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Want some good career advice grounded in ancient Chinese philosophy? Rethink your work area. "In feng shui, we believe your environment is a reflection of your life," feng shui master Mary Stewart told Career World. Here are three feng shui tips to keep you energized as you work or study.
1. Put obstacles behind you. Many people have desks that face the wall. That puts a powerful obstacle in your way. Flip your desk to put that wall behind you, so you're not working on a job or college application from a dead end.
2. Keep freedom in sight. Create the feng shui "great hall effect." Place your desk diagonally from the room's doorway. That gives you a view of the door without being directly in front of it, keeping openness in view but outside distractions to a minimum.
3. Put your goals on display. Wall art can change the energy of a workspace, says Stewart. If your heart is set on a particular college or career, make an image of that goal a part of your decor.

Integrative Perspectives
Creating a Healing Environment
Mary Ann La Torre, RN, MA, CCNS
F
or most of us, providing a healing environment
consists of working with the process that occurs in the
interaction between client and therapist. When considering
the concept
healing environment
, what comes to
mind is the therapeutic focus, the sense of connection
and rapport that is created. But there is a larger picture
that occurs around and beyond the relationship;
the actual environment itself where psychotherapy
is done. This external setting can have an important
impact on healing by significantly reducing or increasing
stress as well as empowering the client in their
own process (Moore, 1998).
Research as early as 1980 has shown the effect of
this environmental impact on both clients and staff in
various healthcare settings (Rice, Talbott & Stern,
1980). Just adding a window to a room was shown to
reduce recovery time and hospital stay (Ulrich, 1984),
while using color, art, and plants created a space where
people felt safer and calmer (Moore, 1998). The important
discovery of the power of the environmental
setting has created a whole discipline called
supportive
design
and research continues which explores the
restorative benefits of the external setting (Ulrich,
Zimring, Joseph, & Choulhary, 2005). Applying these
concepts to the therapeutic workplace can add a
deeper dimension of healing and empowerment to the
therapeutic interaction. This column will explore these
concepts in general as well as discuss the specific
practice of Feng Shui, a Chinese art of placement that
focuses on harmonizing the environment by rearranging
the room to balance energy (Jeffreys, 2000).
General Environmental Concepts
To begin a discussion of the environment as a healing
tool it is helpful to look at some basic premises. A
fundamental one being that since earliest evolutionary
times human beings have had to be aware, responsive,
and sensitive to their environment. It was essential for
survival. From these evolutionary premises, environmental
psychologists have done research in a number
of areas to show how the quality of the environment can
support well-being. Such research demonstrated that
the more familiar, comfortable, and in control of the
environment an individual felt, the greater the positive
healing response (Bilchik, 2002). Thus, health care cannot
be separated from the setting in which it is done (Malkin,
1992). Design elements have a significant impact on the
individual and awareness of how specific components
in the environment can be used to change a client’s state
of mind is an important part of the therapeutic process.
The practitioner who decides to work with the
environmental setting to enhance the therapeutic
process may find that there are structural restrictions
in the building and rooms that make many healing
concepts difficult to implement. There are, however,
some important design concepts that can be used in
any setting to promote health no matter what the
structure and can be a good beginning towards creating
a supportive atmosphere.
Color is an important component that can affect the
entire setting and change the essence of a room. Color
is one of the most powerful energizing forces and
thoughtfully employing color in the therapeutic
setting can make a significant difference in the stress
or relaxation of a client. Research shows that color has
an effect on our pituitary and thyroid gland, creating
mood changes and physiological effects (Long, 2001).
Colors as blue and green have been shown to promote
relaxation and balance, while yellow and orange seem
to activate and energize a room (McKahan, 1993). The
intensity of color is also an important factor and often
leads to the choice of lighter hues to make a room
more spacious. Room color can also be altered through
the use of lighting that can play off interesting features
and draw the eye towards positive aspects such as art
or views (Long).
Daylight and windows are another important
component in any room since they significantly reduce
fatigue and depression and help reconnect to nature
(McKahan, 1993). Even if there are no windows, however,
plants can create that sense of nature indoors and
simply viewing nature can have a profound stressreducing
effect (Long, 2001). Research has shown that
Perspectives in Psychiatric Care Vol. 42, No. 4, November, 2006 263
negative emotions such as fear or anger diminish
when looking at nature while levels of pleasant feeling
increase (Ulrich et al., 2005). Even nature paintings can
have a positive effect (Flower, 2005).
