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Show Volume II, Issue XI THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 7 1 June 2000 Feng Shui Today Shelly Hanson Feng Shui (pronounced fung shway) is the Chinese art and science of environmental placement that has been in practice for thousands of years. It’s about our natural environment and our physical environment (homes, buildings and offices), and how we are always being influenced both consciously and subconsciously by them. Have you ever walked into someone’s home and loved the décor or felt the feeling of home? Have you ever sat down in a restaurant and enjoyed the ambiance? You can’t quite put your finger on it, buy you enjoy it never the less. Well, you have just experienced Feng Shui. It is the study, science, and art of these dynamics. Feng Shui is about bringing your environment into harmony with who you are because when your environment is in harmony, you are in harmony. On a grand scale there are many aspects that affect your environment, therefore, affect you. One of the biggest problems I’d like to address is clutter, and recognizing what it is. Clutter represents different things to different people. For example, clutter can have an affect on your energy level, health, emotions, or represent something in your life you’re choosing not to deal with. Think about how you feel when you wake up Saturday morning expecting it to be a wonderful weekend. You find piles of laundry laying around, a sink full of dishes, toys everywhere, and a week’s worth of mail spread all over the counter? On a conscious energetic level one gets tired by just looking at it, then cranky comes to mind, and nobody is happy. Gentlemen, think about how it feels when the only place you can call your own, the garage or shop, becomes a catch all for all those “things” nobody knows what to do with, frustrating? Or when your pride and joy (car or truck) gets left outside due to lack of room in the garage, and then gets water spots from the rain the night before. As you get in to go for a joy ride you find empty Taco Bell cups, wrappers, and napkins, strewn about, and then to top it off, that annoying Magpie that gets you up at 6:00 a.m. on Satuday has left you his regards right in the line of vision on the windshield, thrilled? I better not write what comes to mind. Regardless, not a happy weekend. The majority of clutter is anything you haven’t worn, used, enjoyed, read, or watched in one year’s time. It is the “stuff” that takes up space that has no meaning. My suggestion is to look around your home (drawers, closets, cupboards, attic, basement, garage and shop), see where it is your “clutter” is congregating, then as you consciously recognize the clutter, see how it makes you feel. Some people believe, “out of sight, out of mind.” This is not true, subconsciously you know it is there and it is with you every second of the day nagging at you to go through it, drawing down your energy by putting it off. Start on one drawer or closet at a time. Make it a goal to do one or two a week. If you have a hard time recognizing your clutter you can call me for a consultation. Together we can identify the clutter, how it affects you physically, what it means symbolically and what it is manifesting in your life. Dealing with your clutter replaces confusion with clarity. Be realistic and gentle with yourself in making goals to clear your clutter. Remember letting go of the old makes room for the new. Feng Shui is a process, one step at a time, one change at a time. On Being a Mother By Janet Hoffmann Since Mother’s Day has just past, I was wondering how all the mothers felt this year. I have talked to some mothers who hate Mother’s Day because it reminds them that they are not the mothers they had hoped to be. I would like to know if there is one mother out there who is the mother she always wanted to be. If you are a helpful mother you might feel you are doing a pretty good job only to find out later that you failed to teach your children how to be responsible. Or on the other hand, you let your family do for themselves only to learn later that they felt neglected. The pendulum swings and we hang on for dear life hoping to stop somewhere in the middle. Sometimes we start to feel like we are getting close only to find out that we are still off to one side. It was about a week before Mother’s Day when one of our daughters was on a rampage because I wasn’t giving in to her pleadings. I was not in the mood for her bad attitude and blurted out, “Make sure you don’t write me a nice card on Mother’s Day telling me about how much you love me because you are showing me right now how you really feel about me.” She stopped short and looked at me like I was crazy. “I’m not saying that I don’t love you I’m just disagreeing with you.” She said in a controlled voice. I went on to inform her that she was clearly telling me that I was an idiot and I didn’t appreciate it. Then a few days later when one of our daughters accused me of running a sweatshop, I lost it again and informed her that she was the one practicing mother abuse and I was tired of it. She too stopped and looked at me like I was crazy. I think my children are right. I am crazy! I wish I were the perfect mom but I’m not. I never will be but it’s not going to stop me from trying. I read all the books, listen to tapes, go to lectures, conferences, etc. trying to be a better mom. Some things have soaked into this thick brain of mine and others have not yet penetrated it, but I still keep trying. My mother and father are living with our family right now and I guess I will see if I pass the test—the test being, “did I learn what my parents wanted me to?” They are reaping the benefits of what they taught me, or, should I say, what I learned —good or bad. I really hope I pass the test. I hope they are happy here with our family and they feel our love for them. One thing they taught me and my brothers and sisters is how to love and hopefully they will reap the benefits of that teaching. My parents are like yours, they aren’t perfect but their contributions did make a difference in our lives. I hope I can take what they have taught me, add to it, and pass it on to our children, grandchildren and children of the world. To my parents I say THANKS! To all you mothers out there I say, keep on trying. I know it will be worth it. Valley Junction Shelly Hanson Form School Certified Feng Shui Consultant 801-745-0619 Premiere Commercial Subdivision LOTS START AT $140,000 EACH LOT INCLUDES: Culinary & Secondary Water Utilities Stubbed to Lot Completed Off-Site Improvements Approved Perk Test CV-2 AND MV-1 ZONING .48 TO 2.19 ACRE LOTS Prime Commercial Area Site of Valley Junction Inn Pete Bealba / 391-4100 Deby Burton / 791-1900 Mansell & Associates 2580 N. Hwy. 162, Ste. B Eden, UT 84310 |