On Riverside Drive

A Feng Shui lesson in how to Pepto Bismol your energy

This past weekend on my radio show, I had the pleasure of interviewing local Feng Shui specialist, Gwen Wojski. Before the interview I did my usual research, came up with a list of questions and thought I'd just wing it to see where the flow of the show took us. Little did I know that any conversation with a Feng Shui specialist has you seriously examining yourself, your domain, and the purpose behind your actions.

Let me explain.

"Welcome to the show, Gwen," I said as I introduced her. "Now tell us, just what exactly is Feng Shui?"

"First of all, Karin," Gwen says, "Let's back up and get the pronunciation correct. It's pronounced 'fung-shway' not, 'feng shoo-ey.'"

Woops. So much for my research.

She continued, "Feng Shui is an ancient art and science developed over 3,000 years ago in China. It is a body of knowledge that reveals ways to balance the energies of your environment to assure health, wealth and good fortune for people inhabiting it.

"'Feng' means 'wind' and 'shui' means 'water'. In Chinese culture, gentle wind and clear water have always been associated with good harvest and good health, thus 'good feng shui' came to mean good livelihood and fortune, while 'bad feng shui' came to mean hardship and misfortune."

Gwen went on to tell us about the different areas of the home based on The Western Feng Shui Bagua Map, and how the energy flow between these areas is very important, very real, and can have a huge effect on our well being.

Needless to say, it was an interesting show, with many listeners calling in with questions and asking for Gwen's help.

At the show's close, I asked, "Can you give us one tip that everyone can do today in our homes to help the Feng Shui energy and improve our livelihood?'

"Yes, I can!" she said. "I challenge you to go home and change 27 different things. Go home and move, rearrange, or dispose of 27 different things in your house and take note at how the energy in your environment changes."

Gwen explained why the number 27 was important in Feng Shui, but I was getting myself geared up for the challenge so I didn't pay much attention. "Did you know," she continued, "That 80 percent of the items in our home we only use once per year! Eighty percent! And, one percent of the items in our home do we use everyday. That eighty percent is cluttering up our lives, our energy, and our well being. It's clutter of the mind and you need to get rid of it. Now go, go home and do something with 27 different things. I challenge you."

Nothing like a good challenge to finish my weekend. Off I went.

I got home and immediately noticed I could have moved 27 different things just in my entry way. Shoes, coats, mittens and sporting equipment, all of which don't fit, aren't weather appropriate, or aren't in their proper place. All of this "stuff" had been sitting in that exact same spot for at least a year. I had walked by it so many times, that I didn't even notice it anymore, but, according to Gwen, it was doing a number on my subconscious.... "liken it to constipation of the brain," she said.

Instead of organizing it, I just threw it all in a laundry basket and put it in the garage. I was just going to test to the theory.

Next, the living room. Same problem, things had been sitting there for so long, I was completely blind to it. Since when had Nintendo and its multiple gaming accessories (including two guitars) become a permanent decoration in my living space?

Bedroom? Clutter, clutter and more clutter. How many back issues of People can stack up next to my bed? Closet? Call me a clothes horse, and again, 80 percent of it, I don't wear! Bathroom? I swiped everything off the counter and into the drawer (again, just testing the theory.)

I whipped through my house in 27 minutes, and moved 27 things, and then 27 more.

So you ask, has my energy changed? Is it possible that by moving a few things that I could have performed a Pepto Bismal of the mind?

All I can say this, WOW. I have a lot of stuff, a lot of stuff I don't need, and yes, the energy of my home has changed.

I now walk into the house and smile, because the shoe pile is gone, the stack of papers going up the stairs is no longer there, and the heap of laundry over my bathtub has been moved. My energy can flow freely again - well, kind of.

I'm a little stressed because I can't find anything. My 27 minute Mr. Clean routine left no time to log where I put things - which cabinet or drawer I threw my toothbrush in, or where I hid the paper bags of bills.

For this article, it doesn't matter. The energy is now flowing freely between the different guas of my house, and my livelihood is improving as I type, I can feel it. It's just that every time I wipe my tongue across my teeth, I can feel that too.

Perhaps Gwen will come back soon and give me an internal Feng Shui lesson…now if only I could find her number.