Bedroom Feng Shui
Revised Edition
by
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Empowered Positions As chi enters a room, it brings with it the aspect of that which is new. When you are aware of the door, you are aware of what is coming into your life. When you are able to see the door (without moving your head more than ninety degrees), you have empowered yourself and strengthened your natural extrasensory perception. If you can’t see the doorway, you have disempowered yourself and set yourself up for surprises. The number-one rule is to be able to see the door easily from the bed. The door represents the future. When lying in bed with your head propped up on a pillow, you should be able to see the main door into the room. If you have to crane your neck to see the door, you are setting up a dynamic in your life that can cause things to surprise you. Events will seem to “come out of left field” and you won’t be prepared for them. Sometimes it is too awkward or impractical to place the bed in the correct position. In this case, use a mirror to see the door. Put the mirror at the right height and angle so that if you are lying in bed, the reflection of the doorway is plainly visible in the mirror. In some instances, that means angling the mirror so that it looks bizarre. A large freestanding dressing mirror is perfect, because it can be easily adjusted and looks natural in the room. You could also use a convex mirror or a large silver gazing ball instead of a flat mirror. But you should not use a convex mirror to check your hair or see how your clothes look. If you use a convex mirror, try to arrange things so that you won’t be tempted to use it for that purpose. Seeing oneself clearly in a mirror is akin to knowing oneself clearly. If your reflection is distorted, it will be more difficult for you to have a true awareness of who you really are. Gazing balls are an excellent alternative and fit well in many decors. They are silvered reflective balls intended for use in a garden. Nicely mounted, they look great indoors. They even come in beautiful colors. If you use a colored gazing ball, be sure it is just as reflective as the silver ones. Be aware that Compass School feng shui is different from the Form School that I practice. In Compass School people are advised to sleep with their heads toward their “lucky direction” based on birth date and numerology. I never recommend that because I don’t practice that type of feng shui, and that advice is one of the main reasons I don’t practice that kind of feng shui. Some people believe that their heads should be to the north when sleeping to align their body with the axis of the Earth. And some people believe the exact opposite—that feet pointed to the south will devitalize the body. When asked about this, I always say the same thing, “Be able to easily see toward the door of the room.” Windows and Skylights The head of the bed should not be placed directly in front of a window. Locate the bed elsewhere in the room. If that can’t be done, just make sure that a heavy window treatment is used each night. Windows that are several feet above the head of the bed are not a problem. The head of the bed can be between two windows, if those windows are on the headboard wall, as in the top example of Fig. 3.1. Skylights are wonderful, but do not sleep directly under one unless there is some type of pull shade covering it at night. A skylight is a weak place in an otherwise solid room. It conveys a feeling of “wide open and out there” and the quality that enhances deep sleep is more “tucked back and sheltered.” Toilet Do not place the bed so that the head of the bed is on a wall with a toilet on the other side. If there is no other choice, put a mirror behind the bed. The reflective side of the mirror should face the wall. The mirror does not have to be visible. If a toilet is directly above a bed on the next level up, put a small mirror on the ceiling with the reflective side pointing up. Try to locate the mirror directly under the toilet. Ceiling If the bedroom ceiling slopes, the head of the bed should preferably be under the high part of the slope. Placing the head of the bed under the low part of the ceiling adds pressure to your life. The area under the high part of the ceiling is good because there is a natural expansiveness and simply more air. There is a way to symbolically correct or level any sloping ceiling. This becomes especially important if the bed cannot be placed in its ideal location. Hang a faceted prismatic clear crystal from the high part of the ceiling to the level where the wall meets the low part of the ceiling. See Fig. 3.4. I usually use a clear monofilament, like fishing line, to hang the crystal. It would also important to state your intention at the moment of hanging the crystal: “I am hanging this crystal to symbolically level the ceiling” or any other words that seem appropriate. You are not really changing the level of the ceiling. You are doing something symbolic, and therefore your intention comes into play very strongly. If you have to put the head of the bed under the lowest part of the ceiling, you can put a mirror and/or a pointy object under that low part of the ceiling, pointing up. They are symbolically lifting the ceiling—the mirror because it reflects up, the pointy object because its energy is physically aimed upward. The mirror can be small like a mirror coaster (or even smaller). The pointy object could be a Sansevieria plant (mother-in-law’s-tongue or snake plant), or it could be a stone obelisk or anything similar. See Photo 3.5. An uplight can also be used to symbolically push the low part of the ceiling up.
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About the Book
Bedroom Feng Shui was a best-seller when The Crossing Press first published it in 2001. It is now available in a revised, expanded edition. In feng shui, the bedroom is the most important room. It has the most influence in a person’s life, because of the amount of time spent there, a third of a lifetime. For many people the bedroom is the only room that is theirs.
The book explains everything a person needs to know when applying feng shui to their bedroom. People sense that the location of the bed is important and wonder, “Is my bed in the best location?” The main factors in making that decision are the location of the doors, windows, and bathrooms, as well as any features on the ceiling such as beams or ceiling fans. Many different types of beds are evaluated, as well as the bedding and any other fabric in the room. Various furniture choices are discussed, especially since some bedrooms must be multifunctional. Many optional solutions are offered when problem situations are mentioned. Every object commonly in bedrooms (clocks, rugs, lamps…) is carefully discussed. Some items are too yang (such as mirrors) and should be used sparingly, and too many items make the room too yin and stifle the energy. The various details, such as color, texture, lighting, and artwork, that help a bedroom support sound sleep, are thoroughly covered. “No detail is overlooked,” says author Susan Levitt. Chapters are devoted to special bedrooms such as children's rooms, studio apartments, and guestrooms. Even the bathroom is covered, since it is often adjacent to a bedroom.
The feng shui bagua is thoroughly explained, telling the location and use of the Wealth Corner and the Relationship Corner, which are famous, for good reason, in feng shui. Harmony and prosperity are often the main reasons people first try feng shui. This book is based on Form School feng shui, not Compass School. Form School could be called the common sense school, because it is based on the form or shape of objects. The book does not discuss lucky directions or numbers, which are not a concern in Form School.
Bedroom Feng Shui is for beginners as well as for those with more feng shui knowledge. If someone has studied feng shui, they are aware of the power of the bedroom, and will appreciate the attention to detail in this book.
About the Author
Clear Englebert is a long-time feng shui consultant and teacher and an internationally acclaimed writer on feng shui. His first book, Feng Shui Demystified, was originally published in 2000 by The Crossing Press and reissued in a revised edition by iUniverse in 2010. He is also the author of two beautiful feng shui books with full color photographs throughout—Feng Shui for Hawaii and Feng Shui for Hawaii Gardens—both from Watermark Publishing. His books are available in four languages. He lives in Kona, Hawaii, and maintains the website fungshway.com.