Feng Shui: clearing clutter from the home, the heart and the mind.

I am squealing with excitement for fall. It's always been my favorite season, but this year I feel that I will be the most productive and creatively inspired than ever before. Why? It may have something to do with all of the preparatory work I've done over the summer on many levels. I believe that you can approach self-improvement from different angles--either work from the inside out, or the outside in. Changes you make in your internal world will be reflected in the external and vice versa. The Chinese system of Feng Shui works with this principle, applying physical change to your surroundings in order to create energy flow in more subtle areas of your life. While I typically don't have a ton of resonance with Chinese culture, the elemental aspects of Feng Shui have always appealed to me and I have used it with great success.

One of the principles of Feng Shui is the movement of formerly stagnant energy. It applies to your living or working space in the same manner that acupuncture moves energy along meridians in the body. Clutter is a particularly important theme in my life that requires constant attention. My moon sign is Cancer and it has a lot to do with attachments to sentimental things, memories of loved ones, clinging to the past or staying in relationships that aren't healthy just because it's too hard to let go into the unknown. I have been a terrible hoarder and kept boxes and crates of stuff. Trinkets, old artwork, letters, photos, clothing that I never wore but still liked for some reason, fifty million pens and bottles of nail polish, shells and rocks and pine cones...a lot of this is stuff that I never look at or interact with at all. I also tend to keep more than I need for myself of things like towels, blankets, dishes, etc., just in case we have someone staying with us or coming over for dinner. This rarely happens so it's hard to justify keeping enough stuff to furnish a bed & breakfast in my small apartment. What many people don't realize is that personal and household objects hold energy in the emotions we have around them. A blanket that belonged to an old lover has memories soaked into it. Missing that person or still being in love with them might cause us to keep that blanket close to us. Unresolved emotions about a person might cause us to stash the blanket away, keeping it around but not wanting to use it. The act of ceremoniously releasing an object such as this effectively cuts the emotional cords that keep us living in the past, and we are then free to form healthy new relationships. It also clears the object and restores it to its original usefulness with a new owner, so giving things away is often a very good thing to do with items we no longer wish to keep in our lives.

So this is what I have been intently working on this summer--going through every closet and every single tub and box of stuff, all my art materials, clothing, housewares, every department of my life is getting an overhaul. It's amazing to experience the emotional recall that occurs when I uncover a forgotten object. I get to ask myself, how is this object serving my life in this moment? Is it functional? Is it useful? Do I have something that works better? Can I sell it and use the money for something more useful to me? Or can I give it to someone else who will make better use of it? And these questions parallel a deep process of self-inquiry that help me to sort out and release a lot of thoughts and memories from the past that only clutter my mind today. I am purging on so many levels and it's a beautiful, though arduous, process. The process itself requires a lot of tolerance because it often makes a huge mess as I explode each box of stuff all over the living room or kitchen floor, and it makes it so that I really can't have anyone over until it's all cleaned up. So I have been toiling away in isolation sorting through my entire life and I just know this will ultimately lead me to much more clarity and effectiveness in everything I do.


Most people I know who get rid of stuff either have a garage sale or donate the items to a thrift store or church. I thought of a great way to pass my things along while inspiring others to engage in a gift economy. I am hosting a barter fair at my home in a couple of weeks. Like the barter fair held in Tonasket, WA, this is a get-together for the purpose of trading goods which also serves as a fun social gathering. I have invited several dozen people to bring over their unwanted items as well as anything they have harvested from their garden, fruit trees or anywhere else they have encountered abundance, and share it with everyone. My intention is to pass all or most of my things along to good homes, and in exchange I would like to receive a much smaller amount of things that are truly useful to me (hopefully it's mostly food and drink!). Some of what I'm passing on could be sold at a yard sale, but I am guessing that anything I receive from the barter fair will be far more valuable to me than the little bit of money I would make sitting in my driveway all day to nickel-and-dime people.

Anyway, this is what's on my mind right now as I'm up in the middle of the night going through boxes and re-organizing my entire house. The night air is cold and I feel the darkness approaching, Halloween/Samhain is just around the corner and that is a magickal time for me. I am truly in my element in the fall--it's like I wake up from a year-long slumber. Look for lots more activity on this blog in the coming months. I have set an intention to update all my blogs at least weekly.

