Welcome and Happy New Year to all of you. This issue is beaming with articles to help you find balance, clarity, and introduce some new avenues to open your consciousness. Many of the articles are presenting a deeper layer of thought and clarity that we can incorporate into our personal lives and spaces. New creations such as the cute Prairie Fire Bugs are popping up this year. Eric Dowsett presents his thoughts on health and wealth, Minnie Kansman brings nature into our space clearing work, and I am presenting some thoughts on Zen design.

Sandy Humby and Christian Kyriacou " The House Whisperers" will be coming to the US this March to continue to offer some incredible workshops on architecture, interior design, and transformational energy work with buildings. Conscious Design will be there as a sponsor so I hope to see you there !

Blessings and a very benevolent New Year,
Renae

House Whispering -
The emerging balance of male/female energies And how they are reflected in our lives, Homes and Architecture
By Sandy Humby
©copyright 2009

In this time of great change, and the breaking down of the old out-of-balance frameworks we have built our society and life on, the emerging sense of the new is that it needs to have a real recognition, honour and integration of the power of the true feminine yin principle, alongside the masculine yang, to create a new future.

I watched with interest the inauguration of President Obama and was so struck by the image of the President and the First Lady walking hand in hand to the White House. It was not the hand in hand that had the effect on me but that from a sense and awareness of both power and energy, here was a couple, equally statuesque in form, both very powerful individuals in matched stride, charismatic and radiant. It was the balance of both of their energies which made them such an arresting sight - I was so aware of how when combined in the right way the masculine and feminine power together can be greater than the sum of their parts.
Of course this image was sent around the world. As role models they can inspire and herald a new era of respect for the qualities both male and female bring to relationship throughout the world.

Understanding and Inviting Zen into your Space

By

Renae Jensen, FSII, GLC

In this article, we will explore some of the key components of Zen design. First, I must share these statements with you. Zen is not Feng Shui, and Feng Shui is not Zen. Often, when someone considers going into a "feng shui" design for their home or office, they immediately envision a stark, oriental room. Feng shui can be incorporated into any design style, including a zen design. Also, after looking at many zen style rooms, I can safely say they there are many that could benefit greatly with some feng shui "tweaking" !

Zen interiors are not for everyone, but I would encourage everyone to think about creating one room or even one small area with zen principles. At this current time in our world, we are all reviewing the consequences of having too much "stuff", feeling stuck and overwhelmed, and using shopping as a sedative and sport. Zen design includes some incredible principles, and are almost mandatory to incorporate as we seek balance. We have reached the crisis point, and the pendulum needs to swing widely to bring us back to a centered place.

Zen, defined as Vast Emptiness", is considered to be a very intelligent design format. Everything in the design is deliberate, both it's presence and lack of presence in the space. A feeling surrounding a Zen room is one of harmony and tranquility. David Scott of "Simply Zen" says : "It is easier to live coherently and to think creatively in an environment that allows the inhabitants to deal with the flotsam and jetsam of everyday life"

By
Minnie Kansman

Minnie Kansman teaches Advanced Space Clearing courses along with her colleagues, Neshi Lokotz and Deb Swingholm.

Space Clearing uses ancient and practical methods to purify the energy of any environment, creating living spaces that feel uplifted and rejuvenated. This art of shifting the unseen energy in place can be even more effective if Nature is asked to help. The Nature Spirits and tree guardians have resided on and in the land long before the physical buildings were placed there. By tuning into and using the energy they provide, more powerful and balanced results for space clearings can occur.
Locating the guardian or tree spirit of the property is one place to start. To find the tree spirit, look for the largest or most prominent tree in the area. Stand near and spend some time with this tree, telling it your intentions. "I wish to perform a space clearing for the home on this property because --" and ask for its assistance. Then find a branch, leaf, seedpod, flower, or other representation of this tree to take with you for use in the ceremony. Remember to leave an offering for the tree spirit in return. Flowers, a pinch of cornmeal, or tobacco are all appropriate and appreciated gifts.
The item you received can now be used to bring the tree and all of Nature's energy and assistance into the home and ceremony. If it is a seedpod, acorn, or leaf, it can be placed on the space-clearing altar to act as a representative for the Nature Spirits of the land. Ask them for their assistance during the ceremony as you speak your intentions for the space clearing.

