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SO you think you are having a good New Year? Well, luckily, the Chinese New Year starts on February 7th of this year. And after researching a variety of resources, I have come up with a list of things we all should do prior to the New Year. Some of them I found very interesting as I was unaware of certain rituals people follow and lo and behold, they do make a lot of sense in ensuring a good and prosperous year ahead.

The Chinese and other followers of Feng Shui practices do a lot to prepare for the New Year. There is so much information out there I almost didn't know where to start. In my last article, I mention the amazing properties of Sea Salt and the article prior to that talked about incense - if you are interested, here is some very affordable incense I use for purification purposes: Morning Star Sandalwood Incense (50 Sticks)

Today I will help list things one ought to do PRIOR to the Chinese New Year.

By attacking some of these chores, as they will be for some, starting this process now will help ensure you have completed them by February 7th. So do yourself a favor and get out your calendar. Mark down the calendar when the Chinese New Year will be. Oddly enough, I have found several dates for the Chinese New Year - and I know they celebrate all week, so it was confusing to me as well. I have read it starts on the 4th, the 5th, the 7th and 8th. What gives with that? Maybe they wish to start celebrating early or making sure we have all completed the tasks at hand prior to the Chinese New Year.

What I have read has consistently mentioned the importance of completing these task prior to the start of the Chinese New year since you don't wish to bring any of the "bad luck" you may have had with you forward to the New Year - so here goes anything and everything....

Use your calendar to help mark down the necessary tasks I am about to mention will help you keep on track of this project - and hey who doesn't enjoy a calm and organized living space?

Clearing up the Clutter

Yes, I know I discussed this before, but it really is the most important task of all. And why bother you may ask? But getting rid of things that are no longer needed in your home will allow for new things to come into your home this includes most importantly good chi. As of today, we really have only three more weeks along with a couple of days to get these task completed, hey please do not think I have it all together either - I too must do a lot of work. Writing this article I am sure is cathartic for me in reminding me what I actually will need to accomplish for me to also ensure good luck for the coming Chinese New Year.

While you start these tasks, remind yourself frequently you are removing any unwanted negative energies and wash your hands frequently. You will see it will get easier as you go along through the piles of debris. In fact you will be amazed as to what you have collected over time.

You are going to need the following items:

• garbage bags
• incense - burning
• nice happy music you enjoy
• lights turned on
• cleaning products, to wash your windows, dust your furniture, vacuum/mop to clean the floors -especially the dust bunnies under the bed!

Bedroom:

Starting with this room might be the easiest, since when you start with the other rooms, you will have created a serene place to relax once you are finished and it will help start the process to have all the other rooms in your home clutter free. Get out garbage bags. One bag is for donating items. The other(s) for trash. Hey, you have seen enough of those TV shows that help people who are totally disorganized. And you can see what they go through, usually they never go back to their tired and disorganized ways. And hey, how many times have you bought something only to realize you had a duplicate already? It's a waste of money - and who wants that? No one.

Starting in the closet:

1. Donate any clothes you simply have not worn for a year.
2. Throw out any that are stained, torn, ripped, faded, etc. It is auspicious to only wear clothes that are clean, unstained and in good shape. Wearing torn and ripped clothes only brings in ripped and torn energy - you want that?!? Exactly what I thought, no, of course not.
3. Look at those shoes too. Do any need to be repaired - well get them repaired! Toss any so old, they are screaming to be let free of their burden. Are any too small, hurt your feet - off they go for donation.
4. Put back that you wish to keep in an organized fashion - you will now know where to find anything you need in your bedroom closet.

Windows and walls

1. Wash windows inside and outside (if you can) - as this will allow the light to come in more freely - it's scary to see the amount of dirt which accumulates within the year. Vacuum/sweep the walls for any cobwebs or dust bunnies and do not forget the corners and behind any doors.

Furniture and Bed

1. Clean thoroughly all furniture with polish, dust that TV, etc.
2. Organize any wires hanging around the TV and equipment.
3. Get under that bed and get any dust bunnies from underneath it. If you use under the bed for storage, now is a good time to look through those boxes, and remove/toss and donate any unnecessary items.
4. Lastly, move around the furniture just a bit. Even an inch one way or another will help stimulate chi and assist in refreshing the chi in your sacred bedroom.

