Beauty Space and Balance advanced feng shui and space clearing course dates are set for 2009. Deb Swingholm, Neshi Lokotz, and Minnie Kansman are the Master teachers for these advanced courses.

The Advanced Space Clearing is scheduled for June 17-22, 2009. This course includes a special Summer Solstice ceremony. The Advanced Feng Shui course is scheduled for September 18-22, 2009. We also have a very special Autumn Equinox ceremony planned for this course.

Please visit the Beauty Space and Balance webpage on my website for detailed information about the advanced feng shui and space clearing courses.

Many Blessings, Neshi.

At the Great Lakes Retreat held at Olivet College in July, I presented the first class on Medicine Wheel Feng Shui and Space Clearing. This was a overview class that laid out the basics.

I covered the characteristics of the four directions of the Medicine Wheel using my Potwatomi culture and also drawing from my Interior Alignment training. Since we had a short 2 hours to cover the information, I felt like I was a stone thrown to skip on a lake. I could only hit so many hit spots within the material I brought with me.

I laid a Medicine Wheel drawing over a drawing of my property and home to show how the areas of the Medicine Wheel effect the different areas of my property. Using the compass directions to locate east, south, west and north to lay the medicine down. My drive way (mouth of life force of the property) lays in the southeast as well as the front door of my home. The energies of the east are air, new beginnings, birth, spring, male, and yellow.

As we walked the Medicine Wheel in a clockwise fashion, we walk to toward the south. The energies of the South carry abundance, fast growth, youth, water, summer, female and black. Walking toward the West energies we come to adulthood, harvest, fire, male and red. The energies of the North are about completion, elderly, death, rebirth, earth, female and white.

I had so much fun showing how the Medicine Wheel energies line up with different parts of my property. We also talked about the similiarities to Chinese feng shui. In Medicine Wheel Feng Shui we still have life force energy or chi moving in a clockwise fashion through a space, we still have clutter effecting the flow of the life force energy, we still have to balance the nature elements, we still have the mouth of chi or life force energy, and we still have the balancing of male/female energies (yin/yang). The major differences are between the use of the 5 element theory (air, water, wood earth, metal) and 4 element (air, water, fire and earth), locating how the energetic map (bagua or Medicine Wheel) is laid over a property, and the qualities of the four directions rather than the guas of the bagua.

I can’t wait to teach this course again and to use Medicine Wheel feng shui with my next client.

Blessings, Neshi.

All Rights Reserved. Copyright, Yvette Neshi Lokotz, August 2008.

Come join us at a Spiritual Gathering in Olivet Michigan for the Great Lakes Retreat….Where Heaven and Earth Meet. I will be presenting Sacred Drum Making, overview of Medicine Wheel Feng Shui and the story of my Healing Dress at the Great Lakes Retreat this year.

The Great Lakes Retreat begins on Sunday, July 20, 2008 and ends on Friday, July 25, 2008. We are meeting at Olivet College in Olivet Michigan. (www.thegreatlakesretreat.org)

My good friend and collegue Minnie Kansman is also presenting at the Retreat. She is presenting on her book Spirit Gardens: Rekindling our Nature Connection,as well as Fairy Houses and Altars.

I am looking forward to teaching at the Great Lakes Retreat and to spend time with friends. If you are looking for a week where you can learn about spiritual topics, rest, relax and have fun….register by going the Great Lakes Retreat website. See you there!

The students did an outstanding job on their practicum. They had a real feng shui client to consult with and to prepare a feng shui consultation report. The client is a business owner who is currently going through a transition from a partnership to a sole proprietorship. The client was looking for assistance to balance out the remaining energies.

The students worked diligently with the client and prepared a well thought out report that will help the client balance the flow of chi, balance yin/yang energies and balance the five elements. The client is very pleased with the students and with the work they did for her. The client has already begun implementing the suggested enhancements.

As their teacher, I help the students prepare for the consultation, I begin the consultation so that the students get an idea of how a consultation begins. I then turn the consultation over to the students. I am in the background available for questions and support.

In Interior Alignment we suggest that new practitioners have up to 10 practice homes or business before they begin to charge their clients so that they can build up their experience level. I am available to those practitioners who study with me as on going support. I have had new practitioners email floor plans or pictures of areas that they have questions about. I even have had new practitioners come with me to my own client consultations when the practitioner needs just a little more confidence building.