Thus, the environmental setting does make a difference
in the healing process, and creating a space that is
comfortable, light, and nature connected can enhance
any treatment program. Practitioners who wish to
expand their skills in healing design can explore the
evidence-based research in the area as well as look
to the Chinese since they have developed a whole discipline
for harmonizing the environment called Feng
Shui. Based on thousands of years of observation of
how human beings react to their environment, Feng
Shui (meaning wind and water) focuses on creating a
supportive environment where the client’s personal
energies work well with the objects in the room
(Jeffreys, 2000).
The Concepts of Feng Shui
Developed over 3,000 years ago by the Chinese,
Feng Shui is an energy discipline that aims to create a
harmonious environment in which the individual’s
energy is enhanced and supported (Jeffreys, 2000). It is
a perspective—a way of looking at our surroundings
that has at its core the belief that the invisible breath of
life called
chi
runs through all things and that maximizing
this energy can improve our life (Butler-Biggs,
1999). The principles of Feng Shui are based on the
premise that people are affected by their surroundings
and by adjusting, enhancing, and balancing the environment
through the positioning of items in the room,
the energy can flow more freely in the surroundings as
well as in the individual (Rossbach, 1991).
Accomplishing this harmonious balance is done by
examining the environmental space as if it were a
body with its own metabolism. Doors and windows
are the openings, which allow the energy to enter.
Furniture, plants, and inner doors channel the energy
throughout and the aim is to promote a smooth even
flow that does not get blocked or stuck in spaces
(Rossbach, 1991). In a dysfunctional environment
where energy is blocked, the Chinese believe that the
environment becomes a negative stressor creating discomfort
in the individual and leading to poor health.
To turn this situation around rooms are rearranged
using a specific set of rules designed to balance the
chi
(Jeffreys, 2000). Where it is not possible to do that
because of the structural design in the space, specific
tools are employed to help
cure
the space such as
mirrors, chimes, fountains, fish tanks, and plants. The
purpose of these
cures
is to expand the space, soften
areas around corners, and generally enhance the flow
of energy in the room (Rossbach & Yun Lin, 1991).
It takes an expert in Feng Shui to understand how
these cures are implemented as well as how the whole
space is readjusted because it is a complicated process.
Thus, it is not an activity that can be done without
adequate preparation. It is possible to get a sense of
whether an environmental intervention is necessary
by taking a moment alone in the space and considering
the negative and positive aspects of it.
Clinical Considerations
An understanding of the space that one works in is
key to using it effectively. That understanding begins
with an assessment of the workplace. Is it providing
what is needed? A really clear and finely tuned space
is so healing that people will feel different as they
enter it (Butler-Biggs, 1999), and people will comment
that the room feels good, not understanding why this
is so. Looking at a space with a fresh eye can help
identify areas that need adjustment such as items in
a room that hold no significance and have become
clutter and congestion. Identifying areas that need to
be cleaned or spaces that need the softening touch of a
plant or artwork can create a fresh feel in a stagnant
space. Awareness of how the setting is structured can
bring a deeper sense of how the space can be adjusted
to accomplish the goal of supporting the therapeutic
process. Such insights allow for an expanded scope
to the healing practice. There are many good books
264 Perspectives in Psychiatric Care Vol. 42, No. 4, November, 2006

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Classroom feng
shui
Abstract: During the 2004/05 school year, the NUT CPD
Programme offered a teacherstogether programme focusing
on classroom management for teachers engaged in the
“Graduate” or “Registered” teacher training programme.
Participants discussed “positive strokes” and progressive
approaches to achieving orderliness within the classroom.
After trying out new strategies in their classroom,
participants regrouped and shared their experiences. This
article is based on the presentation given by first year
secondary graduate teachers, Benjamin Poole and Mark
Lewis. Here Ben describes some interesting approaches that
they took to solve a range of “problems” which teachers will
recognise.
