May 2011
Volume 11 Number 5

What's Inside Wise Woman Herbal Ezine this Month...

 INDEX | HEALING WISE BODY & SOULWISE WOMAN WISDOM | EMPOWER YOURSELF
NOURISH YOURSELF
| MOON MAGIC |  WISDOMKEEPERS
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Grandmother Gaia...
Bringing Nature Indoors
by Dawn Gettig


Bringing Nature Indoors

by Dawn Gettig
AIA, MWFS, and teaching mentor at WWU

Dawn currently offers two courses through WWU :  Medicine Wheel Home: Applying Natural Feng Shui to Create a Home with Meaning
and The Medicine Wheel Path: Living a Life of Balance and Spirit

 

 

When applying Feng Shui to our homes it is important to bring the healing feeling of nature and its vibration indoors and thus into our lives.  Because nature has excellent life force energy, when we spend time outdoors observing the birds, trees, nature’s beauty and rhythms, K Robins Symbolic Jewelrywe attune ourselves to its magnificence.  We benefit by being in nature but also by duplicating its essence in our environment.  We can bring nature’s spirit into our home in simple yet potent ways. 

Decorating with Nature

It has long been one of the goals of Feng Shui to bring nature indoors.  Now it is a wonderful trend in the decorating world; pick up just about any decorating magazine and usually there is an article on decorating with nature in mind.  Here are some ideas on how to decorate with nature as your inspiration:

1. Place plants in each and every room. Choose easy to grow plants such as Phalaenopsis orchid, peace plant, ficus, or philodendron.  Or add a bouquet of flowers to brighten and cheer up a room.  An added benefit is these indoor plants and flowers bring a vibrancy to the room and help to clean the air in your home.

2. Artwork is one of the easiest ways to bring nature and color into your home.  How about a picture of flowers or a beautiful landscape?  An inexpensive way to do this is to purchase patterned fabric with a theme such as birds, trees, shells, fruit and mount them on square wooden frames (you can get these inexpensively from companies like Ikea).  

3. Add pillows with leaf or shell designs or use fabric such as cotton or linen in earthy colors.

4. Paint your walls in the colors of nature using no-VOC paint.  The outdoors is bursting with color ideas – a garden of flowers, a sunset, moss, and trees.

5. Purchase sheets or blankets with natural fibers like organic cotton, bamboo, or hemp (places like Target sells them quite inexpensively).  They feel soft, breathe more easily, and adjust to your body temperature.  

6. Choose natural window coverings like bamboo shades, and cotton or linen curtains.

7. Purchase rugs made from natural fibers such as jute, sisal, or sea grass.  Or try rugs with a faux animal skin patterns.

Bring Nature’s Spirit Indoors with the Four Elements

To replicate the energy of nature and bring balance and harmony into the home it is powerful to add the four elements to our environment.  Here are some easy ways to accomplish this:

Earth Element

1. Keep your curtains open during the day and let the light in!  In Feng Shui, windows are the eyes of our homes and this is one way we receive good energy flow into our homes.  The next preferred form of illumination is full-spectrum  lighting which most closely mimics real sunlight. In addition, some of these bulbs use less energy to produce the same amount of light.

2. To create an earthy grounded feeling in a space, purchase a lingham stone or bring rocks in from the outdoors.  If you decide to bring in a rocks please do it with great respect and don’t take too much from the earth.

Water Element

1. Purchase an indoor fountain, as the sound of running water will turn any room into a soothing environment with lots of good energy (chi) flowing.

2. Use fabrics with a wavy pattern or blue or black color to bring in this element.

Air Element

1. Clean your home with all natural products made with wonderfully smelling herbs (* see all natural cleaning scour recipe below).  The wonderful scent of herbs truly bring nature indoors.

2. Play music with nature themes such as the sound of the ocean, birds or chorus frogs singing.

 Fire Element

1. Pets are a great way to bring fire chi into your home and they will keep the good vibes going.

2. Another way to bring in the fire element is to burn incense or soy or beeswax candles.

By bringing nature into our home we will feel a sense of expansion in our environment and in ourselves.  So go outdoors, connect with its powerful energy, observe a flower, sit by a river, look at the moon and stars.  Feel the magic and vibrancy of nature and get inspired to bring the outdoors in so we can create a more supportive and nurturing environment.

 

* Green Living All Natural Scouring Cleanser

1/2 cup baking soda

1/4 cup washing soda (in laundry section of grocery)

1 Tbs. or more of crushed dried herbs such as lavender, sage, peppermint, or spearmint. 

Combine and mix well with a fork.  his is non-toxic and biodegradable.  You can feel good about using this cleaning product!

 

2011 © Dawn Gettig  - Not to be reproduced without author’s permission

 

Dawn Gettig lives in Northeastern Ohio and is the owner of Gaia Design - Soulful Decorating, Feng Shui and Green Living.  She has a certification in Advanced Feng Shui and Seven Star Space Clearing and Blessings™ as well as certification in Medicine Wheel Feng Shui™ with Interior Alignment® School.  Dawn also serves on the board of the Interior Alignment® Feng Shui School.  She has been studying Feng Shui for over 10 years and has studied yoga and spirituality for over 30 years.  Dawn teaches The Medicine Wheel Home and The Medicine Wheel Path courses at Wise Woman University.

 

Website ~ www.gaiadesign-foryourlife.com

Email Dawn at ~ gaiadesign22@sbcglobal.net

 

 

 

2011 © Dawn Gettig  - Not to be reproduced without author’s permission

 

 

Online Course with Dawn Gettig

~Medicine Wheel Home:
Applying Natural Feng Shui to Create a Home with Meaning~

(Link to detailed description of Medicine Wheel Home )

The Medicine Wheel Home course is an excellent way to learn to create a home with good chi (energy) and bring the spirit of nature into your spaces. In this unique course you will learn the basics of the Native American Medicine Wheel combined with Feng Shui to create a home filled with your very own personal style and meaning.

This is an experiential course and you can use these concepts throughout your lifetime. You will not look at your home in the same way after taking this course.

 

~The Medicine Wheel Path: Living a Life of Balance and Spirit~

(Link to detailed description of Medicine Wheel Path )

The Medicine Wheel Path: Living a Life of Balance and Spirit teaches how to develop a deep relationship with nature and its seen and unseen beneficial forces.  When you connect with nature you also bring yourself closer to your authentic inner spirit, in turn creating a more meaningful life. 

In this class you will learn the valuable concepts of the sacred Native American Medicine Wheel - the circle of life.  The Medicine Wheel is a method and system of personal growth and wholeness.  This is an experiential course and you will learn to connect with nature in ways that can serve you and help you attain your goals.

Dawn Gettig lives in Northeastern Ohio and is the owner of Gaia Design - Soulful Decorating, Feng Shui and Green Living.  She has a certification in Advanced Feng Shui and Seven Star Space Clearing and Blessings™ as well as certification in Medicine Wheel Feng Shui™ with Interior Alignment® School.  Dawn also serves on the board of the Interior Alignment® Feng Shui School.  She has been studying Feng Shui for over 10 years and has studied yoga and spirituality for over 30 years.  Dawn teaches The Medicine Wheel Home and The Medicine Wheel Path courses at Wise Woman University.

Website ~ www.gaiadesign-foryourlife.com
Email Dawn at ~ gaiadesign22@sbcglobal.net

 

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 INDEX | HEALING WISE BODY & SOULWISE WOMAN WISDOM | EMPOWER YOURSELF
NOURISH YOURSELF
| MOON MAGIC |  WISDOMKEEPERS
| FEATURED LINKS | FEATURED ARTIST