Save on electricity. Do things manually whenever possible.It is not the bacteria, it is the terrain.
LOUIS PASTEUR (ON HIS DEATHBED)
We are made of energy, and so is everything in our environment. Although invisible to the eye, this energy is continuously interacting with us—and us with it. Our health and wellbeing are strongly affected by our subtle surroundings, and there is much we can do to bring greater harmony and balance to the places we typically inhabit on a daily basis.
Largely based on chapter 2’s information on energetic fields, this chapter addresses some of the basics of creating a healthy personal and professional environment. Included are discussions about electrical and magnetic dangers in your home and around you, as well as tips for solving these energetic disturbances; methods for healing with magnets; and using the ancient system of feng shui for creating sacred space.
Holistic practitioners are paying increasing attention to the effects of the energy around us, including human-made electromagnetic fields, which primarily affect us at work and at home. This electromagnetic radiation (EMR) creates electropollution. Our homes are petri dishes of EMR, which is proving to do everything from magnifying major illnesses to increasing daily stress. EMR exists around power lines, power tools, electric stoves, microwaves, heaters, boilers, freezers, and television sets, extending several feet or yards around an appliance even when it’s turned off. Long-term exposure may aggravate the conditions listed in chapter 2.
Earth-based magnetic energies can also have a negative impact on our moods and bodies, known as geopathic stress (see chapter 2). Because of irregularities in the earth’s fields, we might experience sleep challenges, increased stress levels, mood disorders, and behavioral problems, along with many other problematic symptoms.
Our energetic system responds negatively to both EMR and geopathic stress; in turn, the functioning of our energetic fields, channels, and centers improves when we shift our environment and decrease the amount or effects of these factors in our lives. Here are tips for bolstering our subtle systems by changing the world around us.
Save on electricity. Do things manually whenever possible.
Unplug all appliances except your refrigerator when you’re not using them.
Strengthen your immune system with a nutrient-rich, organic diet.
Replace home- and personal-care products with chemical-free versions.
Walk barefoot. It releases EMR into the earth.
Steer clear of electrical appliances in your bedroom. Use a battery-operated alarm clock, not an electrical one.
Avoid low-voltage halogen and fluorescent lighting.
Make sure cell phones and computers are turned off when not in use.
Avoid electric blankets.
Sleep in a bed with no metal parts.
Protect yourself from radiation with the homeopathic remedies Fucus vesiculosus, Sodium alginate, Phosphorus, and Strontium. (See “Homeopathy: Vibratory Medicine from the Kingdoms of Nature” in chapter 20.)
Clear your auric field of EMR using the techniques in the “Aura Clearing” section of chapter 11, “Healing the Auric Field.”
Use magnetic field therapy, described in the sidebar “Magnetic Field Therapy,” to help clear the auric field.
Geopathic stress often occurs in areas where a break has been created in the earth’s natural energy flow. These breaks can be caused by natural phenomena, such as cliffs, ravines, streams, and fault lines, or manufactured phenomena, such as property lines, walls, fences, the ridge lines on roofs, and electrical, phone, and cable lines. The blocked or diverted energy from these breaks creates what are known as stress lines.
The most common method for alleviating geopathic stress is to check your surroundings for stress lines and to then ground them so they no longer penetrate your location.
Dowsing, a type of divination used to evaluate natural conditions or locate specific natural phenomena, can be used to check for geographic stress lines. Two of the easiest dowsing methods use a compass and a pendulum.
Dowsing with a compass. Turn the compass until the needle is directly north and move it slowly over the area you are testing. If it passes over an energetic disturbance, the needle will swing away from due north.
Dowsing with a pendulum. You can easily make a pendulum with a metal necklace and a hanging gem or other item. After grounding and centering yourself, establish which movement of the pendulum indicates yes and which indicates no. Then, walking around a specific location, ask yes-no questions, such as, “Is this area causing geopathic stress?”
Having pinpointed the stress lines, you can now ground the line with one of the following techniques:
Insert a copper or brass staple, a copper ring, or a steel stake in the stress line.
Block the line with a cork barrier. You can put cork tiles or a cork bath mat under your bed if the stress line affects you when sleeping or near the stress line if it affects you elsewhere. Cork is made from oak trees, which have evolved to have their own defense against geopathic stress.
