Read

January/February 2007 Living Now
Earth Spirit Living: Bringing Heaven and Nature into Your Home

by Connie Hill

Ann Marie Holmes

Ann Marie Holmes, author of Earth Spirit Living: Bringing Heaven and Nature into Your Home, has been a feng shui teacher and practitioner for almost two decades. Her path has taken her from her own gardening businesss, to Findhorn in Scotland as the focalizer of cleaning, to a feng shui practice where she senses the land first before moving inside to suggest changes.

Q: Tell me about the process writing this book.

A: The book grew out of wanting to share with people how much nature wants to partner with us in very practical ways. One of the easiest and most efficient ways is with your home or your office. Nature has a lot to say. Another of my intentions with this book was to bring in more of an Earth voice into the whole world of feng shui. When we make even one small change in our house while listening to nature, there is a real ripple effect. When I help a client do something in their house and they carry it on, it not only helps them, but it also helps their neighborhood.

Q: Most feng shui books are about furniture arrangement inside the house. Yours is almost more about the land and the outside than the inside.

A: That's because there has not been much written about the outside. I present the bagua in a new way. I want to help people shake loose from any old patterns. There are a lot of books that detail what to do inside. So what I decided to focus on was the Earth and the land. In my consultations I check-in with nature first and then I do the rest. I get the hot spots or the toxins in nature and then I go inside. Nature is the context we live in, so why not start there. Nature devas are so eager to communicate with us.

Q: I really like the Chinese proverb in chapter 5:

A side door is still a door
A left path is still a path
An irrational belief is still a belief, a way of knowing.
What does it mean to you?

A: To me, it's a visual image of intuition. The ideas of feng shui and design originally drew me in, but intuition is also important for me. The side door is not usually as large or as favored as the main door. But interestingly, today side doors may even be used more than front doors. The same is true of intuition - it may even be used more now. I liked the idea of giving some physical, visual images to represent intuition.

Q: The book says readers can conserve more natural resources and even save money on their energy bills.

A: I've had experiences with projects shutting down because of nature and sometimes the fix is as simple as making an offering to the tree spirits and the project moves forward again. Listening to nature can be very practical. In quantum physics, when you shift one thing abruptly, say rerouting water on a site, it lessens the life force. If you can take the time and sit with nature and see what it needs, it will serve your goals as well. I think that is what feng shui is about, addressing the invisible side of life as well as the visible.

Visit www.annmarieholmes.com. Ann Marie Holmes will be at New Renaissance Feb. 16-18. Visit www.newrenbooks.com to register or call 503-224-4929. Connie Hill works at New Renaissance Bookshop and is a local astrologer. She can be reached at 971-244-0567 ext. 2 or gmnite@yahoo.com.