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As a Feng Shui consultant, this is a question that I get over and over again. After all, most of us know by now how important meditation is to a fulfilling life. Taking that time – ideally daily — to get still, with the intention of connecting to yourself and Spirit, I have found to be imperative to cultivating a feeling of peace, clarity, and joy.  Personally, when I made the commitment to meditate for fifteen to twenty minutes each and every day, my life took on a different kind of “flow.”

Because I have a regular meditation practice, then you may assume that I have a particular space for meditation, maybe one with lovely pillows and an altar and candles. So you may be surprised when I tell you that, no, I don’t.

I do have two dedicated spots for meditation. But you wouldn’t walk into my house and say, “Great meditation space!” One is in my backyard in my Adirondack chair beneath some trees. The other is on my living room sofa.

The truth is not every house and not every person needs a “fancy” spot to meditate.  All you really need is somewhere you can get comfortable and not be disturbed. After all, meditation is about letting the senses go by tuning out the world so that you can tune into the “inner.” Sometimes I even meditate in my (parked) car or in appointment waiting rooms, if my morning meditation got cut short.

This being said, if you are longing for a designated spot to meditate and your home is conducive to it, go for it! I’ve walked into meditation rooms that felt so sacred you could hear a pin drop on the sheepskin rugs! I’ve seen altars with every deity known to this dimension set out intentionally and with a love that would bring tears to your eyes.

The problem I see clients run into is that they think a meditation space will make them meditate. And they use the excuse that they don’t have a place to meditate to not meditate.

If you fall in that category, consider yourself busted, and start meditating stat by simply sitting somewhere, anywhere, where you can close your eyes and go inward. Phone timers work wonders to keep you disciplined and focused.

On the other hand, if you’d like to set up a space, here are some suggestions:

1. Choose a pillow, chair, rug, or blankets. I like to have my back supported, but I know some traditional meditation practitioners who promote sitting cross-legged with a straight spine, chin slightly down. If this is your choice, consider a pillow beneath your sit-bones so that your knees are slightly below your hips to help your posture. Stacking or folding blankets works for this too.   Furthermore, sheepskin rugs are favorites among the kundalini yoga set because wool, being a natural material, is said to help you “connect.” That being said, if you’d rather be in a comfortable chair or even sitting up in your bed with pillows behind your back, that’s fine!
2. Consider an altar. An altar is a collection of objects that acts as a visual aid representing your spiritual life. Think of an altar as a personal tribute to your spiritual self and whatever supports that. When I have had altars, I placed special quotes, pictures of angels and fairies, fresh flowers, candles, Feng Shui symbols, and crystal mandalas there, simply because these things speak to me. An altar is simply a set point for the higher vibration you want to achieve.
3. Make sure you select the right spot. I’ve seen bedrooms where the inhabitants have had to step over their altar in order to walk through, which is not ideal! Furthermore, it was low to the ground when everything else had height, which just felt off. Bottom line: if you’re “forcing” where the meditation space goes, it’s probably not the right spot. One client’s children kept overtaking her supposed meditation room with art projects, so eventually she just let the room be what it wanted to be – a space to create – and found other places to meditate.   She was so relieved when I told her, “Great! The room found its purpose.”

Creating a meditation spot should be a pleasurable experience, so that you’re drawn to the spot for a respite and sacred connection. If it’s more work than play, no worries, your meditation practice depends on you, not your space.

Remember, if you’re practicing Feng Shui, then you’re creating a sacredness in your entire home, so consider that as well when deciding if a dedicated meditation space is right for you.

Katie is available for Skype and phone consultations including Feng Shui advice, intuitive readings, and Law of Attraction coaching.  katierogers777@gmail.com

If you’ve been following me for a little while, you know that I love love love love talking about the Law of Attraction.  My view of life, Feng Shui, relationships, and God/Source/Universe shifted profoundly once I began to take the teachings of Abraham-Hicks to heart.

So I wanted to share a cool thing I have learned from it all.

First, I would say that when I first started studying Feng Shui, the bagua map was what rang my bells.  A map to your space?  That reflects different areas of your life?  And when you make changes within the sections, changes in your life occur?  YES, PLEASE!

