Feng Shui for the
Freelance Translator
By Carolina Villegas,
Spanish Translator
www.in2spanish.com
cvillegas@in2spanish.com
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Feng shui is the ancient art of placement
and design used to balance and enhance the energy flow in living environments. The Chinese
have relied on feng shui for over 3,000 years to assure an abundance of wealth and love in
their lives. Feng shui experts believe that by creating harmony and balance in your
physical environment you will attract good luck and prosperity in all areas of your life.
So what does this have to do with
freelance translators? By following some basic principles of feng shui, you may improve
your productivity and career prospects as well as enhance your success, creativity, and
wealth. Specifically, you can use feng shui to determine where to set up your home office,
the best placement of your desk, the use of color in your office, and incorporate
"cures" into your home office to change the flow of blocked energy. Check out
these tips for positioning your office for success:
1. Set up your home office in the
front of the house to take advantage of the flow of energy, since energy enters
your home through the front door. If you're in the back, it's more difficult to receive
any energy. This will also be beneficial if you will be receiving clients and conducting
business with others in your home office. Once energy enters through the front door it
flows up, so it is preferable to be on the entry level or above, as opposed to a level
below the main floor of the house. It's difficult for energy to move down into the
basement.
2. Look at the position of your
desk. Sit so that you face the doorway or room entrance. Sitting with your back
to the door means you don't know if someone is approaching - so you are more vulnerable to
surprises. Because you can't see what's coming, this vulnerability may trigger unnecessary
fears, or "negative energy". The best position for your desk is in the corner
that is diagonally opposite the office door. If you can't move your desk to face the room
entrance, put up a small convex mirror in the corner of your monitor so that you can see
behind you. Have a wall behind your chair, rather than a window, for symbolic support. If
you have no choice, keep the blind down and make sure to sit in a tall-backed chair for
support.
3. Be comfortable with your
computer equipment. Do not get stuck with the keyboard and mouse that come with
your PC: replace them. Both need to be ergonomically friendly, with curvy shapes that
benefit the flow of energy through your fingers and hands. You also need to position your
computer monitor to avoid any hint of glare. Glare is very negative from a feng shui point
of view. It interferes with concentration and peace of mind.
4. Keep your workspace clean and
clutter-free in order to allow a free flow of chi throughout the room (i.e. the
life force or vital energy that links people with their surroundings). Keep the cords to
your office equipment well hidden.
5. Improve lighting. Get
a really good desk lamp for your work area. The nice pool of light that you have with a
desk lamp brings in energy, and really helps your concentration and focus.
6. Use feng shui enhancements to
further your personal and business goals. Not only should you arrange your office
so that the energy flows around it, but it is also very important to know your directions
- north, south, east and west. Use a compass if the directions are not easily discernible.
Why care about directions? If you aspire
to be better known in your profession, you need some sort of enhancement. The best
position for your home office is facing south - this governs your fame area. Or, you could
position your home study facing northeast - this governs your education and knowledge
area. If these positions aren't possible, try placing your desk in a south or northeast
corner.
The north area of your office is the one
associated with career so energize it in some way. A water feature is a good idea as it
symbolizes movement and promotes yang energy.
Fresh flowers on the east side of your
desk will increase your yang energy but don't let them restrict your sight or movement and
as soon as they start to wilt and die - change them.
Alternatively, a small plant in the
southeast corner of your desk attracts prosperity, which can only be a good thing for a
company. Palms are particularly good because they spread out at the top and as such will
spread out energy.
Use crystals to energize areas of your
business life. A round crystal placed on the southwest corner of your desk will promote
harmonious relationships with your colleagues, as this is usually a good area for
relationships of any kind. A faceted, spherical crystal hung in the window encourages
movement and activity.
An illuminated and rotating globe in the
fame area, to the south of your office, will encourage bigger markets.
Have some inspiring art, preferably a
landscape including water (but make sure any mountains are in the background) on the wall
of your office but avoid abstract art. Fruit, flowers and fish in pictures also promote
good feng shui but avoid wild animals.
7. Clear the effects of
electromagnetic stress from your computer by taking frequent breaks. Plus you can
place a clear quartz or rose quartz crystal next to it to absorb negative emissions.
8. Don't sleep in the same room
where your computer is. Electronic items such as computers, fax machines or even
television sets can produce too much yang energy and disturb sleep patterns. Yang is the
opposite of yin, which encourages rest and relaxation. Keep your home-based office out of
the bedroom. If you don't have a choice, use a room divider to separate your office from
your sleep area. At the very least, if it's near your bed, cover your PC with an
attractive cloth when it's not in use, or hide the office area with a screen at night so
that you don't mix energies when you move from work to sleep.
9. Place plants in your office.
A plant will bring life into your workspace and will also absorb toxins in the air. Cactus
and bamboo are plants symbolize good fortune and are ideal for placement in the home
office. If you have views of harmful elements from your window, you can reduce them by the
strategic placement of wind chimes or plants. Any sharp-leaved plants are good feng shui
in this area, as they are believed to deter harmful influences. Peace lilies and a cactus
called Cirrus Peruvianus absorb negative emissions.
You can use these tips as a simple
introduction to this ancient science. Feng shui will help make your workspace more
comfortable and even more enticing. If you feel relaxed and at ease in your workspace,
creative energy can flow and your overall productivity will improve. If nothing else,
you'll simply feel better or more positive while working and you'll reduce the amount of
clutter in your workspace.
Internet resources
The Feng Shui Office
Excerpted from Feng Shui Dos & Taboos, by Angi Ma Wong.
http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/144?print=1
Feng Shui - Create Prosperity at
the Office by Clearing the Clutter by: Jean Hanson
http://www.work-at-home-index.net/fengshui2.html
Lillian Too - The world's most
popular writer on feng shui
www.lillian-too.com
Healthy Computing
http://www.healthycomputing.com/
Using Feng Shui at Work: Private
Offices and Cubicles
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-1113.html
Feng Shui for Modern Living
http://www.fengshui-magazine.com
IVillage Quiz: Does your home
have good Feng Shui?
http://quiz.ivillage.co.uk/uk_astrology/tests/feng.htm
Beautiful American Living: Feng
Shui
http://www.beautiful-american-living.com/feng_shui.html
Change your life with color Feng
Shui
http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/bms/966
The Ancient Art of Feng Shui
http://www.viewzone.com/fengshui.html
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