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East meets West | Bagua of the body Change yourself to save yourself | At one with nature
East meets West
by Grace Hood Slam! After hours of scrubbing and vacuuming my central Boulder apartment, I rush outside to meet Boulder-based Feng Shui consultant Laurelyn Baker. I've invited Laurelyn for an introduction to what thousands of Americans are beginning to integrate into their homes: Feng Shui interior design. Unfortunately, a gust of wind rushed behind me as I exited my apartment. "Great," I think to myself. "I'm completely locked out." Adding insult to injury my neighbor Richard, who has my spare key, is not at home. As I rush around and consider shimmying up the drainpipe to my second-floor apartment, Laurelyn sits down on a picnic bench in my front yard. "From the time I walk on the premises, I'm on the job," she says. "This shut door means something." As Laurelyn rattles off a list of possibilities, she starts talking about public misperceptions surrounding the ancient Chinese art. More than a few times, Laurelyn has arrived at client homes to find a house full of people—all of whom expect to be entertained by her work. While some think that Feng Shui is a fun parlor game, she says she promptly sends home any thrill seeker who interferes with her work. "It's not like you just put a fountain in the corner. It's a complete psychological evaluation of everything that's going on in your environment," she says. "Sometimes a lot of trench work needs to be done." While skeptics think that Feng Shui is a bunch of superstitious mumbo jumbo, more architects and landscape designers are hiring Feng Shui consultants to apply their know-how and participate in projects. Residential clients hire consultants like Laurelyn to cover all elements of interior design—from wall color to the shape of a couch and end tables. According to the International Feng Shui Guild, membership has gone from about 275 members to more than 400 in the past two years. With many Feng Shui consultants now incorporating Western design into their practice, some say that professional consultants are poised to become an integral element for Americans as they build home additions and redecorate their living rooms. For Laurelyn, owner of Visions of Home Feng Shui Design, the growing audience has dictated a new approach for consultants such as herself. The philosophy is the same, but the approach has changed to be more Western and multi-cultural. "People are not comfortable making their home look like a Chinese restaurant," she says. "It's become much more sophisticated." Pushing wood In Chinese, Feng Shui means wind and water. Based in Taoist principles, the Chinese have used the philosophy for thousands of years to evaluate nature and determine the best way to place buildings and villages in the natural landscape. Today, the practice is used for a variety of reasons. For some, Feng Shui is about bringing nature into the home. Others use it to set intentions and anchor life goals, such as more harmonious relationships or increased wealth, in their home environment. "We've gotten disconnected from nature," says Laurelyn. "Feng Shui is popular because people want to reconnect with nature through the built world." A member of the International Feng Shui Guild, Laurelyn has consulted on the Front Range for 15 years. Working on everything from high-rise apartments to million-dollar dream homes, Laurelyn's client roaster includes a wide variety of people. Some call her when they realize they've lived in a home for years, but they don't want to unpack their bags. Divorced people who find new partners call Laurelyn for help integrating their belongings. For one family in which the husband died, Laurelyn used Feng Shui to help the widow sell her home. For Laurelyn, every project begins with a specific floor design and an eight-sided Bagua. The eight sides correspond to different elements of life, such as wisdom, relationships or wealth, and the figure is applied to both the interior and exterior layouts. Given that we were indefinitely locked out of my apartment, our consultation began outside. The general abundance of plants and flowers in my front yard was a decidedly good thing for my life. "Plants raise the vibratory level of the environment," she says. "Living things increase the energy level." Rule No. 1 for Feng Shui: You can never go wrong with plants—so long as they're kept green and alive. For those who don't have a green thumb, Laurelyn suggests high quality silk flowers. For those that may feel put off by a discussion of energy and chi, Laurelyn offers a second explanation for why flowers can be a powerful factor in your environment. "It's simple basics," she explains. "If you walk by the flowers and they make you feel happy, you're going to feel good when you go to work and have a better day." While the front of the yard, which