Similarly, when I first started studying Abraham-Hicks’ take on the Law of Attraction, I was floored by what they call “The Emotional Scale.”  (Photo taken from their book, Ask and It is Given.)

The concept is this:  We all want to be at #1.  Joy, right?  Or at least close to that would be great too!  That’s where we find true connection, true alignment with you we are, and reaching for that feeling is basically the reason why we want anything, do anything.

But we’re humans.  We are going to bounce around this scale.

The key is to figure out how not to stay on the lower end.  The key is to find the thoughts that keep us on the higher end of the scale.

They call it a scale for a reason.  You can’t jump from Despair to Joy. It’s just not gonna happen. You gotta move up the scale.  You gotta find a feeling of “relief” from the feeling where you currently are, and sometimes, well, if you’re in Depression or Fear, that can look like Rage.  But at least it’s not Depression or Fear.

And yes, this takes practice.  And no, going from Depression to Joy doesn’t have to take 40 — or even 4 — therapy sessions.  It really doesn’t have to take much time at all, but it does take practice.

For someone who feels a lot (any other empaths out there?), seeing this scale was groundbreaking for me!  Being able to first of all, identify my feeling and where I was on the scale really helped me just surrender and accept where I was.   Feelings aren’t bad (even if they may feel bad)!  According to Abraham-Hicks, they are information!  It’s OKAY.  But you want to find that “feeling of relief,” which sometimes is just moving just a wee bit in the right direction, up the scale. If you push against where you are on the scale, instead of surrendering into it and accepting it, you’re just going to bounce around on the lower end and feel like you’re in a never-ending cycle that you can’t get out of.

My favorite thing to say to myself when I want to move up the scale:

“I am willing to feel better.”  

Notice the word “willing.”  It’s the key to this mantra!  You can’t force yourself into a better feeling, but you can relax into a willingness to feel better without judging yourself or trying too hard to make anything different.  

Remember this is “being” work, not “doing” work, but if you’re inspired to an action (sitting in bed binging on Netflix all day; going for a run; grabbing a pint of ice cream; punching a pillow; getting out the paints; writing a poem; calling that person), then sure, do what you gotta do.

It’s your life, remember.  You’re the one in charge here.  And you have more Freedom than you can ever imagine….even if you might not feel like it today.

Katie offers Law of Attraction and Feng Shui Coaching by phone.  Reach out to her at KatieRogers777@gmail.com or 205.983.0888 to schedule a session today!  

Every year, as the summer winds down, with my birthday around the corner, and the smell of school in the air, I feel the lure. Fellow “pilgrims” scatter dusty reminders on my Facebook wall: photos of fire and art, bikes, goggles, bandanas, ships on sand, braids, tutus, furry jackets, steel trees, giant Tetris games, smiles for miles, and, of course, the Man. Art and fire. Fire and art.

Burning Man. It’s been nine years since my last burn, and still, still to this day, although I’m a mom with a business living way too far from the place where Burners gather, I wonder if some how I’ll get one of my famous last minute tickets, camp invites, rides, and some how make that crazy pilgrimage once again.

2001.  I lived in a bungalow in Venice, California with K. and M., a five-minute bike ride to the beach. We had banana leaf wallpaper, a back yard with lemon trees, and we threw parties where Amanda Peet and “the Southpark guys” would show up. I thought it would be funny to serve tater tots on a baking sheet so I did. My dog, Puck, tolerated these parties mildly. At least two people per occasion would tell me I looked like Renee Zellweger. That was also the year I freaked out and cancelled one such party – my own birthday party – because I was 26 years old and my dreams of becoming a famous screenwriter or director hadn’t magically happened yet, and I felt like a loser that I was still babysitting and catering for work (no matter that I had written two full length screenplays and CAA had “hip-pocketed” me). A few people didn’t get the party-no-more memo though, and M. made me an almond chocolate cake, and it turned out to be one of my favorite birthdays yet, especially because one guy brought his fire hula hoop, and so I got to hula hoop fire.

