Last week I wrote about how dealing with a box in my basement helped me to find love.
Since then, I've had a few people ask me where the heck they might find this so-called relationship corner?
If my box isn't convincing enough, here are some other stories about relationship corners to get you curious enough to look in yours.
I was visiting a friend of my sister's who has been mostly single in her adult life. I sat in her dining room drinking tea and listened to her complain about her latest man troubles. As she spoke, I stared at her relationship corner in disbelief.
Like my box, it was a collection so beautiful it could never have been assembled on purpose.
Shall I tell you what I saw?
A big painting of a woman playing the violin, alone, with a sorrowful look on her face. My sister's friend plays the violin.
A solo figurine. When I asked her about it she informed me that there used to be a pair, but one had been broken.
A mini desert complete with mostly dead cacti. Cuddly!
A broken dresser, it's drawers filled to overflowing with taxes (nothing says romance like unpaid taxes!)
There was more, but this gives you a little idea of what I'm talking about.
In working with clients I've found old wedding dresses (the groom long gone), human sized plants (who needs a lover when you have a big old plant!) and the ashes of a dead cat (meow!) in relationship corners.
Once I even found a broken toilet! Awww... So romantic...
This is all to say, that if you're single and don't want to be, it's worth taking a look to see what's in your relationship corner.
Behold the Bagua Map!
Now a quick and dirty intro to the Bagua Map and how to use it to find your relationship corner!
The Bagua Map is a tool that is used in Feng Shui to explore how specific areas of your home relate to specific areas of your life. I don't see the Bagua's word as ironclad, but I do find it to be a helpful tool in deciding where to focus your clutter clearing attention.
This particular map is from the Western School of Feng Shui, where I studied Feng Shui way back in 2003 and how I started this crazy journey to becoming a clutter coach.
The way you use the bagua map is quite simple:
Stand in the entryway of the house/apartment/room you want to map.
Hold the bagua map horizontal with the 'entrance quadrant' on your belly.
Imagine the map stretching out like silly putty to fill the space.
The relationship corner (Love and Marriage on this map) is always going to be in the far right hand corner from the entryway.
The relationship corner in the bedroom is the one you want to pay extra special attention to, but as you learned from the story above, it's worth checking out what's in the basement too. ;)
If you're interested in exploring another area of the Bagua map and your life, take your pick, apply the guidelines above and see what you can find.
Taking a look at where your clutter is piling up in your place can be very illuminating.
This was just a super quick intro to using the bagua but if you're curious to learn more here are some books I recommend:
The Western Guide to Feng Shui by Terah Kathryn Collins
The Western Guide to Feng Shui: Room by Room by Terah Kathryn Collins
Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life: How to Use Feng Shui to Get Love, Money, Respect and Happiness by Karen Rauch Carter
Click here to download a free PDF version of the above Bagua Map from the Western School of Feng Shui website (it will download as soon as you click the link).
Now I'd love to hear from you! Did you find anything interesting in your relationship corner when you checked it out? Please tell me all about it in the comments below and if you have a friend who has a broken toilet or any long gone pets camping out in her relationship corner, please pass this along.
Have fun!
Take care,
Cecilia
ox
p.s. If you're reading this and you're not on my list, you should really get yourself on the list! I send out a fun and useful email just about every week on clearing clutter and living life. Just pop on over here to get on! All the cool kids are doing it!