Recently, when speaking about Feng Shui at one of our local library branches, an audience member asked a question that struck a chord:  “We’ve had a string of bad luck lately.  What can we do, right now, to change our luck?”  It’s a great question because most of us have experienced what feels like a string of bad luck at some point in our lives.  In fact, many heads were bobbing in agreement.  Like many good questions (and I count this as a good one for just this reason) it was asked in a way that held the answer.

When you ask what can we do, or what can I do, you are acknowledging your own power over your circumstances because you can do something about it!  In fact, research about luck, says just this:  you can improve your odds in life by understanding the difference between chance and luck.  Something that’s left up to chance is something we have no control over. But luck is something you can create by reviewing options, trying new things, changing your attitudes, being open to new possibilities.   Richard Wiseman, psychologist and researcher at the University of Hertfordshire in England has studied luck and written about it:  The Luck Factor:  Change Your Luck, Change Your Life. He believes so strongly that luck can be taught that he even runs a program called Luck School!

We don’t have to go to school, because we have Feng Shui luck — we know that we can change our environments to help us change our lives.  Here’s how to change your luck using Feng Shui:  (and this is what I told my audience)

• Look for places in your home where energy is stuck and unstick it!  Piles of papers or clothing or dishes can slow or stop positive energy from flowing.  Make sure doors and windows can open fully. And, get things off the floor!

  

• Fix broken things or get rid of them.  Bad luck can be equated with things being broken.  When you fix things or remove them you’re taking control of the broken aspects of your luck.  Feng Shui can be very literal!
• Often bad luck mirrors issues with our Wealth & Prosperity.  Look at this bagua area of your home and make sure it’s clean, well lit, and holds items that say abundance to you (a gold box, a beautiful painting with reds, blues and/or purples, a photo of you and your family on one of your best vacations, etc.).  Put some coins in a dish – Chinese coins (round with a square center) are powerful, but any coins will work.  If your Wealth & Prosperity area is missing (it is in my home, for example) make sure wherever it’s located on your property that it is enhanced with a statue or a birdhouse or something that brings energy to the space.  (This area is in the left-hand corner of your home as your standing at your front door.  See below.)

  

• Review your level of integrity with your work, whether it’s inside or outside the home.  The Fame & Reputation bagua area is adjacent (on the right) to the Wealth & Prosperity area.  How can our Wealth change if we’re not honest and above board with all things pertaining to money, integrity and our work in the world?  Enhance this area with fire energy – the color red, the shape of the pyramid, or animal prints.  Stick that thank you note on the refrigerator that was sent by your child’s teacher; it’s ok to showcase your good works, especially here.

Simply getting started with changing your environment should activate positive energy.   Good luck!

(For information about the bagua, click the Feng Shui tab on my website.  In general, when placing the bagua over your floor plan, put your front door somewhere along the entrance quadrant of the bagua – Knowledge & Self-Cultivation, Career/Journey and Helpful People & Travel and align your home so that everything under the roof line is included in the rectangle of the bagua.)