26 years old and dancing in a circle of fire.

A week or so later, M. mentioned to me, a sparkle in her brown eyes, that she and her brother had an extra ticket to Burning Man, which happens the week before and weekend of Labor Day every year. I had read about Burning Man in Rolling Stone when I was a senior in high school, or maybe in my early college career, I don’t know, but it was the mid-90s. I still remember the image that had me hooked: a man in unusual attire, with large goggles, hunched into a small, Star Wars-like vehicle, traveling across a flat gray cracked expanse, the blue sky too blue behind him. I was sitting at my parents’ dining table and announced, “I’m going to this.” Even at 17, I recognized these people as my people.

I told the family I babysat for that I would need a week off. They were cool about it, so, thinking I was going on an elaborate camping trip, I packed and went along for the ride.

A., M.’s brother, was a set designer and did things like the MTV Awards, so he and his DJ friends had rented a truck, complete with scaffolding, pillows, some shiny sheets of metal. We met at a warehouse with our bags of groceries and our jugs and jugs and jugs and jugs and jugs of water. M. had already schooled me in the rules of Burning Man.

•            There is no money exchange. You give gifts. A gift can be a hug, a toothbrush, a meal, a piece of clothing, a costume, a ride on an art car, home-back cookies, or the shirt off your back – anything really. The only thing you could buy: lemonade, coffee, and ice.
•             You must participate. Burning Man is not a spectator sport.
•             It’s about self-reliance. You bring everything in, and you take everything out. We are borrowing from Mother Nature here so let’s respect that.
•             You can’t drive a vehicle unless it’s registered with the Department of Mutant Vehicles, and even then, two miles per hour was the speed limit. To be registered, your vehicle had to qualify as an “art car,” therefore bikes were the vehicle of choice.

But the favorite thing M. explained to me: Burning Man was about “letting go.” It was founded on that notion. A man named Larry started Burning Man in the late 80s in San Francisco. He built an effigy out of wood of a man, about 8 feet tall, and asked his friends to come to the beach and party with him as he burned it to the ground. He had broken up with his girlfriend, and he wanted something to symbolize a new start, and a dramatic ritual of sorts. His friends happened to be artists and people in the tech world. They had fun – there was something to it – so they did it again the next year and the next, with people bringing their art and burning it, again, symbolizing “letting go,” and the “impermanence of things,” and new beginnings.

We drove through the night, caravanning, and yes, these folks used the word “pilgrimage.” Los Angeles to Reno, then two hours down a two-lane road to that flat crackly expanse known as “the playa,” or “Black Rock City.”

It was camping, but it wasn’t at the same time.

It was camping because we had to create the place where we slept, we had to bring our food, our water, our showers.

It wasn’t camping because it was a city. There is no other word for it. There’s a place in the middle of Nevada where a city builds itself for a week-long festival…and then dismantles after that week. Ten-thousand people. I remember A. and M., seasoned Burners, being amazed that it had grown that big.

I had considered myself worldly and adaptable at the new age of 26. After all, I had been to Europe, lived in the Bahamas, and Austin, and Wyoming, and now LA.   But that first hour at Burning Man, in the late afternoon sun, I shuddered about the fact that I had no choice but to hang out in the dust, with the porta-potties, and electronic music, still foreign to my Southern-bred ears, for an entire seven days. The nighttime was descending fast as my campmates and I hurried to set up, two shimmering standing towers with dance platforms two stories up and a lower level with shiny panels surrounding the desert dance floor, with the back of the truck holding the DJs’ equipment for the parties we would be holding – right next to my tent – every night. And the costumes. People walked around in lights, like glowing stick men in motion. Lights everywhere, while the sun set, chilling us, while the “night creatures” (aka, People) came out to play.

It felt totally alien to me. This place. Like, actual aliens.

After 24 hours of being there in a sort of daze, what can only be described as a sort of culture shock, something clicked. I surrendered. I succumbed. The art, the music, the wonder and delight, the fire and dancing, the sheer freedom of a place that is six miles in circumference of 10,000 alien-people meandering around, handing out pancakes and Tecates and Grade A sushi from Oregon to stranger after stranger.