Shinichi Suzuki asserted that, “Man is the child of his
environment”. With this maxim in mind, as graduate teachers,
we endeavoured to engineer a classroom atmosphere that was
welcoming, safe and stimulating for both educator and pupil.
We attempted to bolster this environment with the natural
effusiveness that is inherent to each child, alchemising negative energy
into a positive voltage that supercharged the learning experience.
Our first target was to focus on the “feng shui” of our classrooms, the
“placement and arrangement of space to achieve harmony within an
environment”. Our aim was simple at the early stages; we simply
endeavoured not to allow our classrooms to become “stale”. Aiming to
fashion rooms that looked interesting and inspiring, we were surprised
by how much difference that simply rotating posters made towards
rejuvenating the classroom environment. Of course, when injecting
colour and visual iridescence into the learning arena, a teacher is gifting a
classroom with a sense of the lively - you are giving it a personality. We
found that big, blown up posters of comic characters or particularly
Benjamin Poole
Benjamin Poole
entered the noble
profession of
teaching via the
Graduate
Training route;
teaching English
at Cardiff High
School in South
Wales.
vibrant book covers were effective.
Crucially, we involved the pupils with this process wherever possible.
By covering the classroom’s walls with children’s work, we were effectively
“publishing” it. This ensured that the pupils had a stake in fashioning
the classroom’s style; we hoped they would feel more relaxed within it.
As for the set up of the room, we found the “horseshoe” style of
organising desks works very well. This ensures that pupils can see each
other and interact during class
discussions, a crucial aspect of our
approach we will explore later. Attending
to details created a dynamic that made it
harder for us to “overlook” any pupil. Buoyed by a sense of
experimentalism, we even tried beginning new topics first lesson after
lunch, when the sun was on our classroom, in an attempt to make use of
natural light.
Positive plants
Research has proved that contact with animals and plants seems to help
people with illnesses recover more quickly. Science teachers will attest
that plants filter out poison in the air, drinking up all those negative
carbon dioxide atoms and pouring out positive ions of oxygen; fresh food
for the air starved brain. This is essential to a classroom where 30 plus
children are breathing out nullifying toxins! We resolved to place around
three to four potted plants around our classrooms in the hope of recycling
carbon dioxide toxins.
Aside from this scientific benefit, of providing an oxygenated
atmosphere, the clean green sway of household plants has a calming
effect, bringing something of the fresh outdoors to the stale, musty
classroom. Finally, we found that watering them can be an unlikely
“reward” for younger children!
The battle against silence!
“A solemn air, and the best comforter. To an unsettled fancy, cure thy
brains”.
Shakespeare, The Tempest
An old wives’ tale proposes that playing classical music to shrubs and
flowers results in the plant blossoming brighter and sooner than
expected. Incredibly, scientific research has actually borne this
hypothesis out! If music can act as a catalyst towards a humble vegetable’s
maturation and expansion, then imagine what it could do to the hungry,
77 vol 19 no 1 _ education review
Benjamin Poole
Our first target was to achieve
harmony within an environment.
developing minds in your classroom?
We believe that most noise in the classroom, general low level
disruption, is a clamour of unease. It is the troubled children, the
disaffected and less able who are most prone to chatting. For these
children, the bravado sound of their own voices is a measure of control in
an environment that they perhaps dread - deathly silence serves to fuel
this unease. Talk is a way of interacting with friends and classmates on a
level they feel more comfortable with.
In the first instance, music can be used as a relaxant to quell the
“noises of anxiety”: a Radox bath to soak away the nervous, verbal tension
of the disaffected. The soothing tones of Chopin, Brahms or even the
Aphex Twin are a more effective way of filling silence than the anxious
chatter of a seditious pupil.
Research has also suggested that music has been proven to encourage
the “alpha brain state”- the mind’s creative peak. We endeavoured to
investigate this theory by utilising music not only as an instrument of
calm, but as an actual tool for learning.
Aside from the novelty factor of “listening to music”, we found that
sound engendered a creative atmosphere. We were particularly interested
in the research of Don Campbell, collected in his book, The Mozart Effect:
Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind and Unlock the
Creative Spirit. Campbell defines the “Mozart Effect” as "signifying the
transformational powers of music in health, education, and well-being.
