It is about “the inside, not the outside”!

The quote that most people are familiar with. Mothers wise words that undoubtedly tells a universal truth. Namely the knowledge that your inner thoughts and feelings determine how you experience your life. And not the other way around. Something that we often tend to forget as people. Yet it is also true that you can not just efface your outer world. Your outer circumstances also say something about your inner state. The chicken and the egg story. How you feel inside determines how you experience the outside world and how you experience the outside world also influences how you feel inside. Oops, I can hear you thinking “do not get complicated now …”.

A simple example, imagine you’re walking by yourself through a beautiful forest on a summer day. The trees are blossoming, the birds sing and it is quiet and peaceful. Chances are you experience peace and clarity within and you can easily be in the moment. Now suppose you are on a boat in the middle of the sea with a number of people with wind force of 10, rain and thunderstorm. I bet that your inner world is a bit more restless and turbulent.

Your outer circumstances also say something about your inner state. Usually, however, we are not aware of this influence.

Fengshui, the 3,000-year-old Chinese philosophy explains this knowledge, namely how your environment can influence your state of well-being. The goal within fengshui is to come to a balance of your inner and outer state so that the Qi (pronounced: ch-i), the life energy can flow harmoniously. Everything around us consists of energy. This energy is affecting us in one way or another. Do you ever think about your environment that you come into contact with every day? How does this subtly or clearly determine how you feel? The colors of your bedroom or kitchen? The materials of the office furniture? The choice of decorating your living room?

What energy do you pick up and is that what you want to experience in that environment every day?

Did you know that colors affect how you feel? Can you really relax in a bright red room? Have you ever had a good look at the colors in a spa? These are often soft, soothing colors such as light green, cream color, or earthy tones such as warm brown and purple. Materials also affect your state of mind. Natural materials often have a warmer appearance than synthetic materials. A timber-built tree house has a completely different look than a plastic tree house. The one just radiates more warmth and peace than the other.

I myself think that raising awareness about how our environment influences us directly or indirectly can clarify how we feel and how we experience our lives. We focus on entire cities without really thinking about what the design, colors and materials do to us. We send children to schools for years where they have not thought about the influence of the building on the children’s state of mind. Are we expecting quiet children while the class exudes unrest and unnecessary stimuli? What about our homes? Who really thinks about how it feels when you step inside the door?

Now that we’re fully in the spring season, where we are literally more outward and busy with our environment, that is the perfect moment to feel what our own created environment does to us. What do we need to really come to rest or to be put in motion.

I am very interested in your story, both positive and negative sides. So send me your comment below! Thank you for sharing. Are you interested in my story and do you want to know about my bedroom metamorphosis? Keep following me for this upcoming blog. Together with interior architect Robbert Jan Admiraal I take a look at my bedroom and I help you take online steps to your ideal living environment. If you want to learn more about the very interesting study of fengshui, look for example at www.knowfengshui.com. If you are interested in looking at your life situation and you want to gain more insight into how your environment influences your well-being, please contact me for a personal consultation at info@translucentlife.com.

Warm regards,

Peer

The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings – Kakuzo Okakura