Feng Shui Quarterly
September 2003
Dorm Chi
By Mary Roberts
Imagine packing your computer, stereo, favorite CDs, books and posters, clothes and blankets and sheets and moving them to a space half the size of your bedroom with cinder block walls, linoleum floor, small window, and small bed with a vinyl mattress. While most prisons would not allow you to bring so much stuff, some prison cells fit this description. And although many dorm rooms offer some of the comforts of home, like wood floors, large windows with beautiful views, wood trim, carpet, and painted dry wall, many dorm rooms still look like a prison room. Connected as we are to our surroundings, dorm-bound students are in for a greater adjustment than they realize.
Dorm Chi, a part of Feng Shui Solutions, helps college students create a living space that promotes health, relaxation, and mental clarity. I developed the Dorm Chi concept in an independent study in Feng Shui with Middlesex School senior Mackenzie Ferguson. We met in her dorm room once a week for two months. I taught Mackenzie basic Feng Shui principles and she applied them to her dorm room.
Mackenzie had not slept well for more than six months, and I immediately knew why. Her bed, located in Helpful People and Creativity, was in a vulnerable position, and her walls were crowded with poster and color photos of friends at parties and dances. How could she sleep? Her friends were calling to her all night long!
To begin, Mackenzie relocated her bed to the command position in Relationship and removed the photos and posters from her wall. She kept a third of the photos she most loved, and placed them in the Relationship corner next to a poster of a boy giving a girl a rose.
Mackenzie created a calmer wall in Helpful People and Creativity with still shots and fewer colors. That night she slept for 13 hours, and she has been sleeping well ever since. When I entered Mackenzie's room after her first phase of Feng Shui, I felt peaceful and as if I were in a much larger space. The Chi energy in Mackenzie's room was refreshed and uplifted. Never before had I experienced such a dramatic energetic change in a room.
I continued to give Mackenzie the tools, and she did the work. Her room had two sharp edges created by closets. One was pointing at her while she slept Mackenzie cured the Sha chi with a 40 mm crystal suspended from the ceiling six inches from the edge.
Dorm rooms are often too small to locate both bed and desk in the command position. I believe that if a choice is necessary, the bed takes command and the desk is cured with a mirror. Mackenzie's desk was originally in Fame with her back to the door, which was located in Career. She moved the desk to the wall in Wealth, giving her a partial view of the door. She placed a small mirror on the desk to give her a full view of the door while she studied.
After making these changes, Mackenzie loved being in her room. "I could focus better in my room, and I was less stressed about my grades. Before Feng Shui, I studied until 2 or 3 AM. After Feng Shui, I could not work beyond 1 AM. I studied one to two hours fewer each day and my grades stayed the same."
Mackenzie continued to fine tune her room. Her door in Career was cluttered with too many photos and posters. She took them down and hung a water scene above the door and a print of a sea otter on the door. Around that time everyone on campus had heard from the colleges they had applied to. Across the nation, admissions counselors have said that this was the toughest year to date for college acceptances, and students were experiencing huge disappointments, in many cases only receiving acceptances to their safety schools. When I met with Mackenzie that week, she said, "The Chi on campus is very low. Everyone has heard from their colleges." The next week, I brought my I Ching and asked for a hexagram to advise Mackenzie on her college decision. The hexagram advised her to make authentic decisions and not be swayed by society's expectations. When I returned the following week, Mackenzie had made her decision and was at peace.
The spring semester was coming to a close and exams were approaching. Mackenzie had decluttered the wall space in Knowledge and hung a crystal in her closet to move the energy. Then she put up magazine clippings of six gorgeous, shirtless guys with muscular abs and pecs. I laughed and said, "They are great to loot at, but we don't know how smart they are!" Mackenzie replaced the guys with a clever caricature poster of Ghandi and other wise ones.
Mackenzie invited her advisor to her room for her independent study presentation and gave here own definitions of the subject. "Feng Shui adds comfort to my room. It is a way to organize myself, my room, and the work I have to do. Feng Shui provides a fun way of decorating. I never used to think about where to put posters and photos: I just put them where thy fit. Now I know where to place certain colors and themes, so they can improve my life."
Bed and dorm rooms that embody Feng Shui principles give students a feeling of comfort and safety, encourage sound sleep, and promote study with a clear and focused mind. Dorm Chi teaches students to create a living space that eases the transition from home to college, celebrates their new identity, and helps them reach their highest potential.
Dorm Chi embodies my three passions: Fneg Shui, education and the empowerment of teens and young adults. Connecting with students from all walks of life and listening to their stories, concerns and dreams gives me a perspective that society must hear. Our young adults are thoughtful, kind, and basically good people, who want to live happy and productive lives. Dorm Chi will help light the way.
Mary is an educator of 30 years, a graduate of the Western School of Feng Shui, and will complete her degree in Black Hat Sect Feng Shui at the Boston School of Feng Shui this fall. For further information about Dorm Chi, please contact Mary Roberts at 1fengshuisolutions.com. Mary would like to hear success stories with Feng Shui and dorm rooms at msr1119@aol.com.
