Blog | Michelle Cromer

5 Ways to Use Feng Shui to Help with Bad Neighbors

Michelle Cromer September 14, 2020 1 Comment

Use Feng Shui to Help with Bad Neighbors

Did y’all every watch Bewitched? It was one of my favorite childhood shows, and one of the best characters was Gladys Kravitz. She was nosy, obnoxious, and often caused problems for Samantha by sticking her nose in where it didn’t belong.

Some of you might be living next to a Gladys Kravitz and you might be wondering if there are any feng shui cures to help protect your house. Yes!!

Below are some common-sense cures to help you with the energy from your neighbors.

Create a loving barrier. Ground the property lines with rose quartz. Bury them in the ground at each of your four corners. There is nothing stronger than love, which these represent.
Create a strong protective energy around your house. Plant things you love on your side of the property line. This serves two purposes when you see them they will bring you joy, and they will act as a barrier. A good solid fence is also a good option. Even a feng shui rock garden will help.
Hang wind chimes. Tall wind chimes or small ones will help move the bad energy around. Hang them as close to the neighbor’s property line as possible. A rooster wind chime symbolically has the power to reflect bad energy.
Strengthen affected areas inside your home. If you have windows or doors that can open up to your neighbor’s property, you can strengthen these areas with strong protective art such as paintings or photographs of mountains, which are symbolic of strength.
Bless the neighbors. This might be the hardest of all but I would wake up each day and bless your neighbors. Simply offer up a prayer on their behalf as well as any member of the family. Then seal up your home and property with some healing gratitude.

Have any Feng Shui questions? Feel free to contact me at michelle@michellecromer.com and sign up for your Power Color or visit me on Facebook at Michelle Cromer Feng Shui.

8 Ways to Feng Shui Your Kitchen

Michelle Cromer September 8, 2020 Leave a Comment

Your kitchen is the heart of your home, and no matter where it is located in your house; it represents your health and wellness. Feng shui-wise, it is the most important part of your home. It is also a feng shui symbol of wealth and prosperity. The ancient Chinese felt that the place in the home where food was prepared, namely the kitchen, was incredibly important to maintain as a safe, well-designed, and healthful space. Because of the importance placed on this room, various feng shui guidelines were established.

Below are a few tips that have stood the test of time in order to make sure your kitchen nourishes and sustains life.

Paint colors: It is always best to go with a color that you love and are drawn to.
Plants: Herb gardens and plants add not only beauty and calm but they symbolize healthy growth.
Stove: A significant feng shui symbol of wealth and the fire element, the stove is a powerful appliance. Rotate through the stovetop burners to distribute the energy evenly and ignite healthy passion in all aspects to all the home’s inhabitants. Keep the stove clean and in excellent condition.
Clutter-Free: It is critical for the chi to flow freely in this area.
Doors: If you have a bathroom door that opens up into your kitchen, make sure to keep that door closed at all times. This will help to block the healthy energy from “going down the drain.”
Lighting: Some kitchens abound in natural light, which is fortunate. It is a good idea to keep this space as cheerful and sunny as possible, so make sure this area is well lit.
Well maintained: Make sure all the appliances are in working order, broken dishes should be replaced and chipped paint should be touched up. Ensuring a well-maintained kitchen will signify that the people in the home are capable of maintaining and caring for themselves.
Balance the Elements: So many modern kitchens easily have fire (stove), water (sink), metal (appliances), and earth (color) represented, but it often takes a proactive stance in order to ensure that the wood element is represented in the kitchen. It’s not hard – you don’t need to redo your cabinets to be wood or anything like that.
Incorporating wood could be something as simple as placing fruit into a wooden bowl on the kitchen counter, or leaving a wooden cutting board or butcher block visible, as long as you actually use it, of course.

How are you and your family feeling? Is anyone chronically sick? How are the family finances? Look at your kitchen first and determine how you can incorporate some meaningful and symbolic solutions.

For more ideas on how you can Feng Shui your kitchen, watch this video.

Have any Feng Shui questions? Feel free to contact me at michelle@michellecromer.com and sign up for your Power Color or visit me on Facebook at Michelle Cromer Feng Shui.

Covid-19 and the Five-Element Eating Model

Michelle Cromer August 17, 2020 2 Comments

I have been following Dr. Osterholm who is arguably one of the most dependable, non-political sources for straight answers on what Covid-19 means to us, our world, and the immediate future. He says if you are under 55, obesity is your number 1 risk factor so eating the right diet, getting physically active, and managing stress are some of the important things you can do to help protect yourself from the disease.

No research has been done on foods that help fight against Covid-19 specifically so I am turning to the five element-eating models of Feng Shui or Traditional Chinese Medicine. I am not a licensed doctor these are merely my suggestions based on my studies.

The five-element theory as it pertains to foods:

The fire element: Eat Red Bell Peppers – high in vitamin C, which contributes to your immune defense by supporting a variety of cell functions, and can lower your risk of respiratory infections.
The Wood Element: Green Broccoli packed with antioxidants that support our immune system. Eat this powerhouse vegetable raw or slightly cooked. My mother used to pour Velveeta cheese over broccoli, don’t do that.
The Earth Element: Spinach, rich in vitamin Can ad full of antioxidants that help shield our immune cells from environmental damage. Like broccoli, best to consume raw or slightly cooked.
The Water Element: Mushrooms, which like moist dark areas, are a great source of vitamin D and can help with the absorption of calcium, which may protect against respiratory diseases.
The Metal Element: Plain white yogurt is a great source of probiotics, which have been found to be effective for fighting the common cold and respiratory type infections.

