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Feng Shui of Abundance: Feed the Birds, Feed the Earth
By Betsy Stang, Healing By Design.
In the roots of feng shui, there is a teaching: “If you want abundance feed the Earth, feed the birds.” Birds are a symbol of wealth, strong chi, harmony and joy. They only come where there is food, life, and where there is enough to share.
Outside my late-winter window, the turkeys parade. The males are territorial, trying to impress a mate. The jays, cardinals, crows, squirrels and snowbirds feast on the grains by the rock. Near a statue of St. Francis and by a carved mantra of compassion, they all mingle with little fear.
The sky signals spring, yet in many places the Earth is gripped by winter, water and wind. The currents stir, calling for awakening and movement. The chi moves as the sun’s changing electromagnetic currents pass over the Earth.
Spring relates to the direction of the East, new beginnings, new life. It relates to sunrise, rebirth. As we approach spring, we must encounter the birth canal, shed what is old.
To the two-legged, four-legged and winged ones, it is a signal to prepare to move forward. The hummingbirds begin their startling navigation from South America to their North American nesting grounds. Around the world, the herds and flocks feel the changes and prepare to move, coming together in massive numbers. As spring approaches, we prepare to step out, move forward.
Is there space for the winds of change to blow gently? Look at your homes, your communities. Are there areas of stagnation that need to be moved?
Have you nurtured your environment, fed the Earth, fed the birds? Have you given back as much as you have taken? We are part of the cycle of life, and if we want our prosperity nurtured, we must feed and honor what sustains us.
We have learned that a disturbance in the honey bee population can affect our entire food supply. In Norway, a doomsday seed bank has been set up in the permafrost. In Feng Shui, we want to repel “Sha,” or evil influences, so we replace them with good aspects. If we give out kindness, most likely we will live in a kinder environment. It is no secret that Bill Gates and Warren Buffet expressed enormous joy at the gift of being able to give away vast fortunes to help heal the world. Ask them what true wealth is. They know what they had to give.
As we turn toward the East, we find in ourselves that which is new. In truth, we all have riches to share to bring in positive, abundant chi, sometimes through very small acts.
Can we take our small corners of the world and make them refuges for life?
As we come to the equinoxes, we come to a place of possible balance.
Change brings the opportunity of the new.
It is the time to apply our values, to plant them in our homes and our communities. Is your home a place that feeds the Earth, feeds the birds? Look around you, see if you are nurturing the environment. Are you adding toxins to the water or air?
If you live in a city, what is your community doing to reduce pollution, add green spaces and renew resources? What are other ways we can bring nurturing? Can you help with your time, your voice, your resources? If yes, that will come back to you a thousand fold.
With each step, you become your own feng shui master, by noticing what needs to be moved to allow the wind and water to flow and nourish all.
To contact Betsy Stang, practitioner of Healing by Design Feng Shui, click here.
More on Feng Shui & Organizing (55 articles available)More from Betsy Stang (8 articles available)
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33 comments
add your comment »I come from a long line of women who fed the birds, inherited my mother's bird books and am now teaching my granddaughter to identify the birds that come to the feeders outside the kitchen patio door. We give lots of sunflower seeds to attract the songbirds! Sweet treats for sweet tweets!
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My family and I have just started using feng shui, we love it and are constantly looking for new was to use and apply it in our lifes. It has been such a possitive improvement. Thank you for giving us some more ideas.
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Nice! Thanks
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Hi Betsy,
A more beautiful rendition of peaceful living/sharing I have never read. Thank you.
I live on a Sustainable herb farm in TN, USA.
We cherish and share our gift of being able to live in harmony with all the birds and other critters that find us.
We too have the beautiful wild turkey, rabbits, a few deer, squirrel, and so many species of birds.
We have just started to see the lovely little hummingbirds dining on the pineapple sage, although they have a feeder, they prefere the nectar from the flowers I think.
Two Mockingbirds are busy building their nest in the Norway Spruce we planted 4 years ago in honor of our grandson starting 1st grade.
I'm wondering if it is the same two that built there last year.
We have an abundance of Cardinals, male and female, and Robins, Eastern Bluebirds, and the lovely Finch are just coming in.
The Red Winged Black birds come in flocks a little later in the summer. Although we have seen a few already.
And of course we have the toads and lizards and a snake or two, so far this spring we have seen 3 snapping turtles...not sure where they are coming from. We have had a lot of rain in the last month, I suppose they were washed from their habitate...hopefully they will find their way back.
We are adding a few chickens to our family this spring. ( for the benefit of their beauty, eggs, and natural maintenance.
My grandsons Pigmy goat just delivered two new babies to the fold. They are so excited.
To borro
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I provide water & seed for the birds, and several have chosen my yard to build their nests.:-) However, I also have raccoons and possums. The raccoons climbed up on the birdbath, tipped it over & broke it. :-( Now my salad bowl is pinch-hitting for the birds water. OK for drinking, but too deep & steep-sided for bathing.
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This is so lovely and so true. I was always taught to feed the birds since childhood. I have two feeders in my yard which I keep stocked as well as a bird bath. My sons help me to keep the seed filled and I have taught them to put any old bread or overripe fruit out for the fauna as well. They have competitions to see who can throw bits of bread the farthest. Its a pleasure to see them having a great time helping to feed the birds, squirrels, hawks, rabbits, and fox that come to our yard.
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Watching the birds at my balcony feeders is the special way I start my day. Now, in Vancouver, the goldfinch males are bright yellow on one of the feeders, and the house finches congregate at the other with flashes of red. The feisty bush tits are forming nesting pairs, the sparrows lurking on the bottom of the balcony, searching for dropped seeds. Yes, I feel truly connected to mother earth by helping to take care of these of her gifts.
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We have a lovely cockatiel ourselves,we treat him like he was meant to live with us,we sit on our Porch in the backyard & feed all the birds with wild bird seed which we buy every week.It is so beautiful to watch them eat from the bird feeder we bought for them.It is one of natures creations.
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Here in Ontario there is still snow onthe ground.The robins have come back and there is nothing to eat for them.(No worms) So I always feed them apples and they love them.
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very good...thanks
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