Feng Shui

Today I am having a wonderful interview with an inspiring Parisian lady in San Francisco: Catherine Grison, Soul Artisan for People and Spaces. I have met Catherine through the inter-connective world that is Twitter. 

Catherine is a certified and stylish Feng Shui Master, and she implements this knowledge so she herself, and her clients and friends, can enjoy more joy, more abundance and also better health in their lives. Her credo is: "Life is not beige!" She founded Your French Accent, her “Decorator Extraordinaire and Beyond” consulting company in 2004.

Her website: http://www.yourfrenchaccent.com/ 

She says: "When I moved to San Francisco, 10 years ago, and began to work in the furniture industry, I was shocked to see that most people were "matching" sofas and chairs, "blending" neutrals. The only real colors in retail were mostly dark reds on leather library chairs. I was then working at the brand new Crate and Barrel Furniture store downtown San Francisco, in the fine furniture department.  To this day, I still remember how happy one of my customers was when he came back to me and announced: "I made it Catherine! I listened to you and I went for color! You can be proud of me!" He was holding a dark chocolate velvet pillow. Dark chocolate. To go on his all beige furniture...  I had envisioned a more powerful combination like a hot pink or spring green to make the room happen... However it was a start and I congratulated him! “

Why did you move from Paris to San Francisco?

I moved to California to live with the (American) man I loved and met in Paris. It was heart breaking to leave Paris. It took me 4 years to feel at home here. We did not live in San Francisco but in Pacifica, a secluded coastal small town. Too much water… Pacifica is gorgeous but I am a city girl. I need Fire. At first I thought I will not survive when I came to Pacifica. I could not even look though the windows: all these small houses and the big ocean were so lonely too me. I was looking desperately for high energy, crowds, and tall buildings! Despite my job in San Francisco, I felt so isolated, dying inside. Then step by step, I met incredible people, developed new true friendships. I began yoga, enrolled in a 3-year Feng Shui program which I graduated from and uncovered my spiritual path. I founded Your French Accent, my “Decorator Extraordinaire and Beyond” consulting company. I learned so much during these Pacifican years…

As soon as we (happily) divorced, I moved to Potrero Hill in San Francisco. Here I could reinvent myself again, open myself up to possibilities.

How did you get your business started?

It's different here, how things work, compared to Paris. When I arrived I did not want to go back to coaching without knowing the culture; it would not have been ethical. I started exploring… In Paris I used to work in management, coaching, training. I have a master’s degree in Communication, Linguistics & Training. I used to design programs, coach store managers, and train sales associates. So when I started working in San Francisco I thought: the home environment is the best place for me to understand the culture. When people buy furniture, they tell you their story. If they don’t, you are not a good listener! In the meanwhile I had entered a 3 year Feng Shui certification program. My clients were asking me to furnish more and more homes; the logical next step was to start a business.

What is important to you?

I use an integrative Feng Shui to help other people improve their lives, their health, their level of happiness. I used to be a more black & white person, sure of how things "had to be". I was a personal development fascist! My vision is far more flexible now. I try to help others grow, and myself too, what is very important to me. My clients say I am honest and straight forward. I see people from the inside, I do not sugar coat. I have integrity and also humor. A lot of my clients have become friends. My best advertisement is 'word of mouth', which leads to work. I'm a very pragmatic person with her 3^rd eye wide opened. I use my common sense and a pendulum too!

So what would be your Feng Shui advice for my readers today?

Any place is related to your life. Feng Shui means Wind and Water, the two elements which create life. Any place is a reflection of our own being. For example: I worked with a lady who had a 2 bedroom condo: she asked for decoration advice. The Lady did not want me to enter a particular room. Eventually I did see it and it was a disaster. It was filled to the brim with "stuff". It was very hard to walk around. The rest of the apartment was very tidy. It turned out that her father used to be living there, so she kept it closed, she didn't want to think about this room, let alone start cleaning it out.

The truth is that if you lock a door, the room is still there, and the emotions behind it are still there too. Blocked up areas will affect you mentally and your health, whether you realize it or not, whether you see them or not.

Keep only what is successful or enjoyable.  Always find ways to enjoy life. Many say it's good to do "this" after.... after what? There is NO after, there is just that what is now. I have a ritual called “The Past is over” to help people move forward, and step in their Present. Together we burn the past, literally. It is a very powerful ceremony!