I didn’t go back until 2005, although I was offered free rides and free tickets, at least two of those years. It called me, but I didn’t answer the call, for no good reason, in hindsight. And then in 2007, when they announced the theme “The Green Man,” I knew I had to be there. And then my final and last time to go was 2008, where I reunited with an off-and-on again boyfriend. In 2009, I was pregnant with his child. And in 2010, I was living back in my home state of Alabama with a newborn, where we still are.

I haven’t found myself back there since ’08.

Today, the event is busting at its Deep Playa seams with over 70,000 people. Even in 2008, I was shocked seeing the playa at night. When it used to be a significantly few lights dashing and flashing back and forth across the black void, now the playa teemed with countless art cars, fire, and motion. It was downright lit up.

The Man is built every year and burned every year. But instead of being eight feet tall like the San Fran beach days, it’s now something like eight stories, an engineering feat with a well-executed art installation at its base that people enjoy and experience all week, until it goes up in flames too. The Man burns on the Saturday night of the event, the peak of the festival, where everyone gathers, people’s faces illuminated by the orange glow of the largest “bonfire” any of us have ever experienced.

I dream of returning, maybe even taking my little girl with me (yes, there is a Kid’s Camp, and yes, it can actually be a kid-friendly event with the right guidance), but I also wonder if I got to see Burning Man in its prime, before the rush and the media and now there are cell phones (ugh) on the playa, I hear and see from social media posts. Maybe it’s best preserved in my memories, yet my friends are still going back, year after year after year, despite the packing, the preparations, the dust, the after-exhaustion, the people, people, and more people. Despite the celebrities and the pre-pay, catered camps. Despite the jadedness of some of the old-timers and the spectatorship of some of the “virgins.”

I asked one such friend, who is still returning, what he thought about my musings. His response?

“Yeah, it’s changed. But the heart of it is still in tact.”

So…2018, anyone?

For some gorgeous Burning Man shots, please oh please do yourself a favor and click here (truly captures the spirit of it):  https://stuckincustoms.smugmug.com/Burning-Man-Page

Feng Shui does not have to be about getting new furniture, knocking down walls, or a total declutter overhaul.

Sometimes, many times, the smallest changes made with love and intention can be the juju and new energy you’re looking for.

A reader was inspired after listening to this Feng Shui call recording (excuse so-so quality):

…and she took it upon herself to spiff up to DIY on her front porch.  Take a look:

Now, do you see what she did?  She got rid of those “tired” feeling pillows and put a nice fresh coat of red on the chairs and table.  THAT IS ALL.  Doesn’t it FEEL happier, cozier, and more inviting?  The Before photo’s porch is okay, for sure, just a tad bit dull.  Whereas the After photo has zing!

The key for the front entrance?  INVITING!  That red just asks the chi to bound up to the home, which you all know, is what we want chi to do!  When you invite good energy in symbolically with color, movement, easy transitions, and liveliness, you’re inviting in opportunities, money, friendships, love, and good times!

Check out your own front entrance today, and get inspired to make your own improvements.  I’d love to see more Before and Afters from you all!

Cheers & chi,

Katie

(Remember, Feng Shui & the Energetics of Money eCourse starts today, May 9! Full of awesome, specific tips on bringing in more money! Sign up now!)

I recently had a client with too big of a living room. The chi was getting a little “swallowed up,” so to speak, sort of fizzling out because it spread out so much in such a large area. On the floor plan, this room happens to be in the center of the home, and it was becoming more of a walkthrough than a place where the family of four finds themselves gathering. The room itself is lovely, but I needed to figure out what may have been blocking them from coming in here more often.

I had my mental Feng Shui checklist ready:

Furniture Arrangement: Check. The furniture was arranged so that three or more people could sit comfortably, which is known to draw people in, so that wasn’t the issue.

Clutter: Check. There was no clutter, just lovely sitting areas and bookshelves and even a meditation space, so that wasn’t the problem.

