the position of a bed can affect the occupant. We will see how the structure and design of the bedroom influence us and the quality of our sleep.
the importance of placing the bed
Note: To begin the lesson, read pages 102-105 on feng shui interior design.
Reading: Caddy corner bed feng shui
Because we spend about a third of our lives in bed, the shape and location of the bedroom, as well as the shape and position of the bed, affect us. read on and find out how you can sleep better at night and be more effective during the day. Years ago, Master Lin Yun took me to visit a doctor’s house. This Western-educated doctor lived in a skyscraper in Hong Kong and suffered from insomnia. Examining the bedroom, Lin Yun commented that while he was in bed, the doctor was exposed to strong currents of Ch’i that crossed his bed from one window to another. The ch’i was intensified by the fact that a freeway pointed towards the skyscraper and then veered off, sending even more of the strong ch’i of hong kong’s chaotic traffic in its direction. Years later, when he was visiting the apartment of a young couple without children, I noticed that the bed was not between two windows, but between a window and the bedroom door. when I noticed the flow of ch’i across the bed around the occupant’s abdomen, the wife confided in me that she was having trouble conceiving a child. The doctors told her that she needed an operation to fix her fertility problems.
In both cases, the cure was to install a glass, wind chime, or mobile between the windows, or between the window and the door, to help disperse the strong flow of ch’i. after the doctor healed his room, master lin yun’s solution worked like a gentle sleeping pill. after the previously childless couple healed her bedroom, the wife had a successful operation; they later conceived a son and enjoyed a healthy delivery.
Bed position affects the flow of ch’i.
Cures for a bad position in bed:
If your bed cannot be positioned diagonally across from the door, you can remedy this by hanging a mirror that allows you to see, from the point of view of your pillow, the entrance to the bedroom and therefore anyone who enter your bedroom. if a window is where the mirror should go, simply angle a standing mirror to reflect the bedroom door.
bed position
In any bedroom, the position of the bed, especially in relation to the door, is very important. I should know as a college student, before I learned feng shui, I always placed my bed in the “wrong” position. I didn’t like the arrangement, but I didn’t know how to make it better. (realistically, to be fair to me, there was only one wall to put it against and it was always the wall you entered the room from).
College life for me was pretty miserable with the normal academic pressures, a terminally ill parent, and the unwanted loving attention of psychotic students and married professors, not to mention a thieving roommate. Was it any wonder he ended up with mononucleosis? (I’m not kidding). Granted, one never knows what life or fate will dish out, but it seemed that if life was a bowl of cherries, it was definitely getting the seeds. Would college life have been more positive if the feng shui of my room had been better? maybe, maybe not!
when i first noticed in hong kong how, according to feng shui, a bed could be better placed in a bedroom, it all made a lot of sense. and, I might add, that life in general became more of a positive adventure. Enough of the confessional. . .
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the “command position”
In feng shui, the optimal position for the bed is in the corner of the bedroom door. This placement of the bed diagonal to the door is called the “command position” because when you’re lying in bed, you’ll have the widest possible view of the bedroom. the commanding position puts him in a vantage point to be aware of what is going on. for example, you can see anyone who enters; you won’t be surprised and feel more in control. therefore, the dominant position in bed promotes a smooth and balanced flow of ch’i for better sleep and better performance in work and life.
However, if your bed is not or cannot be situated in the dominant position, you may feel nervous and uncomfortable and it will affect your ch’i and make you nervous. Sleeping without the commanding view of your bedroom can affect your personal relationships and your performance at work. and if your ch’i is out of balance, you can suffer from health and personality problems.
the “mortuary position”
Particularly bad is the “mortuary bed position”. this is when the foot of the bed points directly at the door. this position reminds the Chinese of a coffin or a body buried in a mortuary waiting to be buried; They say that this position in bed is reminiscent of a corpse being carried to the grave feet first. not surprisingly, this placement of the bed evokes the premonition of death. if your bed is in the mortuary position, hang a crystal ball or wind chime between the foot of the bed and the door to alleviate any ill effects.
command post
shape of the bed
The Chinese say that the form can affect us. A film director in Hong Kong swapped his king-size bed for one with rounded corners to take the edges out of this troubled marriage. An American journalist living in Asia was advised to trade in his twin mattresses for a king-size one to bridge the gap in his relationship with his wife. and platform beds are fine, as long as you’re not trying to have children (see feng shui design, pages 169-170). In general, beds should be against a wall and have headboards to give their occupants a comfortable sense of support, stability, and security. a solid headboard is preferable to a slatted one. solid headboards provide more support and stability; They will make you feel more secure in life and calmer in bed. Slatted headboards, whether wood or cast iron, are better than no headboard, but less secure than a solid one.
bedroom furniture
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The scale and shape of what’s next to the bed can also affect you. for example, if the side or foot of your bed is too close to a large, heavy cabinet or dresser, your ch’i may become unbalanced, your physical movements inhibited, and your internal harmony disturbed. You should avoid having heavy furniture anywhere near your children’s beds, as children are often more affected. I have seen many such furniture arrangements in children’s rooms, and many of the children have suffered broken arms. Pages 160-173 in feng shui design discuss bed placement in more detail and provide bed placement diagrams to refer to.
Cures for “accusing” corners:
You can soften the sharp angle of a corner by obscuring it with a plant, even growing a vine, or hanging a crystal ball in front of it. you can install a mirror all the way to the edge of one side of the corner to make it appear to disappear, or hire a builder to round out the corner. By now, you should understand the gist of how feng shui cures work.
bedroom structure
The structure within your bedroom can also affect you. for example, corners sticking out into the room can be a threat to you, heralding an assault, or they can symbolize fingers pointing and accusing you. the beams in your bedroom can also be problematic, and beams, while charming and rustic to the Western eye, spell trouble to the Chinese. this is not just a superstition, as load beams can create a squeezing sensation when standing under them.
beams and rafters
In feng shui terms, low beams and beams are a burden to prosperity and growth. they are seen to oppress the ch’i of those below them and impede the circulation of ch’i throughout the house. the damage caused by a beam in a bedroom varies depending on its position. for example, a beam over the head of a bed can cause migraines or constant headaches. a beam on your stomach can cause ulcers, backaches, and indigestion. a beam over the foot of your bed will make you less mobile and unable to travel or act on problems. If the beam runs down the center of your bed from head to toe, this can be divisive for you and your companion if you are part of a couple. Years ago, when I saw a beam running down the middle of the bed in a newlywed couple’s home, I commented on the beam splitting. the wife replied that maybe that was why she always left her bed in the middle of the night to sleep somewhere else. a beam running through the center of a single bed can cause personality disorders.
heal bad beams
You can fix the beam problem in several ways. you can pull the bed out from under the beam. you can install a top mirror to allow the ch’i to penetrate through the beam. or you can place a fake firecracker on the beam to symbolically break the oppressive structure. there are other cures listed in feng shui design on page 117 and feng shui interior design on pages 93-95.
homework: sweet dreams
We spend more time in our bedrooms than many of us realize, and the energy in this bedroom is essential to our overall well-being. the attention paid to correcting imbalances here pays off in many areas of your life. take a look around your bedroom with your notepad nearby:
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- Is your bed positioned properly?
- Do you enjoy the maximum comfort that a solid headboard provides?
- Do you have any heavy objects or furniture nearby? How do they affect you?
- If you don’t like any of these things, what changes can you make immediately to change them? What changes would you make in the long term?