Carole Provenzale Owner, Feng Shui Long Island & New York

Well, I did it....and I had a BLAST! In case you're wondering what I'm talking about, I was due to read a blog post for a Radio Station at Fordham University....Activerain Hits the RADIO! A True Activerain SUCCESS STORY! by Feng Shui Long Island

The show is about Interior Design and they will have several Interior Designers speaking about all different aspects of it. And included in there will be my Feng Shui Post (modified and edited per their request). I also have to wonder, was THIS what was coming?? It very well could have been!

Historic Fordham University, Keating Hall, Home of WFUV Radio for New York City.

I got to go to prestigious Fordham University, a historical college campus located in the Bronx, New York. The radio station also has other offices in New York City. It's a public radio station and their motto is "You'll NEVER be Bored" -- lets hope they still say that after my post

It was a delight to be there but anticipating traffic (we had been warned on the TV it would be heavy due to the Chinese New Year) we managed to breeze on in. If it hadn't been so cold out that day I would have wandered the beautiful (and HUGE) campus! We were VERY early and went inside to find the station, trying to appear quite calm.

Rasheeda, the lovely Producer of the show who had contacted me, had allowed one HOUR of time to read the post. As I came in early and asked the woman in front if Rasheeda was available, she looked on her schedule and told me that they had the studio booked at 12:30 pm---it was just a few minutes after 12 and there certainly wasn't enough time to read the post.

There were no pictures allowed (see how well I listen?) but my son managed to snap this when she left the desk for a second. Rasheeda DID come out and told us to come into the Studio; we would be a bit rushed, she said, but we could get it done. Ok, I'll admit it, I am not used to reading at a radio station. I didn't know the microphones are HUGE and you can't move an inch. My post was on two pages and twice she had to stop me because the pages make a sound.

Those microphones don't miss a THING. You can't move your head and have to stay exactly in front of it. Wow, who thought it was so INVOLVED? I read it through several times and then separate paragraphs...and finally separate lines. They are going to edit it, she told me and at the end she allowed my very quiet son to snap a quick shot---trying not to look nervous.

She was kind enough to walk us to the front and I realized the station which goes to all of New York City and parts of Long Island has up and coming artists. I asked her if any big names come in. "Oh yes, we have Cheryl Crow next week." And realizing it's primarily a folk station I asked her if she'd ever had my favorite singer, Jim Dawson. A phenomenal folk singer I have been listening to since I was 17 years old; he reminds me a bit of James Taylor but for some unknown reason, Jim never hit it BIG. I do hope she contacts him.

We took a drive by Arthur Avenue to taste some of that famous pizza but drove around and around and couldn't find a place to park so we headed home. When we got back home, I decided to look more into this radio station and saw something ELSE I didn't know......That evening's guest? Ringo Starr. I would have waited all day : )

WFUV Public Radio | News/Sports | Cityscape

The show will air this Saturday at 7:30 AM (Cityscapes) and will go into archive later for anyone who lives in New York City. It is 90.7 FM Radio, WFUV.

http://www.FengShuiLI.com

*Carole Provenzale is a Certified Feng Shui Consultant and the Founder of Feng Shui Long Island providing Feng Shui consultations onsite for all of New York City and Long Island for homes, apartments, condos, studios, businesses, offices, corporations, renovations, pre-purchase, real estate and new construction. Feng Shui Consultations are provided for those at a distance by phone. Also available for workshops and classes.

Quite often I am asked just how long will it take for Feng Shui to start working...in other words, when will they see changes? I tell them it's impossible to tell. We were always taught the art of using Feng Shui in your space is a PROCESS and for some people, it can literally change the Energy of a space overnight and things will start to change.

For others it can take weeks or even months and they can become frustrated and lose confidence. That is the worst mistake they can make. A Feng Shui consultant cannot tell a client exactly WHEN the changes will occur, only that they will and they need to trust and believe in the process. If negative thoughts start to come in, it will certainly delay the process.

I have also noticed something else over the years that I don't have an exact answer to, only my own personal feelings about it: Often times after a client books a consultation and has finally made the decision to have one done; before I even arrive they will notice changes. They will get new clients, receive an unexpected check or find out they don't need expensive car work. It's only in the last year of so that I've noticed it and remember to include the question "Has anything changed since you made the appointment?" More often then not I will get the answer YES.

I had to wonder how this could be possible. My conclusion seems to be that they're COMMITTED to having a Feng Shui Consultation and making changes in their lives, many times after YEARS of putting it off. They've already redirected their energy and their Intentions are now to move forward. This in itself seems to create a shift.

