Feng Shui & The New Time Management (Part I)

First of all, there is no "managing" time.  That's like trying to hold sand in your hands.  But there is a way to drastically improve your relationship with it.  At least that is how I've come to look at it.

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You who follow me know that I've been obsessing over two books this summer:  The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks and A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle.  Both of these beauties speak of time in a different light and totally shake our world view on "managing" it.

"Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time—past and future—the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.” 
― Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

Whoa, right?

And Gay Hendricks explains that "time comes from us."  That if we look at it like that, it is malleable, and we can relax because everything gets done.

Beats trying to race the clock, right?

"I'm late!  I'm late!"  [Source is obviously Disney.]

I've been playing with these concepts a lot!  I'm the sort that wants to get everything done and won't "waste" even three minutes of time, like say, when a friend arrives late for lunch.  After all, something can "get done" in those three precious minutes, right?

But those books, (along with the work I'm doing in a Course in Miracles right now), have 100% blown my concept of time out of the water.

Please understand, this is not the first time I've dabbled with this.  After all, I wrote papers on the 4th dimension in college (which relates to time), one of my favorite gifts I've received was a copy of Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman, and for the past few years, I've used the mantra, "My timing is perfect and elegant," with almost miraculous success.  I've also prayed about it, literally.  I have asked that my relationship with time be improved, and I have gone from someone who was almost always at least ten minutes late (in my 20s) to someone who can arrive right on the nose almost every time, as if the very traffic lights were on my side.

Because think about it: how much stress do we experience simply from trying to deal with time?!  It's sheer insanity!

In fact, I chose the first image -- the hourglass on a beach -- very consciously.  The hourglass notoriously "measures" time, representing that we collectively consider time to "run out."  But there is an entire beach (world?) of sand around it, just sitting there!    This photo demonstrates the folly that we try to bottle and limit time when really, it's infinite!

Now I'm learning to be still in those unexpected three-minute (or thirty-minute) moments -- to look around, go within, and know that everything is "in perfect and Divine order." (Thanks to Doreen Virtue, for that affirmation.)

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<<<<And I'm finding this quote here, (which I originally found to be simply humorous), to be shockingly accurate.  In fact, when I start to feel anxiety creep in, I have begun to simply sit down and do my meditations (or use a mantra, or take some breaths), and I will get back on track.  All that "stuff" I needed to hurry to do falls away and does "get done."  I'm finding more ease in my days, more time for leisure and relaxation, while still taking care of clients and housework and being a mom and exercising and everything!  My finances have actually improved since practicing this technique, because relaxing into time is really the ultimate surrender and act of trust in the Universe to provide what you need, when you need it.

Have I mastered this?  Heck no!  I still occasionally cringe at my pile of to-dos, but now I know how to take it in perspective, rather than push through.  This is a discipline, to be sure, but it is SO worth it, and in fact, makes life much more fun!  There are surprises around every corner if you can surrender to the present moment!

How does this show up in feng shui?  What can you shift in your household or office to reflect this "new" meaning of time?

Stay tuned for Part II, to come soon!  In the meantime, though, learn to meditate.  Here's a video to inspire you:

P.S.
Just a few more days to sign up for the on-line 9-Week Feng Shui Journey!  Join us for the adventure to change your life!

Tea Recipe to Keep You Healthy!

My first yoga class was in 1998 at a place called Yoga Yoga in Austin, Texas.  A skinny man with a beard dressed in white clothes with a turban on his head had us do strange chanting and fast breathing and other things like make faces like a lion and laugh spontaneously and then we all had to lay down while he played a gong for what seemed like a very long time.

I thought it was the weirdest thing ever.

Then, after is was all over, we were served a cup of the most amazing tea I had ever had.  Seriously.  It tasted SO good to me.

So I went back.  And I went back again.  And again.  Because, although yoga was extremely unusual to my Southern upbringing, I sure did feel good after class and for the days afterwards.  And that tea!  How could I pass up that tea?

That was my introduction to yoga; it was kundalini yoga.  My first teacher was Mehtab (aka Michael), and his classes were quite magical.  And that tea is known as Yogi Tea (or chai), and it's a recipe passed on from the famed Yogi Bhajan.

I still practice Kundalini yoga, and I don't think it's weird at all any more, just awesome.  I now live in my home state of Alabama, and I take the occasional kundalini class here at the various yoga studios around town that happen to offer it.  Recently I was in Akasha's class at Birmingham Yoga, and he reminded us of the awesome benefits of yogi tea and suggested we make it ourselves.

Wow.  Why haven't I thought of that?

So at New Year's, a friend and I went to the store seeking out the ingredients, and I now drink this wonderful tea in the comfort of my own home just about every morning.  Because it's just so darn good!

AND, I have not gotten the flu.  I swear, I think this tea may be the best cold/sick preventer out there.  Be gone, flu.  Be gone, flu-shots-that-get-us-sick-anyway!

So drink up, friends!

Here's the recipe courtesy of Birmingham Yoga!

Photo Source

YOGI TEA:

When Yogi Bhajan was a military commander in India there was an epidemic among the troops. He ordered all of his men to fill their canteens with yogi tea and drink nothing else, not even water. His Battalion was the only unit that didn’t get sick! Yogi tea purifies the blood, lungs and circulatory system. It cleans the liver and has many more unseen benefits. It’s good to drink this tea every day.

1 Gallon Water
30 Cloves
30 whole Green Cardamon pods
30 whole Black Peppercorns
1 inch or more of fresh Ginger, thinly sliced
5 sticks Cinnamon
1 teabag, Black Tea ( leave out if sensitive to caffeine or planning to drink at night)
*Milk and Honey/Maple syrup to taste or Almond Milk.

1. Bring water to boil.
2. Add all spices except black tea bag. Boil 30 -45 min. If you want to make it stronger boil longer and add more water as needed.
3. At the end add black tea bag and boil another 5 min.
   **The black tea is added last because it amalgamates the spices and sort of seals them. Also the tannins help assimilate the spices into the body.
4. Add milk & sweetener to an individual cup as you require.  This will allow you to store the raw tea in the fridge and prepare with milk and sweeteners as you like.
5. If you go cup by cup, you can leave the raw tea on the stove on the lowest flame to enjoy all day.

**Milk helps to ease the shock of the spices on the stomach and intestines so drink with milk if you’re sensitive. Note: for a stronger tea you can let the spices sit and sink to the bottom.