Feng Shui for Your Desk and Work Station

Feng Shui for your desk and work station are important because increasingly, more and more people are beginning to either work from home or bring their work home from the office.

Just like the yang, structured discipline of an office environment, your desk and your work station at home needs to encourage this dynamic energy. On the other hand, you may be looking at this area of your home for your own studies or for your children's homework assignments. In all of these scenarios, there are fundamental Form School principles that you can apply to this vital area of your life.

The advice for your work area is similar to that for the bedroom where it is paramount that you position the bed to avoid lying in a draught of chi that can exist between the door and any windows.

The first step, therefore, is to make sure that your work desk, or wherever you are sitting, is not in a direct line between the door and a window. Next, consider positioning your desk so that you can see the door clearly from where you sit. This gives you a far greater sense of security while you concentrate on your work. It is important that you do not place your desk directly in front of a window, especially if it has a beautifully distracting view! Not only will your mind wonder, but your chi is going to be drawn out of the room which can be both tiring and distracting.

The next consideration is where you sit at your desk. All too common in the homes that I have visited is the practical solution of placing the desk or work station up against a wall with many shelves, heavily laden with books up above. From a Feng Shui perspective, this is not the best solution. Firstly, your back is not supported by a mountain (a wall), secondly you are facing a dead end (a wall) and thirdly, there is a great weight of chi bearing down on you from the overladen bookshelves above your work station.

I invite you to consider another possible approach. Position your desk so that you are facing out into the room, with your back to a wall and have no sources of cutting chi from the sharp edges of shelves behind your head or shoulders that can make you feel uncomfortable.

Putting these basic principles to work will take you a little bit of time and effort.

Although the advice is sound, your space will always be full of contradictions! If you place your desk here, then you are in the draught of chi, if you place your desk on the other side, then you are facing a window! However, take your time and I promise there is a solution somewhere!

The desk itself needs to epitomise your career, your studies and if you are in communication with colleagues and clients from this space, then your capacity to be in touch. First and foremost check the state of your desk.

Like your career, this needs to represent stability. Is it rickety, have you jammed pieces of cardboard under one leg to level it? Is it a piece of plywood on a couple of old tres- tle legs? Is it in a poor condition? Have a good, long look at your desk and make sure that it matches up to your dream. Recall when you had an interview with the managing director of a large firm. Did he or she sit in the corner of the room facing a wall operating from a flimsy desk covered in papers and empty cups of tea?

Your chair is your Mountain and vital for your support and concentration. A good chair will keep your chi stable, focused and clear. In many homes that I have visited, the chair at the work station has been a perfect example of 'lack of support'. People have used plastic garden chairs, flimsy typing chairs, an old disused second-hand office chair or, worst of all, a stool or folding chair. Ideally, find a chair that is wonderfully comfortable with a big, broad Mountain of support behind you and ensure that it is in excellent condition.

A revolving chair or one that can move on castors, is fine, just so long as it is stable. For an additional aesthetic touch to enhance your chi, look back to the first section of the book regarding astrology and remind yourself which element you are. Look at the previous or supporting element within the cycle and pick a colour that will suppott your element. You do not need to make the whole chair this colour but perhaps incorporate aspects of it, for example, in a cushion.

Images on the wall of the room where you work can give a subliminal message. Have a look around your space and see what message they are giving you. If you are looking to concentrate, to focus, to internalise and to study, then images of stability are best. If, on the other hand, you are trying to communicate with the outside world, initiate new contacts and initiate contracts, then choose images that are of a more uplifting, outgoing and sociable nature. Many study areas are used for storage. It is fine to keep whatever is current within sight but I strongly advise you to file away papers and material that are relevant to your past, so that they are kept out of your view. Otherwise, on a subliminal level, you are constantly being reminded of the past rather than focusing on the journey ahead of you. If it is vital for your work that you can communicate with the outside world, make sure all the equipment you need for this is in good working order and do not have any time-wasting or irritating features about them. In particular, make sure that the whole communication network of telephone, fax, computer or Internet works simply and effectively. It will all then mirror your career and prospects.

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