AlexStark.com :: Residential Environments

The following set of guidelines outlines basic considerations for the design and evaluation of residential environments. These are to be taken only as a guide, as the practice of Feng Shui involves many analytical tools which are beyond the scope of this document. For optimal results, always consult with a professional practitioner.

You are also encouraged to visit our Guidelines for Healthy & Healing Environments which describes feng shui criteria for health homes, and our Guildelines for Non-Toxic Environments, which summarizes main concerns in Green Building.

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General Considerations:

Entrances determine the overall Fortune of a family.
The center line axis (front to back) of the house or apartment is reflective of and rules the Careers and Reputation of its occupants.
The transverse axis (left to right) of a house or apartment is reflective of and rules its Biological History, Destiny, and Joyfulness.
Finances, Prosperity, and Power are ruled by the Kitchen, Stairwells, and the Far Left Corner of the overall space.
Relationships are ruled by the Bedrooms, Living Room, Dining Room, and the Far Right Corner. Bedrooms in particular are symbolic of and rule Commitment and Marriage.
Living Rooms rule the Public Face of the Family.
Dining Rooms and Kitchens rule Lifestyle as well as overall Health.
Closets, Basements, and Attics rule the Subconscious.
Clarity of layout and good orientation have a positive impact on the prospects for a structure. This is true not only of architectural design and interior layout, but also because intangible forces are acting on the structure from the directions of the compass.
These intangible forces change in time, so its is important to understand this pattern of change and make necessary adjustments. At the very least it is important to check the Flying Star chart of a building once a year.
Exposure to a given direction can have a marked influence on the potential of room or function. It is important to match the room and its user to the proper orientation.
Certain sectors of a floor plan have greater potential to enhance health, harmony, or prosperity. These sectors are a function of the orientation and age of the building. Hence it is important to be aware of the possibility that a different orientation can result in a different outlook for a given structure.
It is best of a building is matched to its occupants. Compatibility is a function of the orientation of the building and the date of birth of the occupant.
The history of a structure can also have an impact on the quality of life that its occupants will enjoy. Sites that have seen traumatic events such as war, death, misfortune, legal problems, depression, suicide, or crimes can have a detrimental effect on the occupants' prospects.

Choose a Superior Geographical Location for your Home.

How the home sits on the land is the primary consideration for evaluating the suitability of a site. Keep in mind that the attributes of the site can be local (the immediate vicinity) or regional (the larger geographical region). It is best to have good local and regional qualities on your side. Local features tend to affect only those currently living on the site. General features tend to affect several generations, even if the second or third generations do not live on that location. The negative effects of location are multiplied if the local and regional environments are both unsuitable.

Choose a home that is protected by land formations at back, right and left. Ideally, the land at the rear should be higher than the front. The land to the left of the site should be higher than the right, and the land to the right should be lower and longer than the left side. These side formations should cradle the site as within an armchair.
The front of the site should be guarded by a series of hills in the distance.
The back of the site should slope gently toward the house. The best formation for the rear should be rounded and not rocky. The next preferred shape is a flat-topped mountain.
Land should slope gently away from the site. Avoid steep hills.
If there are no land formations that protect the site, it is acceptable to have artificial protection provided by other buildings, trees, artificial mounds, hedges, etc.
Choose a home near trees and healthy vegetation with plenty of wildlife.
A home with water near the front of the entrance is desirable. Other desirable features include parks, gardens, and rounded structures such as domes or pagodas.
Do not locate your home too near the top or bottom of the site.
Avoid homes located in flat land at the bottom of a valley. Similarly, avoid alluvial plains and deltas. These do not have enough energy to nourish your life adequately.
Areas where mountains have gentle slopes and rounded tops have nourishing energy. Never live in a house built on a crag, a ridge, at the edge or bottom of a cliff, or at the top of a mountain.
Do not live in a house close to mountains with jagged peak and rocky slopes or in an area with lots of cliffs, canyons or ravines. Similarly, do not live on the upper floors of a high-rise or in an exposed building without protection.
Avoid homes that are located in dry slopes without vegetation or too exposed to the sun.
Avoid houses that are in permanent shadow or that are regularly covered by cloud or fog.
Avoid houses that overlook a road cutting, mine stripping, or blasted rock.
Avoid houses built near stagnant waters, crashing rivers with steep banks, or rocky beaches with waves.
Avoid house built in areas that are too windy or too thickly covered.