Two Feathers Interior Alignment certification course have a maximum of four students per course. I love small groups because we can have detailed and specific discussions about their own homes and their practice. I also expanded the building your practice section of the course. I have a marketing expert, Tami Gulland of Graceful Marketing, come to the last day of the course. Graceful Marketing helps a studnet to build to lay the foundation of a spiritually based business. Tami talks about the very basics of beginning a business and career. Tami specifically works with the students with Law of Attraction (having a clear intention). One of the biggest highlights is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to clear issues surrounding success. Graceful Marketing will also be joining us for the Advance Course in August as we support Two Feathers students build a spiritual business.

It has been one week since the end of the first certification course and I do miss the students, but I also know that they are consciously beginning their new careers.

Blessings, Neshi.

All Rights Reserved. Copyright, Yvette Neshi Lokotz, June 2008.

Have you ever prepared for a special gathering? A gathering that you just know will be full of special moments that create opportunities for personal growth. Well, that is exactly what I am in the midst of doing. I am preparing for a special gathering. This gathering is an Interior Alignment™ feng shui professional certification course.

This is the beginning of my fifth year of teaching Interior Alignment™ professional certification courses. The professional certification course is designed to certify others as professional feng shui practitioners.  I love teaching and all the preparation it takes to conduct a course.  I have a checklist of items for the course, the students, and the venue. There are a million details, but it is the details that make the time together special.

My favorite part is selecting the different meditation music. I have lots and lots of cd’s for selection. The synchro alignments that are done through out the course help students to become familiar with this unique tool of Interior Alignment. Synchro alignment is similar to a guided meditation and meant to bring together our conscious self with our higher self.

The day before the course starts it is very busy as the chef brings in the food and fills both refrigerators and both pantries. The cleaning people are in and I am working on flower arrangements for the students bedrooms, the bathrooms, and the dining room. I also put the finishing touches to the special altar for the course.

The morning of the first day of the course has the energy of anticipation. I go from room to room double checking to make sure that everything is in place. I go out to the front walk to sweep and spray it down with water as this gives the walk a fresh appearance. I make sure the fountain is running and the potted plants are watered.

Finally, the students begin to arrive. I meet them outside at the front door with a smile and hug. As they go into the house, they meet the chef who has a yummy snack and beverage waiting for them. We get comfortable in the living room to discuss bedroom assignments and go over housekeeping items.  The students then bring their luggage in and begin to settle into their rooms.

When it is time for us to reconvene in the living room, we begin the Interior Alignment™ feng shui journey. A journey that will be life changing for some of the students and an introduction to a new career as a feng shui practitioner. I am truly honored and grateful that these feng shui students chose me for their teacher and to share this part of their soul’s journey.

Blessings, Neshi.

All Rights Reserved. Copyright, Yvette Neshi Lokotz, May 2008.

I can help you clear up some of your confusion. There are several main schools of feng shui and most feng shui books do not tell from what perspective the author is writing the book.  As I went along with my informal study, I came across the book Sacred Space by Denise Linn. In this book she wrote about Instinctive Feng Shui.  Sacred Space became the Interior Alignment™ system, which combines instinctive feng shui, space clearing and synchro alignment. When I read about instinctive feng shui, I felt a solar plexus connection with the information.  I chose to study this form of feng shui with Denise.

Denise wrote that we each have a deep and vast wellspring of intuitive knowledge about the power of placement.  Instinctive feng shui taps into that knowledge.  A great example is, when you move into a new home and begin to arrange your belongings or just moving furniture around in your current home.  Many times we move something then stand back to see how it “looks”.  We then decided if it “looks” good or not. If it doesn’t “look” good, we move again and again until it “looks” good. 

This “looking” good is our connecting or tapping into our intuition. We are actually “feeling” the change in the room. This “feeling good” is the basis of Instintive Feng Shui which is intuition. 

Instinctive feng shui is the blending of the best of feng shui from Black Hat feng shui, Compass feng shui and Form School feng shui.  These types of feng shui share and agree that harmony with the universe is important in feng shui.  Harmony is the balance of the flow of chi, the balance of yin and yang, and the balance of the elements.

The field of feng shui is enormous. Finding the school of feng shui that “feels” good to you is important and finding the teacher that you feel good about is just as important. Take time to investigate each school and teacher of that school, but rely on your intuition to make your final selection. 