Good practices for your bedroom

1. Do not have any mirrors facing the bed as this promotes outsides influences (infidelity) in one's relationship
2. Do not have the bed where your feet hang out facing the door out. This is very bad luck as it is thought to "send you to the other world"
3. Keep out any aquariums in your bedroom - again it soaks up any good chi.
4. Keeping a symbolic turtle and placing it on your dresser for example is said to being good luck this next Chinese New Year.
5. TV's are said to be like mirrors, and this is a tough one, since so many of us fall asleep with the TV on, but it is said, it should be covered up when one goes to sleep since it reflects - much like a mirror - see number 1 above.
6. Hanging crystals in the windows helps bring in good luck as the multi colors reflected from the sun help new and good chi to come into your bedroom.
7. Open the windows wide at least once a week, to not only allow fresh air into the room, but it also helps any stagnate chi get the heck out of your bedroom.
8. Selecting the right kind of art is very important to Feng Shui practitioners, make sure any art on the walls especially of your bedroom, are happy and joyful looking. In other words, a picture of a horse reared with a grimacing face of fear would not at all be auspicious nor would it bring any good luck.
9. If you are single - try and not make it too feminine, and by the way having room in your closet and drawers will actually help bring in the room for your new partners clothes. If they are stuffed to the gill, where the heck will you have room in your life for a partner?
10. And lastly remember to keep this place serene. This is your night sanctuary. A place where you should have only good things happen it.

I have already attacked most of my bedroom, though I do still need to go through the storage boxes but this have to wait for later today. As always, stay tuned, my next article will discuss the living rooms and hallways.

Today's Subject: Sea Salt and Attracting Wealth Tips

Hello there once again! I hope you enjoyed yesterday's posting that mentioned a few ideas to help bring in prosperity and more love into your life. I actually went out yesterday and purchased sea salt to help clean my crystals and add good luck to my home. I will share more about the ideas of Sea Salt and its purifying abilities among with sharing even more ideas in bringing wealth into your life.

So what's the big deal about sea salt, and won't any kind of salt help? Nope. Sorry to inform you, but it has to be sea salt. It has to do with the negative ions from the moving sea that will help stimulate negative chi to move on and help attract the good kind of chi these exercises are determined to offer you. Table salt simply does not have these purifying properties.

So where do we start today? Let's first start with getting you some sea salt. Click here for the lowest prices I found on the web: Sea Salt, 2 lb. Sea salt is an all important tool in applying Feng Shui exercises and tasks to your rituals in help healing and clearing while cleaning chi around you and your home. You can find sea salt at your local grocery store, and do yourself a favor, do not try and get around by using table salt or even kosher salt - both of which I love using in my cooking - but this is for Feng Shui use. Of course, by all means, if you are buying the sea salt, use it freely in your cooking. I prefer to use the course sea salt as with all the types of salts I may use.

So you have now got your Sea Salt, what next? Here are a few tips on how Feng Shui practitioners recommend their clients to use in helping bring their clients luck and wealth.

1. Place a teaspoon of sea salt and wrap it in plastic and place in your wallet in a secret compartment. Replace every ten days to ensure its potency. This is said to bring the owner of the wallet wealth...
2. Place sea salt on the center and back side of your entrance door, this is said to also bring luck and wealth to all those who enter - and yes the changing it every ten days rule also applies here as well in ensuring its potency of bringing wealth luck and good chi.
3. Also if you really are in a jam, placing sea salt in all the corners of your house - simply use little plastic containers - say the ones you may get when you ask for salad dressing on the side at a restaurant. Place the sea salt in them, cover them if you can, then place them in every corner wherever two walls meet. You may need an extra box of sea salt for this - but since sea salt is relatively inexpensive and you are in need of attracting wealth, this really helps absorb any negative energy you house may be harboring. Again, change every ten days.

The best time to do any or all of these tasks is on the start of the new moon. Since energy grows as the new moons grows into a full moon, where as energy dies down after the full moon.

There are many other uses for sea salt besides making your dishes taste great while helping bring wealth luck to you and into your home. Remember that yesterday I discussed the importance of cleaning up and removing any and all clutter from your home just prior to the Chinese New Year. This is also the best time to take any crystals, quartz and stones you may use to bring good energy into your home.

Wash them with soap, then, place in a bowl of salted water made from sea salt. If you can, even better is to let them soak overnight under the light of the full moon. The next day, you should also allow at least four hours in the sun to finish the cleansing process. This is said to remove last year's energies and replenish to good chi in your crystals and stones you have placed in your home.

The use of sun catchers also work great as do crystals that reflect all the colors of the rainbow. By hanging these in your windows where the sun shines in, the multi-faceted colors help keep and bring good chi into your home. This is especially important in your home office and bedroom along with your kitchen areas of your home.