My advice is that you need to use every room in the house, every object. You can't hide from yourself. Feng Shui and interior decorating is not about focusing on what's wrong, it's about improving spaces and thus improving your life in general. If you deny a piece of yourself, it's best to address it now, observe how you have treated your house and your rooms. It will tell you more than you think! So Feng Shui has a lot of hidden psychology embedded in the flow of the house. The key is to let the energy flow as best as it can. Avoid having sharp corners, add greenery, colors. Think symbols!

How can Catherine help us?

Now look around you! There is nothing quicker and cheaper than adding a layer of fresh paint to change the energy and the look of a room, whether in a home, an office, a business, a restaurant... And if you know somebody you love and who needs a lift, you can even gift my services. It may change a life!

Fortunately for all of us, Catherine does remote consultations. I thought it was a delight talking to her on Skype and having a real time conversation together. This means that you can email and skype her too, book a consultation, sending a floor plan and photos over for her to perform a full analysis and help you clear the areas of your life and your space that you have found troubling or difficult to organize.

Send her an email with any questions you may have, to ask for a quote: yourfrenchaccent@gmail.com

Check out her blog too: http://www.frenchshuicafe.com/ which she reorganizes now to provide more quick services and to-the-point advice, including spiritual guidance and deco tips, building also more global community…

You can of course “Like” Catherine’s services on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/CatherineGrisonYourFrenchAccent?ref=ts

http://www.facebook.com/FrenchShuiCafe?ref=ts

and follow her on Twitter:

@catherinegrison

@frenchshuicafe

entanglement

From time to time we get entangled. In something, in someone. It happens so life can provide us with experience, which is the only thing that really teaches us.
In whatever scenario there are ALWAYS 3 options:

1. We go forward (thus getting further entangled)
2. We go back (possibly kicking but freeing ourselves)
3. We stay in the same spot.

Naturally there are circumstances where we wish to get entangled -you know the very kind I'm referring to. Then there's that situation in which we find ourselves because we were not paying enough attention. Oops. And then there are those instances we just never want to find ourselves and when we do it's something that can take years to repair.

(In my highland calf's case, he was freed after Nico had to do some chasing after him today, as the boy had literally got all tangled up in white break-fencing power wire plus some poles which he was dragging behind him across the paddock. Every moo there was observing him with some distaste and very round eyes. Lucky for him the power was never connected to said wire so all it did was hurt his pride. To his credit I am now doing a post in his fuzzy-socks honor.)

Basically what we can draw from any entanglement/involvement/attachment is this: you will always draw people to you for different reasons, and things happen. The wise and most important thing to do is:

• to know exactly what you are about as a person
• to know what your personal goals are or what the business focus is
• to know that you are the only one who can change your circumstance
• to stick to that which is right for you no matter what they say
• that you are the only one who can apply the above a,b or c

What I have learned is that whatever is said or whispered, or whatever they want you to see, that it is essential to draw your own conclusions and opinion. Don't give the power over your life or business away, you don't have to. Who said so? 

attitude

I write a lot about attitude. I think I do because I find it so fascinating that people's psychological outlook reflects directly on how their lives develop. I have found great joy and benefit in seeing people that have the same upbeat attitude I generally have. Recently I have noticed how some people I started to see less off are complaining and that they get upset when things don't work out the way they want to. From my own experience I can say that if you force your hand, or make demands on other people, it's definitely not going to take off. It will crash and burn. Results: zero.

On the other hand: if you share something of value with someone, and you know they have an interest in it, things can pick up and develop almost by themselves. I find it's definitely more preferable to meet people who are on the same wavelength and who are actually keen to work hard and enjoy what they do. It's not about fluffy positive thinking, it's about awareness. Choosing who you associate with is more important then you realize, so choose carefully. I try and see people who like to peek outside of their world and comfort zone. They know things I don't, which is cool and I always learn from them. I'm an inherent giver and like to help others out when I hear they are looking for something or someone particular.

Putting the effort and the belief in what ever it is you enjoy doing most, it will always grow. Sharing it in such a fashion that your gift is received happily and respectfully, makes all the difference. There is a time and place for everything, sometimes you cut yourself by wanting something to happen too quickly, or it runs away with you as the process is actually quicker then you are. Is it all linked with your attitude? You betcha.

"Share you ideas and work with those who you respect and want to learn from, if people are stuck in a set way of thinking, choose to keep your thoughts to yourself."

light shown: Alex Earl of Melbourne, Australia