It has long been my belief that we, as humans, are born with a clean, pure slate. As we grow, we adapt. We’re like sponges and soak up what we’re exposed to. We take on beliefs and behaviors of our parents, family, extended family, community, school, and spiritual community, etc. As we grow, we slowly lose contact with that pure inner being, our essence. However, our inner being never abandons us. Like a faithful friend, our true essence waits for us to recognize and embrace it.
Have you ever had a strong feeling that you just “know” something is “good” or “bad?” Have you ever made plans for something that you’ve thought you wanted and then, when faced with taking immediate action, you’re unable to follow-through? Have you ever met someone and instantly felt positive vibrations or negative vibrations?  That “knowing” and intense feeling is your inner being showing you your path. It’s your true essence making itself felt and known.  This inner compass is always there, guiding us to follow a path that is in our best interest. Sometimes it makes itself known with just a strong, steady sense of “knowing.” Sometime, it’s a gnawing feeling that we should or shouldn’t do something we’ve planned.
Perhaps you’ve heard people say, “follow your gut” or “listen to the little voice inside?” I believe those are ways some people refer to the inner being and true essence in each of us. Many times, our outer world, and often our very own mind, attempts to lead us down a path that’s not in our best interest. This happens frequently when we get caught up in the expectations of the world and of others. Those times when we focus more on what others think and want, rather than taking time for quiet re-charging and focusing on what it is that feeds our soul. That’s when we are likely to forget about our inner being for awhile and push full-steam ahead, until the “little voice inside” makes itself heard through persistent whisper and “knowing” or an intense “gnawing” feeling that won’t let you ignore it.
How do we get in touch and stay in touch with this essence? How do we keep our hectic world responsibilities from making so much “noise” that we don’t hear our own inner being when it speaks up?  Meditation has long been a prime connection for me.  Feng Shui has also helped me maintain my connection and communication with my inner being.  Feng Shui is a tool that allows me to ‘see’ and ‘connect’ with what the Universe/my inner being is attempting to guide me towards. I believe that the inner being in each of us is a direct connection to the Universe. 
This inner being, our true essence, is a real force. But it’s up against a strong outer force. The outer force, the outer world we all must function in and be a part of, often overwhelms us with noise of expectations and “shoulds.” We live on “the fast track.” We go and go and go because we “have to.” At least that’s what we think is true. But, how many times have you recently talked with friends and heard at least a couple of people say, “I wish I had time for....” or “It feels like time is flying. I wish I could slow things down.” or “I just don’t have time for myself”?  Those all too frequent statements shine the light on the state of our world. The outer world mantra seems to be “Keep Moving!” “Don’t Slow Down!” “You’ll Never Get Ahead If You Rest!”  We have to make the decision to listen to our bodies and our inner voices.
When we feel like things are going too fast, we’re the only ones who can slow things down for us and for our families. We have to say this is “enough.” We have to make the time for ourselves, and model this behavior for our children. If we don’t teach them to make self-care a priority, who will? As humans, we have an opportunity to develop and be in touch with the inner being and true essence in each of us.
Tune in to the little voice, the gnawing feeling in your chest or stomach. Pay attention to what your body and heart are saying to you. Pay attention to unusual sensations. The forms of “communication” by the inner being can vary greatly from person to person. Have you ever walked into a place new to you (a friend’s home, a restaurant, a workplace, etc.) and immediately felt tingly or as some say ‘hairs on my neck and arms stood up’....that’s another example of the inner being trying to communicate. My communication usually manifests as tightness or a knot in my stomach. That feeling tells me I need to be paying close attention and stop before moving forward or taking action. Sometimes I get a feeling of intense knowing. I’ve learned to pay attention to all of those feelings, no matter what someone else might say or think of me. 
It’s easy to say “pay attention” but not so easy to do when we’ve been marching to the beat of the outer world’s drum for a long time. How do we tune in to the beat of our own drum? One way is to explore and look for tools to help you slow down, rest, and focus. As I mentioned, meditation has been very important to developing my connection with my true essence. If you want to try meditation, set up a location within your home for a quiet retreat. It doesn’t have to be big or fancy, just a quiet, comfortable space that is peaceful, calm, and conducive to meditation. Use an app like Insight Timer that helps you keep track of time, and offers guided meditations; if that’s something you want or need.  Some people find that a walking meditation is easier and more beneficial. You can walk in your yard or at the park....wherever you feel calm and comfortable. Other tools that help us slow down and focus are yoga, tai chi, and astrology.
At age 39, when life as I knew it changed drastically, I was introduced to the astrological concept of the planet Uranus being in opposition to where it was located at my birth. As thankful as I am at finding yoga and meditation when I was 19, I am eternally grateful to Amy Volkers, a south Florida astrologer, for guiding me to understanding this ‘mid-life’ crisis point. My interpretation of the Uranus opposition is that, if we are not living in accordance with our inner being’s wishes for us, then during the late 30’s/early 40’s, life as we know it will crumble. I was a living example of this, having been a VP for a major bank with great responsibilities, a marriage, and all the ‘finer’ things in life. But, I walked away from it all. You see, I had an inner longing.
On the outside, it looked like I had ‘made it,’ but inside there was a vast void. Some of the happiest times of my life have been when I have released possessions, lived minimally, studied and practiced yoga and meditation, and ultimately discovered Feng Shui. My inner being had led me to real estate early on and throughout my career – from sales, to appraising, to buying and selling, land development, building, design and renovating. I believe that was all preparation so that I could understand the art of placement – Feng Shui –from all perspectives. By understanding the physical, the next dimension was the spiritual or esoteric side of buildings.
I’ve also studied dowsing, a technique used to get in touch with the earth’s energies. Many ancient buildings were built with consideration for the earth energies running underneath the properties. That means that the buildings were created in ways that allowed and fostered connection with the earth’s inner being or true essence. In addition, I’ve studied Building Biology and it’s helped me understand how the materials we use in building a structure or creating our space can affect our emotional, mental, and physical health.  My study of Feng Shui, Dowsing, and Building Biology allow me to get in touch with the earth’s inner being, as well as helping my clients get in touch with their inner being or true essence. Bringing this knowledge and these tools together allows us to create buildings and spaces with natural materials, with respect for the earth’s energies, and the life flow, or Chi, of the space. All this is helpful so that we can connect with our true essence and nurture it as we live and work in that space. Using the tools like meditation, yoga, tai chi, and astrology helps us to slow down and focus on the little voice inside....the inner being, our true essence and what it’s trying to tell us.  Using Feng Shui, Building Biology, and Dowsing helps us create a physical space that supports our inner beings.
And then, it all comes together in unity and wholeness.
As I mentioned in the closing weeks of September and in last week’s blog, October is a month of transition from the Yang/hot active summer to the Yin/introspective connecting time of winter. As we begin our nesting and preparation for the winter, I suggest that you take a moment to pause, focus, and consider what your inner being is saying to you.
Does your outer life reflect what your true essence really wants? If it doesn’t, how will you make the changes you want/need to honor your inner being? How will you nourish your true self? With peace, calm, focus, and mindfulness? With books, and music, and like-minded friends who are supportive and also yearning to listen to and heed the call of their inner beings? The chill of fall and the cold of winter are natural times of darkness and stillness for a reason. Let’s put the wonderful and beautiful forces of nature to good use.

