Being Aware of Continual First Impressions

Feng Shui theory emphasizes the importance of first impressions, including the view of the house from the street, of the street from your front door, and others. In fact, these first impressions are also continual impressions. The first thing you see as you enter the house is a crucial first impression that sets the tone for your entire experience in the house, and surprisingly, for much of your life experience as well. A positive first entry impression creates uplifted spirits, hope, and positive expectations. A negative first entry impression, much like an unpleasant smell encountered when entering a restaurant, sets up lowered expectations. This continual first impression over time can make you a truly unhappy camper. Here's how to kick up your heels like a new filly.

Two levels of first impressions

This first impression principle has two important factors. One is the first room you enter (or if you enter into a foyer or entry hall, the first room you see or approach as you proceed into the house). Overall, the first room you enter impacts your psychology and physical health.

The second factor is the very first item or object your eye is attracted to as you enter the residence. Also, the first thing you see specifically affects your psyche, so carefully check out this aspect of your entrance.

The ideal entrance

The ideal entrance welcomes you in, greeting you with pleasant, uplifting sights, feelings, even sounds or smells, and makes you feel comfortable, peaceful, and at home. A wide, spacious, bright interior entryway gives you ample room to move forward and makes you want to move forward. You can easily see a place to sit or rest or at least see something pleasant and attractive ahead. An ideal entryway promotes career success and harmony at home — a positive attitude and a clear spirit. A less-than-ideal entryway is correspondingly less positive, or at worst, negative. If the first impression is one of a dark, cramped, cluttered or unpleasant space, the impact on you can gradually take its toll over time. Here details of positive and negative rooms to enter, and positive and negative first things to see upon coming inside.

Check out the following info to see how your entrance rates (and can be improved).

Positive rooms to enter by the front door

An ideal front door entrance leads into a foyer, entry hall, living room, den, family room, study, or office. Any of these rooms have either a neutral or positive energy, with corresponding life effects. Unless of course these rooms look like disaster areas! (Be aware that other factors in these rooms such as extreme clutter or negative furniture arrangements may counteract some of the positive effects of the room's location.

Specific qualities and effects of these positive rooms include:

Foyer or entry room: This room is generally good and fine at the entrance.

Living room: When you see a comfortable place to sit down as your first impression, you have a feeling of rest and relaxation.

Den or family room: These rooms give you the same effect as the living room, inducing relaxation and comfort.

Study or library: A study or library has positive effects; your family tends to be learned, intelligent, and studious and your children advance well in school.

Office: When you see the office immediately upon entering, you can find it easier to achieve success in your business or career.

Negative rooms to enter by the front door

According to Feng Shui principles, unfavorable rooms to enter by the front door are the kitchen, bathroom, playroom, bedroom, or dining room. The following list details the negative effects of each room as an entry point and also provides cures for each situation. (Note: The negative effects still apply — though slightly Iess harshly - if you see clearly these rooms ahead of you when entering, rather than stepping directly into them.)

Kitchen: The kitchen serves as a direct route to health issues, including digestion problems and binge eating if entered from the front door. Your finances can take a beating as well. To cure this situation, hang a wind chime over the cook's position at the stove.

Bedroom: If your bedroom is located just inside your front door, you may find yourself feeling lazy, being tired constantly, and not wanting to work. To cure, hang a wind chime halfway between the door and your bed.

Dining room: Similar to entering the kitchen, but with less severity, entering the dining room can negatively affect your eating habits and personal energy. To cure the situation, hang a faceted crystal sphere over the center of the dining table.

Bathroom: Even though entering the front door directly into a bathroom is virtually nonexistent in modern homes, entering the front door of a house into an entryway and seeing a bathroom first thing is common. This view can have psychological, physiological, and financially draining effects, much more so if the toilet is visible upon coming in. The cure involves keeping the bathroom door closed at all times, to retain precious energy. An additional cure which strengthens the first one involves hanging a full-length mirror on the outside of the door, which helps psychologically eliminate the bathroom. This second cure only works when the bathroom door is kept closed.

Playroom, game room, or gambling room: You can have rapid and intense financial upswings or downfalls. To cure this situation, hang a faceted crystal sphere 3 feet inside the front door.

positive things to see on entering

What if books are the first things you see when you enter the house? A view of books fosters excellent school performance and increased intelligence. Also beneficial are positive images, scenes of nature or waterscapes, and paintings or photos of peaceful and uplifting subjects. Additional positive first impression objects are flowers, plants, and aquariums.

Negative first impression objects

Things you should avoid encountering as you enter the front door include:

Any mess or uncleanliness

Piles of undone work

A toilet, the stove, or the bed