Choose a Winning Neighborhood for your Home.

How the home is located in relation to the neighborhood and the street is a critical determinant of fortune and success. Although a proper analysis of siting and orientation is a matter for professional expertise, certain basic rules need to be observed.

Choose homes in neighborhoods that have a track record of success. Pioneer locations drain energy from a home and can impact your bottom line.
Look for wide, unobstructed streets with ample sunlight.
Locate your home on a street which does not bring excess traffic or noise towards you.
Winding paths or driveways are better than straight ones. Avoid long narrow paths leading up to the front door, especially if they point at the front door or bedroom.
Avoid homes which have the main door in line with the neighbor’s driveway.
Avoid buildings that have sharp objects such as antennas, jagged rocks, construction cranes, power lines, or tree branches pointing toward them, especially if they point to the front door or the bedroom. Shiny objects, images of sharp objects, knife-like edges, and horizontal cutting lines such as utility wires or flat-top hills should also be avoided.
Avoid homes which receive reflections or light patterns from adjacent buildings.
Avoid buildings adjacent to power plants, highways, railways, bridges, police stations, garbage dumps, meat packing plants, slaughter houses, butcheries, hospitals, cemeteries, mortuaries, churches, or communication towers. Do not build on ancient burial grounds.
Playgrounds, parks, spiritual centers, schools, and public places such as shopping plazas, restaurants, and neighborhood stores are desirable neighbors.
Avoid buildings that are dwarfed by taller structures or geographical features.
Avoid buildings which have upper levels larger than lower levels.
The back yard should be larger than the front lawn. Otherwise fortune will have a hard time getting to the home.
Except for swimming pools, water features are best if located at the front of the house. Avoid water features located to the left of the main door, as seen from the street. This can lead to marital problems.

Choose Roads and Streets that Bring in Nourishing Energy.

Rivers, roads and streets are pathways of energy that conduct, gather, or disperse energy, depending on their configuration. (In feng shui roads are evaluated the same way as rivers.) It is therefore important that the pattern of waters, roads, or streets surrounding a home bring in beneficial and nourishing energy. Destructive patterns bring in sha chi (malevolent energy). They are associated with ill-health, bankruptcy, failure in education, disharmony in the family, betrayal, and even death. Conditions are worsened by heavier traffic (flow in rivers) and minimized by low traffic or flow.

A house at the end of a series of loops is desirable, provided the road pattern does not resemble a maze.
Traffic circles are beneficial road patterns because they minimize the sharpness of traffic.
It us preferable to have a home in an area with gently winding streets rather than set into a square city grid. Avoid houses located between two parallel roads.
Dirt and gravel roads carry energy better than paved roads.
Locate your home on a street which does not bring excess traffic or noise towards you.
Choose a house that is cradled by the road without winding around it like a noose. A road or river that circles a house like a noose is harmful to its occupants.
Traffic and water patterns should not aim directly at your home. This creates difficulty and has negative consequences for health, relationships and career. Therefore avoid houses at dead ends, at T-junctions, at Y-junctions, or where the road or river makes a sharp turn.
Winding paths or driveways are better than straight ones. Avoid long narrow paths leading up to the front door, especially if they point at the front door or bedroom and are straight. Circular paths or driveways are always preferable.
Avoid homes located where waves can crash on the shore. Avoid houses located at the dead end on a busy street or at the end of a finger-like projection of water.
Avoid houses located at the convergence of two roads or rivers. If the house receives the converging traffic, sex scandals are likely. It the roads or waters bifurcate away from the house, financial problems will result.
A road that runs downhill toward a house brings harm to the occupants.
Avoid houses that are located along steep roads or streams. This can destabilize health and fortune. Avoid homes located near the bottom or top of a waterfall.
Avoid a house that is located at a crest with the roads running away from it. Anything gathered through hard work will roll away unexpectedly.
Avoid houses located on roads or rivers with fast moving flow.