Blessings, Neshi.

All Rights Reserved. Copyright, Yvette Neshi Lokotz, May 2008. 

The Medicine Wheel holds and reflects earth energies all through the year. The Medicine Wheel is an energy map that is intricately connected to the energies of the earth. Within these earth energies are animal, plant, mineral, water and air. We walk the Medicine Wheel and experience those energies represented around the life wheel. As in Western astrology there are energies that represent a time of birth.

We are at the cardinal direction of the East. Of course each tribal nation has slight differences as to what energies are represented in each direction.  My Interior Alignment™ training and understanding of the East is that it represents the Spirit of Air.  This is also the area of mental thoughts. The East is spring time, new and rebirth.  It is a time when plants and trees are budding their leaves and spring blossoms and reminds of the color green. From my cultural understanding the East represents the Creator as this brings the sun and a new day.  The East represents the new and rebirth. The direct cardinal direction of the East represents the element of earth, a time of consolidating and the color yellow.

Understanding your birth totem and your clan totem can help you to understand how your home can support you and balance your energies. If you are born between April 20 and May 20 your energies are represented by Beaver as your birth and animal totem. The Beaver is a land mammal that can swim and stay underwater for long periods of time. The energy of Beaver is one of productivity and practical. They are an engineer and architect who can transform the environment to provide comfort and safety. The essence of Beaver is a hard worker, they are always busy with the purpose of security and contentment. Beaver people are adaptive and creative and good at constructing and reconstructing both on the physical and emotional planes. Beaver people are quick to learn and good with their hands and minds.

The Beaver’s elemental clan is Turtle and represents the earth. People of the Turtle clan feel a strong need to establish a stable base or home from which to operate from — to put down roots. The Turtle clan is persistent and tenacious when in balance they achieve great progress and establish solid achievements.

In Medicine Wheel Feng Shui an earth home is natural and organic. It is a home that honors the earth.  You might find natural fabrics, oversized cushions, Native American blankets or a drum hanging on the wall. An earth home is the most sensual home of all the elements. It is a home that satisfies all your senses (sight, hearing, smell and touch).  You may want to have a picture or statue of a beaver or turtle to honor your totems.

What part of your home resides in the East? Were you born in the Growing Time? Does your home balance your energies? These are good questions to start understanding how Medicine Wheel Feng Shui can assist you.

All Rights Reserved. Copyright, Yvette Neshi Lokotz, May 2008.

You manage a warm hello for your friend, but the table keeps drawing your attention. As you walk further into the home, you walk directly to the beautiful table. On the table you see a lit candle, smell a fragrant incense and you reach out to feel the soft texture of the silk cloth. There is also a statue on the this beautiful table and a small vase of pretty flowers. The statue is of a woman in standing position with the palm of her hands touching each other as if in prayer at chest height.

The scene I just described is how Chi is invited to the front door and into the home. The table with beautiful items placed on it is an altar. Actually a particular altar known as a protection or guardian altar that is found near the front door and off to the side of the front door (not directly across the door).  The statue is a statue of Kwan Yin in a protective mudra.

I recently read a book by Daniela Schenker called Kuan Yin, Assessing the Power of the Divine Feminine.  Ms. Schenker goes into great depth about Kuan Yin. I appreciated this depth and sharing as I have fondness and connection to Kuan Yin. I have to say that this book also held another surprise gift. The forward was written by my teacher, Denise Linn. I had no idea that Denise had written this forward where she called for Kuan Yin to come and help with the birthing of a baby for a friend of hers.

Kwan Yin is a bodhisattva known for her deep compassion for all sentient beings as she hears the cries of the world.  Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have attained the wisdom of Buddhas but have postponed their final “liberation” or ascension. Instead they provide compassionate support to sentient beings in this world until they can achieve their own ascension.  She is also known as the protector of women and children.

A protection or guardian altar counteracts any lower vibrational energies such as negative thoughts from entering your home. According to Schenker, the peacock was the protector of Kuan Yin. The peacock feather holds this energy and will protect the home and its inhabitants from accidents, other disasters and can absorb negative energies.

Kwan Yin is only one example of a Helpful Person/People that can be enlisted to protect your home. You may choose from your own belief system or culture to create a beautiful guardian altar at your front door. For instance, in the “old days” Native Americans living on the great plains used the Medicine Shields which depicted the man of the home (tepee) protection. This could be in the colors used on the shield, picture of animals or birds. The shield was placed at the opening or doorway of the tepee.  It also indicated if the man of the home was in.  Other cultures may use a pair of lions at the entrance to their property (driveway) or a pair of Foo Dogs as guardians.