covers the Wisdom and Career areas, contributes positively to my life, the backyard, which encompasses the wealth, reputation and relationship sectors needs help. After having told Laurelyn that I want to work on generating wealth and improve my budding journalism career, we came to find piles of dead branches, old, disposable cups from Liquor Mart and a used plastic jug in my wealth corner. "Have a Feng Shui wealth party. The more energy involved, the better," she suggests. "It benefits everyone if it's cleared." A ladder, hastily placed on its side, and more dead branches in my reputation area prove equally troublesome. "It's a basic safety issue, as well as basic common sense," she says. "Spend time cleaning up, and think about how people perceive you. You're creating a psychology from the outside in." Laurelyn explains more about how exactly Feng Shui works. It isn't so much that cleaning my backyard will make me rich or make my coworkers like me better. What will bring wealth and acclaim to my life is removing the wood and garbage while considering how I want to change my behavior. Any time I look at my debris-free back yard, I'll be reminded of why I attempted the impossible job in the first place. As Laurelyn rounds the house and returns to the front yard, she stops and examines the Helpful People corner. While part of it is covered by flowers, there's also a dead car battery sitting next to the apartment building's external utility meter. Considering the inherently masculine energy of this corner, Laurelyn reads the situation like a book. "How are the men in your apartment doing?" she asks. "I don't really know," I say. Shaking her head, she continues, "It's like the meter's running, but the battery's dead." Popcorn and plumbing Fortunately, Richard arrived soon after we finished reviewing the backyard, and I head back inside my spotlessly clean apartment in no time. Before we get started, Laurelyn asks me a battery of questions: How has your life been since you moved into the apartment? (Good. I got a promotion right after I moved in.) Do people stay for a long period of time in the apartment building? (Yes, as far as I know.) Does your boyfriend spend time at your apartment? (Yes. He has cable TV, but my bed's more comfortable.) What's the history of the apartment building? (I dunno.) As we enter the kitchen, Laurelyn approaches a "Beware: Pickpockets and Loose Women" sign I've hung in one corner, which signifies my personal wealth. While I thought it was funny, apparently it's not a good choice for generating money. "Signs are powerful whether you realize it or not," she says. In addition to removing the sign, Laurelyn suggests a simple "cure" for the corner—a small glass filled with nine coins, a powerful number in Feng Shui, and popcorn, which honors a plant native to North America. Feng Shui cures can take on a variety of forms, the most common of which are mirrors, flowers and chimes. Equally important to incorporating a cure is activating it, which involves setting intention toward what you want it to do. "It does little good unless it's activated," says Laurelyn. My stove, which is a powerful symbol of abundance and wealth in my life, also needs work. Due to bad apartment layout, it's behind an imaginary horizontal line projected from my front door. Laurelyn considers my orientation when I'm cooking, and learns that my back faces the rest of the apartment. Compounding the problem, there's a window directly across the room facing the stove, which has a draining effect on any energy that's generated. It's a challenging puzzle, and Laurelyn sends a few minutes walking in and out of the kitchen, considering different ideas and cures. Finally, she suggests adding a mirror to the wall behind my stove, putting a chime above it and placing drapery over the doorway to my kitchen. While my bedroom had relatively few problems, my bathroom, which represents my relationship sector, presents a veritable quagmire of issues. Trying to be clever, I had framed my graduate school rejection letters and hung them next to my shower near a mirror. Pointing to the quote on the mirror "Remembrance is all I own," Laurelyn discussed possible Feng Shui interpretations. Having a "remembrance" mirror reflecting past failures isn't exactly what you want dominating your relationship corner, she says. Laurelyn also pointed to my leaky bathtub faucet and toilet—both of which drain energy and can impact health. "Even if I'm renting and I have to pay for it myself, I would always fix plumbing, sticky doors or anything that has to do with safety," she says. When considering the apartment and the changes needed, it's the bathroom that needs the most work. "Think about your relationships, but also your health," says Laurelyn. "Do you really want to sabotage yourself?" 