As of this month's new moon, I did several of the rituals I have already mentioned here. I placed a dark blue mug and filled it to the brim with sea salt and placed it in my kitchen in a dry area which is said to bring happiness to couples. I also grabbed a little sea salt and placed it in plastic and placed it in my wallet. I also marked on my calendar when the ten days will be up so that I can recall to change the sea salt. I also did a few other rituals which I have been doing for months and that is going around on Fridays with burning incense to each of the rooms in my place and blessing each room and all who enters with health, happiness and harmony along with prosperity.

Any effect so far? Well, yes! I am pleased I was finally able to purchase today some very needed domain names prior to them being picked up by others. Some of these will be very important to me in the coming months as I have several projects I am now organizing and the need for these domain names in setting up these works online is extremely important. My outlook is very good and confidence high. I also noticed that my fellow and love of my life was suggesting new and interesting dinner ideas to help spruce up our dinners at home last night. Our relationship is smoother than ever and I am more confident with every day passing that I am in a "right and good" relationship that is healthy and harmonious. And hey, who doesn't want that in their life?

As for now, I am off to prepare fo

Today's Subject: Sea Salt and Attracting Wealth Tips

Hello there once again! I hope you enjoyed yesterday's posting that mentioned a few ideas to help bring in prosperity and more love into your life. I actually went out yesterday and purchased sea salt to help clean my crystals and add good luck to my home. I will share more about the ideas of Sea Salt and its purifying abilities among with sharing even more ideas in bringing wealth into your life.

So what's the big deal about sea salt, and won't any kind of salt help? Nope. Sorry to inform you, but it has to be sea salt. It has to do with the negative ions from the moving sea that will help stimulate negative chi to move on and help attract the good kind of chi these exercises are determined to offer you. Table salt simply does not have these purifying properties.

So where do we start today? Let's first start with getting you some sea salt. Click here for the lowest prices I found on the web: Sea Salt, 2 lb. Sea salt is an all important tool in applying Feng Shui exercises and tasks to your rituals in help healing and clearing while cleaning chi around you and your home. You can find sea salt at your local grocery store, and do yourself a favor, do not try and get around by using table salt or even kosher salt - both of which I love using in my cooking - but this is for Feng Shui use. Of course, by all means, if you are buying the sea salt, use it freely in your cooking. I prefer to use the course sea salt as with all the types of salts I may use.

So you have now got your Sea Salt, what next? Here are a few tips on how Feng Shui practitioners recommend their clients to use in helping bring their clients luck and wealth.

1. Place a teaspoon of sea salt and wrap it in plastic and place in your wallet in a secret compartment. Replace every ten days to ensure its potency. This is said to bring the owner of the wallet wealth...
2. Place sea salt on the center and back side of your entrance door, this is said to also bring luck and wealth to all those who enter - and yes the changing it every ten days rule also applies here as well in ensuring its potency of bringing wealth luck and good chi.
3. Also if you really are in a jam, placing sea salt in all the corners of your house - simply use little plastic containers - say the ones you may get when you ask for salad dressing on the side at a restaurant. Place the sea salt in them, cover them if you can, then place them in every corner wherever two walls meet. You may need an extra box of sea salt for this - but since sea salt is relatively inexpensive and you are in need of attracting wealth, this really helps absorb any negative energy you house may be harboring. Again, change every ten days.

The best time to do any or all of these tasks is on the start of the new moon. Since energy grows as the new moons grows into a full moon, where as energy dies down after the full moon.

There are many other uses for sea salt besides making your dishes taste great while helping bring wealth luck to you and into your home. Remember that yesterday I discussed the importance of cleaning up and removing any and all clutter from your home just prior to the Chinese New Year. This is also the best time to take any crystals, quartz and stones you may use to bring good energy into your home.

Wash them with soap, then, place in a bowl of salted water made from sea salt. If you can, even better is to let them soak overnight under the light of the full moon. The next day, you should also allow at least four hours in the sun to finish the cleansing process. This is said to remove last year's energies and replenish to good chi in your crystals and stones you have placed in your home.

The use of sun catchers also work great as do crystals that reflect all the colors of the rainbow. By hanging these in your windows where the sun shines in, the multi-faceted colors help keep and bring good chi into your home. This is especially important in your home office and bedroom along with your kitchen areas of your home.

As of this month's new moon, I did several of the rituals I have already mentioned here. I placed a dark blue mug and filled it to the brim with sea salt and placed it in my kitchen in a dry area which is said to bring happiness to couples. I also grabbed a little sea salt and placed it in plastic and placed it in my wallet. I also marked on my calendar when the ten days will be up so that I can recall to change the sea salt. I also did a few other rituals which I have been doing for months and that is going around on Fridays with burning incense to each of the rooms in my place and blessing each room and all who enters with health, happiness and harmony along with prosperity.

