Welcoming Autumn
~Dorine Doyle King, FSIM Newsletter Coordinator
This year the Autumn Equinox is on September 22, 2017, at 3:02pm Central Time and is celebrated in many cultures. China celebrates with the Moon Festival, mooncakes filled with lotus, sesame seed, duck egg or dried fruit. At our house, we celebrate Mabon, the second harvest and the start of winter preparations, such as finishing up the canning and freezing and putting the garden to bed. It is a time to respect the impending change of the seasons, and the return of darkness and giving thanks for the sunlight, enjoying the earlier twilights and cooler evenings. It's time to complete projects and a time to reap what we have sown.
Here are some ways I will celebrate:
- As I begin my summer-to-autumn cleaning and readying for fall, I will create an altar. It may be as simple as a centerpiece on my dining room table - it may be more elaborate - we shall see how I feel. I will use colors of gold, orange, red, bronze and/or rust. I will light an orange or yellow candle and give thanks for the blessings of abundance in my life.
- I will ask the Mother Goddess to bless my harvest (my garden harvest as well as professional harvest).
- I will listen to music and celebrate the sounds of nature.
- I will take time to meditate. This is extremely important if you are the family caregiver, are living with stress or lots of personal drama in your life.
 As I am writing this post, I am working on number 4 while on Retreat at my little cabin in the middle of the Superior National Forest of Northern Minnesota. I'm listening to the wind in the trees watching bees buzz around the wild flowers growing in the meadow outside my window - as well as tossing the occasional ball for my dog. But, I am also contemplating how I can consistently get more sleep; keep my peace of mind when I return to real-life and how to bring more balance to my days.
For our Mabon/Autumn Equinox celebration this year, I am planning on getting together with my children, my grandchildren and combining families with my long-time friend and her children and grandchildren. We always have fun as our kids and grandkids are the same age and it is ever so satisfying to watch them all together. This year she and I will lead the grandkids in crafting a Spinnable Wheel of the Year and we will have a big pot of Potato Ham Soup bubbling on the stove along with some homemade Oat Bread timed to come out of the oven 30 minutes before dinner! Dessert? Why, s'mores and marshmallows over the campfire as well as fresh baked apple crisp with ice-cream, of course!
What will you do to celebrate this Autumn Equinox? Consider joining us for our FSIM Equinox Celebration at Sonia's home on September 22, 2017. Register Here.
What will you do to celebrate Autumn? Please join us for our October 7, 2017, Annual Autumn Field Trip to Como Park Ordway Gardens - a Japanese Collection -- a Tour with Barbara Bobrowitz! Register Here.
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| Barbara Bobrowitz |
2017 FSIM October Field Trip:
Como Park Ordway Gardens - a Japanese Collection
& Registration
Please note this meeting is for all FSIM Members, Friends and Guests.
FSIM is excited for our Autumn Field Trip - Tour of the Charlotte Partridge Ordway Japanese Garden with Barbara Bobrowitz
October 7, 2017
Time: 9:00am -12:00pm -- Lunch to Follow
Presenter/Tour Guide: Barbara Bobrowitz
Barbara Bobrowitz, M.Ed, is a certified Feng Shui professional consultant, teacher, mentor and speaker based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
SPECIALIZES IN
- private residential and commercial Feng Shui consultations;
- blessing and clearing ceremonies for both homes and businesses;
- classes, workshops, and speaking engagements;
- mentoring professional Feng Shui consultants.
Barbara Bobrowitz, founder of Energetic Alignments, is a highly trained and experienced Feng Shui teacher and consultant. Having studied with Feng Shui Masters and indigenous teachers from all of the Americas, Barbara has shared energy tools with willing seekers for the past 20 years, assisting them in making conscious and beneficial changes to their lives. Since 2005, Barbara has added a personal energy management system developed by John Friedlander based on his studies with Lewis Bostwick, at the Berkeley Psychic Institute, and Jane Roberts. This approach teaches a more deeply grounded way of moving through life with curiosity, amusement and clarity. Barbara deepens her use of these techniques in her personal and professional relationships by continuing to work with John to explore the spiritual dimensions of energy, chakra clearing, healing, and happiness.
