As the holidays approach, it is common practice to re-evaluate our lives. We affirm our accomplishments and acknowledge improvements that can be made. It is the perfect time for making feng shui adjustments and discarding unnecessary aspects of our lives that weigh us down.

An increasingly popular way of taking feng shui to a higher level of effectiveness is having a ceremonial blessing or clearing performed in your house, at your business, on your possessions, or on your personal self. One type of home or office ceremonial blessing releases negative energies left by previous occupants, while another type shows appreciation and reinforces your connection with the universe, thereby increasing prosperity and happiness.

Blessing ceremonies literally transfer the energy of the mind to the building, object, or person of focus. Using mind power in ritual blessing ceremonies has been around for many years, but over time, people have forgotten the importance of rituals – even something as simple as giving thanks for their food. When you appreciate the food that is on your table, you are actually empowering the food. The empowered food enters your body and gives it nutrition, which activates your metabolism and healing properties.

You can transfer empowering energy to everything around you. When you are folding your clothes, you can do a mantra chant to empower the clothes. You can say, “when I wear this I am vibrant, I feel healthy, I feel good.” When you are cooking food for your family, chant a mantra and put the power and energy of your love and care into the food. This is empowerment. When you massage somebody, there is a difference between rubbing somebody with no intention, and rubbing somebody with intention and love. The person receiving the massage with intention and love will feel completely different.

Before performing a ceremony, we choose an auspicious date for you. An auspicious date is calculated from your birth chart and is a time when the planets are aligned in your favor to bring you the most benefit.

Death is energy that is considered beyond the physical realm. If a negative death occurred in your home involving suicide, substance abuse, physical abuse, miscarriage, or bankruptcy, a blessing ceremony can release the offending energy. A house can also be haunted, meaning the spirits of the previous owners are unsettled and lingering. If you don’t release their spiritual energy with a blessing, it will affect the residents’ well-being.

Blessings can also be performed on antique furniture, jewelry, or anything that belonged to other people. For instance, if your furniture was made using slave labor or children, then it will carry sad, hopeless energy into your environment. We have performed blessings on cars for added protection against accident, especially if the car had a previous owner who carried negative energy.

Humans can be blessed and empowered as well. If you went through something hard in your life and you feel that your energy has been depleted, or if you feel negative and want to release this, then you can be strengthened or purified with a personal ceremony in which you will be given a personal mantra charm for added protection and strength.

Everything - from a piece of paper, to furniture, to human beings – contains life force. It is all energy at some level and is capable of retaining either positive or negative energy. Blessing ceremonies rejuvenate stagnant energies, release troublesome negative energies, and empower you, creating a flow of positive energy that will enhance your well-being.