According to Feng Shui principles, adding light to a space can increase its Chi and is an easy way to make positive changes in your home and life. Don't believe me? Read on, my friends, because it's interesting to learn about something that is so easy to take advantage of.
Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I am such a silly person when it comes to lighting. I have a time of day that I change my lighting, turn on/off certain lamps, check my bulbs, and I also dim areas of my home that need adjustment according to the natural lighting of the day. If you wanted to get me a birthday present, just wrap up a dimmer switch and I will feel like you gave me $100. If you want to mess with me, take out the bulbs in my lamp and watch me go little nuts. The obsession with having proper lighting around me may have influenced my path into Feng Shui. It now makes sense how aware I am that the type and quality of my lighting could either improve or harm my mood, health, prosperity, and destiny and control my day.
I have always recognized the importance of improving interior lighting levels, however, nurturing health and life with natural light is what can balance us the most. The light created by the sun and the moon is the best type of light for both your body and mind. Receiving sunlight and moonlight activates, energizes, and balances you.
The human body has a physical need to consume natural light on a regular basis. Sunrise, midday, and sunset are times that are mood changers. Do you have a specific time of the day that you enjoy most? Many might say 5 pm because that would be the end of your workday. Or it may be the early morning while sipping coffee and sitting in silence before your day starts. Did you ever consider that the light during that time of day is highly effective on our moods as well? Kinda cool to me!
Midday is the best time to benefit from the sun's maximum energy, but be cautious at how much direct exposure you get. You can also get great quality light by walking through the woods—with the filtered light coming through the trees, it creates a calm and nurturing effect. Another advantage of natural light is the earth's only natural satellite: The moon. Moonlight produces calming, cooling, and refreshing effects that increase feelings of hope, peace, and optimism. Sunlight and moonlight offer so many benefits to the body and spirit that we need to take advantage of—this is a natural way to nurture our health.
I think most would agree that spending too much time indoors, only being exposed to artificial light can greatly affect your energy, moods, sleep patterns, and work abilities. This can leave a person feeling exhausted and fatigued. People that are not exposed to enough natural light aren't able to perform as well as people who get enough natural sunlight. Lack of sleep can cause mistakes, depression, and could cause injury….you see where I am going with this. Sleep is another critical topic I would like to touch on, however, that is for another. Right now, I would like to talk to you about your “light diet''!
Your light diet involves recognizing the importance of improving the interior lighting levels in your home or workplace. The best type of light is bright and pleasant without feeling harsh. When I say bright, I don't mean “covering your hand over your face bright'', I mean that the lighting is equally light on both sides of the room—balanced. Dimmers are the best solution, in my world, to achieve maximum lighting perfection at any time of the day.
If you don't receive enough natural light in your environment or you spend a lot of time indoors, you can supplement your light diet by adding full-spectrum bulbs which aim to reproduce the beneficial light of the sun. Let me tell you about my friend I met while in Bali.
She is an amazing woman who, like me, is from the Midwest. We had a lot in common, especially our childhood memories of growing up with the cold winters. I left the Midwest in my 20s, but she and her husband still live there and still endure the colder climate, including lack of sunlight for much of the year. Her husband explained that they travel to warmer climates when they can, due to her condition called SAD: seasonal affective disorder. This is a real condition and became a huge problem for her and her health. It was also affecting her relationship with her husband.
SAD takes control of your energy, causes moodiness, depression, a loss of interest in activities, problems with sleeping, and feeling hopeless, worthless, or guilty. Her husband told me how they installed special lights that specifically provide huge amounts of healthy light. This helped stimulate the pineal gland, suppressing melatonin, which is a sleep hormone that is overproduced by SAD sufferers. It was incredible to learn about this and hear her story.
My sweet friends, I am happy to have met you, and I’m delighted to share this information with you. So! What have we learned? By taking advantage of receiving more light from nature (the sun and the moon) and having natural light in our environment, we will nurture our health on a grand scale.
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