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Feature Article
Barbara Bobrowitz, M.Ed., CPFS
Como Interpretive Volunteer for the Ordway Gardens
The Evolution of Garden Chi
We have a precious gem within Como Park. The Ordway Gardens - a Japanese Collection vibrates with the essence of Feng Shui, namely, harmony with Nature. This seems obvious when describing any garden; however, there is a subtle yet palpable difference between planting a beautiful garden with Japanese elements and truly tending that delicate balance of yin and yang.
The traditional yang elements of Japanese gardens
are lanterns, ornaments, water features, rocks, pathways, bridges, and plantings.
The yin elements are intention and ceremony. The intention is to create a meditative space within Nature as a metaphor for life.
Its more than 110 year history exemplifies how the chi in this place, enhanced by the garden, interacts with a community to weave two cultures together.
The garden's chi has evolved with the ebb and flow around
-the intention to have a Japanese garden;
-the location changes;
- the financial and staff support;
-the name shifts;
-each renovation
So come, delight in the chi of this garden and, in the process, enhance your own chi. The garden has so many more subtle manifestations of yang and yin. We'll explore them together in the presentation before you enter the garden where you will experience them yourself and find more that speak only to you.
Barbara Bobrowitz, M.Ed., CPFS
763-571-9437
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Member Article or Blog Post
- by Dorine Doyle King - The Red Phoenix
This Could Be Your Article or Blog Title!
Hello to All Feng Shui Institute of the Midwest Members,
 As I put together our current Newsletter it has been suggested that we include a Member Article or Blog Post. Now, we've always been open to input from our membership, but I just want to remind you all that this is YOUR Newsletter too! If you have an article or blog post that you would like to share, we would LOVE to publish it right here in this spot. We could begin the article/post here and then link it back to your website/blog, or if you just want to write for FSIM, the whole article would be here. If it's a blog post for FSIM, it will link back to the Blog on the FSIM website.
Suggested Topics:
- Chinese New Year
- Change of Season
- 5-Element
- Feng Shui
- Bagua or Gua info/thoughts
- The answer to a question you've gotten about Feng Shui
- Anything you think will be Feng Shui related
Here is what I will need for each article/blog:
- Suggested Title and Subtitle
- Complete article, ideally around 300 - 600 words
- A webpage link (if we are linking it back to your website or blog)
- An image related to the content or a photo of the person submitting
- Your contact info (name, phone number, website, email)
Hopefully, this has not been too confusing but ... if you have something you'd like to have published in the next or a future Newsletter, please write it up and send it to me at the email below. Call me if you have questions.
Just think! This could be your name and contact info instead of mine!
Dorine Doyle King
612-272-8425
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Member Article
Gentle Feng Shui
- by Michelle Skally Doilney - FSIM Board Member
Gentle Feng Shui
There is a time for upheaval, change, and revolution. At home, this may be awakening a bathroom with thick white subway tile, repainting your kitchen cupboards at midnight with a deep navy gloss or sending your child out into the world with their rooms broken down into boxes for donations or dorms. We know how to strengthen up and prep for these bigger projects and events: make lists; get supplies; seek advice from friends; set aside chunks of time; stock up on caffeine or treats for rewards; center and focus.
What about our mindset for those bigger projects? And, most important, what about everyday life, the parts of life that aren't planned, that aren't prepped - which is most of our lives. In a culture of apps designed to remind us to drink water and of instant and constant social media evaluation, we need to tap into our ability to slow it down, to pay attention, to be gentle. Whether as a Feng Shui Consultant or as a participant in life, remember to be gentle with your clients or students and especially with yourself.
Gentle. As in forgiving deadlines and timelines, and choosing to keep it easy when possible. Gentle. This is the way to see your own face in the mirror, and the way to see your home and how it supports you. If the junk on the kitchen counter gets to be too much... gentle. Easily discard or put one or two things away here and there in the morning or evening. Gentle - do pat yourself on the top of your head for paying attention (with humor), for taking care of your home. Do not crab at yourself in your mind about overwhelm, lack of an Instagram moment at your mealtime, or slow-burning about how the mail keeps showing up next to the toaster. Just put a few things away and breathe deeply from low in your belly.
Remember that you can be firm while gentle. It is how you do things, not if or when you do things that shapes true gentleness of action. Over time, "gentle" will be your flow, however you personalize it; it will move along with your breath and thoughts and it will guide your actions. You may be as fierce as you need with a project, but your heart and mind will be grounded and gentle.
