Feng shui may help you fulfill resolutions

Connie Midey
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 29, 2005 12:00 AM

Your intentions are good. They were good on Jan. 1, 2005. And on Jan. 1, 2004. And on Jan. 1, 2003.

Then, cigarette in hand, gym membership card filling in as a coaster for your Dr Pepper can, you forgot them by Feb. 1, every single year.

Maybe you're ready to set aside your skepticism and try feng shui. The ancient Chinese discipline known for its interior-design applications may make your New Year's resolutions easier to achieve.

Feng shui can "uplift your chi, or energy, for positive results," says Joy Abrams, owner of AAA Feng Shui in Phoenix.

Followers of the discipline believe that making simple changes in your environment can improve your well-being, prosperity and relationships.

When feng shui's five elements - wood, fire, earth, metal and water - are in balance, so are you, Abrams says. You feel good, and your resolve is strong.

Barbara Taylor, executive director of the New Jersey-based Feng Shui Institute International, calls feng shui "one of the most powerful tools you can harness to achieve your goals and resolutions."

Because you and your surroundings "communicate," Taylor says, "it is important to identify and remove obstacles in an environment that might be holding you back . . . and to enhance those elements that are supportive."

Don't expect to break longtime patterns effortlessly, Abrams says, but with each change in your environment, "you will be one step closer to changing your habits."

Nancilee Wydra, a Florida feng shui practitioner and author, suggests playing a motivating song every morning while working on one small piece of a larger goal. The song should last no more than five minutes.

Whether it's cleaning out a closet or filing papers, Wydra says, five minutes a day add up to about 30 hours a year.

"Think about what can be accomplished by this simple action," she says.