I Used Feng Shui to Attract More Money
By: Rachel Khona
Tags: Memoir, True Story, Short Story

I Used Feng Shui to Attract More Money

Can the ancient Chinese energy system of feng shui really change your life?

Photo by Needpix

Like many other New Yorkers, I dreamed of world domination. While I am a successful writer and entrepreneur, I couldn’t help but wonder if there’s something I could do to get this party moving a little faster. After all, I had handbags to buy.

On a walk one day, I had a chance encounter with a book. It was entitled Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life: How to Use Feng Shui to Get Love, Money, Respect, and Happiness was lying on the ground. Had I found my answer? Could feng shui help?

Feng shui is the Chinese practice of arranging homes and rooms according to “chi,” or energy, to bring health, love, career success, and money. The whole enchilada. Or hoagie as a Jersey girl like myself might say. I read through the book anyway, eagerly looking for tips on how to get my energy flowing in the right direction. But like chemistry and algebra, I became bored after 10 minutes. I knew I needed to bring out the big guns: a feng shui consultant.

Ali let me know right away that my apartment was total shit. Alright fine, my words, not hers. I normally work at my dining table since it’s far more comfortable than my actual desk and I lived in a tiny NYC studio. Lucky for me, my dining table just so happens to be in my fame area. She explained that fame could be combined with my career area since they’re so related. Ali suggested moving my print of saint Gwen Stefani to the wall above my table, as well as my Mindy Kaling and Amy Schumer candles and my inspirational cross-stitch quotes to create a space for all my inspirational ladies.

Ali pointed out that my TV wall was filled with pictures that aren’t exactly encouraging. Though I absolutely love feminist British-Iranian artist Sarah Maple, looking at a woman in a burqa with an “I Love Orgasms” pin every day doesn’t exactly make me feel peppy. Nor does looking at a family photo with the aunt who once told me I would go to hell because I wasn’t Catholic.

Homegirl had to go. (Artist: Sarah Maple)

I redid my wall with more positive images, including ones from my favorite musicians, photos I had taken, and a piece from a photographer I interviewed. I even framed some of my writing work. I have struggled at times with writing about sex. On the one hand, I’ve felt liberated, and on the other hand like I should be hiding it from my conservative family. Like I would a pimple under layers of concealer.

If I was really going to be successful, Ali reasoned I ought to embrace it. So I framed an article I wrote for Playboy and hung it on my wall. I also added some Indian Kama Sutra drawings I got from an old calendar and an art piece of Rati the Hindu goddess of love and sex. Bowchickabowwow.

Another idea was to turn my Apple TV screensaver into a vision board. My first thought was “Duh! Why didn’t I think of that before?” I work from home and I stream music from my iPad onto my TV, so my screensaver is on all day. I switched off the animal screensaver I had and created my own, which consisted of my dream office, books by my favorite funny women, bookstores, card stores, and a pic of Beyoncé with a crown from the “Grown Woman” video because the crown, the trophy, the glass of whiskey, and the look of confidence on her face pretty much sums it up. I also took down the word “chic” I had on my wall and had carried around with me since college, and I put up the word “yes” in light-up letters. I swear it hypnotizes me with its positive vibes.

Months later, did I hit the jackpot? Yes, but not from feng shui. That came from daily meditation, learning to love and embrace my career choices and proclivities, and getting rid of my limiting beliefs.

Nonetheless, my apartment looked a bazillion times better. I just felt better. More upbeat, positive, and eager to work. Now everywhere I looked were signs of positivity, from my screensaver to my walls to my desk. I had always thought I was purposeful about decorating my space. But feng shui prompted me to take a deeper look at everything I have around me. I had chosen old family photos to hang because I liked the retro look of them, but I never stopped to think how looking at photos of people who verbally abused me affected my energy and the energy of my home — same thing with gifts from exes, prints from bands known to be womanizers (I still love the music, but I didn’t need that sort of energy), and a sign like “chic,” which reminded me of the fashion industry I once worked in and no longer cared for. In the wise words of my guru Oprah, “What we dwell upon is who we become.” And thanks to feng shui, I was now officially dwelling on positivity and success.