Enhance your Entrances, Halls, and Corridors.

Entrances are important in determining the overall fortune of a family as they are the mouth through which vital energy enters your home. They also help to create the family’s relationship to the outside world and its interaction with the community and the surrounding environment.

Avoid long narrow paths or driveways leading up to the front door, especially if they are straight. Circular paths or driveways are always preferable.
Do not have trees, utility poles or other such obstructions opposite your main entry.
The driveway of the house across the street should not point at your front door or bedroom window.
Create a buffer between your house and the street. Gardens, trellised walks, terraces and even porches are suitable buffers.
Entrance doorways should be open and expansive. Avoid funnels that constrict traffic into the building or into its lobby.
Entry doors should operate smoothly and open directly into an unobstructed, wide, well-lit foyer or lobby with a warm, happy feeling. This lobby should open onto several rooms. Avoid lobbies with only one doorway into the rest of the house.
The front and back doors should not line up. You should not be able to see the back door from the entrance lobby.
Avoid stairs or elevators that face the main entry. If this is unavoidable, screen them with plants, sculpture, or architectural baffles.
Avoid long, narrow corridors. If you can’t, place mirrors along the sides to make them feel more expansive and light them as brightly as possible. To break up a long corridor, hang objects or introduce architectural breaks along its length to divide it into sections.
Avoid doors that open onto walls directly in front of them. If they do, hang a mirror or a bright decorative object on the facing wall in line with the door to extend the entrance visually. Add bright lights.
Avoid more than two consecutive doors in line along a corridor or between rooms. Three doors or more in a row create divisiveness in the family as well as health problems. To solve this, hang objects (such as chimes or mobiles) or place screens in the path of movement to slow down the energy.
Avoid unused doors. Convert these into walls or, if you cannot do this, hang mirrors or bright artwork on them to disperse bad energy.
Avoid facing doors that overlap or don’t face each other directly. To solve, hang mirrors on the sections of wall that do not overlap.
Avoid doors that have slanted shapes or that open at a bias. They portend unexpected, negative consequences. To solve, hang plants or create a horizon line above the slanted door, and request professional assistance.
Avoid apartments located immediately adjacent to elevators or stairwells.
Avoid apartments located on buildings with long hallways.
Avoid apartments located at the end of a corridor or facing the elevators or the stair doors.
Avoid apartment buildings in which stairs are not buffered by landings or in which landings are too narrow.

Look out for Clarity of Design and Layout.

The overall feeling of the home is extremely important in determining the level of security, satisfaction and success it can promote. Homes that exhibit clear and easily understood layouts are superior to homes that are irregular, confusing, or too complex. Successful homes have an ample, confident feeling about them.

Levels within a house should be well defined. Avoid split levels. These are associated with difficulty in financial advancement as well as in relationships.
Rooms with uneven ceiling heights are undesirable. They cause instability and can lead to lack of clarity in thinking.
Ceilings should not be too high: nourishing energy will get trapped where it cannot be used. If this cannot be avoided, reactivate the lower areas by adjusting lighting, installing water fountains, or creating a color scheme that emphasizes the lower levels of the room.
Ideally, one sector of the house should not be higher than the other. If the front is higher than the back, younger members will have trouble achieving independence. If the rear portion of the house is higher, family wealth will flow away.
Arrangement of rooms should not be too irregular. Rectangular floor plans are best.
Proper energy flow between rooms should be achieved through good design, not through extensive use of corridors.
Do not have a bridge or covered walkway connecting 2 houses or sections of a house. This configuration is associated with parting and separation.
Structural components of a building should be supported by thick, strong pillars. Avoid decks or porches supported by thin or unstable pillars.
Avoid excessive cantilevers. These are associated with instability and constant personal movement. They consequently make it difficult to relax and recharge.
Do not have exposed beams in a home. They encourage depression and lack of self-worth.
Do not use vertical blinds or other such vertical shading devices. They can cause divisiveness and quarreling within the family.
Do not build with reflective materials. This prevents vital energy from entering the home.
Overly large windows leak nourishing energy and afford poor protection from destructive energy. Avoid buildings with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, as profits will leak out of the premises.
Avoid walls that lean, openings at an angle, or triangular floor plan elements.
Avoid excessive use of spatial volumes or roof planes.
Avoid tall thin projections above the main volume of your house. Also avoid roofs that are too steep, cascaded, or that slope all the way to the ground.

