Mindfulness | Michelle Cromer

How Feng Shui Calms Your Nervous System: 4 Simple Shifts for Peace

Michelle Cromer July 7, 2025 Leave a Comment

4 Feng Shui Tips to Calm Your Nervous System and Create a Peaceful Home

Did you know your home can either activate your stress or soothe your soul?

Feng shui—the ancient Chinese art of aligning space for harmony and balance—isn’t just about beautiful design. It’s a powerful tool for nervous system regulation, helping to create an environment where your body can rest, reset, and truly feel safe.

In today’s fast-paced, overstimulating world, your home has the potential to become a sacred refuge. And it starts with simple, intentional changes.

Here are four feng shui shifts that can help calm your nervous system and bring more ease into your everyday life:

Clear the Clutter
Visual chaos leads to mental chaos.
When your surroundings are overwhelmed, your brain follows suit.

Start small: clear one drawer, one countertop, or one neglected corner.

This tiny act of intention sends a powerful signal to your body:
You are safe here. You are in control. You can breathe.

Even five minutes of decluttering can create instant spaciousness—outside and within.
Add Softness
Feng shui teaches that hard edges and harsh lighting stimulate the sympathetic nervous system—your body’s fight-or-flight mode.

To counteract this, invite softness into your space:
• Layer your sofa with throw blankets or textured pillows
• Swap overhead lights for warm lamps or candles
• Choose round tables or curved furniture over sharp angles

Softness speaks to the nervous system in the language of comfort. It tells your body it can finally relax.
Ground with Nature
Your nervous system craves a connection with the earth.
Even small doses of nature can bring your body back into balance.

Incorporate grounding elements like:
• A potted plant in your kitchen
• A bowl of stones or crystals near your entryway
• A small water fountain or a window that opens to fresh air

Earth elements restore a sense of stability and rootedness—especially in times of uncertainty.
Let Energy Flow
Blocked energy often shows up as tightness in the chest, shallow breathing, or mental fog.

Start with your entryway:
Is it open and welcoming?
Or cluttered and chaotic?

Clear the path. Open the space. Allow energy—and breath—to move freely.

When energy can flow, peace can enter.

When Your Space Supports Your Nervous System, Everything Shifts

You feel clearer. Softer. Safer.
And from that grounded place… you can begin to truly thrive.

Feng shui isn’t about perfection—it’s about intention.
Choose just one of these shifts today, and let your space become your healer.

Because your home should do more than shelter you.
It should restore you.

Are you wearing the best colors for you? Each of us has a power color based on the five elements and the day we were born. Sign up for my email list and provide me the day, month, and year of your birth, and I will send you your birth element and power color!
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Feeling Stuck?

Michelle Cromer March 24, 2025 Leave a Comment

“Every choice in life either moves you forward or keeps you stuck.”
Oprah Winfrey

Every one of us has had the feeling of being stuck. And, we’ve been stuck for a whole lot of reasons. Whatever those reasons may be, I know we can find our way out. The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.

Here are some practical ways to get free from three areas of our lives:

Physical – Clear away the clutter and distractions. There are a lot of things that can clutter our physical lives – unhealthy behaviors, fear, an incomplete project, toxic relationships, and physical clutter in our space. Start cleaning out those closets, drawers, emails, friends, and outdated beliefs. Get out of your comfort zone by shaking up your routine and adding some excitement to your daily routine.
Any of these solutions will help you find your rhythm.
Mental – When we are stuck, we all have one thing in common, mental noise. Being mindful of our mindset and self-talk is important to living a life of freedom and fulfillment. To quiet that racket, practice gratitude. Write out all the things you are thankful for.
Spiritual – Do some deep reflection. Make space to reflect on where you are in life and where you want to be. A meaningful antidote to being stuck is serving someone else in a practical way. Look for a way to help someone every day. Have a conversation with a higher power. Conversations also include listening, so create a space of silence. Take a pause and go on a spiritual retreat to refresh and renew your purpose.

There is a difference between being stuck and choosing to stay. Between being found and finding yourself. Even the tiniest step forward is a step in the right direction.