Any effect so far? Well, yes! I am pleased I was finally able to purchase today some very needed domain names prior to them being picked up by others. Some of these will be very important to me in the coming months as I have several projects I am now organizing and the need for these domain names in setting up these works online is extremely important. My outlook is very good and confidence high. I also noticed that my fellow and love of my life was suggesting new and interesting dinner ideas to help spruce up our dinners at home last night. Our relationship is smoother than ever and I am more confident with every day passing that I am in a "right and good" relationship that is healthy and harmonious. And hey, who doesn't want that in their life?

As for now, I am off to prepare for his returning home today as we are off to Pennsylvania tomorrow and look forward to having a weekend away (our first serious road trip) with another couple we enjoy spending time with. I am sure we are all to have fun! I'll need to pack some of my sea salt as my boyfriend and I are planning in taking purifying baths together...ahh the delight of a bathtub and the cleansing properties of sea salt! More to follow next week and as I always say...stay tuned...

Divaliscious Feng Shui Tips

Today's comment is not a rant at all, but in fact a rave. A rave on Feng Shui practices and behaviors. I have been applying Feng Shui practices to my business and to my home and personal well being for over three years and can say it does work. It definitely does work and does wonders for one's personal spirit.

But that means you must be at one with yourself. So many of us are too tired to apply anymore energy into anything but the essential tasks at hand from getting the kids to school then running off to work, to dealing with the late report that was due a few days ago to a grumbling boss only to come home to a house that you thought you cleaned only a few days ago, and somehow a tornado has hit the inside of the house.

Well just reading and typing that last paragraph, I know I hit home with several of you, maybe you are experiencing more debt than you would like, a broken relationship, etc. I have found a variety of useful websites so that you can get your Fen Shui on the fly and not be bothered with spending the extra dollars and time that we barely have to expend ourselves with to help assist you with your Feng Shui well being.

I promise you will at least enjoy doing some of the so called exercises in and around your home, and will share where I got this information from so that you too can get the books I have found so useful and this article will probably be at least a three parter. You simply cannot begin to get all the details one needs to have a more zen-filled life that brings more harmony, health and prosperity into your life in one simple article, let alone let people understand the workings of ying and yang that I am sure people have done several dissertations on.

Some of these suggestions are going to be so obvious, you may think why bother? But everything is interconnected - and hey you learned that one in your Freshman year in college! - So here goes anything...and well everything.

Before you start - some pointers on Feng Shui

Feng Shui can be practiced by anyone and everyone. In most cases, it does not cost a thing or can cost very little investment. You can do a lot of the interesting practices to help bring a better balance to your life. I would certainly assure you that your attitude will certainly have a lot to do with the success as you practice some of these interesting 'chores'. Hey who doesn't need more health, harmony and happiness in their lives as we live in these trying times?

I will also note that some of these practices or 'rituals' is what they really are, are going to sound quite silly. But if it's to promote all things good into your life, why not give it a shot and a good try? What have you got to lose? Nothing!

1) For starters, as you start these tasks of clearing away the clutter in your home, wash your hands often, as you attack a pile of papers that need to be addressed or any other task suggested here, remind yourself you are ridding your home of stagnant chi and you are creating a harmonious energy flowing home environment. This will only help your momentum keep going.

2) I would also suggest to put on all the lights in your home while you do this. Brighten up your world. This also helps see what you are doing, to locate those dust bunnies that just have to go while literally enlightening your home environment. Isn't is amazing for whens it's raining outside how just putting on the lights makes you feel safer more lively in your home? This applies very well when you are clearing your home for a better energy of chi to flow smoothly throughout your home which is the whole point of this exercise.

3) Open your windows. Let the fresh air flow throughout your home. Use of a fan may help for those that only have windows on one side say like in an apartment. The idea here is to have the air circulate and be refreshed. This brings in fresh chi into your home, which is essential as you move things about.

4) I would also burn incense as well while doing these chores, use something like sandlewood that helps to purify the surroundings.

Chine New Year will start on February 5th of this year.
While researching this article, I learned a few things that people do and not do as the New Year approaches, and since some of us are behind in our tasks, I mention them here now in January so that we can get ahead on them slightly since some of the tasks at hand will take more time than you anticipated. But I assure you, as you start to do some of these things around your house, you will notice subtle differences in your attitude (it will become more loving and generous) the energy of your home will greatly change (happier and livelier energy creating a harmonious environment for all to enjoy) and lastly all this work will get easier as you progress.