Make Stairs Open and Graceful.

Stairs and elevators have a marked impact on the finances of a home. Because they conduct energy from the entrance to the rest of the space, they can affect fortune, prosperity, stability, and health.

Wide, curved, graceful stairways opening onto wide landings are best.
Avoid long, straight or narrow stairs that constrict energy. When designing these, break up runs with wide landings. To enhance circulation use bright lights or place mirrors on walls or ceilings.
Avoid stairs that are excessively steep. Shallower stairs are more comfortable to use and channel energy more effectively.
Avoid narrow spiral staircases. They conduct energy too quickly. To compensate, use a bright light at the top of the stairwell and wind tassels, wreaths or other decorative motifs along the banisters to slow down the energy. To qualify for this warning a spiral staircase must curl around itself at least one complete turn.
Avoid stairs that point directly towards the entrance door or elevators with doors that open directly onto the main entry. These drain money and financial opportunity. This is particularly true of escalators or mechanical stairs. To compensate, place plants, screens or chimes between the stairs or elevators and the main door and, in the case of stairs, place bright objects or lights at the top of the stairwell.

Design your Kitchen for Health and Success.

Health and Fortune are created and enhanced in the Kitchen. It is therefore an essential component in the home and deserving of special consideration.

To preserve its potential, avoid placing the kitchen adjacent to stairs, elevators or bathrooms.
Avoid having the kitchen as the first thing you see upon entering the premises, as this will drain away finances. If this cannot be avoided, shield the kitchen from the front entrance with plants, screens or partitions.
The kitchen should be located centrally in the house and sheltered from the rest of the home. Ideally it should not be exposed on more than two sides as this will drain nourishing energy.
The kitchen should preferably be located along the central axis of the house and not diagonal to it.
The kitchen should not be in a cramped space, nor should it have a crowded feeling. There should be ample room for work. Provide generous passage between counters, tables, and stools. Crowded, cluttered environments slow down energy, negatively affecting health and finances. If the space is crowded, use mirrors to visually extend the walls of the space.
Avoid narrow entrance doors. A kitchen should have more than one doorway in order to ensure good circulation of energy.
The shape of the cooking area of the kitchen should be symmetrical and regular. Irregular shapes create pockets where negative energy can get trapped.
The chef should command a view of the entire kitchen and its entrance as he or she stands in the cooking position in front of the stove. Avoid having the chef’s back to the kitchen door, or to guests or family members if it is a sit-in or an open plan kitchen. This will drain their power. If this is unavoidable, place a mirror on the wall behind the stove so that the chef can see what is behind him or her, as with a rear view mirror.
Avoid sharp wall corners or angled architecture, especially if they are pointing at the chef or the persons sitting at the dinner table. These sharp angles can be softened by placing plants, soft fabric or round molding in front of them.
Avoid sharp, angular cabinets or furniture. It is best if edges on furniture and wall corners are rounded.
For sit-in kitchens, use oval or round tables and soft chairs. Rectangular tables are acceptable if their corners are rounded.
Avoid placing the stove, refrigerator, or the sink directly adjacent to each other, as this pitches incompatible energies against each other. This can result in diminished prosperity, conflict, or health problems.

Make Bedrooms Work for Your Relationships.

Bedrooms have a vital role in determining the quality of our relationships. They are also where the politics of a partnership or marriage is worked out and have an important role in our health and recuperation.

