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Feng Shui – The Original Green Lifestyle

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Renewable or sustainable energy, climate change and environmental pollution are in the headlines daily. Are you considering a shift to a greener lifestyle and making changes in your home to bring it into more harmony with the environment? Is it time to take action on your thoughts? Should you invest in a green lifestyle and eco-friendly products?

Whether you agree or disagree with everything you hear and read about the greening of America, you can definitely agree upon the fact that a lot of time, money and effort is being dedicated to this endeavor.

Defining a Green Lifestyle

I am sure that every person has their own definition of the greening of America and what living a green lifestyle would look like. And, sometimes those definitions are vastly different and totally at opposite ends of the spectrum. My rather simplistic definition of a green lifestyle is: people who support and replenish their environment and an environment that supports people through providing life giving atmosphere and resources in order that they both can flourish.

The second way I could describe a green lifestyle would be to live a Feng Shui lifestyle. The original Form School of Feng Shui is all about creating your home and life to be in complete harmony with your surrounding environment.

If you think about it, Planet Earth some 3000 years ago was in perfect balance. To be somewhat simplistic, Earth experienced day and night, heat and cold, wet and dry over a yearly cycle. It had oceans and land masses, mountains and valleys, barren land and crop supporting land. The earliest civilizations learned to work with their environment and to manage the resources.

The Ancient Chinese civilizations lived in harmony with their environment. They altered their environment by cultivating the land and building homes so as to survive. But when they learned to position their homes in harmony with the energy forms provided by the environment such as trees, hills, rivers and sunshine as noted in the Form School of Feng Shui they began to thrive.

Feng Shui Tips for a Greener Lifestyle

Since we cannot turn the clock back 3000 years nor do most of us wish to, there are a number of things we can do today, right now to live in better harmony with our environment. Rather than think about the environment from a global perspective which is out of reach for most of us, look around your home to find those things which are within your reach, you can control and do something about right now.

o Recycle everything. Most people recycle the obvious such as bottles, plastic items, bags, newspapers, boxes and the like but take a closer look at things like electronic equipment, cell phones, computers, tools, books and appliances. Many areas now offer places to drop off electronic items and libraries love to receive new books that have been read only once. See what is available in your area.

o Donate all useable clothing and household items to charitable organizations so they can be recycled to those in need.

o Check in with local organizations like those dealing with domestic violence to see what items they regularly need that you may be ready to part with. Keep that list handy for future use and to share with others.

o Remove your name from as many catalogue and flier mailing lists as possible to reduce the amount of printed mail you receive and toss. If you like certain catalogues but are receiving duplicates be sure to notify them to remove the extra name from the list. Encourage all of the catalogue companies you purchase from to print on recyclable paper.

o Use canvas, cloth or mesh shopping bags to bring home your groceries. This will lower the number of plastic bags clogging up the environment plus save on the use of petroleum to manufacture them.

o Get in the habit of using old towels as rags for some of those simple cleanups and spills throughout the house and garage instead of grabbing for the nearest paper towels. Old towels are easily recycled by simply washing and disinfecting them whereas paper towels add to landfills.

o Use as many eco-friendly soaps, detergents and cleaning supplies as you can find. They are better for you to use because they are less toxic and are better for the environment because they are bio-degradable.

There are easily thousands of other things you can do and products you can buy that lend themselves to a greener lifestyle. However, you may have a question at this point, what does all this have to do with Feng Shui.

It has everything to do with Feng Shui. First many of the suggestions above are about clearing the clutter out of your personal environment which provides you better energy. Second, you’ve recycled a lot of your stuff which provides the environment more positive energy rather than having to deal with more waste. Third, you’ve improved your quality of life and that of the environment by using more eco-friendly products.

When it comes to the environment, everything you say, think and especially do, does matter.