Spring is Finally Here!

Michelle Cromer March 17, 2025 Leave a Comment

I can’t recall when I have been this excited about spring. I feel like we have all been in winter hibernation for over a year, but finally, I am feeling a little bit brighter. Here are nine suggestions to put a spring back in your step.

Spring Cleaning: Let’s create a space that powerfully supports your dream. Open up your curtains and wash the windows, then open them up to let in the fresh air. Declutter your living space and let go of any possessions that you no longer need. It will make you feel energetically lighter.
Flowers: Treat yourself to beautiful fresh flowers or plant some to enjoy throughout the season.
Breathe in and breathe out: Focus on the mind-body connection by downloading a meditation app. After relaxing allow the energies of the new season to stimulate you.
Go outside: The weather is getting warmer, so put on some sunscreen and enjoy a dose of vitamin D.
Self-care isn’t a perk it’s a necessity: You have worked hard all winter, so turn off your cell phone and be present in your life. Get a massage, go to a movie, take a long bath, or read a book.
Write sentimental handwritten notes: Make someone else’s day and be creative in how you express your heartfelt sentiments and gratitude for those special people in your life.
New vibe new you: The world opens up in spring, so it’s time for you to come out of your shell too. Brighten up any space with new pillows, change paint colors, and find some bright new artwork that you love.
Love is in the air: What do you truly want? Take time to think deeply about yourself, and others, by asking deep and important questions about values, experiences, and dreams for the future.
Travel: Make memories. Have adventures. Get lost in your favorite city. Fall in love under the stars with all the people you meet. The best moments of my life will be the ones that almost didn’t happen, with someone I never expected, in a place that is pure magic.

Going Barefoot as a Spiritual Practice-Renewed

Michelle Cromer September 25, 2023 Leave a Comment

I wrote this blog 7 years ago, a month before I found out I had cancer in my face, and before all the reconstructive surgeries that followed. I am convinced this practice helped me heal and it is now a part of my spiritual and healing discipline. I encourage all of you to simply take your shoes off and walk barefoot on grass, dirt, a beach, and Mother Earth.

“Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

If you ever had the chance to enter my closet, you would realize two things about me: I love shoes and I might have a shoe addiction problem. I have more shoes and cowboy boots than all my friends combined, and I have a lot of friends. But after returning from two weeks in Costa Rica I have decided to spend most of the summer barefoot.

I learned that Costa Rica is at the top of the world, the lone contender from the Americas in environmental performance distinguished in March this year for its environmental sustainability by the United Nations. Costa Rica’s relationship with Mother Earth is both remarkable and respectful and I found myself wanting to connect to Her in the same way. So I took my shoes off. And I kept them off. Aside from when I was at the beach or my backyard, I can’t remember when I last spent one day barefoot, much less several.

What I experienced from walking around without shoes was profound. Being barefoot creates presence. Mind chatter dissipates. The animals seemed to be less suspicious. I noticed sounds and smells and saw more detail as I slowly walked. And I discovered the earth is soft, so soft in fact that it deeply moved me. The temperature of the dirt changed step after step depending on the tree cover over me and the leaf litter under me. The moisture, the rocks, the shade, the direction of the wind. It all mattered. With each step, I felt met by Mother Earth. Supported. Held up. And something I never expected, I felt better. I noticed improved circulation in my feet and ankles. My neck and shoulders lost all the tension they seemed to always have. I had better posture and better balance. It’s amazing to me how wearing shoes has separated me from so much of what I am a part of. When I returned home I continued my barefoot practice. It’s simple, convenient, and heart-opening. It’s a mindfulness spiritual practice that uses our feet as connective soul bridges between body, mind, and planet Earth. It raises our consciousness and raising consciousness in urban life is critical to sustaining the planet.

Our shoes distort our bodies’ feelings and function and also disconnect us from the earth. We don’t think about this, working in our offices behind non-opening windows, perched high above the earth on steel encased in concrete. We sleep and move in climate-controlled homes and vehicles where we have to look at an instrument to know the temperature outside. Our lifestyle is more like life in submarines or spaceships than on Mother Nature, it seems. Conversely, there’s something primal, damp, sensual, and connective about walking on the earth. Something of mystery. This is the thing I love about it: it redirects my abstract concerns. It plugs my attention into something much greater and more live-giving than the ridiculous flock of worries my mind generates.

