Going with the creative flow

By on August 30, 2012
Back-to-school time might bring up memories of strict or boring instruction and being told to colour within the lines. Unfortunately, this kind of education works against the natural order, as there are very few straight lines in creation itself. If you are looking to widen your horizons and expand the scope of your creativity, you can use Feng Shui to help you focus your energies more constructively.
 
Each room (and each home itself) has an area where you can particularly focus your Feng Shui intentions to improve your creativity: this is along the right-hand side of the room when walking into the space, midway between the back wall and the front wall. Applying the suggestions below to this area in each room, as well as to this corresponding area of the entire home, can help stimulate your inner creative juices and help them find a way to manifest in the outer world.  

This Creativity sector is governed by the element of Metal. Metal can be cut and forged into various shapes, and can also be an instrument with which to create – this double function reveals its power to fuse the creator and the creation. One can stimulate the Metal element by using metallic objects (as appropriate to the space), anything round or spherical, or white or pastel-toned objects (black and white pictures are great too). Because precious metals are found in the earth, the Earth element is also supportive here: earthenware objects like pottery and clay sculptures are particularly beneficial decorative items. Because Fire melts Metal, this is not a great place for red-toned items, fireplaces, or pictures of sunsets.

It can be productive to incorporate into your decor theme the creative arena which you wish to explore. If you are a painter, have painting tools or paintings that inspire you; if you are an aspiring musician, pictures of musicians you admire, CDs of their music, or other related objects can stimulate your own creative flow. Placing what you have created yourself in this area – perhaps alongside the creative output you admire in others – can help you to recognize your innate abilities and bring those more to the fore.
   
Images or objects relating to the creative act are also a great accent here. A picture of Michelangelo’s ‘The Creation of Adam’, regardless of whether it fits one’s religious beliefs, can be a wonderful support in this area (but don’t use it if you have an aversion to it): the God and surrounding cloud in that picture is in fact an illustration of a brain, and the space between His and Adam’s fingers represent the space between synapses firing in the brain. (I have a close-up of the hands on display in my home.) A masterpiece like Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, a facsimile of a manuscript by a legendary composer, a best-selling CD, or a book showing the work of a favourite artist or group of artists can also help ground the creative energy that you are looking to express. Music, being an art form appreciated by virtually everyone, is a wonderful energizer for this area: soundwaves move energy around, and if the music played is something motivating and inspiring for you, it will be a powerful enhancer.  

As always, clutter can be a hindrance to clear energy flow. Clutter in the Creativity area will speak specifically to creative blockages. It is important that the space be clear and tastefully decorated, as well as practical. Having everything in this area organized and accessible will enable you to have a cleaner relationship to your own creative energy, helping you to access it more regularly as opposed to only in occasional spurts.  

The same approach applies for Feng Shui cures too: too much of a good thing is still too much. Without space in this area between your decorative items, you will likely not find the time you need to get into the headspace that is required to create (space = time; ask Einstein). When energy can move between the objects in your space, your own energy can move between one thought and another, from one area of your life to another, giving you a clearer space in which to create.   

You may additionally want to start scheduling creative appointments into your agenda as you would a business meeting: the first step can be the most challenging, the first stroke on a blank canvas the most daunting, so making a set time to flex your creative muscles can help create the space for this energy to flow. If you apply the suggestions above, that time will be more productive than you might expect.  

May your creativity flow into the world with ease and grace.

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.