[Music can] activate the body; and improve memory or awareness"
Campbell (2001).
Our initial experiments involved using music that was subject
specific, for example, using blues music when studying The Color Purple;
and playing suitably dramatic music before a particular scene in a play.
This music at least provided an aural backdrop to certain texts,
encouraging empathy and deepening understanding.
Music played while children wrote poetry, encouraged them to soak in
the rich, warm waters of whatever tides the music encouraged in the
oceans of their imaginations. We found that the effortless relaxation the
music inspired, united with the evocative powers of organized sound,
proved to be a great stimulus. Nothing is created in a vacuum and music
proved to be a shining key to the rusty locked door of imagination. We
chose the music we played carefully, tending toward the abstract and
vol 19 no 1 _ education review 78
Benjamin Poole
Utilising music not only as an instrument of calm, but
as an actual tool for learning.
trying not use lyric based pieces. It was imperative for the music to spark
a fire in young minds; we didn’t want the lovelorn lyrics of a pop song to
burn interpretations onto the mind’s retina, dictating the imaginative
set!
Focused energy
“The energy of the mind is the essence of life.”
Aristotle
We agreed that what challenging pupils had in common was “energy”. The
disruptive children unsettle the class; the more able question; and the
anxious pupils doodle or tap their pens. This energy will not disappear! It
is a child’s natural way! Suggesting a child stop talking for a full hour is
akin to telling a dog to stop barking.
So, instead of wasting energy and risking conflict by combating this
truism, we endeavoured to provide a channel for this energy within our
classes. Like conductors of some wild and many faceted orchestra, we
aimed to direct this energy toward something powerful and creative.
Brin Best (accelerated learning guru) asserts that teachers should only
spend 25 per cent of the lesson talking. Silence, for pupils, is not golden!
Of course, nobody should speak when the teacher, or another, is making a
point or engaging others in their point; but, like all living things, ideas
and thoughts do not thrive in a vacuum. Vocal participation in a lesson is
vital to the pupils’ development.
With Best’s assertion on board, we attempted to provide more
opportunities for pupils to cooperate with the lesson. Firstly, we
attempted to encourage more partner based discussions, rather than the
dead didacticism of simply “listening” to the teacher. Of course, we aimed
to facilitate discussion; but the onus was on the pupils to take the basis
of the lesson and play with it like clay, shaping and stretching it to make
new and exciting shapes.
In our capacity as facilitators, we encouraged more reluctant students
with pointed questions. Instead of, “What do you think of Shylock?” – a
question open enough to encourage agoraphobia in the less able pupil -
we undertook to ask more direct, gently supportive questions such as:
“Do you think Shylock is proud, Laura? If so, why?”
This type of closed, interrogative mode bestows a template within
which the student can focus and answer, providing depth and
understanding through their selection of example. Any opinions or
answers proffered were prized by the facilitators, and offered, like fruits,
to be chewed over by the class at large. This essentially offers the
79 vol 19 no 1 _ education review
Benjamin Poole
individual pupil a sense of involvement in the direction of the lesson.
For disaffected children, entering a classroom can invoke a “fight or
flight” reaction, a stress response that triggers the nervous system and
engenders energy. Once the child has entered the room and settled, where
does this acetylcholine induced stress energy go? Like steam from a kettle,
it needs room to disperse. We found the above techniques useful to
harness noise and use it to contribute to the lesson.
Finally, we found that simple physical exercises - letting out a huge
yawn - could go far to dispelling nervous energy and renewing
enthusiasm for the lesson!
Classroom etiquette - our guidelines Vs the school rules
Having instigated a creative ambiance by paying attention to the surface
appearance of the classroom; and engendered a soothing atmosphere by
introducing music and channelling noise; we finally looked to ourselves
and how we could act as conductors of positive energy in the classroom.
Our ultimate goal was to undermine the traditional teacher/pupil power
dynamic inherent in the classroom. By undertaking to establish the
learning environment as a common ground for teacher and pupil, we
aspired to shape a mutually “safe” environment in which both parties
would have a personal stake and interest.
We engaged our pupils to agree a set of rules regarding behaviour,
homework and anything else we and the class felt should be addressed.