There are many mysteries to Feng Shui and the way it works to me, even now after all these years and that's part of what makes this work so wonderful. Every day I see or learn something new; and know that no matter how much I learn, I will NEVER learn it all.

http://www.FengShuiLI.com

*Carole Provenzale has been a Certified Feng Shui Consultant since 1997 and is the Founder of Feng Shui Long Island, New York providing on site Feng Shui Consultations to all of New York City and Long Island for Homes, Businesses, Offices, Corporations, Real Estate Agents, New Construction and Renovations and Feng Shui Consultations at a distance by phone. All Consultations are Personalized and Affordable.

(c) copywrited Feng Shui Long Island, New York

Feng Shui seen through the eyes of a Feng Shui Consultant.

This past Sunday I did a Feng Shui Consultation for Curves on Post Avenue in Westbury, Long Island, New York. I’d heard of it, it’s an exercise franchise but I didn’t realize the principles behind Curves and what has made it so successful. I was called because the new owner felt that business had dropped off and wanted to create better Energy in her space.

The only sign allowed to be used at the present with the entrance in the back door. We reversed the Bagua. The picture on the right shows the WEALTH area--a storage room (or I should say a FORMER storage unit :)

Before I tell you about Curves itself, I will share what I believed might be some of the issues. In speaking with her I had learned that the previous owner had decided to sell simply because she lived too far. There had been no problems and the staff had remained. However, I was reluctant to advise her that I felt there had been a huge argument in that space. When I asked her if she knew anything about the owner prior to the person she bought it from, it turned out that two chiropractors had rented the space. They had completely renovated it and had bought all new equipment—they in fact were the ones that had such a severe argument that they broke their lease with the landlord and left their machines behind!

Taken from the "back" of the store, the entrance in on the left in the picture. The front desk had clutter and nothing to back that person up behind them. There is also a small room by the screen which they are making a private room for members to sign up; oftentimes there is private medical information to be shared and we felt it should be a quiet spot.

Another issue was that the new owner had not as yet “moved in.” Her office was bare of anything relating to her or her family. It was not decorated and, in fact had pictures of people hung up that she did not even know. People need to CLAIM their space. There also was not a sign on the front of the Building. Putting up a new sign or even banner has to be approved by the town. This is not the first time I’ve seen this on Long Island and a big Feng Shui Principle is “Get your Name out to the Universe.” Until she could do that, we reversed the Bagua using the back door as her entrance. I did, however, notice that her neighbor (a nail salon) had their own window and a shared entrance. I asked her to ask her neighbor if she could put a Curves sign in the window.

I was absolutely impressed with the way Curves works. It is a 30 minute workout that isolates and targets certain muscle groups on each machine. You are only on each machine for 30 seconds, move on a mat for 30 seconds and move again to the next machine. You stop at certain points to check your heart rate. The exercises are not difficult and you’re not sore at the end of your workout, yet you use all your muscles in the workout. Wonderful idea and I just might join. Here are some of the things I suggested for this space; she also had an untapped wealth of inexpensive ways to advertise that she needed to utilize….It’s unlikely many people knew it was THERE. I believe she will do very well.

A glimpse of my client's office....blank walls, not decorated. Behind the door are files of former Curves clients MY client wanted to dispose of---I thought of everything I read on EXPIREDS here on Activerain! I asked her to have someone call EVERY person and offer them a special.

Women love to congregate. This was the perfect spot to chat or even market with each other but it was used as the warm up area. We moved the warm up area to the former check in area and coffee and low fat treats will be offered for those who want to stay. GOOD ENERGY EMINATES! We are also putting a "Members Area" where people can leave cards and brochures to help each other out.

Some marketing tips I gave her: To visit all the stores nearby and ask to leave cards and brochures. I'm sure they'd be happy to do so and she can reciprocate with her "members" area. She also had a huge new complex of Condominiums right next store; I'm willing to bet many of the people didn't even know they were there! Easy and inexpensive. I did the Space Clearing and it felt wonderful to ALL of us.

If you live near or in Westbury, Long Island, I urge you to see this wonderful space. I currently work out at home but cannot nearly achieve the results I would at Curves; if they were seeking new members, they just got one!

There are many things we could look at from a negative perspective in Feng Shui. Or we can use INTENTION and some Western Methods to help correct our spaces. What to do when a client does not want to put ANY money into a space? We do the best we can and work with it.