Neutralize the line with one of the many electronic-cancellation devices on the market. A few reputable products include the Powerhouse double Lakhovsky coil device and other instruments available through the Energy Store. There are also pendants, available through the organization BioGeometry or the Vesica Institute, for assisting with EMR as well as personal healing needs.1
Nullify the line with crystals, which can be buried or put in the corners of rooms. See the section “Gemstones: Stones of Light” in chapter 20 to select an appropriate gemstone.
Within your home, you can also simply rearrange your furniture, moving your bed, couches, or desk off and away from the stress line.
Magnetic field therapy diagnoses and treats both physical and emotional pain and relieves symptoms and causes of disease. Magnets and electromagnetic devices are now widely used to soothe pain, assist with the healing of broken bones, and alleviate stress.
Research by Albert Roy Davis, PhD, found that negative magnetic fields are beneficial to living organisms while positive magnetic fields can be stressful. Robert Becker, an orthopedic surgeon, found that weak electrical currents can promote the regrowth of broken bones, and Kyoichi Nakagawa, MD, director of the Isuzu Hospital in Tokyo, discovered a condition called “magnetic field deficiency syndrome,” which results from decreased exposure to the natural geomagnetic fields of the earth and can cause headaches, dizziness, stiffness, chest pain, insomnia, and more.2
Magnets can support many healing processes and help alleviate EMR and geopathic stress. Magnetic energies move in spirals and can deflect harmful EMR energies. To use magnets and magnetic devices for this purpose, it’s important to first understand the basic difference between the north and south poles of a magnet and what they affect. You can tell the difference in the two poles by suspending a magnet by a thread. The pole pointing toward the north is called the north pole or the negative pole, and the side toward the south, the south or positive pole. You can also move a magnet slowly toward the north end of the compass. If the needle keeps pointing north, you have been using the south-pole side of the magnet.
The north pole of a magnet stops the development of growths and infections. You can use north-pole magnets on infections, menstrual discharge, inflamed gums or teeth, inflammation in general, or for calcium deposits in the joints. They can contract tissue, decrease activity, and sedate pain. The south pole stimulates the growth of tissue and living systems, including bacteria. It will encourage muscle strength, help with prostrate problems, and help prevent miscarriages. South-pole magnets are also useful if you have congestion without an infection, and they can increase the activity of any tissue they are placed on. Do not use north-pole magnets if you are pregnant, as they might trigger a miscarriage during the first trimester. Also do not use them if you have congestion, but no infections, or if you are treating muscular weakness.3 Finally, do not use magnets if you have a pacemaker or an automatic defibrillator, cochlear implants, or an insulin pump. And magnets should never be placed over an open wound.
The other consideration for selecting magnets is the intensity, which is measured in gauss, a unit of measurement that indicates the intensity of the magnetic field. The higher the number, the more intense the magnet.
The most effective magnets for healing purposes are called medical or therapeutic magnets. You can buy either unipolar magnets or bipolar magnets. Unipolar magnets have been artificially created to have the north pole on one side and the south pole on the other. Bipolar magnets are created with both poles on one side. People usually choose to use the unipolar magnet if they want the effects of one of the two poles without interference from the other pole.
Specific magnet-therapy techniques include the following:
Using magnetic blankets and beds to reduce stress and promote sleep. (These are not recommended for people with bipolar disorder.)
Placing a negative magnetic field at the top of the head to promote sleep. You can tape a small magnet to your head with a bandage. You can also obtain a magnetic bed pad composed of small negative magnetics and sleep with it near your head or put small negative magnetics together inside of your pillow.
Using small Japanese tai-ki magnets to stimulate acupoints.
Placing small disc magnets (ceramic neodymium or iron oxide) around the head to potentially alleviate panic, seizures, delusions, and other conditions.
Using magnetic jewelry or discs on an inflamed area or site of pain.
North-pole magnets are the most frequently used magnets and are usually considered the safest. You can use south-pole magnets, but sparingly, as they promote growth. North-pole magnets are most often used at an intensity of 2,000 to 4,000 gauss. Following is a treatment that can be used for problems such as arthritis or other painful conditions.
1.Select a unipolar magnet, so that the south pole cannot affect the injured living tissue.