Food is the basis of our health and what we put into our bodies can either help us stay healthy or can weaken our immune system. Perhaps we should stop focusing on how much we eat, and start focusing on what we eat.

Have any Feng Shui questions? Feel free to contact me at michelle@michellecromer.com and sign up for your Power Color or visit me on Facebook at Michelle Cromer Feng Shui.

Discovering the Joy in Healing- My Four-Year Cancer-Free Anniversary

Michelle Cromer August 10, 2020 Leave a Comment

“At first I was afraid, I was petrified,” sings Gloria Gaynor in her huge hit “I Will Survive.” This is the song I was listening to when I received the phone call from my doctor. I don’t remember much of what he said, all I remember were those three devastating words, “You have cancer.” The opening line summed up my exact feeling. Petrified.

After I hung up the phone I made a choice. I knew the opposite of fear is courage and I realized to get through this adventure I would need to surround myself with family and friends who would not only support and encourage me but would help me stay in my joy.

The deep sorrow of any illness carves a hole into our being, but the hole leaves space for joy. Sorrow and joy are a package deal. When one in your kitchen the other is asleep on the couch.

I learned that joy is everyday magic. It grounds me. It lifts me. It expands my mind and spirit. And I learned that a daily affirmation helped me to stay in my joy. I would look in the mirror at the scars on my face that six surgeries and 64 stitches left and I would say out loud:
“My scars are only skin deep. Cancer cannot break my heart, it cannot rob my spirit, and it cannot touch my soul. Today I choose to stay in my joy.”

Today I joyfully celebrate my four-year cancer-free anniversary. I was told I most likely wouldn’t be here on this day. And here I am! I know how impossible it can be to beat the odds, but healing is always tethered to the mystery of the impossible, which, in every instance, requires the animation of the spirit, the capacity to let go and allow the impossible to take flight — giving form and vision to endless possibilities.

I will forever be grateful for my reconstruction plastic surgeon Dr. David Hecht, in Scottsdale. He not only saved my life by doing a biopsy on my “freckle” when THREE doctors said it was nothing, he used his talent and artistic genius to put my face back together after I had five procedures to cut out the cancer. As my scars continue to fade my admiration, respect, and gratitude for Dr. Hecht never will.

Surviving cancer didn’t give me a fresh start on life; it gave me a chance to understand what it means to live. It isn’t a challenge to be dealt with, conquered, or overcome. I realized a complex view of myself was required to work through my fears and having cancer has provided me a level of maturity I have never before experienced. I am now weathered, solid, shaped by my sorrow and pain as well as by my success and joys. Cancer is a process that allowed me to open doorways and turn the lights on to the inner rooms of my soul. The gratitude I feel will be burned into my consciousness forever. I will never forget because I will never be the same.

And now the darkness is over. And in its place is the illumination of a bright new path that lights the way for the rest of my life and for the joy that surrounds me. Always.

For Sam As We Pack Him Up for Colorado University This Week

Michelle Cromer August 3, 2020 1 Comment

If not for old photographs, I might have a hard time believing you were ever a blind baby or costume-wearing toddler, or that your first words were in Spanish. My baby is gone now. I say this not in sorrow but in disbelief. I take great satisfaction in the foot taller than me man you have grown into. We read the news outlets and you have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me in your opinion of them or disagreeing with me on anything actually. You need razor blades, shower gel, and privacy, and yet it does seem like yesterday when you would waddle into my bedroom and sing, “Eyes and ears and knees and toes, knees and toes.” It had been my privilege and honor to share every day with you, every lacrosse game, teachers visit, science fair, ROTC performance, and award presentations.

Regrets? A few. I wish I would have gotten mad less but then I would never have heard you say, “Calm your crazy ass down!” Which, as you know, makes me howl with laughter.

Victories? A few. You know how to dance, rope, and ride. You have a heart for service and your work with the military vets continues to inspire me. Not only is your first language Spanish but you embrace the culture.

You know that our attempt to understand or define God is not only ridiculous but also ego-centered.

You know there is a space, a place, beyond our five senses that Christians call heaven and hell; Buddhists and Hindus call it interval between lifetimes; and Aboriginal people call it the unseen world. Your faith in what lies beyond your five senses is being replaced by the experience of it.

You have your own agenda, you have for years. It’s not my agenda, not what I would choose, but you have more courage than I do. You don’t allow someone else’s fear-based version of life to interfere with yours. My respect for you escalates. You are going to be all right.

I hope you fail and mess up sometimes because that means you are trying new things.

I hope you understand the darkness, bad days, guilt, frustration, anger, and pain; all of these are catalysts for growth and will push you to better places when you step into them.

I hope you always believe good days are always coming, and that life is too short to play small. And I hope you carry my admiration, respect, and love with you always.

As your childhood comes to an end, it seems my work with you is complete, or you with me, since it was you raising me these past 18 years.

Go well, Samuel Luke, my son. Go knowing that your father and I will be here, setting you a place at the table for one of our family dinners, and Panzer will be laying in front of the kitchen door, waiting for you to return, as we all will be.

All my love,
Mother

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