These particular clients lived in the beautiful part of New York City called Tudor City. If you did not see the pictures of this lovely Historical part of New York, you can take a look here:

My clients, a husband and wife, had recently left a 4 bedroom, 2 bath home in sunny Florida to relocate back to Manhattan. They had formerly lived in Tudor City and were delighted to find a studio there that was available to rent. They did plan to move, however, when a one bedroom became available and did not want to put any money into the place they were renting. This made a New York City Feng Shui Studio difficult.

I have her permission to post the interior of her room but because her personal belongings are in there I have chosen not to except for the kitchen and her views from her window. This was a one room studio, 210 Square Feet. A tight squeeze for two people! Describing the room to get a better picture: The walls and ceiling were all white, there was no artwork hung. There was a trundle bed (it pulled out from underneath) and a computer table with not only the computer but a printer and fax machine-all facing the bed.

Two burners, a miniaturized but workable kitchen.The View: Beautiful Ocean View and all that Construction.

The Lobby of this beautiful, historic hotel. Many fine detailing in the woodwork and all throughout. The chandelier shows the 12 signs of the Zodiac.

Some issues with Pre-War Historic homes were the lack of outlets. There were two in this New York studio leaving many wires running under the bed; they were sleeping poorly with so much electromagnetic energy. There was also construction going on which is being fought by the tenants and owners; another Manhattan high rise that would obstruct their view of the water. And there was nothing to offset all that Water element, further adding to being tired all the time.

I felt that the most important thing to do while waiting for a one bedroom to come on the market was to address this place as HOME and to feel blessed to have it. These words, she said, had an impact on her. She had some lovely artwork from her home and I felt that hanging it would help add elements and deflect the eye from so much WHITE. And help address the water issues.

Some of the wires would be able to be wrapped in those specially designed items that hold wires inside a small plastic piece that runs along the wall. They could then be sent to the other outlet. We also devised something simple and very inexpensive to cover the computer and all the other items there when they were going to sleep.

To help deflect the energy of the building that was going on we INTENTIONALLY pushed it away with MIRRORS. And the one item I asked her to buy were curtains....not only were they in her FAME area but RED would also help deflect from so much water energy. All the other elements were there.

The current cost of this apartment per month is $1,500; a one bedroom would be considerably more. This is how we Feng Shui a New York City Condo...with addressing what we can with the elements, blessings and a lot of Intention.

Feng Shui in New York City @ Historic Tudor City

As well as I think I know New York City and much of Manhattan, I don't know how I've missed this beautiful, historic place. I'd likely not have seen it, either, had I not been called to Feng Shui a New York City Apartment. I was fortunate to get there early and had time to explore this lovely part of Midtown that I had never seen before.

It was truly like stepping back in time. The streets are very narrow for residents only and it is the quietest area of the City I have ever been in; if you didn't KNOW you were in New York City, you wouldn't believe you were right in the HEART of it!

A bit of history that my client shared with me: Tudor City is a historic district in Midtown Manhattan and was developed in the 1920's by Fred F. French. He created 12 Buildings, all Tudor Style. Formerly on this site were tenements, brownhouses, an old gas company, breweries and a slaughterhouse. And, of course, a horrible smell.

French and Company began building in 1925 and the buildings were finished by 1928. It contained 3,000 housing units and 600 hotel rooms, now mostly co-ops. Architect H. Douglas Ives designed the buildings and was known for his intricate stone and brick work.

To attract the Middle Class to the area, they built a park. The buildings all face inwards to the park to detract from the odors and very few windows faced the East Side (my client was fortunate to have a large window). The United Nations now stands where the slaughterhouses were. In another post I will show my clients Feng Shui New York City Apartment but here are some pictures of this beautiful, historic district right in the heart of New York City:

Can you see the Chrysler building?

The very special little park.

Difficult to capture these magnificent buildings!

From the bridge in Tudor City.

Tudor City--does that say Summer Home? Facinating place this was!

Standing on the bridge from Tudor City looking EAST toward Long Island, Queens and Brooklyn, New York.

I would have to add this beautiful district of historic Tudor City to any visit to Manhattan!

http://www.FengShuiLI.com

*Carole Provenzale has been a Certified Feng Shui Consultant since 1997 and is the Founder of Feng Shui Long Island providing Feng Shui Consultations for New York City Apartments, all of Long Island, Homes, Businesses, Offices, Corporations, Pre Purchase, Renovations, Real Estate and New Construction. Feng Shui Consultations also available at a distance by phone.