Using Feng Shui to Balance Your Office

Erin Donley

Can the ancient practice of feng shui be used to positively impact your office environment? Linda Cahan, an Oregon-based feng shui practitioner and retail-design expert, shares how to honor your workspace, feed your soul and create harmony at the office through feng shui.

Q. How does feng shui balance the energies of an office?

A. Many offices have a white box, generic feel. Feng shui can bring a sense of creativity and balance to the space and can positively impact employees and customers. It reconnects us with the natural world, creates a positive environment and can have an effect on the overall success of your business.

Q. What if you work in a shared or community space? How can you use feng shui when others may not be open to it?

A. You always have your own drawer or desk at work. It can be very private and simple. Quote books, inspirational calendars, artwork, plants or special stones are acceptable items that will make a difference.

Q. Is there one section of the feng shui bagua map that is most important to focus on in the office?

A. Your desk or office can be broken into the nine sections of the bagua for you to set intentions. The sections are: prosperity, fame/reputation, relationships, creativity/children, family, health, knowledge, career and helpful people/travel. Finding a way to attract all these things would achieve ideal balance, but with different professions and for different challenges or goals, you can accentuate certain areas for improvement.

Q. How do you use mirrors as a feng shui cure?

A. Mirrors can be tricky, but it's important to understand it's all about what they reflect. You don't want a mirror facing anything bad.

Q. Is there a certain color that is most productive to use in the office?

A. The color that represents warmth and communication is yellow. It also is the color of focus. Some people need yellow for concentration, but others want to feel relaxed and calm at work. Green is great for this and is a good luck color as well. It's healing, and is a symbol of growth and expansion. Small red items represent good fortune and bring luck and money.

Q. Does feng shui's effectiveness come from intention alone?

A. The strength of it all comes from creating ritual. Ritual incorporates intention, action and belief. When we want change, the belief in our ability to make it happen, coupled by the physical act of finding items to honor that intention, creates ritual and meaning that can bring about change, sometimes in a millisecond.

Q. When is it appropriate to hire a professional feng shui consultant?

A. When it's really beyond you, like when the office has had a long run of bad luck. Say you're at a location where every company has gone out of business, or there's been a murder or suicide, those situations require a lot of space clearing and strong feng shui remedies.

Q. What about offices with a lot of computers?

A. Broad-leafed, round edge plants are probably the best remedy near your computer. Bringing nature inside is important.

Q. What are some quick and easy cures for the office?

A. Put a favorite book in the knowledge area, place coins in your wealth section or rest a small heart stone in your relationship corner. Always prevent your back from facing the door. With your back to the wall looking out, you can feel safe, supported and prepared for things coming your way. Always keep the toilet seat down so energy isn't sucked down the drain. Have items that represent good health, happiness and a general sense of well being in the very center of your space.

Join Linda Cahan, author of Feng Shui for Retailers, on March 27 from 7-8:30 p.m. at New Renaissance Event Center for "Feng Shui for Your Home, Office or Business." To register, call 503-224-4929 or visit www.newrenbooks.com. Learn more about Cahan at www.lindacahan.com. Erin Donley, the "eyes and ears" at New Renaissance Bookshop, offers a free weekly e-newsletter listing events, book and product reviews, and a concise look at modern-day spirituality.