As I walked my dogs early this morning I could feel the stress that the current heat wave is having on the landscape. Brown lawns, a dying tree here and there, browning shrubbery were all screaming for water. As I often do when I feel uncomfortable in an environment, I began thinking about it in terms of the five elements of feng shui. Environments feel comfortable when all five elements are present: wood, fire, metal, water and earth.

In this case the water element was clearly missing. Normally water controls fire, helps to balance out the heat of fire. Because we have had so little rain, water, and have had so much heat, fire, our landscape is out of balance with fire dominating.

When I got home I watered all the plants that are clearly struggling. At least in my little corner of the Virginia I brought a touch more balance to my yard. My hope is that Mother Nature will supply the water we so desperately need before too long.

Do you have trouble sleeping peacefully?  Do you want to have sweet dreams?  If so, it’s a good idea to become very conscious of what can influence you while you sleep.  Books in your bedroom could be one of the culprits!

Most people have books and other reading material on their bedside tables.  Some have a book or two. Others have what could be described as a whole library. Let me describe for you what a book is in elemental terms.  In Feng Shui there are five elements: wood, fire, metal, water and earth.  The hottest, most energetic of those elements is fire.  Books are fire elements.  The words on the pages are fire elements.  The pages themselves are wood elements.  Wood feeds fire.  In other words, if you have many books in you bedroom, you are sleeping with a bonfire.  Sound restful?

What I’m saying is that books are high energy things.  Their energy WILL affect you while you are sleeping.  That’s why it’s good to limit the books in your bedroom to one or two per person.  Store your books elsewhere and bring them in as you read them.

There are many things that affect sleep. The effect of books is one of the easiest to control. Limit books in the bedroom to create a more peaceful place that is conducive to sleep.