Cofion Cynnes (Warmest regards)
By Lindsay Halton
www.homesouls.com

Your house is your larger body. It grows in the sun and sleeps in the stillness of the night; and it is not dreamless. Does not your house dream? And dreaming leave the city for the grove or the hilltop?
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
Journey beyond the drama and the pain of life; under the stairs, into the cupboards, and behind the pictures on the wall.

Each home holds clues to a life filled with wonder and abundance. Lindsay Halton is the creative director of homesouls. Known to some in the UK as the architect of the Grand Designs Best British Eco Home 2008; known to others as an author and a guide. His award winning book 'The Secret of Home,' reveals how we can read our homes; as if we are looking into the theatre of the soul, as if we are players upon its stage. The book is a guide that takes the reader on a journey behind the scenes, opening doors to perception that will lighten the way for better personal choices to be made.

From me to you
I was a hero and a king in the inner world of my dreams, I was a lover, a warrior and a martyr as well, but in the outer world of appearances I could not see where I fitted in. I was seven years old and looking at my life through other people's eyes, sitting at my mother's side listening secretly to women's conversations, watching as teachers and adults moulded and shaped their children. Every night I returned to my dreams, to take off where I had left the night before, to experience another scene in what I sometimes believed to be my true story, for the wakeful world seemed too bizarre to be real. If it were real why would people hurt each other so much, why would they say the things they say and do the things they do? Why would teachers try to turn you into something you are not? Why couldn't every parent recognise how unique their children were, and why were children so cruel? This was not the way it seemed to everyone but it was the first scene in my life story. It set the stage for what was to come.

The U.S. Green Building Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community of leaders working to make green buildings available to everyone within a generation.

This is the year to join or renew your membership in this fabulous organization. Whether a huge corporation, invested professional, or interested homeowner, the USGBC will offer you many ways to be Green.

• Certify your green building
• Join a chapter
• Take courses and workshops
• Purchase LEED Reference Guides
• Learn about Greenbuild 2009
• Sign up for e-newsletters
• Learn about green building
• Become a LEED AP

By
Sal LaDuca from Environmental Assay, Inc.
(www.emfrelief.com)
Presentation 2008 Conference
The International Institute for Bau-biologie and Ecology,Inc.

Indoors and out, we are surrounded with Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs). While some are natural, many are not, and in one way or another they will interact with any entity that is electrically based. Humans fall within that category. EMFs are us.

About the IBE

The International Institute for Bau-biologie and Ecology, Inc. (IBE) established in Clearwater, Florida in 1987, is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to bringing together the technical expertise, biological understanding and ecological sensitivity to create healthy homes and workplaces.
IBE's main objective is to educate - specifically, to help people realize that homes and workplaces can be created to bring the benefits of both health and aesthetics into their living environments. Bringing awareness to the health hazards that may exist in our living spaces not only improves health and provides a sense of well being, it also has an impact on the survival of this planet.

About the Author: Sal La Duca
Indoor Environmental Specialist
BS, BBEC/BBEI, CIEC
FCC Licensed
792 Green St.
Phillipsburg NJ 08865 USA

By
Eric Dowsett

I wonder sometimes, if we truly stop and ask ourselves why we seek more, knowledge, happiness, wealth, romance, whatever.
We seem to be in caught the pursuit of something so that we may be, what? At peace, happy, healthy, wealthy. Be something other than who we are, right now, this very instant. This way of being has been bred into us by our past, our ancestors, our education system. Just the simple fact of being a human being, alive on planet Earth at this point in time is so totally overwhelming it is hard to see that perhaps there is another way.. All of our experiences conspire to ensnare us in seeking more. If history books are to be believed then little has changed in the ages since history was recorded, we are still lost in the drama of the human experience, and continue to find solutions to that drama from within the very structure that created it in the first place, our individualization, our sense of separation, our tendency to externalize and blame, to fix and manipulate.
There is a belief in Buddhism that says we literally lose our mind at the moment of physical birth. Some spend their time on earth trying to find the mind, some to understand it, some to just lose themselves in the play and participate in the illusion fully. Losing the mind, after all, is not something most of us can do anything about, even if we were to recognize this to be the case.
Even those who believe themselves to be on a journey back to the self, to god, to the true nature of who they are suffering from the illusion, the illusion that there is anywhere to go, anything to do, anything to say. All the time we seek, we shall not find. Seem to recall quite the opposite of that being quoted a lot. To seek there must be a seeker, to search for a goal there must be someone on the path, to take a journey suggests someone is along for the ride. Yet who is that someone, the seeker? In my years of teaching it has become increasingly obvious that the seeker is a collection, an addiction to various points of view, collectively called the personality. We try to understand ourselves from within ourselves, much the same as trying to 'fix' an illusion from with in the illusion.