© Pat Heydlauff, all rights reserved 2008

Best Photography Classes in Chicago

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Whether you are looking to become a professional photographer or you have recently picked up this popular hobby and you want to improve your current photography skills by learning a new trick or two, you are more than likely going to want to take a few classes. When it comes to finding photography classes in the Chicago area, you will find that there are several different options to choose from, depending on the type of setting you are looking for, as well as the types of courses offered. Each of these varies greatly from one institution to the next.If cost and time are a major factor in your decision on what types of classes would be right for you, then you should try out the Chicago Photography Center. They offer one of the most affordable and quick photography classes in the Chicago area. Founded by students and photography instructors in the summer of 2002, the Chicago Photography Center is a nonprofit organization. They offer evening courses and workshops under a hundred dollars as well as a seven week course that runs $350, or $250 for non-darkroom courses. They offer a classroom, darkroom, computer lab, studio, and gallery space in an informal setting, making it the ideal place to brush up on your skills.Looking for something a little less informal? If you are looking for photography classes in the Chicago area that are more geared toward a degree program, Harrington offers a specialized digital photography school where you can earn an associate’s degree. Led by experienced professional photographers, Harrington’s program sets you up to join in this highly competitive field as a professional photographer yourself. You’ll be required to purchase your own camera and equipment but are provided in return with state of the art labs, studios and software.Still not elite enough? Columbia College Chicago offers some of the most exhilarating photography classes in the Chicago area, and in fact the largest photography program in the country. Offering the most up to date innovations in the industry as well as a rich history behind photography, taught by over 70 professors, Columbia College will surely meet all your needs. Students at Columbia are eligible to obtain a B.F.A or a B.A. in photography or they may couple it with another major as a minor.If you still want to take some photography classes in the Chicago area, but your heart is set on a broader art program, Truman College might be best for you. They offer areas of study in liberal arts and science programs that specialize in areas of art, illustration and design, intended to be used as a transfer program to a college or university offering baccalaureate degrees. The programs may also be used to get your foot in the door of a professional career in the many aspects of art, illustration or design.This is in no way an exhaustive list of the places in Chicago offering classes in photography. No matter what type of setting it is that you are seeking, be it formal or informal, expensive and tuition based or inexpensive and nonprofit, you will no doubt find a variety of places offering photography classes in the Chicago area. You can find more information on the programs listed above by searching for the following:o Chicago Photography Center
o Harrington Digital Photography School
o Columbia College Chicago
o Truman College

Using an Internet Business and Passive Income As a Lifestyle Design Aid

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The question that I’ve been pondering lately is this: what exactly is lifestyle design? It was only a few weeks ago that I first heard the term lifestyle design. I had no idea what exactly that meant, but in very basic terms I knew that a lifestyle was how someone lives, and design is creation. But, to create your own lifestyle? I didn’t quite understand the idea.Lifestyle design is such a new term that it’s not even on Wikipedia yet, but successful Internet business gurus are using it like we use air to breathe. So, I decided to do some research.I learned that lifestyle design, actually creating your own lifestyle and living how you want to live, is something that is very real. People like Timothy Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, has done things in his life to live exactly how he wants to live. He’s a national Chinese Kickboxing Champion, a break dancer in Taiwan, actor and a multi-millionaire. He’s able to do these things because he has created businesses and utilizes outsourcing to allow him to only have to work four hours a week, which opens up more time in his life for doing things that he wants.I want that.You probably think that his life is the way it is because of the decisions and actions he has made. Although that’s true, the way we describe him with respect to lifestyle design is the other way around:
“He took specific actions and made specific decisions based on the kind of life he wants to live.”
I think that most people, myself included, never really think about the exact lifestyle that we want to live. Yes, we do have goals and work really hard for them (retirement, millions of dollars, owning a company), but we hardly ever think about the lifestyle we want, and how we want our daily lives to be.
We make decisions and work hard for our goals, but do we do the same for our ideal lifestyle?
If someone has earned $500,000 in a year, they may have reached or surpassed their goal. But if it took them 90 hours a week to get there, they may not be living their ideal lifestyle.See the difference?It’s a fact that everybody will have different ideas of what their ideal lifestyle should be. You have to really think about it, deep down inside about how exactly you want your life to be. That being said, if you earn a passive income, you have the ability to more easily design your own lifestyle. That extra paycheck in your bank account not only gives you more money, it can also give you more time and freedom to do whatever it is you want to do.For example, I actually enjoy working in an office. At the same time, I don’t want to work 8 hours a day because I’d rather spend more time with my family. Earning a passive income allows me to do this because I just work part-time while earning the same amount of money (maybe even more) as if I was working 8 hours a day with earning no passive income.Also, my fiancee and I love to travel. Say we want to take a one month vacation in an exotic place each year. Why do I have to use the money from the income I already make? I can just create a new passive income stream (a new product, website, what have you) and use that money for traveling. That way, I don’t risk an impact on the other parts of my life. I’m designing my own lifestyle.It’s not about working X hours for X dollars. It’s about working hard now, so you can reap the benefits and live how you want to, later. Earning passive income creates freedom.It’s definitely easier said than done, obviously – but with some hard work and determination, we’ll be able to design the lifestyle we want using the benefits of earning a passive income, which we are working for today.