I believe that the most important element is your intention for the placement and also other items placed on the guardian altar. Your clear intention is the energy that holds these seemly separate items together on the altar. 

All Rights Reserved. Copyright, Yvette Neshi Lokotz, April 2008.

 Have you ever wondered what you are suppose to being doing with your life? What contribution are you suppose to give to the world?  This is how I began my journey to becoming a feng shui and space clearing professional.  It was back in 1994 that I began asking myself these questions. 

I believe that the Universe answered my questions as I found a very small article in a a Glamour magazine on feng shui. I had not heard of that phrase. Within a 2 week time frame the phrase feng shui found its way into my life. I decided to check out what the Internet had to offer. I found page after page of feng shui related items.  I noticed that there was nothing offered in the Midwest at that time, which was 1995.  I was in a bookstore some months later and found a book on feng shui, Feng Shui-Arranging your Home to Change Your Life by Kirsten M. Lagatree. There was only 3 books available at that time and I chose Kirsten’s book.  I must have read that book at least 4 times.  I started to move my furniture around and our life began to change. Paul received a new duty station in Madison along with a promotion. I was hired by the state to be a policy analyst (a nice raise to boot).  So, we moved to a small town near Madison in 1996.

Do you feel a draw or pull toward feng shui or toward space clearing and not know why? I believe that at a soul level we already know so many things. It is when we make a conscious decision to find out more or to take another kind of action that we begin to consciously step onto that part of our Life Journey, our path, to be of assistance to others. This is what feng shui and space clearing are about, being of service, at least from an Interior Alignment™ perspective. 

There are two distinct areas for consideration. The first area is on the physical or worldly level.  Does something like feng shui or space clearing interest you as a profession. Are you already an interior designer or real estate person who can add this on to the services you already provide to others. It is a business decision.  The second area of concern is in the spiritual world.  Do you feel or have a sense like you have done feng shui or space clearing before?  Do you feel a sense of joy and excitement when you read information about feng shui and space clearing?  This is your soul telling you to follow your heart.  This is a spiritual decision. 

The first time I assisted a friend to move her furniture around, I felt so elated when she felt the change in the room. Or, when my very first paying client sent me flowers to say thank you for their “new home”. The feeling of assisting others to realize their goals, their dreams, their intentions was so way better than I ever felt drafting state law.

I have been practicing space clearing most of my life. I watched my mother and my aunties clear their homes and when I was old enough, I assisted my mother.  When I read Sacred Space by Denise Linn is when I found my heart’s work. Space Clearing to me is like breathing, natural.  When you are drawn to space clearing you also are drawn to a deeper connection to Spirit as we work with the formless. The shifts in energy are not seen but felt, felt at a soul level. When a client describe their home after a space clearing they talk about how they can breath more fully, how it feels lighter or how it feels to comfortable for the first time in their home. They speak about feeling rather than seeing.

If you are interested in becoming a professional feng shui and space clearing practitioner, you may find yourself asking yourself, “why do I want to become a practitioner?” Doing what you love is a big part of the answer, being of service to others, and getting paid for assisting others in realizing their intentions may just be your answer.  I believe that the world needs more space clearing and feng shui practitioners. As people begin to awaken to their soul’s work, to their life journey, they will need assistance to create an environment that will support their endeavors to reach their goals. They will need a home that will offer them a place of peace to unwind and relax at the end of the day. Just think, or imagine that could be you assisting them. 

All Rights Reserved.  Copyright, Yvette Neshi Lokotz, April 2008.

There are three basic tenets that are the foundation of all space clearing techniques:

• Everything is composed of constantly changing energy.
• You are not separate from the world around you.
• Everything has consciousness.

“Your home is an evolving being much as you are an evolving being.  You home’s Beingness is one that you may communicate with, it provides protection and healing”, Denise Linn.  Learning how to communicate with your home can help you to create a life that is balanced and in harmony with life (nature).

The Sacred Spacebook is the basis for the professional Interior Alignment™ certification course and most of the workshops I hold for the general public. 

All Rights Reserved.  Copyright, Yvette Neshi Lokotz, March 2008.