Eric will present a workshop 'Health & Wealth' in Denville, NJ, February 14th - 15th and an evening lecture February 11th from 7-9pm For more information call 973.773.0773 or email marinellimethods@aol.com

Fire is the symbol for creative energy, chi, indomitable human spirit and passions (of all kinds).
Driving through the Heartland of Iowa one summer evening, the sun dipped down behind the horizon in front of us. Miles of corn and soy fields stretched out on either side in gentle curves and hills... and we kept driving, thinking distant thoughts. Suddenly we realized it was dark. But the fields were alive with millions of tiny fireflies, like fairies lighting our way. We had been so pre-occupied we almost missed the magic. And so, the idea for Praire Bugs was born!!!

We manufacture a natural, chemical free fire starter which is good for fireplaces, fire pits, wood stoves, campfires and chimnea. Made from recycled cardboard and locally grown, processed and hand poured soy wax, these fire starters emit no carbon monoxide and leave no residue behind. Praire Fire Bugs are:

Natural Chemical-Free Firestarters
All natural and made from recycled cardboard and pure soy wax
Chemical Free, no arsenic or formaldehyde
Safe for the environment and for cooking food.
Emits no carbon monoxide
Patent pending.
Made in Iowa by Whole Earth Partners, LLC

Note: Mary Beth is looking for retailers who wish to sell her "cute bugs" or consumers who want to buy direct from them.
Marybeth Gardam
Prairie Bug Firestarters

By
Kartar Diamond

Kartar Diamond has been consulting on homes, businesses, and land selection since 1992. This has been a full-time occupation for Kartar since 1995 and her company, Feng Shui Solutions, has been a leader in promoting traditional feng shui as a natural science. email: kartar@fengshuisolutions.net web: http://www.FengShuiSolutions.net

This summer I was invited to deliver four presentations to a group of Sony executives who were participating in a workshop series to teach them a variety of ways to reduce stress and maximize their energy and creativity. Feng Shui was a perfect addition to the curriculum.

Without knowing anything about the politics or inner workings of Sony Studios, I just used the Sony Pictures Plaza building as an example, highlighting the building's feng shui based on when it was built and what direction it is facing. Participants in the class laughed when I described how this particular building, literally and symbolic of Sony Pictures, is a type of building called Double Facing. The Double Facing building is considered good for money making, but bad for the health and well-being of the occupants. Oh how true that apparently is, according to the attendees.

What makes a building good for attracting money, but undermining for the health and relationships of the occupants? This is a non-obvious aspect which has to be calculated and it will be true for all buildings built in 1986 and facing magnetic Southwest at 210 degrees.

This building also has a big circular driveway on the Southwest entrance side (virtual water) as well as a real fountain in the Southwest, which is also great for attracting wealth. At the time the workshops were given, the movie Batman: Dark Knight had just been released by Warner Bros. and one Sony executive grumbled that they had some fierce competition to overcome. "Wealth" is always a relative term and certainly the Sony Studios building helps the whole company.

That said, I have been to most of the studios in the Southand for individual clients who work at Fox, Paramount, Disney, Universal , MTV, and Warner Bros. and all of them have something going on feng-shui-wise that supports creative people. But the people I work with are often not relaxed about their positions or interactions with others at work. In fact, some of my clients cannot even divulge their true birth dates to me if other employees are within ear shot because many people feel they have to take 5-10 years off their real age. I feel bad that creative people often have to be in tense environments with so much competition and back stabbing going on. It seems like it would be counter-productive to creativity and perhaps that is why they can all use some feng shui!

Sony Pictures Plaza is located at 10000 W. Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232. If you get an aerial view of this building from Mapquest or Google Earth, you will see its unusual shape and orientation.

