Feng Shui Q & A

TV IN THE JOHN

Dear Practitioner,

Dear Jennifer,

Sorry, but no. Reading, listening to the radio or watching television, in the bathroom, is not in itself a problem. However, the need to constantly have something "on" may come from a fear of being alone with one’s own thoughts. When this need extends to the short time spent in the bathroom, it is pretty extreme. It is worthwhile for anyone to try to get past this and to become comfortable being alone with one’s own thoughts. If the thoughts that come up are painful, realize that the pain is not bottomless. By just being willing to experience the thoughts, whatever they may be, it is possible to get past them. Being able to be alone with a quiet mind can really open the door to the development of your personal spirituality.

FREQUENT COLDS

Dear Practitioner,

Someone in my family always seems to have a cold. It’s one cold after another. We have a reasonably healthy diet and take lots of vitamin C. Could the house be making us sick? If so, can you recommend the areas we should look at?

Kelly W.,

Lawrenceville, NJDear Kelly,

The so-called "common cold" is often thought of as something that we "catch" and that may or may not be true. Nevertheless, like anything else in life, a cold comes into our experience as a reflection of our subconscious thoughts and our emotions. A cold may represent a feeling of being overwhelmed by things to deal with. In other words, your family is "congested" with too many things on its collective plate. That is the first place to look! Is your life overly complicated? If so, how can you simplify? Do you and your family have too many commitments and appointments? If so, where can you cut back? Is your house cluttered? Declutter! Simplify! Organize! Clear things out! By following these steps, you can see rapid improvement in your family’s health!

MICE MOVING IN FOR THE WINTER

Dear Practitioner,

Every year, around late October, we start to have a lot of mice in the house. We live in the country and it is common for field mice to seek warm habitats in the fall. But, how can we get them to leave? We do not believe in killing any creatures, but we would prefer to have a house free of them.

Eugene,

Whitehouse Station, NJ

Dear Eugene,

There are many stories of humane mouse "repellants" but none of them work consistently on all mice. One worth trying is to spread some Bounce brand dryer sheets around the areas where mice are known to enter the house. This seems to work on many mice, but not all. The best long term solution is to seal any openings in the house where mice enter. Before doing this, consider borrowing a friend’s cat for a few days. Hopefully, this will encourage the mice already inside to leave before you seal things up.

If any of my readers do choose to kill mice, please do so in the most humane way possible. This will avoid adding to the amount of suffering in our world, and will be best for your own karma, as well as for your self-esteem. A standard wood mouse trap, with peanut butter as bait, kills mice quickly. The glue traps that are sold everywhere are HORRIBLE, leading to a slow and tormented death. Moreover, there are many cases of household pets being caught in these awful things. There is no excuse for selling or using glue traps!