We’re at a real crossroads now with Mother Earth and need to change our relationship with Her. Recycling newspapers and buying hybrid cars isn’t going to do it because the mindset behind these well-intended changes still treats the planet as a commodity, a sort of gravel pit of resources for humans to plunder. We don’t need different ways to pillage the planet. We need different humans. A more evolved humanity that sees the ecological and spiritual implications of living as creatures in a much greater web of life all around us.

I’m not ready to kick my cowboy boots and Manolo Blahnik’s to the curb, but I do plan on spending most of the summer connecting to the earth’s chi by going barefoot.

When was the last time your bare feet hit the ground?

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.

6 Strategies for a Meaningful and Rich Life

Michelle Cromer April 26, 2021 Leave a Comment

In an interview, with reference to his fame, Bob Marley was once asked, “Are you a rich man, do you have a lot of possessions?” He replied, “I don’t have that kind of richness, my richness is life.”

So simple yet so profoundly meaningful. Being “rich” isn’t always about money. Studies show that mindfulness and having an attitude of gratitude in all aspects will bring a sense of meaning and fulfillment to other dimensions of your life, including your finances. Below are six strategies that can lead to a deeper sense of richness and inner peace.

Lead with Love: See each person you encounter as an extension of you. Remember we are all one. Strive to practice curiosity over judgment and compassion over criticism. Show some love to yourself as well.
Have a service mindset: We feel larger, stronger, fuller, more engaged, and more effective by the simple act of serving others. Handing your pocket change to the homeless person; offering someone the right of way in traffic when you don’t have to; saying something nice to that waiter or store clerk who seems a bit weary and not enjoying life; doing small favors without being asked; greeting your sullen neighbor, even if he doesn’t greet you back; showing others you care about them; saying please and thank you.
Gratitude: Express gratitude every day, not just with a written list but also with heartfelt emotion. Every day is a gift; every breath is a gift. We can take nothing for granted in this life. The experience of feeling grateful – generally, generically, and specifically – seems to clear away much of the petty, day-to-day crankiness so many of us experience – the feelings of annoyance, impatience, resentment, anger, and indignation. There’s something very uplifting about filling yourself with a sense of gratitude when you first open your eyes every day, as you go to sleep, and often in between. Gratitude for all you’ve received, and gratitude for all that has not befallen you.
Humility: This may be one of the most misunderstood and underappreciated aspects of human experience. It doesn’t mean putting yourself below others, letting people “walk all over you,” or acting like you’re inferior or unworthy in any way. It just means being neutral – letting go of the need to place you above others. Far too much human energy gets squandered in the mindless striving for importance, getting “one-up,” trying to prove we’re richer, better, smarter, wiser, more clever, more capable, or more worthy than others.
Live a bold life: Don’t retire. Die exhausted from creativity, loving, adventure, service, and curiosity. Living a bold life does not take money, it takes choice, courage, and your willingness to show up to your life. Pray for others. Send grace to the places in the world that are on fire with pain and suffering. Take risks.
Forgiveness: It’s not a logical command. Forgiveness is mystical. It makes no sense to the reasoning mind because the reasoning mind is incapable of forgiveness. Genuine forgiveness is a self-initiated mystical act that requires the assistance of grace to release from the chatter of your ego. Forgiving is not about approving or condoning what someone has done – it’s about letting go of it. When we get caught up in vengeance, we attach ourselves to the source of our misery. We allow the tormentor to victimize us again. When we divert our precious life energy into anger, revenge, resentment, and retaliation, we give away parts of ourselves.

There is only now: Practice mindfulness; strive to return to the present moment. Take walks and leave your phone behind. Play with your children. Wrestle with your dogs. Look up at the sky, savor a cup of coffee or relish a glass of wine. Be here now as often as possible.

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.

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