Namaste,
Carol

“Yeah we all shine on, like the moon, and the stars, and the sun.”
~ John Lennon

My theme this month is “Harvest.” How appropriate that, this afternoon at 3:05 pm EDT, the Harvest Moon will shine. The earth, moon, and sun move into a straight alignment so that the earth-facing side of the moon is completely illuminated by sunlight. (It’s so bright, it can appear to be full a day or so before and after the actual full moon.) The Harvest Moon, technically the full moon appearing closest in time to the autumnal equinox, gets its name because of the brilliant natural light that shines on the crops ,giving farmers more time at the end of the day to harvest.
That all makes sense, even when you think about the Harvest Moon in terms of Feng Shui. According to the teachings of Feng Shui, each season and seasonal transition has an element. This Harvest Moon time is the brief transitional time of Earth Energy that ushers in the Metal Energy of the Fall season in October. Just as the Harvest Moon literally shines bright, beautiful light on the crops, it also shines light on our lives. This transitional time allows for a period of introspection giving us an opportunity to look closely at our lives and contemplate what we’ve done and the seeds we’ve sown earlier in the year. In essence, the moon is putting a spotlight on our “personal harvest” as well as the traditional harvest.
The earth-facing side of the moon is illuminated and the element of the transition between summer and fall season is Earth. Because this transition begins the time of introspection, it’s appropriate to make sure you feel grounded, nurtured, and supported as you examine your life in the bright light to determine if there are changes you’d like to make. The fire energy of summer, which helps create the earth energy of the transition, has waned and the lightheartedness and somewhat hectic/frenetic movement of summer changes into a more quiet, subdued feeling.
Enjoy the quiet and the light of the beautiful Harvest Moon this evening. Pause and think about the turns your life has taken since January first. Are you doing what you want to do? Are you living the way you want to live, the way that feeds you soul? Throughout the  year have you planted seeds of attitude and perspective that will bring you a joyful, loving, compassionate, abundant harvest? Do you see changes you want to make? There’s still time. Every day we plant the seeds for the future harvest.  During this Harvest Moon, set your intentions and begin to plant the seeds for the harvest in the new year.