Overhead: Needs cure. There were some beams, but they are pretty high. I suggested some cures for those anyway, because beams can have an oppressive feel sometimes if not addressed.

Lighting: Needs cure. The lighting could be a little better, so we decided on possibly a few floors lamps.

But the best cure came from my dear client herself.

“What if I had music playing in the space?” she asked me. The home has a great sound system throughout and she and her husband both love music, especially with a spiritual, uplifting vibe.

“Perfect!” I said.

Yes, music can be a cure. Remember, Feng Shui deals with energy (chi). Energy is vibration. And music is literally sound vibration.

Having uplifiting music playing — with the intention of uplifting the space — was the perfect solution! I love when clients get inspired and nail it!

Sure enough, a couple of weeks later, she told me the room feels amazing, like a different place, that the music was a key missing element.

So turn up those tunes if you feel like your space needs a little shift. Remember, music has different vibrations so take care to play inspiring and uplifting artists!

Cock-a-doodle-doo! It’s here, 2017, and it’s time to WAKE UP!

Imagine a feeling of alertfulness and clarity as you greet each and every day this year. There’s a purpose and a drive with the sun shining bright overhead. That’s how 2017 can be with the help of this fiery Rooster, always ready to go!

This Chinese zodiacal cycle, which begins on January 28^th, 2017 promises a no-nonsense energy. While last year’s Fire Monkey may have felt like a topsy-turvy three-ring circus, the Rooster doesn’t have time or desire for such antics. Think: No b.s. this year. Monkeys love to play and meddle, as the Tricksters of the zodiac, causing a bit of a ruckus to make sure that we keep things light and not take ourselves too seriously, while the Rooster has drive and decisiveness and unapologetic power!

The energy of 2017 is akin to that of a blazing sun, given the intense combo of Fire and Rooster. It’s a “new dawn” so to speak after the monkey business of last year.

The Rooster is BOLD. He knows his place, he’s confident in it, there is not even the whisper of a thought of questioning it. Viril and proud, when the Rooster comes around there’s a bit of scattering of feathers. His sexual prowess and reputation proceeds him. The Fire of 2017 only fuels this energy. Therefore it will be a year of passion, but one well-directed. It will also be a year of exposure for those who want it. If you’re looking to be more in the limelight, this will be the year for it, so take steps accordingly!  Roosters strut their stuff!

The Rooster indeed symbolizes the “wake-up call.” He’s up before anyone else, in fact, and he wants the world to know it. “I can’t let the world get lazy on me,” is his message. He can see what’s coming (the light), and he’s going to send his message out loud and clear! Cock-a-doodle-doo! In fact, don’t even try to shut the Rooster up. Not gonna happen. His message is not only clear, it’s unavoidable!

Some believe the Rooster is also the Phoenix, the mythological creature that can burn itself to ashes, then rise up again.  Again, Fire, again, the notion of rising!  The symbolism here is that we can recreate ourselves over and over, that creation is always at hand, and that nothing truly is ever lost.

So this year, learn to “play with Fire,” so to speak. It can be quite useful and can temper any fears that may be lingering in regards to personal power. This is the year to put all fears to rest and to announce that they have no power over you. Be keen to direct your focus. Use your natural skills of focus this year with precision. The Rooster knows what he wants…and he is very good at getting it.

When I asked, “How can we harness the energies of the Rooster?” I received, “They can’t be harnessed. But the energies can be appreciated and respected.”

Sounds like fire to me.

What you can expect from this year is a lot of people speaking up, laser-like focus and energy and a “cutting to the chase,” and people cultivating a powerful inner strength.

I have been a student of the Law of the Attraction (as presented by Abraham-Hicks) for approximately ten years. I have been an avid student for about a year and a half because I’m finding it is everything.

The Presidential Election of 2016 is a perfect demonstration of these teachings and here is how:

Law of Attraction basically says, “where attention goes, energy flows.” And where energy flows, there is the manifestation on the vibrational level first, then on the physical level, or what we call “reality.” Thoughts are energy. Humans are constantly creating with their thoughts and actions. Bottom line: when you think about what you don’t want, you send energy in that direction and therefore aid in the manifestation of it.