Bedrooms should be located in a quiet, protected area of the house, preferably towards the rear of the building. A corner with Southwestern exposure is ideal.
Bedrooms should not have more than one doorway.
Bedrooms doors should not face a stairway, the elevator or any exit doors.
Bedrooms should not be located at the end of corridors, next to stairs or elevators or directly adjacent to bathrooms, parking garages, or mechanical rooms.
Position your bed diagonally opposite the entry door and in such a way that you can see the door when laying in bed. If you can’t, hang a small mirror so that you can see the door from the bed.
Mirrors are best avoided in the bedroom. If you have to have one, make sure you cannot see yourself reflected in the mirror when laying in bed. Restlessness, poor sleep and loss of performance can be the result.
Position your bed so that your feet do not point out the door. If you cannot avoid this, place a table, screen or hanging crystal between the door and the bed.
Avoid overhanging beams or knifelike corners pointing at the bed, especially across it.
Avoid bedrooms under slanted ceilings. If at all possible, have a flat drop-ceiling.
Place the bed so that there is equal space and access on each side of the bed. Use similar or identical night tables and avoid heavy, crowded bureaus and armoires. The politics of a marriage are often led astray by this one simple oversight.
A bed with rounded corners, as opposed to sharp angles, can take the edges out of a rocky marriage.
One large mattress is better than two small ones.
Your bed should rest with its back against a solid wall. Setting the bed away from the wall destabilizes your consciousness and, eventually, your marriage.
The headboard should be higher than the foot-board.
To maximize the potential of your relationship, decorate with pairs of objects: pairs of portraits, two candle holders,etc.
To increase your love, decorate with pink/peach.
To increase your passion, decorate with red/orange.
To increase your friendship, decorate with green/yellow.
If your relationship is drifting away, add large heavy objects such as stones, sculpture or heavy furniture in the relationship areas of your house and/or that of your bedroom. The relationship area is the far right corner of any space or structure.
Decorate with objects, shapes and pictures that are symbolic of marital harmony such as circles, ovals, lush landscapes and loving couples. Tap into the potential of symbols such as roses or peonies which represent love, peace and lasting values. There are many more you can use.
In a home where the male is too dominant, decorate with additional symbols of the feminine: seashells, the moon, round, oval or crescent shapes, the color yellow, or earth materials such as stone or clay.
In a home where the female is too dominant, decorate with additional symbols of the masculine: animals, the sun, square or blunt objects, grandfather clocks, hunting scenes and paraphernalia, metallic objects and the color white.
During pregnancy do not move the bed to avoid the risk of a miscarriage.
Have your bedrooms checked for Electro-Magnetic Fields (EMF’s) and for Geopathic Stresses.

Optimize Home Office Configuration.

Nothing affects personal performance more significantly than personal space. A clear, well-defined work space that enjoys protection and which commands a secure power base will generate increased returns in efficiency, performance, advancement and personal satisfaction.

Avoid placing the home office next to elevators or stairways.
Avoid placing the home office facing elevator or stair doors.
Avoid placing the home office at the end of hallways or corridors, especially if these are long.
The best position for a desk is against a solid wall and with a clear view of the door. Power is increased as you move farther from the entry. Therefore the best position is diagonally opposite the door.
Avoid sitting positions which place your back to a door, a corridor, a large open area or a very large window. If this is unavoidable, use a "rear view mirror" to see behind you.
Avoid sitting positions directly in front of a door or very large window. If this is unavoidable, protect yourself with screens, plants or furniture.
Avoid sitting positions in a large open area without protection from the sides and a clear territorial boundary.
Avoid sitting positions facing a wall that is closer than six feet. If this is unavoidable, place a picture with visual depth on the wall in front of you.
Avoid sitting positions directly facing someone who is closer than six feet. If this is unavoidable, place plants, sculpture or decorations between desks.
Avoid having sharp corners and edges of walls or large items of furniture pointing directly at a desk. If this is unavoidable, shield the desk with plants, screens or soft decorations.
Avoid placing desks directly under large beams, overhead shelves or cupboards. If this is unavoidable, hang soft items from the beams, or shine lights up to deflect sinking energy away from the sitter.
Clear obstructions to desks or workstations. This includes piles of books, files, or bins around desks, as well as broken furniture, old newspapers, etc. Make room to maneuver arms, legs, and torso.
Avoid office layouts in which any sitter cannot see the whole space from their position (as in a L-shape). If this is unavoidable, use mirrors to see into the obscured area.
Avoid electrical lines that run under the desk or that are located too close to the workstation. A maximum of 2 feet for electrical runs is advised. Similarly, avoid electrical appliances closer than 18 inches from your head.
Have the home office checked for geopathic stress.

Optimize your Health.

