Keep Calm And Carry On may be the most subtly addictive and utterly overused graphic of our time… however, it caught fire for a reason.  We all want on some level to both be able to keep calm AND to carry on.  Its easier to keep calm and check out and have a few cocktails or to stress out and carry on… but to be calm AND to carry on is a skill to master.  Today, here’s some feng shui to help you in a momentary crisis!

Feng Shui To Chill Out While Staying Busy

1. Lavender Oil.  I have said it once, twenty and many a hundred times, as lavender oil is great for just about anything, and anxiety and stress are times when lavender oil shines!  If you are having a full blown panic attack, mix a bunch of drops of lavender oil with a little olive oil or coconut or whatever you have on hand and put it on your wrists, all your pulse points, the soles of your feet and your chest.  Breathe.  If you are just frazzled, try a mini version by just putting the oil on your pulse points.

look at that face! goldfish can be very "emotive" too!

2. Get a goldfish or a Betta fish and hang out with him or her for a few minutes when you start to spin.  The motion and water, along with the presence of a live, swimming little guy will help you break the fire-cycle of worry and yet stay in motion.  If you have a high stress job, fish are fantastic because they continually keep the flow going while also adding positive chi (energy).

3. Eat a snack.  A handful of veggies will do you a great service when you are stressed.  Easy to digest, high vitamin and high vibration (think, live cells) food will keep you off the treadmill of junk food coupled with intense stress which can trigger a downward mood spiral quickly!  Although I would prefer you got them fresh and cut them yourself before eating, buying pre-cut fruit or veggies for snacks is still aces above potato chips, chemical-filled frozen yogurt or, yes, an extra cup of coffee.

David Wallace's landscape photo of Alaska. Amazing!

4. Get a view.  If you don’t have a window at work or a good view at home, get yourself a landscape photograph or draw a landscape or use your dream landscape as a screensaver on your computer.  This may seem nonsensical, but images have a powerful pull on your attention, especially when they are idyllic images.

5. Rid yourself of “poison arrows” in your office.  What does this mean? If a sharp point of furniture or strange light fixture or anything else is pointing toward you while you are working, try to cover them with a tablecloth, another piece of furniture or swap out as many sharp edges as possible.  If you can’t fully change things (like an overhead spear-shaped light), reposition yourself so that it is not directly on top of you.

6. Create a new mental habit.  When I quit smoking, I would walk for 15 minutes every time I wanted to take a “smoke break”, or I would close my office door and visualize stuff (yep, daydreaming) for 15 minutes or so.  Both are forms of mindful meditation that will clear your head of the overwhelm while keeping things in motion.  It takes a good deal of time- between a month and several, depending on who you talk to- to create a new habit so set a little reminder for yourself at the start of the day to take YOU breaks!

There you go… a few feng shui-esque ways to establish your chilled out and constantly progressing new routine.  There’s nothing worse than freaking out, abandoning your work then coming back to a more giant mess than where it was when you started… so keep calm and carry on!

xoxo Dana