From the beginning of this election, Trump was the focal point. There were countless articles, insights, skits, commentaries, conversations, rhetoric, and heated emotion regarding the prospect of having a “Trump Presidency.” Sure Bernie and Hillary had their moments, but it was not enough to overshadow people’s shock, awe, and intrigue over Trump’s actions, words, and presence.

From the beginning, this election was either a pro-Trump or anti-Trump election, and the Universe only read that as “Trump” and “Trump.”

I know to look at this election in terms of “energy” may seem simplistic, but the Law of Attraction is always at work. After all, everything is energy. It has to have a vibration first before it can manifest into the physical or “real.”

While the energy flow seemed strong in Hillary Clinton’s campaign on the few days just before November 8th, there were still signs of Trump’s win on a vibrational level everywhere. Even Clinton’s campaign, #lovetrumpshate, gave Trump the upper hand. His very NAME was in HER campaign! Think about it: if Rip Van Winkle had woken up in the middle of this campaign, he would have definitely assumed that was Trump’s tagline, not Clinton’s!

Let me clarify: in my work as a Feng Shui consultant and a basic “reader of energy,” I’m keen on the messages that words have in a household or office. For example, one client had a peppy little sign in her home office that read, “Never never never never give up.” Well, the psyche sees “give up.” The subconscious can’t visualize in negatives. For example, “Remember to pick up the dry cleaning,” is much more productive than “Don’t forget to pick up the dry cleaning.” There is power, energy, and forward momentum in the word “remember” and, well, “forgetting” in the term “don’t forget.”

People were so repulsed by Trump that a momentum of energy went directly his way. The “horror” of a Trump Presidency played over and over in the minds of the American psyche that it manifested into being.

If we focus on the sort of candidate we want and the kind of country we want, then energy will flow towards that, and it too will manifest.

We are Creators in a fluctuating and ever-expanding, evolving Universe. Shift can happen, right this very moment. The best way to determine what you are creating is to check your emotions. If the thought feels badly, you are either 1) thinking about something that you don’t want, or 2) you know what you want, but you don’t believe it can come into being and therefore you’re “putting resistance into the stream.”

Take heed though! Well-being dominates EVERY time. We simply block that well-being when we forget that and let the negative thoughts and emotions spiral out. And things don’t manifest right away – we do have a buffer of time in order to catch it! Plus, know that the negative emotions and thoughts are GOOD –- they give us great clarity for what we want and a point from which to shift our focus.

The Law of Attraction is a moment-to-moment practice, and I’ve found it to be the most powerful spiritual practice of all. The result and “goal” is happiness – world and personal happiness — which is what we all want!

Take the advice of Bob Marley and “don’t worry about a thing, because every little thing is going to be alright.”  The good news is that if Trump is as bad as some are making him out to be, then we are all energetically creating a President that is as awesome as Trump is not!  It’s Law!

Katie Rogers holds a 9-week Feng Shui Journey Workshop infused with the studies of the Law of Attraction. She’d love to have you aboard for that and/or for the Declutter Your Way to Clarity eCourse, held in January, & the Energetics of Money eCourse, also coming up!

You hear this all the time: “Set your intention.” Yoga teachers say it before class, meditation teachers suggest it before meditating, and yes, it’s a big deal in BTB Feng Shui as well.

Why?

First, let’s define “intention.” Webster’s says, “an aim” or “a plan.” That’s sort of a lame explanation if you ask me, so I’ll give it a shot.

An intention is where you focus on what you want, even for an instant, knowing that you are moving in that direction.

How’s that?

Therefore, when you dedicate your yoga practice to “gratitude,” you’re stating to yourself that, even if you feel like hell that day, you would like to get more in a place of gratitude.

In meditation, one of my favorite intentions is to state, “My intention is to connect with the Divine.” I’ve found this to be powerful, because in the end, that’s what this whole spiritual gig is all about.

Which brings me to Feng Shui. Professor Lin Yun, who brought Feng Shui to the west in the 1970s, taught the power of intention in a space. He really brought home that many cures in Feng Shui are anchored in intention.