Can Feng Shui be used to enhance my wedding?
From J.N., Arizona
Our reply is from Joy Abrams MA, FSII

Feng Shui and Your Wedding

Feng Shui, the centuries old art of placement, is the observation of everything in the universe that is comprised of energy or chi. To achieve this good chi in your lives these energies must be balanced in your environment to support you and not hinder you. The environments that you choose on a daily basis and especially on special occasions must provide a space that will be calming uplifting and healing. Your wedding is the most important day of your life and it is a time that your environment needs to nurture you and make you feel uplifted. The choices that you make regarding the colors shapes and the place you choose to get married in can create a difference in having a glorious setting as opposed to one that is just ordinary and disappointing. The question you must be asking is how can feng shui help you to achieve this objective? Here's how feng shui can help you:

These are just a few of the ways that feng shui can make your special day spectacular. For if your external environment is one of balance and harmony it helps you to let go of the challenges and come back to your source of power. Then you can continue your wedding plans feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
Joy Abrams MA, FSII
www.aaafengshuiandyoga.com

• Proper choice of your wedding reception place based on who you are energetically
• Colors of wedding party's clothes, and fabrics
• Materials for your wedding dress and groom's outfit
• Bridal veil
• Wedding accessories such as tablecloths napkins ECT.
• Seating arrangements, and shapes of tables
• Flowers
• Achieve a clarity to solutions that you could not see before

The Salvage Studio: Sustainable Home Comforts to Organize, Entertain, and Inspire is a guide full of do-it-yourself projects for turning excess scrap into beautiful and functional crafts for home, yard, or garden. From silverware hooks made of old serving utensils, to a birdbath crafted of a lampshade, to a trellis composed of disused golf clubs, these projects encourage both responsible recycling and artistic flair.

Originating in South Africa, the Amaryllis (Botanical name is Amaryllis belladonna), is a beautiful and dramatic flower, often seen in bright red around the holidays.
Also called the Belladonna Lily and Naked Ladies, the amaryllis has a rich legend. She was once a shy and timid nymph, and fell in love with Alteo, a strong and handsome shepherd. She had hopes of winning his love by presenting him with what he most desired - a flower so unique it had never existed in the world before - Amaryllis sought advice from the oracle of Delphi.
As instructed, Amaryllis dressed in maiden's white and appeared at Alteo's door for 30 nights, each time piercing her heart with a golden arrow. When at last Alteo opened his door, there before him was a striking crimson flower, sprung from the blood of Amaryllis's heart.
And so, the amaryllis has come to symbolize pride, determination and radiant beauty.

By Deana Schimmenti

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, it seems pertinent to talk about the heart. Regarding the heart, there are a few different aspects that I feel important enough to cover here; how to strengthen the heart, how to get over a broken heart, and how to find true love.

Garnets are fiery stones often used to enhance body strength, increase endurance, and to add to one's energy. They can be worn or kept in your pocket and are great stones to take with you when hiking. Garnets also regulate the heart and blood flow. Placing Garnet over the heart chakra re-energizes both the blood and heart. Like rubies, Garnets fortify the heart chakra and improves circulation.

This gorgeous and Green Sedona area beauty is took over 3-1/2 years to carefully construct using the highest grade Green materials and workmanship.This Home was featured in the Scottsdale Magazine and The Wall Street Journal! Some additional rooms to enjoy are the Steam Room with Speakers tied to main Sound System a Theater with special theater lighting & sound, surrounded by insulated wallsand a Wine Storage Room.. $2,990,000

Yasha is a Feng Shui and Four Pillars Expert and Educator. He is a former Director of the New York School of Feng Shui and has been instrumental in creating the first English language Feng Shui Glossary in conjunction with the International Feng Shui Guild.

The Solar Year begins February 4, 2009 at 1:12 AM The Ox is the second archetype in the Chinese cycle of twelve.

The dynamics of the Ox are grounded in the work ethic. The mantra of the Ox, "work is life", is a resounding influence through the year. Persistence of effort and a willingness to take on the necessary work, however challenging or exhausting it may appear, assures success. The Ox knows that the seemingly challenging and exhausting nature of work when embraced and approached with an essence of joy can transform and will likely stimulate growth and a surge of life force energy.
Proceed in the spirit of joy and satisfaction. Look in your heart to know what your work is and proceed free of resistance. It is excitement and passion about the task at hand and the ability to allow that provides an unlimited reservoir of energy that can be put to use to fulfil your heart's desire and to keep you moving forward.

Christian ViolarisKyriacou RIBA MCSD Dip BM is a true Visionary and as an international inspirational speaker, he shares his knowledge as a chartered Architect, Interior Designer, FilmMaker, Composer, Musician,and renowned Feng Shui - Vastu and Geomancy Consultant with students and clients around the world.

He is a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Chartered Society of Designers, International Feng Shui Guild and the Performing Rights Society.