In order to optimize health potential in a home, it is important to consider bathrooms and dining rooms. Bathrooms are often ignored or relegated to secondary status, but they nevertheless have a marked impact on our well-being. Dining rooms are also important, as they are the center of nutrition.

Bathrooms are best located towards the rear of a home and not near the entrance.
Under no circumstances place a bathroom or toilet in the geographical center of the home. This will lead to instability and mental distress.
Avoid bathrooms or toilets which face the entrance door. If they do, keep the door to the bathroom or toilet closed and hang a mirror on it to reflect the entrance.
Do not place a bathroom or toilet next to the kitchen or dining room. They are incompatible energies.
Avoid bathrooms adjacent to a bedroom. If this is unavoidable, keep the door to the bathroom closed at all times. Baths and toilets are best kept separate from all other functions through the use of corridors, foyers, or vestibules.
A bathroom at the end of a long corridor affects the entire family’s biological system, especially in reproduction. If you have such a bathroom, divide the corridor in sections by using architectural detailing, or by hanging curtains, mobiles, or chimes.
Dining rooms should be bright and cheerful. Avoid crowded situations, especially if the dinner table is in the kitchen.
Avoid loud or excessive decoration in dining areas. The best environment for digestion is a calm one.
Avoid using the dinner table to do housework or business. Eating is a sacred activity and should be treated as such.
Avoid buildings that have bedrooms, living rooms or other critical functions above parking garages or mechanical rooms. This is very detrimental to health.
To preserve your health, avoid placing dining rooms directly adjacent, below or above bathrooms, toilets, parking garages, mechanical rooms or workshops.
Avoid dining rooms with direct views of power plants, highways, railways, bridges, hospitals, cemeteries, churches, or communication towers.
Avoid electrical lines that run under the bed or that are located too close to the headboard. A maximum of 2 feet for electrical runs is advised. Similarly, avoid electrical appliances closer than 3 feet from the head position. Look into demand switching that shuts off all power to the sleeping quarters.
Have the dining room, bedroom, and home office checked for geopathic stress. (See the Articles Page for more information.)

Clear Obstructions and Combat Untidiness.

Clutter, untidiness, and any obstructions to the free flow of vital energy will invariably have a negative impact upon overall performance and, consequently, upon personal and family success.

Combat clutter. It rates as one of the most detrimental factors against fortune, health and happiness. It can also get in the way of successful relationships. A rule of thumb is: love it, use or loose it! Objects in your home should be useful, practical or an integral part of your emotional life. They should support your efforts and goals and affirm whom you and your loved ones are.
Clear obstructions to getting in or out of the home. This includes dark or narrow corridors, stairs, or doors, as well as piles of incoming or outgoing products.
Avoid unclear traffic patterns and blocked corridors. Energy flows best when paths are clear, obvious and easy to follow.
Clear obstructions to bedrooms, the home office, or the kitchen. This includes piles of books, files, or bins, as well as broken furniture, old newspapers, etc.
Clear obstructions at beds, desks, and the kitchen stove. Make room to maneuver arms, legs, and torso.
Create easy access to drawers, computers, waste bins, phones, and tools.
Make room behind desks, around beds, and in the kitchen for getting in and out. Keep clearances into account.
Eliminate all objects lying under beds, desks, or chairs.
Clear clutter at desks by filing necessary papers, discarding old ones, and using multi-level trays or files.
Have the home fully cleaned at least once a week.
Have the windows washed often. It is worth the expense.
Provide bins for recycling, garbage, product in transit, mail. Over-design is better than clutter!
Keep your closets, attics, and basements tidy and organized.

Become Aware of the Subconscious Areas of your Home.

Closets, attics, and basements are symbolic of the subconscious, where old memories and future potential are stored. By taking care of these spaces, we can help to enhance our current situation and make the changes that are needed to succeed. Similarly, by removing obstructions in these areas, we can unblock stifled creativity.

