Most people have heard of Feng Shui (pronounced "fuhng shway") and may understand a few general concepts, but often don’t know how to apply it in their lives. Did you know that Feng Shui is all about prana, or energy? In this series of posts, I will provide simple, actionable steps to get the energy of your home working in your favor.

First, a quick intro on Feng Shui. "Feng" means wind, and "Shui" means water. As my teacher, Master Stephen Co, describes it, this is "a poetic way to describe fluid life force and prana." Prana is everywhere, either flowing freely or being hindered by blockages. This is true for both our bodies and our homes. As our mothers used to say, "cluttered room, cluttered mind." When energy flows fluidly in your home, it helps create the life you want, without obstacles.

​Today, let's look at one of the simplest yet most important Feng Shui principles you can adopt, focusing on the bathroom. Here are two habits everyone can benefit from:

Energy flows through our homes, and we live with a certain amount of prosperity energy that fluctuates over time. This energy circulates constantly, but toilets and drains act as escape hatches. Prosperity energy, in particular, can escape through these drains. By simply closing the toilet lid and keeping bathroom doors closed, you retain prosperity energy instead of letting it leak away. In plain terms, don’t let your money flush itself down the toilet.

​Don’t just take my word for it—try it! This isn’t the only factor in generating prosperity, but every bit helps. Keeping toilet lids and bathroom doors closed can help retain prosperity energy in your life. The more prosperity energy you have, the more money you attract, enabling you to do more good in the world.

You can't go anywhere without a map. Times have changed over the last 30 years. Instead of AAA travel maps, road atlases, and even MapQuest, we can simply say, "Siri, take me to Aspen." Regardless, we rely on maps to get where we need to go. But there's something even more important than a map: the destination.

This may seem like the simplest topic I've ever written about, but stay with me. In my experience as a healer and coach, not having a clear destination is the single biggest hurdle people face when trying to improve their lives. It's human nature to focus on what we don't like. We can write novels about what's not working for us, often dwelling on our dissatisfaction for days, weeks, or even lifetimes.

The first and most crucial step in making any change is to establish a target. This is true in business, physical health, relationships—everything. To change our situation, we must stop wallowing in our current circumstances and clearly define what we want to experience instead.

Master Choa Kok Sui calls this "Constancy of Aim," and it's critically important. Many people have been conditioned to accept their situation as a given. They say, "I'm this way because of blah blah blah," using countless excuses to justify their state. Instead, we should use our minds to define where we want to be and then work towards that goal.

I've talked to countless people who struggle to define how they want their life to be different. They just know they want change. The power lies in dreaming. Dream in your car, while doing dishes, or while staring into space. Constantly dream. Dream about the "impossible." Make your dream so big that it seems crazy. Believe that there's a path to your dream, even if you can't see it right now. Once you've identified your dream and energized it mentally, achieving it becomes inevitable. The energy will start to build, and things will fall into place.

​"Constancy" is also important. We must work diligently and keep our goals clear, taking actions that support our dream. We'll discuss that effort in a later post, but the most important thing you can do today is dare to dream. What are your dreams?

There's an interesting phenomenon that occurs between the ages of 0 and 5, which, if left unchecked, can impact the rest of our lives. During this formative period, when our brains are still developing, we adopt certain behaviors and emotions as survival mechanisms. This is a well-documented psychological concept.

Consider a young child growing up with a caretaker who is depressed or prone to violent anger. As newborns, we are innocent, pure, and impressionable. Our intelligence at this age is driven by a simple motive: survival. We instinctively know that we rely on our caretakers for food, cleanliness, protection, and love.

Here's the fascinating part: at this tender age, our brains understand that to survive, we must align ourselves with our caretakers. This means that some of the traits we carry into adulthood are not just inherent to us—they are adopted from our caretakers as a means of survival.

​As young children, we make critical decisions:

These decisions, made unconsciously, are beyond our capacity to fully understand at that age. If you were raised in a loving, supportive environment, this mechanism works in your favor. Your needs are met without much struggle. However, if you grew up in a challenging environment, you might have adopted survival traits that no longer serve you, such as people-pleasing, depression, anger, lack of accountability, or addiction. These traits were modeled for you, and you unconsciously decided they were necessary to belong and survive.

The power lies in awareness. Now that you understand this phenomenon, you can choose a different path. You are not doomed to be angry, insecure, or alone. As an adult, you have the ability to make choices that align with who you want to be, rather than being defined by how you were shaped.

​​Take control of your narrative and embrace the possibility of change.