Feng Shui Hawaiian Style: Expand, Grow and Manifest your Dreams with the Wood Element

By Marta Barreras

Have you been faced with a need to change your life plans lately? Has the economy or other recent challenges impacted your business, your vitality or your relationships? As job loss, foreclosure and unexpected events have continued to stress our nation this past year, millions of people are likely to be wondering if they will have the strength to endure more potential challenges in 2011.

Faced with recent unexpected changes and an unpredictable future, many have felt forced to simplify their lives, while others have found themselves working longer hours for less pay. Overall, it seems that our materially prosperous nation is being driven to reconsider what constitutes true wealth in life. Although the nation’s economic condition is not likely to change dramatically in this next year, 2011 presents us with the opportunity to look within and find new ways to transform old problems into expansive possibilities.

Waiho Wale Kahiko “Ancient Secrets are Now Revealed”

Generations of ancient Hawaiians passed down secret wisdom that empowered them to live in harmony and balance with the abundant forces of nature.

The knowledge of these native people came from their deep interconnectedness and reverence for the natural environment. The Hawaiians of old worshipped the goddess Laka, whose graceful power could move through them while practicing the sacred dance of hula. Traditional hula performances are begun with a ceremony in her honor, combined with an offering of a specific succession of Hawaiian plants. The goddess Laka represents the personification of the wood element. She symbolizes abundance, fruitfulness and creative action that attracts prosperity.

The Wood Element as Medicine

Both the ancient Hawaiians and Chinese Taoists view the elements of nature as inseparable from our personal life essence. Taoist philosophy states that the five elements in nature (wood, fire, earth, metal and water) compose the basic building blocks of everything in the Universe. Therefore, according to this perspective, these elements are also present within our bodies and within everything in our physical environments.

According to the wisdom of Chinese medicine and acupuncture, the wood element symbolizes new beginnings: birth, growth, vitality and expansion. It represents the phase in which new energy and ideas take form. Just as a plant synthesizes sunlight into the carbohydrates that make up its solid form of leaves, stems and roots, the wood element represents the transformation of creative energy and ideas into physical manifestation. Nourished by the water element, which inspires the source of our creative ideas, the wood element governs the actions that bring our inspired dreams into physical reality.

The wood element also engenders abundance and generosity. Just as a tree can create endless branches, blossoms and fruit from just one seed, the energy of the wood element can help you tap into a wellspring of vitality and prosperity when you sow its seeds properly in your life.

When your personal wood element is in balance, you are expansive, clear thinking, focused and decisive. You take inspired actions that help you to realize your goals, and your capacity for problem solving is acute and precise. Healthy wood gives you a vital sense of growth and balance, like the branches of a tree that expand out from a trunk that is deeply rooted into the Earth.

When your personal wood element is deficient or out of balance, this can result in low self-esteem, passivity, indecisiveness and anger. Physically, it can manifest as blurred or weak vision, liver toxicity, allergies and pimples.

Feng Shui and the Wood Element

Chinese medicine offers a multitude of ways to create balance and benefit from the wood element in your life. Feng shui (pronounced “fung shway”), the ancient art of space alignment, is one of them. It is a branch of Chinese medicine that can be likened to the application of acupuncture on your space. Feng shui optimizes the flow of energy in your environment. Since you are literally bathing in the energy of your home or workplace, enhancing the quality of this energy can have a profound, positive effect on your mental and physical well-being, as well as on all other areas of your life, including your relationships and finances.

Wood element energy relates to good physical health, mental focus and an abundant sense of prosperity. It is represented by the green color family, trunk-like columnar shapes, wooden accessories, textiles and plants of any kind.

The areas of your home that specifically relate to the wood element are the Health and Family area (located at the middle one-third portion of the left quadrant of your home from the entrance) and the Wealth and Prosperity area (located at the far left corner of the home from the entrance—just above Health and Family).

Add Strength and Momentum to Your Life with the Wood Element

Would you like to increase your energy levels while enhancing family and community relationships? Try placing a healthy plant in a beautiful green pot in your Health and Family area to affirm family harmony. Or you can place a vase of brightly colored flowers here to enhance your business networking and increase your connections within the community (your “extended family”).

Would you like to accomplish your goals with greater clarity and efficiency? Since the wood element can enhance mental focus, try placing a healthy plant on your desk to help you
complete a writing project. Or you can place a light green bedspread in your children’s bedroom to enhance study habits and improve school grades.

Would you like to improve your flow of prosperity this year? Financially speaking, the wood element helps to activate growth, expansion and manifestation. Try placing a healthy plant or some green table runners in your office to add positive energy to a new business endeavor or to add positive momentum to a new income stream.

Color your Wood:

• Greens (Fresh and Vibrant)
• Blue-Green
• Teal

Shape your Wood:

• Columnar, Trunk-like shapes
• Columns
• Pillars
• Pedestals
• Poles
• Stripes

Wood Element Enhancements:

• Plants—live are best
• Wooden furnishings and accessories
• Wooden floors and cabinets
• Floral prints
• Art depicting trees, gardens, foliage
• Plant-based textiles