Closets, attics and basements should be well organized, easy to access, and free of clutter. Only those items which have seasonal, recurrent or true future use should be stored.
Storing things "in case of" is to be avoided, particularly if it leads to clutter. It is best to store only those things we intend to use recurrently (i.e. Halloween decorations) or as apart of a current project (i.e. lumber, tools).
Family mementos should be stored with particular care. Veneration and respect to our ancestors are key factors in promoting our own wealth and prosperity, as well as generating joyfulness into the future.
Closets, attics, and basements should be well lit and kept in good repair. Avoid leaky pipes, structural defects, and malfunctioning or jury-rigged equipment.
Flooding, out-gassing, or geodesic stress should be dealt with professionally.

Combat Disruptive Noise.

Avoid homes located on busy streets or within earshot of major intersections, garages, or industrial concerns.
Place carpeting or sound absorbing materials under stereos, computers, or any vibrating equipment. Use carpeting to define living zones.
Minimize orange and yellow colors. They encourage loud talking and noise.
Introduce soft greens and blues to calm and quiet the atmosphere.

Correct Inadequate or Inappropriate Lighting.

Avoid homes that require artificial lighting during daylight hours. They are a drain to your energy and can negatively impact health. All rooms should receive adequate light.
Use background lighting that is not excessively bright. If it is, you can remove some light bulbs from the ceiling fixtures.
If lighting is too dull, add task lights, wash the walls with light, add bright items, or repaint with lighter colors.
Light should be as close to the normal daylight spectrum as possible.
Task lighting should be somewhat brighter and easily controlled for intensity and focus.
Avoid fluorescent lights. If you can’t, add red items around you.
To combat computer screen glare, add a polarizing filter.

Control Temperature and Humidity.

Install adequate controls and partition zones according to use or function.
If the environment is too cold and you cannot control heat output, add more lights, or add red or orange to decor.
If the environment is too hot, use more cool blue or green colors, add water to the environment by placing water in a bowl, by watering plants, or by adding a water fountain.
If the environment feels too dry, drink lots of water, add lush plants, or purchase a quality humidifier.

Control the Psychological Environment

Control the psychological impact of imagery. Images and symbols that surround you should be affirmative and positive in character. Motivation can be drained by images that are not supportive to the individual or the family

Abstract art and obscure images force us to figure them out, and that wastes energy.
Negative imagery should be avoided. This includes: scenes of desolation and isolation, storms, weapons, drab, dull colors, scenes of destruction, images with sharp angles or points, images of anything dead, images from the past that are sad or unfortunate, images of unsuccessful relationships, or anything that goes down.
Positive imagery should be encouraged. This includes: sunrises, birds, or anything that goes up; bright landscapes, trees, plants or anything growing; natural movement; happy, successful people, teachers, or leaders; gently flowing water or pathways; elegant, prosperous cityscapes, parks, or gardens.

Control the Impact of color.

Color can be used to compensate for deficiencies in the environment and as a way of enhancing or augmenting potential.

Avoid dull, flat colors such as gray or beige. They stifle creativity and efficiency. If you can’t, bring in more life with flowers, bright art or pictures, but avoid color pollution.
It is better to have light, bright colors than either very strong or very weak colors.
Adding a small amount of bright red to an environment enhances the power base of the individual occupying the space.
Soft greens and blues will calm nerves and lower voices.
Yellow is effective in energizing creativity and brainstorming.
Soft blue or purple is helpful for work that requires deep thinking or imagination.
Routine tasks that require extended periods of concentration are supported by green.
Use warm soft yellow, orange or peach to compensate for slow, uninspiring work.
Use pink or peach to enhance love and soften relationships.
Use red to enhance passion.

Control Pollution

Air pollution is a significant contributor to poor performance and diminished vitality, as it negatively impacts upon health. For more information on non-toxic environments, please visit our Guidelines for Non-Toxic Environments page.

Perform a green audit of your home to determine its overall level of health. This will also serve as a baseline for future reference.
Keep lots of plants that absorb common toxins. These include: areca palm, Boston fern, bamboo palm, rubber plant, English ivy, ficus, peace lily, king of hearts, dwarf banana, lily turf, spider plant, dwarf azalea, tulip.
Avoid cleaners and solvents with toxic chemicals. Encourage use of cleaners and solvents made from such natural materials as vinegar, borax, baking soda, salt or lemon juice.
If possible, keep printers and photocopiers in a separate ventilated room.
Reduce dust levels by minimizing open shelving and reducing clutter.
Avoid building materials, carpeting or house wares made with toxic materials. Research for safe builders, manufacturers, and products.