Many people who follow Feng Shui practices, will do a complete clean up of their home from top to bottom for when the Chinese New Year hits. This includes moving even is so very slightly the furniture that hasn't been moved at all for a year. The main idea is to move the stagnant energy that might be lingering in your home from the previous year. And even moving them literally once inch one way or another will help change the energy.

Here are just a few of my fave Fen Shui Rituals to get the fen shui ball rolling for this New Year...


1) Your Entry into Your Home/Apartment:
This space should be free of clutter. This helps good chi enter the home. This means no stacked piles of papers that need to be recycled, no pile of shoes littering the floor. In fact, haven't you noticed at least in the movies how people take off their shoes when entering an Asian house. You do not wish to bring in any "bad luck" or bad chi that came from the outside into your home. So start wearing slippers and shoes that are only used inside the house. The good part of this is that your floors will stay cleaner - that I am sure of.
The other reason besides helping keep your house cleaner, having the entry way into your home being clutter free is to help the good chi roam around this area. You will see this issue being pointed out again and again when it comes to applying feng shui practices in your home and in your office areas.
Now, some of us have kids and the entry way is where we leave all sorts of things that are needed for school, do your best to create bins for them to leave their school bags in or a sitting bench that has storage, etc.

2) Creating a Loving Bedroom Space
This one is interesting and is quite simple. Mind you I will be sharing many more tips about the bedroom and for each room in your house, I simply wanted to list a few tips here to help get you started. Make sure any mirrors in your bedroom do not directly face your bed. Now what you do with watching yourself and your partner on your own time is one thing. But when you are not doing "it" in this way (which is none of my feng shui business quite frankly) make sure you face the mirrors away from looking at your bed. This helps keep matrimonial faithfulness. Or in other words, having a mirror facing your bed can actually bring outside energies into entering your relationship.

Trust me, this one works. As I have experienced the mirror issue vs. marriage faithfulness personally. Hence, why I am mentioning it here first.

Also keep the bedroom clutter free. This is to be a restful space. Sweep under that bed and get all those cobwebs out from under it and just watch the change in your love life!

3) Keeping that Kitchen Clean and Clutter Free
We spend so much time in our kitchens, this is essential place to start allowing good chi to roam free around your living space. As this will help affect everything. Attack that fridge, I do this every week actually, and I really dislike doing the dishes, but as I look at the pile, I always remind myself of its positive energies if its clutter free and clean.

Always throw out old food that has gone bad, by keeping them in your fridge you are only helping stagnant chi remain and grow like the mold on that cheese that's been sitting there on the back top shelf of your refrigerator.

Do your best to create a space where all papers go and come. This would not be in the kitchen if you could handle it, my feng shui suggestion. Its amazing how we collect paper in our world. So create a place in your home where these will stay so that you have only one place to attack your paper pile - and cleaning this pile should be done weekly if not everyday.

4) Attracting more wealth into your life and career
There are so many rituals to help bring wealth into your life, but I will only mention a few here as I will list many more in the next part of this article.

1) I love this one: Take some incense, light it, and using a figure eight or rather an infinity sign on its side, go from one room to the next letting the smoke hit every corner of every room. As you go about the rooms in a clockwise direction you are to say a mantra for the things you wish to materialize. You are to do this seven times, and yes its going to be silly, but I tell you this works. It's been amazing when I needed more clients and had a cash flow problem, I would do this ritual and literally within hours I had results, in some cases, I had results in minutes as the clients would be calling me for orders....

The mantra can be something like this, and I quote: "I bless this house with loving energy for all that enters, and who live here, including (list occupants and don't forget the pets). I bless myself, and ..... with prosperity, health and happiness. The happiness, healthiness and prosperity comes to me now."

And as I mentioned, circle the inside of every room clockwise with the lit incense while saying this mantra. Remember the mantra can be anything (positive) that you would like in your life, say a new job, a better job, a happier home environment, etc. just make sure you know its possible, have faith, yes, faith regardless of your religion or lack of in knowing all is possible if you simply ask for it with the right attitude. Help yourself and you will receive help.

2) Another is using Sea Salt filled in a black or dark navy blue ceramic mug and placing it in your kitchen. Change this every ten days and start this on the new moon. This practice is to help kill any bad luck you may be having and is said to help seriously bring happiness to couples.

3) Lastly, and I love this one, get some dirt yes earth dirt from someone who is wealthy - or a pebble could work too, and place this in a little plastic baggy and keep it in your wallet. This is said to help bring you wealth like this wealthy person has. But you must make sure you have their permission - otherwise it is like stealing - and well, that's doesn't go over well with Buddha.

Well what else can I say? But, Good Luck! And let me know if you tried any of these rituals and their workings on your life and career.