I Need to Cut Down Healthy Trees in My Yard, is that Bad Feng Shui?

I recently met with my Feng Shui client from Massachusetts. I have been working with her family for three years and for this particular visit she was interested in landscape re-design with feng shui. Long story short, my client told me they were in process of removing 10 healthy trees. When I heard that, my heart sunk. 

Living the lifestyle of feng shui promotes a harmonious interaction with nature. When you already have the beautiful support, protection and various other benefits tree spirits (yes we believe even trees have spirits) provide us with. Ideally, you aspire to keep them around, while of course being practical in regard to how close the trees are growing near your home and so on. 

So what do we do in Feng Shui to honor the trees that are slated to be cut down? In BTB Feng Shui you combine the 'prayer of forgiveness' with offerings before and after the removal of those trees. 

1. Before any cutting happens, approach the site where the tree or trees are to be cut down and recite: “please forgive me, I love you and I let go. We need to make these changes for the protection and betterment of our home, family and land. We appreciate your spirit (s) and give thanks to your sacrifice."

If you have 5 - 10 or more trees being removed, approach the one nearest the front of the line and recite the prayer and provide the offerings. Science has proven trees do in fact communicate, informing each other when things are good and when in danger. Combine that fact with feng shui (tree spirits) and you have a fascinating perspective of the world around you. To read more check out TED talk by Suzanne Simard: How trees talk to each other

2. After saying the prayer on the same day, provide offerings to the tree's spirit. Commonly used could be Native American Tobacco or White Sage. It could be burned allowing the smoke to embellish the tree or take the dry Tobacco or Sage and place it by the tree. For those familiar with the BTB 'feeding the hungry ghost cure,' that too could be added and is usually the main offering. 

3. After the tree has been removed and the stump ground up, approach the areas and again, you could recite the prayer of forgiveness, “please forgive me, I love you and I let go. We need to make these changes for the protection and betterment of our home, family and land. We appreciate your spirit (s) and give thanks to your sacrifice." If you would like to re-apply the offerings, you could. 

If anything, be respectful and mindful of the tree spirits and let them know you are sorry for their removal and thankful for the energy they have and continue to provide for you and your family. 

How Selecting Artwork with Feng Shui Can Influence your Mind and Emotions

Feng Shui teaches the importance of becoming more present and aware of your surroundings. In the practice of Feng Shui your home is metaphor of your life and the artwork you choose to display (consciously or subconsciously) is telling a story, conveying a mood, an idea and stirring up emotions. 

Art is highly subjective and what inspires one person may be uninspiring to another. So this is why it's important to understand your intentions (the reasons) for why you are choosing to transform your home and life. 

Below are Feng Shui principles to consider when choosing art.

Quick Steps to Choosing Artwork: 

• Select artwork that is appropriate in size for the wall, the room and the furnishings. Even this helps to create harmony. 

• To select the type of artwork, become clearer with your intentions for why you are selecting artwork in the first place. Is it to represent a change in love? in career? in health? Based on that, you could then move to selecting certain colors, shapes, artists, themes and more to help narrow down your choices.

• The act of choosing artwork and selecting the style and subject matter that peaks your interests is allowing you to get to know yourself. There is a deeper approach then just hanging artwork. It helps to visually display your values and dreams.

I’m personally not a fan of store bought mass produced artwork, which I did start off with until I graduated to a much more personalized touch and collection. The artwork that currently resides inside my home consists of pieces created by family and friends, art purchased from local villages and towns from my travels and artwork that I personally created. Each piece has a story, a rich meaning and strong positive emotional connection.

When was the last time you truly observed the story being told inside your home?