Namaste,
Carol

“Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds!. Shine.”
~ Buddha

When you mention “dowsing” some people immediately flashback to the cartoons of our youth and imagine an old prospector walking around with a “Y” shaped stick, searching for water or gold. Dowsing is so much more! Dowsing can help you discover more than water or gold...it’s a tool to help you access the divine wisdom within.

Dowsing is classically known to access information regarding earth energies, such as underground water veins, ley lines, and geopathic stress which can impact people and plants in negative ways. Dowsing is also a methodology for tapping into our inner knowledge, or as Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist, called it the “collective unconscious” or “super conscious.”

As I’ve mentioned this month with my theme of “Back to School,” there are many tools we can use to gain access to this higher plane of consciousness, and dowsing is one of them. Learning to use dowsing and/or another of these tools is like having a card or a key that allows us access to a library of unlimited knowledge.

There are several different dowsing indicator tools, but I normally use “L” shaped dowsing rods or a pendulum. A pendulum doesn’t need to be expensive, and you can make one out of just about anything....a piece of string or fishing line with something weighted on it ( a button, a paperclip, a Chinese coin, a stone or crystal, etc) is a pendulum. Some metal or crystal objects seem to respond better for some folks, but it’s up to the one doing the dowsing. Some people prefer to use “Y” shaped dowsing rods. It doesn’t matter what type of indicator tool you use; it matters only that you are focused on the question at hand, and comfortable with the indicator tool and how it indicates responses to your questions.

As I mentioned above, I usually use the L-rods in my dowsing practice. Each dowsing session is always started by asking 3 questions: Can I? May I? Shall I? while you hold the rods tightly. The rods will move back and forth to provide the answer to your questions. Once you get approval to move forward, you can ask just about anything you want. Remember to always phrase your questions in a positive way. When you’re focused on a question in your mind and seeking an answer via dowsing, you are entering into a conversation with your higher self and the spirit guides who are there to help you.

In my Feng Shui practice, I look to dowsing when something is puzzling me. For instance, when doing a consultation for a couple whose sleep was being disrupted even though their bedroom was arranged for the enhanced flow of chi, I decided to go to my dowsing rods to find out what was creating the sleep disturbance. My dowsing session showed me underground water veins that were negatively impacting their sleep. Simply moving their bed to another location provided relief. I’ve also used dowsing to stop ants from entering a building. When we dowse to identify  ‘stuck’ energy, and are then able to clear that energy, that clearing opens the portals for us to access our inner wisdom more easily in our own surroundings. Robert and Charmion McKusick, long-time dowsers that I met at my first dowsing training, have built some very interesting products to help clear negative earth energies identified by dowsing. I frequently use their products (as I did when I diverted the ants with success) and  often recommend their products to others. Their products are available at this website http://emfblues.com/biomagnetic-research-inc/ .

Dowsing is also great for finding things. One day I took an assistant along to a Feng Shui consultation in the Pocono Mountain area. We’d brought lunch and planned to stop at a park and find a picnic bench where we could eat. On the way back to the office, we weren’t finding any picnic tables, so, as my assistant drove, I dowsed to find a picnic table location. We came to a street and the rods indicated we should turn right on to a street with houses along it. I asked if the picnic table would be on the right side, then asked if it would be on the left side. As the rods were saying “YES” to the left, we looked and there was a little grove with a pavilion and picnic tables!

I learned to dowse years ago at the annual summer conference of the American Society of Dowsers. The conferences and workshops they offer are incredible. Please check out all they have to offer at their website at http://www.dowsers.org/  .  I think once you investigate dowsing, you’ll see that it’s an amazing tool that offers access to the divine wisdom within.
Who knows, I may teach a class and show you how!

Namaste,
Carol