more progress and so on.
 
4.       Reward Yourself – After a tough decluttering session reward yourself with some time in nature.  If you’re easily overwhelmed by clutter, then you may need a sense of grounding.  Head outside and enjoy some time in nature, and if possible, take your shoes off and walk in the grass, or sit against a tree.  Take some deep breaths and you’ll feel so accomplished when you return and see how far you came.

I hope these few tips inspired you to go for it and to not stress or worry about cleaning and decluttering.  Just know the outcome will be worth it!