4:20 Whether she's visiting a friend's house or having diner with her husband, Laurelyn is constantly evaluating Feng Shui design. While she has opinions on nearly everything, the tricky part of her profession is that she doesn't give advice unless it's solicited. One area she does feel comfortable talking about is downtown Boulder—and it's got issues. A sculpture installed at the east end of the Pearl Street Mall near 15th Street, which shows a mountain lion and a pack of wolves chasing elk, does not bode well for Pearl Street merchants, says Laurelyn. "I was really worried when I saw that big elk, which represents nourishment and manifesting," she says. "There's a mountain lion coming right at it. This is not good—the wolves pursing elk." Also of concern, and the subject of a recent consultation, is the stopped clock that sits on top of the RTD bus station at Walnut and 14th streets. In general, stopped clocks have the impact of slowing down time and making life more difficult. "When I go to someone's house and they have an old clock and it's stopped for some reason, I say, 'That's either got to be kept up to speed, or get it out,'" she says. Even worse, both of the clock's hands are stuck on the number four, which is not a good number in Chinese, because it sounds close to the word meaning "death." For Western-minded folks, reading the clock renders an eternal "4:20." Sure, it's funny to the 18-year-old pot smoking set, but it's not exactly what you'd want to see from your million-dollar penthouse window. "It's also Hitler's birthday and Columbine," adds Laurelyn. Wanting to create an oasis in the middle of the city and rid her apartment of the 4:20 eyesore, Kathryn, a nearby apartment owner, worked with Laurelyn to fix the problem. "It hasn't only impacted me, but my neighbors—this has effected the entire building," says Kathryn. "The neighbors had to redo their place because of poor construction. We were supposed to end in December but ended in March. It was, like, out of our control." In addition to sacred symbols and mirrors applied before the carpet was laid down and the plumbing was finished, Laurelyn worked with Adue Interiors, a local interior design firm, to paint murals and complete the apartment's elegant furnishings. To mitigate the 4:20 problem, Laurelyn hung nine large crystals with precious and semi-precious stones along the east side of the apartment. "Nine is a very important number because it has the qualities of activation and completion. In Feng Shui, it's represented by all eight sides of the Bagua plus the center," she says. "It's a fascinating number because any numerological system, nine is revered as a powerful number." Having lived in her apartment for only a few weeks, Kathryn says there's still Feng Shui work to be done. She hopes to have Laurelyn paint a few more murals and looks forward to finishing the decorating. So, mission accomplished? "I find that if you feel energy at all, then you just feel good in this place," she says. Taking no chances It's been several weeks since my initial consultation, and I've arrived at Laurelyn's North Boulder condo to discuss the changes I've made to my apartment. My initial consultation left me feeling excited and energized to change my apartment for the better. I stripped the walls in my bathroom, took down the "pickpocket" sign and bought a chime for one of my doors. Per Laurelyn's suggestion, I also taped the Chinese symbol for prosperity behind a large mirror in my bedroom. Over time my enthusiasm dwindled, and I didn't make as many changes as I had hoped. Finding cheap, inexpensive chimes, mirrors and other Feng Shui cures takes time when you're operating on a limited budget. While money was preventing me from changing my apartment, time was a factor in cleaning the backyard. I'm just not sure I have the willpower to clean branches and debris—unless someone forces me to do it. "Have you noticed any changes?" asks Laurelyn. "I won a journalism award, which I wasn't expecting," I say. "I also ran a race last weekend and came in last." Laurelyn congratulated me and weighed my life's recent events against the few cures I had implemented. "The race could have something to do the unresolved plumbing issues," she says. "You may want to get that fixed." As we begin a tour of Laurelyn's house, she explains her own unique interpretation of Feng Shui philosophy. It's not for everyone, she says, but it has worked for her, bringing speaking engagements, students and an ever-expanding clientele roster. "I've gone over the top with a lot of things," she says. "I don't leave anything to chance." For more information about Laurelyn Baker and Feng Shui deisgn, go www.visionsofhome.net or call 303-449-6209. Upcoming Feng Shui classes in Boulder I Ching: The Roots of Feng Shui
Five Element Color Theory: Paint Your Home Beautiful with Feng Shui
Feng Shui Basics
Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com
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