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Windows of opportunity

By on September 29, 2011
Photo © Elena Derevtsova
 
If the eyes are the windows to the soul, what are the windows of your home? Windows bridge your inner sanctum and the outer world, and therefore serve as your home’s eyes. The condition and scale of your windows have a great impact on how you bridge your inner and outer worlds.

The first rule of windows is keeping them clean. (If your cleaning person doesn’t do windows, get another one.) Windows that are unclean due to a buildup of grime, dust, pollution, bird excrement, or other sundry pollutants sully your ability to see clearly, and have a requisite impact on how clearly you can see in your life. If you are finding that your take on things is not quite accurate, it could be that your consciousness has filters muddying your vision in the same way that your grimy physical windows are doing. Ensuring that your windows are sparkling clean won’t guarantee that your third eye will be squeegeed clean, but it will help.

The percentage of your home that is covered by windows impacts your ability to nurture and cultivate energy in your space. If a room has more than a third of each wall occupied by windows, it can be more challenging to keep energy appropriately balanced inside. While there needs to be some energy exchange with the outer world through windows (a space with no windows feels like a prison), too many of them can create a dynamic whereby the people living there place undue importance on what is happening in the outer world – perhaps placing more importance on what they manifest, their business, or how they look rather than on their personal development. Window coverings can be used to cut down on this effect: decorative panels can be interspersed along a windowed wall to help contain more energy and normalize the outflow.

Floor-to-ceiling windows create a whole other level of energy drain. The city of Vancouver where I live is dominated by high-rises with floor-to-ceiling windows. While people rave about how such windows help you appreciate the view, you actually bring in too much: there is seldom anything of interest going on in the lower 30% of your field of vision (it’s usually traffic and other buildings). There is also so much sensory overload that it can make the mind too busy. Such spaces also turn into solariums in sunny weather, creating so much heat that residents have to shut the blinds completely… so much for the view! A more balanced proportion of windows helps to bring in the light while giving some respite as regards temperature.

There are many decorative touches one can add to windows. If you have enough of a ledge, potted plants or planter boxes can bring vibrant life to the space; they help to create a healthy, natural barrier between inner and outer worlds. Faceted crystals can bring sparkling rainbows into your room, creating vibrancy and movement in a room that might otherwise not have such life; they also serve to disperse energy flowing out the window so it gets recirculated through the home. And if you have kids and are willing to let them play with the windows, there are gel stickers that can be used to decorate them, bringing joyful creativity and colour to an otherwise invisible (excerpt for the dirt) part of the home!

May your inner and outer worlds be peacefully bridged.

Mark Ainley is a Contemporary Feng Shui Consultant and Emotional Stress Consultant living in Vancouver. A former 5-year resident of Tokyo, Mark consults with clients internationally to help them design living and work spaces in alignment with their goals. He also provides consulting in emotional stress management, as well as in the connection between facial structure and innate behavioural and communication patterns. He can be reached through his website: www.markainley.com

About Mark Ainley

Mark Ainley is a Contemporary Feng Shui Consultant and Emotional Stress Consultant living in Vancouver. A former 5-year resident of Tokyo, Mark consults with clients internationally to help them design living and work spaces in alignment with their goals. He also provides consulting in emotional stress management, as well as in the connection between facial structure and innate behavioural and communication patterns. He can be reached through his website: www.senseofspace.com and www.markainley.com.