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FSIM Feng Shui Tip
- submitted by Dorine Doyle King
Note: This is a new section to our Newsletter! Please send me any tips you have. I would love to see your name in the "submitted by" line! A quick Pinterest-able tip. If you have an image you want used, be sure it is yours to share and send it along with your tip to me at: dorineking@gmail.com
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Seasons of Change
A Seasonal To-Do List, Tips, Thoughts, Rituals and Quotes
 "Seasons Change; change your "set-ups". Swap summer shoes and clothes for fall clothes. Hang school backpacks in their place. September is a time of new beginnings by letting go. Let go of 9 items in each room of your house throughout the month. You can do this room by room, or all 9 items at once per room. Be gentle with yourself and your home. Toss, recycle or "find a new home" (make sure the new home wants the item!) for your items. Feel the peace of the space where the items and the energy used to be." -- Michelle Skally Doilney
Note: This is a another new section to our Newsletter! Please send me any seasonal tips, ideas, thoughts, rituals or quotes you may have for the upcoming
Winter Season. I would love to see your name in the byline! If you have an image you want used, be sure it is yours to share and send it along with your tip to me at:
dorineking@gmail.com or give me a call at 612-272-8425
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FSIM Community/Member News
Jane and Ron Petrich would like to announce the engagement of their daughter Jodi Ann Petrich, to Patrick Massey. They are planning a September 9, 2017, outdoor garden wedding in Minneapolis.
Our former student of Feng Shui, Jerry Foss was diagnosed a year ago with a brain tumor, underwent surgery and chemo, but sadly on August 15, 2017, was transferred to hospice to spend his final days. We invite you as his Feng Shui family to encircle Jerry with love and light as he makes his transition back home. Here is his Caring Bridge site to post your condolences. https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jerryfoss2
Elaine Anderson's son Colin, graduated from Orthopedic residency at University Colorado, Denver. He has moved to Gainesville, Florida for a fellowship in Orthopedic Oncology.
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Dorine Doyle King - The Red Phoenix: September 16-17, 2017 from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM
An introductory class to begin your journey of discovery into the exciting world of essential oils! Gain a deeper understanding of Aromatherapy and how to utilize essential oils at home and/or professionally to maintain health, treat acute and chronic pain and reduce stress.
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Dorine Doyle King - The Red Phoenix: September 20, 2017 from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM (Includes Soup for Supper)
Discover how you can take care of your family's common winter ailments without using chemicals or drugs, including the helpful medicinal actions of some common herbs, roots and leaves.
This class is perfect if you are new to using herbal remedies and want to incorporate herbs, essential oils, and food-as-medicine into your life.
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Wind & Water School of Feng Shui: September 26, 2017 from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
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Carole Hyder:
12 noon and again at 2 PM
Fashion - Felines - Feng Shui Free Event
Scarborough Fair Shop
2238 Carter Ave., St. Anthony Park, MN
Carole will be giving a 30-minute presentation on how you can use Feng Shui principles to help you find your wardrobe edge.A team of Feng Shui experts will be ready to guide you toward finding the right article of clothing that expresses the true YOU. 10% of each purchase goes to Caring for Cats, an all-volunteer no-kill shelter.
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Discover a new healthy cleaning regime for your family and your pets. This is a great class if you want to switch from chemical cleaning to all natural DIY homemade products for a clean house and healthy family.
Note: To post your classes and events contact Dorine Doyle King at dorineking@gmail.com or call me at 612-272-8425.
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2017 FSIM Gatherings
Wednesday, September 13, 2017 - Volunteering at Bridging
Friday, September 22, 2017 - Fall Bonfire and Equinox Celebration 7:00 PM -9:00 PM To Register
2017 FSIM Quarterly Meetings
Saturday, October 7, 2017 - Field Trip: Japanese Garden Tour with Barbara Bobrowitz - 9:00 AM - 12:00 noon. Followed by lunch on-site at the Como Pavilion (at your own expense). To Register
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2018 FSIM Quarterly Meetings
Tuesday, January 16, 2018 - Annual Meeting: Master Chunyi Lin of Spring Forest
Qigong
Tuesday, April 10, 2018 - FSIM Member's Only Meeting
Tuesday, July 10, 2018 - FSIM Meeting
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