Here are some simple Feng Shui Tips for enhancing your home or office. I unknowingly have followed most of these, but just noticed a few that I am going to incorporate into my revamping process. Best of luck and health to you!

Bower Birds

I just learned about these birds in Australia that gather up objects and arrange them in a particular fashion to attract a mate. The males create these natural assemblages out of anything that strikes their fancy, and they are not actually nests, the females make the nests--they are more along the lines of a picnic blanket laid out with a feast for a sensuous lunch date. Here are some more
photos of Bower Birds' amazing work

the 7th sign of the Hopi Prophecy has come to fruition

Please take a few minutes to watch this video. This is serious stuff, and yet, there is still hope. Much of what drives me to keep going every day has everything to do with the fact that we don't have much time to mess around--we must make some major changes in the way we live on this planet RIGHT NOW. For years, my art has been primarily for its own sake or to amuse me, to play out personal stories or to gain approval. More than ever, i realize the potential i have as an artist to send a powerful message with my various forms of creativity. Documentary films and inspirational videos are a simple, direct and compelling medium to transmit these messages. So i spend some of my time making beautiful things out of recycled materials, and some of my time promoting videos that have the potential to change the world. Here is one such video.

Hopi Prophecy – 7th Sign – Sea Turning Black…
- Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Gypsy Palace website updated!

It's taken me so long to get to this point but i can finally say that my website is actually functional. I am sifting through all areas of my life and putting energy into each area to upgrade my ability to attract income and manage time more efficiently. That means i spend some time working on my web presence, some time working in the garden, in the apartment tidying up and organizing, some time upgrading my children's space and caring for their needs, some time doing art projects, some time trying to make money, and if i have any energy left, i try to do something for myself. Yoga has taken a back burner to all of this spring cleaning, and i have not been very good with my diet lately. I've gained ten pounds since December. All of this sitting at the computer isn't helping, i need to get out and play tennis, go climb the wall at Marymoor, go for walks...and stop letting myself give into nervous munching. Perhaps staying updated with my raw blog will motivate me to do a green smoothie fast. I did that last year and lost weight quickly without feeling hungry.

Anyway, since i haven't written in this blog in a really long time, i want to take this opportunity to clarify what this blog is for. This is a place for me to share the things that inspire me as a creative individual. The things i see, hear, smell, remember, dream, and the process of translating that into art. I wish to document my creative process, offer a peek into my workspace, try my best to let you into my world. The Gypsy Palace blog, titled "Creation Divination Revolution", is intended as a bulletin board for the website, posting current events like art and fashion shows, designer profiles, studio tours and news. I will be posting there about the Alice in Wonderland fashion shoot we're doing in a few weeks, with information on the models, designers and stylists collaborating on that project. Here, i will post photos of my process and the things that are inspiring my designs. For now, i found this great website:We Heart It and this is my "heart" page on the site. It's like a scrapbook of images that you find inspiring. The images on my pages were selected mostly because they are inspiring the Steampunk style of this dark version of Alice in Wonderland. I will post this link on the links page of this blog as well as my website, so it will be easy for you to find later.

Overall, i am keeping up a good fight, in the face of dire poverty with virtually no income and bills coming faster than i can pay them. Something is telling me to just keep creating...keep making jewelry, put everything i've got into this photo shoot, keep organizing my workspaces and drawing in my sketchbook, keep adding to my website and portfolio pages, even when there is no money coming in. I feel that i am on the verge of my "big break" or whatever that phenomenon is that happens to dirt-poor artists when the finally get discovered and never again have to set foot in a food bank. I have turned my attention completely on my work and my life's mission, and on my family--no more distractions from cute boys and parties, i'm completely ready to rock. I could use a leg up, however, so if you are reading this and you're in a position to help me out even a little, my electricity, internet and phone are on the verge of disconnection. It can't hurt to ask, and i have given to those who asked when i was in a position to do that, so i know that it's possible and even likely that someone out there believes in me and wants to help. If so, i will make it easy for you:

Your support is much appreciated, not only by me, but by everyone i am taking with me on my way up.

Madame7