For example, say you have the classic Feng Shui no-no where you walk in the front door of your home and you can see straight through to the back yard because of a large window or a glass door. This represents an energy leak, because all the good that is coming in can escape straight out the back, quickly.  (i.e. Money can seem to be spent quickly, occupants experience lethargy more often, opportunities come and go too quickly)  Therefore, we would put a cure in place in this situation. (No need to knock down walls and reconstruct the whole house, please!)

In this situation, I would suggest the client hang a round-faceted crystal from the ceiling somewhere between the front door and the back, WITH THE INTENTION of dispersing the energy, slowing it down, so it can be better contained and managed. If my clients don’t like crystals, fine, then I suggest maybe a rug, and under that rug, I have them write on a piece of red paper “CURE” or something of the sort. And, ladies and gentlemen, this does the trick!

So, why o why o why do intentions work?

Well, our will is powerful!!! When we set an intention, we are making a wish, or stating a prayer, and then letting the Universe do it’s thing as a result. We are aligning with an outcome, trusting that it will unfold perfectly.

Why red, you ask? In Feng Shui, we work with the elements of Nature and Chinese medicine: Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, and Fire. And we love to use Fire when setting intentions, because think of it, the tiniest spark can set an entire forest to flame. Red is the symbolic color for fire, which is why red is considered a lucky color in Feng Shui — it’s THE intention-setting color. Interestingly, in Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and other religions and practices, one often lights a candle when saying a prayer or going into meditation. It’s no accident these rituals show up across cultures!

For a fun exercise, try setting an intention every morning for 9 days, either writing it on a red piece of paper and putting it under your bed, or lighting a candle for 9 days straight.

Then get back to me! I’d love to hear about your experiences!

A new client and I have had a jolly time decluttering, organizing, and moving her into her new home. She has beautiful things that she treasures, and she has a beautiful home, and I must say, she’s a lovely person herself.

Her adult son was coming home, and we bumped up on some of his items (can anyone say, T-shirts?!), and she asked me, “Would you mind going through his things with him?”

“Of course!” I responded.

Then, she offered, “You may want to ask him, ‘Has this served its purpose?’ rather than ‘Does this spark joy?'”

Considering briefly that maybe she knew her son better than I, I said, “Okay, we can try that!”

But it’s been bugging me. Upon reflection, I realized that these are two VERY different questions.

Here’s a story:
When I was decluttering my jewelry, I came upon a necklace that my mother had handed down to me. It’s good quality, not an heirloom or anything, but pretty. But every time I had tried it on, it just did not work. In all honesty, it’s not my style at all. Logically, I may have told myself that this item did not spark joy. But following Marie Kondo’s advice, I held it in my hand, got quiet, checked in, and oddly enough to me, it sparked joy so it stayed.

Months later, I was invited to a 1920s gala. I was planning on buying a costume – I love the 20s. But nothing I shopped for was what I was wanting, so I decided to browse through my own closet. SURE ENOUGH, I had the entire costume, except for the headpiece. I haven’t been to a 1920s party in forever, mind you. And I had never thought of wearing all these various pieces together until this one event! And this was after decluttering like a mad woman over the years.

Looking sassy in my black necklace with life coach and friend, Virginia Bunting!

And sure enough, the necklace was an integral part of the look and got to “serve its purpose” and spark a lot of joy.

So here we go, back to the topic at hand.

Had this necklace served its purpose when I was decluttering? “No.” But that doesn’t mean I should have kept it. After all, think of all the items in your space that have not served its purpose AND NEVER WILL because it was never supposed to be in your space in the first place.

That being said, I know what my sweet client was thinking. Some items are just “tired.” They are complete in your particular household. They have done their job and need to move on.

But trust me, a tired item will not spark joy if you are being honest with yourself. So why change the question?

So, I’ll stick with Marie’s brilliant concept for now. Eliminate confusion on the “purpose thing,” and instead ask every item in your home if it sparks joy (yes or no) so that your space will REFLECT JOY.