I have a favorite armchair that my mother gave to me as a student. It was the first piece of furniture that was new and my own. It has a high back to lean into, inviting me to put up my feet on the matching footstool. This chair has accompanied me through all the ups and downs of my adult life and has survived at least 10 moves (including Germany to Canada), as well as energetic workouts from my children, Quite amazing, really! I have noticed that as soon as I put it into a new home, it helps me to feel settled and supported there.
When you think about sitting in a chair, what is comfortable for you? The more supported you feel by the chair – a higher back, armrests and a good body fit – the easier it is to relax. Once you relax, your mind becomes less busy, and you can be more available to the present moment. This is pleasurable, and consequently you are subconsciously looking for as many opportunities as possible that will make you feel that way. (This does not always have to include a physical chair!)
In Feng Shui, we talk about the importance of “placing yourself into the comfortable armchair position” as a concept of how to approach life. This can be applied to your physical as well as your inner environment.
In your physical environment, you can look at the landscape around your home and office. If there are hills or mountains nearby, where are they in relation to you? Do you have the high area in your back, allowing you to be held by it, supported and offering you a greater view in the front?
In your home, is your bedroom at the back, allowing you to subconsciously hold the rest of your home in your field of vision?
Does your bed have a headboard? The bed has an important role of influencing your life because you spend such a large percentage of your life in its energetic field. Having a solid, preferably wooden, headboard will add to your inner experience of feeling supported in life. Locating the bed so that it is in the back of the room in relation to the bedroom door will magnify that experience.
Of course, you also have these “inner armchairs”. Some of them are structures that have been created through family, friends, school and other societal and religious patterns. Clearly, not all patterns are “comfortable” armchair experiences! It seems we always have a couple of challenging areas in life where we get our emotional buttons pushed and feel the most frustration and upset. However, it is worth checking to become aware where in your life you do feel supported and by whom and what.
Perhaps there is a special person in your life who “has your back”, ie who is there for you no matter what. You may belong to a group or organization that offers you a feeling of connection and active participation that is nourishing to you. Are there aspects of your work (inside and outside the home) that allow you to forget time and bring a sense of joy and accomplishment?
I invite you to contemplate and discover where in your life you have some “comfortable armchairs” available and make active use of them. You can create them in your physical environment by locating yourself in an energetically empowered position, something we always play with during a FengShui/Energy Clearing consultation.
At the same time, notice if there are some internal armchairs that have grown uncomfortable over time, that are worn, lost their padding and are wobbly. It is so easy to habitually see the chairs as being there, when in reality they have lost their ability to fully support you.
As you grow through life, your needs and desires shift. Being able to take stock from time to time and discern what is true and supportive, nourishing and heart opening for you right now is an ongoing, important process. Being able to recognize when an originally comfortable armchair has played out its role and letting go of it with gratitude is of value.
A few years ago, I realized that the bones of my physical armchair were still excellent and that re-upholstering would bring it into the next chapter of my life. Many of my internal armchairs have been transformed as well while others are gone.
You have a choice and there is that wonderful sense of freedom and expansion that comes with it.
And in-between all that growing and shifting and transforming, I’ll take some time out in my comfortable armchair and relax!
Care to join me?