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Feng Shui Monsters Under Your Bed
by Stephanie Roberts Visit the Author's Website
Good feng shui often requires making wise decisions based on
your specific circumstances, rather than blinding following
an ideal rule.
The feng shui rule for storing things under your bed is
"don't do it." But for those who live in small homes every
inch of possible storage space is precious. If you are faced
with cluttering up some other area of your home with stuff
that otherwise might be put under the bed, how do you decide
what to do?
My preference as a feng shui professional is to keep the
more visible, frequently used areas of the home uncluttered.
If that means storing some things under the bed, so be it,
as long as it is done thoughtfully and appropriately.
There are two reasons why your bed is so important in feng
shui. The first is the principle of proximity, which states
that the closer something is to you the stronger its effect
will be. The second is the principle of duration, which means
that the longer you are exposed to a particular influence the
stronger its effect will be.
If we were getting our eight full hours of sleep every night,
we'd be spending a third of our lives in bed. Even with long
days and not enough sleep, the average person probably spends
25% or more of his or her time in bed. Keeping the factors of
proximity and duration in mind, this means that anything that
is close to you while you sleep will have a strong effect on
you, either physically or symbolically.
Since you are probably well protected from below by a nice
thick mattress, whatever you've got stashed beneath your bed
isn't likely to be directly harmful. However, in feng shui
the symbolic energy of an object or image is just as important
as whatever literal impact it may have. If you are using your
underbed area for storage, take a moment to think about the
implications of whatever is down there, especially if you
haven't been sleeping well lately. If you don't remember what
you've stashed under your bed, it's time to take another look.
Here are some things that you ought to find another place for:
- Shoes under the bed can keep you "running around" all night
even when you are sound asleep. No matter how many hours of
sleep you get, you may never feel well rested.
- Exercise gear, workout clothes, and sports equipment are
also less than relaxing. Unless you want to feel like you're
"going nowhere fast" in life, don't store your treadmill,
rowing machine, aerobic step under the bed. Tennis rackets
(or other gear for competitive sports) can bring a competitive,
adversarial energy to your romantic relationships. It's best
not to have any kind of exercise or sports equipment in the
bedroom at all if you can find another place for it.
- Books and work or school papers can have an intellectually
stimulating effect; if you have trouble turning your
mind-chatter off so you can fall asleep at night, make sure
you are not sleeping on top of a lot of information. Plus,
chances are good that if you're keeping that stuff under the
bed it probably isn't at all current, so all that old
information is also energetically holding you in the past.
- Guns and knives. I really hope you don't feel the need to
have these in your house at all. All that potential violence
is not conducive to a good night's sleep, no matter how "safe"
it may make you feel. A feng shui friend once told me she'd
consulted for a guy who collected knives, and who kept that
collection under his bed. No wonder he complained of a long
string of failed relationships! Regardless of any other
qualities he may or may not have had, that's a lot of cutting
chi underlying what should be a place for romantic connection.
These examples should give you an idea of the sort of
potentially disruptive effect the stuff under your bed can
have. If you must use the under-bed space for storage,
reserve it for soft, cuddly items like extra bedding or your
winter sweaters.
You may even find a good use for that space by placing
something with positive symbolic meaning there, so you can
take conscious advantage of the proximity and duration effect.
For example, laying a mirror face up under the bed is a
recommended feng shui sure for insomnia; symbolically the
mirror reflects the bed "downward" thus drawing into a deep,
restful sleep. For a child who is frightened of imaginary
monsters under the bed, placing a super-tough-guy action
figure under there could provide some important protection
and security.
A feng shui client recently asked if it was okay to keep her
empty suitcases under the bed. If you enjoy traveling and want
to do more of it, then having the luggage under the bed may
help to encourage that. Inside the suitcases you can put
guidebooks, photos, travel accessories, and other items related
to the places where you'd like to go. For example, if you
would love to take a trip to Paris put a guidebook to the city,
a French-English phrase book, and a photo of the Eiffel Tower
in an empty suitcase under your bed. Add some French currency
or traveler's checks for the future trip. The suitcase and
its contents is now a feng shui activation to help make your
travel dreams come true.
On the other hand, if you've been traveling a lot lately and
would like to stay home for a change, then I definitely
recommend finding some other place to keep your luggage. If
you absolutely, positively have no alternative to keeping
suitcases under the bed -- and you really want a break from
travel -- put a rock in each one and cover them with a blanket,
to help them settle in for a long rest and to keep you
grounded at home.
(c) copyright 2004 Stephanie Rogerts
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STEPHANIE ROBERTS is a feng shui consultant and writer in Maui,
HI. She is the author of the popular "Fast Feng Shui" book
series and the "Clutter Free Forever!" Home Coaching Program.
For more tips and information, visit her websites at
http://www.fastfengshui.com and http://www.clutterfreeforever.com.
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