His knowledge and inspiration comes from over 39 years of study and practice of Music, Oriental Philosophies, Meditation, Sacred Sound, Sacred Geometry, Sacred Architecture, Geomancy, Vaastu and Feng Shui. Sources arise from India, Egypt, China, Tibet, Greece, the United Kingdom and other connections. He is the co-founder and teacher of the London School of Feng Shui. Combining this wealth of knowledge, he designs new and adapts existing buildings incorporating feng shui and classical principles of architecture, sacred geometry and proportion, musical ratios, spatial harmonics and energy matrix structures.

The House Whisperers, done in conjunction with Sandy Humby, is a ground breaking new series that will change the way we look at our homes forever.

The series will reveal how the history, structure and design of our homes impacts on every aspect of our lives, from relationships to careers, exposing how our homes rule our lives. If you are unhappy in your life, your home could be the cause.

U.S. Beekeepers Have More Bees Than Anytime in 3 Years

The Beekeeper
I've made the comment that beekeeping has changed more in the last two years than in the last 20, and every day that comment becomes more and more clear. Beekeepers that suffered extreme losses from Colony Collapse Disorder did one of three things: * They quit * They didn't do anything, and then they quit. * They changed what they were doing, and are still around today. More changed than didn't, and that means they are still around today. bees But beekeepers that didn't suffer from Colony Collapse Disorder, or had only a touch of the plague, made changes too, and they are still around and in fact are doing well and growing. Those changes have been huge in terms of what they have managed to do with the number of colonies they have, and even more so in terms of the paradigm shift in colony management techniques.

By: Kim Flottum The Daily Green

By
Jon Sandifer

Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times

Janis - - a pearl of a perfomer

Born Monday, 19 January 2009 1943, Janis Joplin made an enormous impact on the music scene of the 1960s in her short life of 27 years.
In 1962 , at the age of 19, she had already written in her campus profile: "She dares to be different"...and she did.
Like Jimi Hendrix she shared the same sensitive and immensely influential 4 Wood Birth Star. Shakespeare had this too. Pure genius. Driven by her 6 Heaven Inner Star, Janis was at once assertive, perfectionistic and very self critical. When happy or fulfilled - unstoppable, but when low - deeply depressed.
Her legendary feisty nature, stamina and appetite for life, drugs and drink can be seen in her 3 Thunder Outer Star. Her life, like Hendrix, was cut short tragically in 1970, and her acclaimed album, Pearl (picture), released posthumously.

Behind every front door there is a story of people's life and lives:

March 6, 2009 A Special NYC Evening Lecture

Hear first hand our real life experiences, fascinating stories and challenging situations experienced on consultations! Join us in an interactive evening of shared storytelling - What might your home reveal? Recognize some of the signs which indicate where your home is influencing your life.
March 7 Architecture Workshop
Christian Kyriacou presents Sacred Geometry, Sacred Sound,Architecture and the wisdom of the Ancients.
March 8th - Interior Design
Sandy Humby presents The Intuitive Designer - Space, Form and Color.

Purchase Tickets Online: NYC

Christian and Sandy The House Whisperers- their mission, to scrutinize properties and reveal how our homes influence and lead our lives.
By evolving successful property and life coach genres, The House Whisperers is a ground breaking new series that will change the way we look at our homes forever.

By Yasha Jampolsky

The Fire Tiger Month begins February 4 at 1:12 AM and ends on March 5 at 7:02 PM

The Tiger is third in the "Cycle of Twelve". The Fire Tiger month comes in with a roar, filled with energy and excitement . The fixed element Wood carried by the Tiger is the element of Early Spring. It signifies new beginnings and the potential for growth and renewal. Wood feeds the Fire contained in the heavenly stem stoking it into an even more dynamic force.
The Tiger is filled with powerful and restless energy. After a long winter during which energy has been gathered and stored, the Tiger is ready to spring into action. The energy of the Tiger is very physical but also provides and promotes the possibility for new ideas or for choosing a new direction. After serious reflection and hard work during this past Ox month, you are probably quite aware of things you would like to change and this is an excellent time to choose the course that you so desire.

Why do you live where you do? Did you choose the house or did the house choose you? Do you feel at home where you live? Is life going well or could things be better? There is a resonance, a connection between us and the spaces we call home.

They are the container for our lives and story, and their own history- both positive and negative. What story would your house tell? Learn how to see and clear any unhelpful patterns which could be influencing your life at a core level, thus enabling enhancements to be more effective, a greater ease and flow to unfold and a different future to manifest.

We will be working with Sacred sound, color, breath work, energy exercises (both in the classroom and remotely) and laughter! plus Space Clearing tools and techniques in this powerful experiential weekend.
Online Registration