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Safety first

By on September 1, 2011
Photo © Elena Derevtsova
 
Feng Shui is all about creating harmony in a living environment. Obviously, safety is inherent in a harmonious space. Our nervous systems are keenly aware of potential threats to our wellbeing, even when our conscious minds are not; in fact, a certain amount of your consciousness’ bandwidth is devoted to threat detection (this is a biological fact – a percentage of your brain function is focused on risk management). When you eliminate potential dangers from a space, you can feel  more relaxed and have more of your Self available to enjoy your life experience. (This is why homes that have been Feng Shui’d feel so good.) Let’s look at some practical tips to help secure your home for your overall wellbeing.

A lot of the Feng Shui basics are for the same that apply when child-proofing a home (and no, that is not the process of preventing children from entering your home). Sharp corners on tables and other pieces of furniture need to be softened in case you trip and hit yourself on them – something quite possible in an earthquake or in the case of an accident. I always suggest having furniture with rounded edges – if that’s not possible, softening them with coverings certainly cuts down on the visual impact of the threat and would at least soften any physical blow.

Tall furniture can loom over you and also poses a risk if things get shaky in your home. It is particularly important not to have high furniture around where you sleep, as you would not have the same reaction time to get out of the way as you would if awake. We decorate our bedrooms from a standing position (it makes moving furniture easier, for one thing) but we experience it mostly from a horizontal position – so take another look at your room while lying down to assess potential risks. If you have no choice but to have these pieces in the bedroom, you should consider anchoring them to the wall or the ceiling for maximum stability. Limit the loose items that would fall from shelves, preferably having them behind locked doors or cabinets. (A good Feng Shui rule of thumb is having any shelf occupied by less than 50%.) You should have no shelves above your bed – I’ve seen more than one client have that, and they always sense there is something hanging over them (and not just the husband whose wife would post ‘to do’ notes on the underside of the shelf…). The same goes for artwork above the bed – it’s a no-no.

Ensuring that you have a clear path to an exit is important. Because neither an illuminated pathway nor oxygen masks will appear as they are supposed to on an aircraft, you want to make sure that you don’t have laundry, boxes, cabinets, and other bulky items between you and the door – especially such that you would have trouble navigating in the dark. There was a story in my home town recently of an elderly man who died in his suite because a fire broke out and his residence was so densely packed with clutter that not only blocked his path but also caught on fire.  Clutter is not just energetically dangerous – it can literally be deadly.

Other basics:
 
Keep breakables contained so that the floor won’t be littered with glass
 
Ensure that chemical products are well contained and sealed so that they won’t spill or mix with others in an earthquake
 
Practice an emergency run to the door in the dark of night – set your alarm for the middle of the night and do a trial escape practice when it goes off
 
May your home be a haven of safety on all levels for you and yours

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.