Instead of classifying the results of our discussions as a set of rules, we
(the pupils and teachers) referred to them as guidelines. By making these
said principles “our guidelines”: rather than the “school rules”, we
involved students in the architecture – the individual etiquette - of our
classroom. By allowing the children to have an artistic stake in the
creation of the code of conduct, we would hopefully decrease the
likelihood of said code of conduct being broken.
As specialists in the field of language, we were also particularly
engaged with the lexis we used within the classroom. Is “work” the
accurate term to use when referring to the opportunity of expression and
self improvement that creative writing entails? We determined that
referring to this “work” as “tasks” or “writing” persuaded pupils’ minds
away from thinking of classroom activity as “hard slog”, and more
towards something interactive, and worthwhile. We consolidated this in
creative writing lessons by actually writing ourselves, which goes
vol 19 no 1 _ education review 80
Benjamin Poole
...the onus was on the pupils to take the basis of
the lesson and play with it like clay.
someway towards diminishing any “power dynamics” in the minds of the
children.
Any opportunity to learn should be treated with a sense of occasion.
To consolidate the principle of the class work as its own reward, as if they
were guests, we would welcome pupils as they entered the classroom, and
held the door saying goodbye as they left. Certainly, at the very least, this
provided a “warm” atmosphere for the pupils to enter, and, over time, this
courtesy engendered a greater sense of “camaraderie”; respect for the
environment, the teacher and each other.
Of course, while these measures contributed towards diminishing
low level disruption, it would be fantastical to expect a complete
eradication of challenging behaviour. Spurred on by our esurient,
experimental attitude, we aimed to enact a different method of
“disciplining” our classrooms. Persevering to establish a policy of positive
reinforcement, instead of
chastising negative behaviour, we
focused on the constructive
conduct in the classroom. Rather
than chastising the pupils who
were not on task, we shone an enthusiastic light on those who were
engaged with the lesson, “I’d just like to say thank you to the people who
are getting on with their writing quietly. Good practice, there”. This
served to recognise and galvanise the efforts of those pupils who were
working in a productive way - those who were disruptive were robbed of a
platform and provided with a positive role model.
In a similar vein, we discovered that challenging any confrontation
more often than not led to further disruption. Disaffected children only
desire a spotlight, after all. We found that offering disruptive students
“take up time” served to neutralise these problems rather than feed them.
Essentially, this involved not rising to the bait! Stating what we required
of a student unequivocally and then walking away to allow the student
time to meditate on their dissent and make a decision (and maybe faces to
our backs) ultimately served to nullify resistance. Like superheroes, we
developed teflon skin and deflected any inappropriate comments by
returning attention to the task- “Sir! Your tie is horrible!” “That may be
so, Sophie, but I’d like you to carry on with your work now”. Again, this is
a process of aversion, steering negative exertion towards positive
strength.
In addition to this avoidance of verbal engagement, we found using
our hands helpful! Instead of verbally telling a pupil to take her i-pod out,
we would simply motion to her with our hands: a simple, exaggerated
mime of removing a foreign body from the ear. The flow of the lesson
81 vol 19 no 1 _ education review
Benjamin Poole
Instead of chastising negative
behaviour, we focused on the
constructive conduct in the classroom.
wasn’t interrupted, and the pupil had no forum to argue back. This could
be consolidated by offering a big “thumb up” when the pupil did as we
asked. Correspondingly, if a pupil was chewing gum, then instead of
engaging in the potentially contentious dialogue of telling the child to
put it in the bin, we found that simply picking the bin up and performing
a motion led to the same desired effect without running the risk of
pyrrhic challenge.
Conclusion
We discovered that by using positive strokes and channelling energy
rather than challenging it, our classrooms benefited atmospherically.
Instead of denying or repressing energy, we aimed to use it, alchemising
charged conversation from the hot air of nervous, low level disruption. We
began to view our pupils not as vessels to be filled, but candles to be lit. 
References
Campbell, D. (2001)The Mozart effect: tapping the power of music to heal the body,
strengthen the mind and unlock the creative spirit. London: Hodder &
Stoughton. Originally published: London: Avon Books, 1997
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Title: Improving your expression of anger. Source: Human development [0197-3096] Malone,, Janet yr:1996 vol:17 iss:4 pg:26