Control Electromagnetic Radiation

Electro-Magnetic Fields (EMF’s) are an invisible form of pollution which has been linked to many health problems. It is best to avoid it, as its safety cannot be guaranteed. For more information on Safe Electrical systems, please visit our Guidelines for Safe Electrical Systems page.

Locate your home as far away as possible from sources of large EMF’s such as power plants, transmission towers, parabolic antennas, or high voltage lines.
Minimize use of high-EMF-devices such as microwave cookers, mobile phones, fluorescent lights, photocopying machines, laser printers, and computers.
Suppress EMF’s at source by using electrical shielding or cork tiles under computers, printers, etc.
Absorb unwanted EMF’s by introducing ferns, evergreens and cacti
Strengthen your biological system by eating properly, exercising, drinking pure filtered water, and taking the right balance of nutritional supplements to provide minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants necessary to combat EMF’s.
Avoid electrical lines that run under the bed or desk or that are located too close to the headboard. A maximum of 2 feet for electrical runs is advised. Similarly, avoid electrical appliances closer than 3 feet from the head sleeping position. For the home office the maximum distance is 18 inches. Look into demand switching that shuts off all power to the sleeping quarters.
To preserve your health, avoid placing bedrooms, home offices, or dining rooms directly adjacent, below or above parking garages, mechanical rooms or workshops, as well as any other mechanical equipment that generates significant EMF’s.
Have the dining room, bedroom, and home office checked for geopathic stress.

Control Geopathic Stress

Look into geopathic stress as a possible cause of weakened vitality or disease. Geopathic stress is a form of energy in the earth which is considered unsuitable for humans and exposure to which can result in a myriad complications. For more information on Geopathic Stress, please consult our Earth Energies and Geopathic Stress page.

Geopathic stress can be caused by a number of sources. The most important of these are "dark streams", natural geomagnetic deposits, ley lines, and global geomagnetic grid lines.
Dark streams are underground water veins that have been made noxious by physically disruptive events such as road cuttings, foundation work, steel pilings, heavy industry, military activity, or explosions.
Natural geomagnetic deposits can also show geopathic activity, particularly if they involve iron ore deposits.
Ley lines are straight over-ground energy lines that reflect or echo larger underground currents, including underground rivers
Global geomagnetic grid lines are thought to arise from the earth's magnetic fields in the form of vertical or horizontal radiation.
Geopathic activity has been implicated in the following disorders: insomnia, nightmares, inexplicable irritability, allergies, sudden infant death syndrome, myalgic encephalomyelitis, migraine, asthma, eczema, arthritis, immune disorders, and rheumatic disorders,
Additional signs can include: unwarranted exhaustion, history of poor performance, and odd or unexplainable behavior.
Certain animals are attracted to this type if energy: cats, owls, snakes, slugs, snails, ants, wasps bees, parasites, bacteria, and viruses. Odd animal behavior is another clue to geopathic activity.
In the vegetable kingdom other signs can also signal the presence of geopathic stress: withering or contorted trees and plants, dead or stunted gaps in hedges and tree lines, bare patches on lawns (particularly if they are linear), cankers, and infertile fruit trees.
Other signs include: lightning-struck trees, unresolved clutter, cracks in glass, brick, or plaster, recurring mechanical or electrical failure, accident-prone areas, and quick spoilage of foods and photographic film.
There is some evidence connecting geopathic activity with bad-neighbor syndrome, ghosts and other paranormal activity.
There is some evidence linking geopathic stress to lack of respect to the land as evidenced in the presence of geopathic activity in crime areas, war zones, execution grounds, desecrated burial grounds and in areas that have not been ceremonially cleared for ground breaking, new construction, development, etc.
Cures for geopathic stress include the construction of protective walls or ditches, the burying of protective items, the placing of special devises such as crystals, coils or rods in the path of the stress, and the installation of radionic devices.
As this field is relatively new to mainstream society and because it requires extensive experience, it is imperative to consult with a qualified dowser or geomancer.