2.Place the magnet, north side down, directly over the afflicted area. You can tape the magnet directly on the skin with athletic tape or an adhesive bandage, or insert it in a small cotton bag and tape this on to your skin.
3.Keep the magnet on for up to twelve hours. You can return to magnet therapy after a day or two if it effectively relieved your pain.4
For the duration of a magnetic therapy treatment, the rule of thumb is that the longer magnets are applied to an area, the more quickly the healing is performed.
Feng shui is a 3,000-year-old Chinese science and art for balancing the energy of a space to support health. There are many schools of feng shui, but they all recommend a few basic actions:
Clear your clutter. Rivaling any electromagnetic pollution or geopathic stress is the clutter that easily piles up in our homes and offices. From our closets to drawers to basements and even computer desktops, clutter causes stagnation of subtle energies and can create low energy, confusion, and irritation. If you feel overwhelmed at the prospect of clutter-clearing, consider taking one closet, one corner, one drawer, or one purse at a time.
Improve your lighting. Throw open the curtains and allow as much natural light as possible into your home and office. Use full-spectrum light bulbs.
Improve your air quality. Open windows, bring air-purifying plants into your environment, and consider adding an air purifier.
Bring in the beauty. Incorporate oxygenating plants, fresh flowers, sacred objects that hold meaning for you, candles, and music into your space. All of these items can subtly (and sometimes dramatically) alter the energetics of any space and help to reduce the impact of EMR pollution and other environmental stressors.
Open to prosperity. Arrange your desk so the wall is behind you and you have a full view of the room and its door. Opportunities expand when your view is expansive. Consider putting up an inspirational poster to motivate yourself. In fact, make sure all your furniture faces the door to assure the movement of chi and a prosperous flow in every area of your life.
Make use of mirrors. Chi can’t flow in dead ends. Use mirrors at the end of hallways to create the illusion of endlessness and keep your hallways open so the chi can move freely.
Select colors thoughtfully. In general, serene, neutral colors and smooth textures ensure a peaceful environment. Avoid bright colors except as accents, as they overstimulate the mind and body. (Also see the “Colors of the Five Elements” section in this chapter.)
Let the water flow. Flowing water stimulates creativity and the movement of emotions. Water also represents abundance. Use a small fountain to bring moving water into your space.
Watch your clocks. You can hang clocks in your kitchen, living room, or office, but don’t place them in an entryway. You do not want a visitor seeing a clock first thing and thinking that there is a time limit on the visit. Also avoid hanging a large clock in your bedroom. This is the place to listen to your internal clock rather than an artificial one. In general, avoid display clocks made of metal, which can inhibit the health and joy of family members.
You can use this simple intuitive exercise to determine if there are any changes you can make in your environment to support the wellbeing of all areas of your life.
COLORS OF THE FIVE ELEMENTS
TO CREATE BALANCE in a space, make sure you have at least one color from each of the five feng shui elements in each room.
Fire: Red, orange, shades of pink, purple, and bright yellow. Use in any room where you are seeking recognition and extra energy. Often used in the southerly direction of a house to invoke passion.
Wood: Brown and green. Often placed in the southeast and eastern directions to encourage healing and promote wealth, but can be used anywhere for these reasons.
Water: Blue and black. Will encourage abundance in all areas of life. Will promote calm and renewal, and if used in the north, will also enhance purity and comfort.
Earth: Light yellow and light brown or beige. Will add stability and emphasize nourishment. Especially useful in the southwest and northeast areas of your home.
Metal: Gray, white, and silver. Metal helps you focus and can be used when you need efficiency and precision. Use in the northwest area of your home to emphasize these traits.5
You can use almost anything to add color, including pictures, plants, gemstones, candles, cloth, and more.
Using your intuitive senses, tune into each room in your home (and your workspace, if you feel inspired to do so). You can do this meditatively, or you can do a physical walk-through to merge your sensory and subtle faculties. How is the energy of your space influencing your wellbeing? Could you put some extra attention on the part of your home or office representing an area of your life you want to enhance? Would it change the energy of the space to move the furniture or artwork around? Do you need to clean or clear clutter? Is there a spot where you might want to apply a simple feng shui “cure,” such as a green plant, a red cloth, a grounding stone, or a bowl of water? Make a list of the impressions and ideas that come to you.