Getting engaged? Whether it’s your first time down the aisle or your third, the bride is blushing and the diamonds should be sparkling.

Here’s the Feng Shui Master’s 5 Factor Guide to choosing just the right ring for your one and only true love.

#1 SHAPE

Looking with a Feng Shui Eye, diamond shapes come in three categories:

Not So Great

• Marquise – sharp points can mean prickly ch’i!
• Pear – a tear shape for happy love?
• Oval – is love a race?

Pretty good

• Princess – a shape of even balance, but watch those sharp corners!
• Round – love does make the world go round

Great Feng Shui

• Emerald – traditional, elegant with 8 sides*
• Asscher – a squared Emerald shape
• Radiant – a modern Emerald shape
• Old Miners – a rounded square – perfect balance

*The Bagua, the Feng Shui energy map that represents all facets of life is an octagon. Shouldn’t your ring reflect all of life, too?

#2 COLOR

In Feng Shui we use color energy to lift and enhance different aspects of life.

Feng Shui Love Power Colors:

• White – your future, children
• Pink – love, romance, partnership
• Red – fire, passion

The standard diamond is white and perfectly suited to bringing “future” energy to your ring. After all, isn’t that what an engagement ring is for? If you do want to add other color energies, use other gemstones, like red rubies for passion ch’i, to achieve the balance and intention in your heart. (There are natural red or pink diamonds but quality ones are very rare and very expensive.)

#3 STORY

The energy of the past carries into the present and on into the future.

A new diamond is like the proverbial blank slate; ready to absorb and hold your love ch’i. It’s when you’re looking at heirloom or estate pieces that “predecessor ch’i” becomes a factor. Just like the new ring will be imprinted with your energy, older pieces may carry the energy of past owners and past events. (There really are “cursed” diamonds.)

Family Heirlooms

Ask for the true stories and check into your true feelings. Did Grandma and Grandpa really have a wonderful marriage? If the answer is yes and you had a wonderful relationship with Grandma then go ahead. You can add another layer of love ch’i to an already blessed stone.

If the true story is not about love or you didn’t get along with her, ask yourself why you’d want to wear a ring weighted with dark feelings.

Estate Jewelry

All pre-owned pieces carry negative energy. Some are neutral or even positive. But unless you’re a good energy reader it would be wise to ask for help from a friend who is. You’ll have enough to deal with in married life without adding someone else’s “karma.”

(Disclosure: I bought Debra antique diamonds for both our 10th and 20th anniversaries. Of course, I took a deep look into the stones’ ch’i before deciding.)

#4 BALANCE

To choose wisely, keep logic and desire in balance.

Size, cut and clarity all impact price. Too high a price can put stress ch’i into the ring and into the relationship. Budget well, buy smart and that simple half carat will outshine all others.

Of course, what will really make it shine is Feng Shui Factor #5 –

#5 LOVE

Love really does make the world go round.

Do you believe in magic? Do you believe in love? No matter how big or how small, a diamond ring chosen in love and given in love can be a link between lovers; a love link will only grow as life happens.

Remember, in life and love it’s not really the shape or color or age or cost of your ring that has power. It’s your desire for one another and your hearts’ commitment to sharing the rest of your lives together.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessings as long as you include the following complete statement with it (including links). Please also write ©2009 Feng Shui by Peter Reiss.

Liked this article?—Then check out acclaimed Feng Shui Master Peter Reiss’ blog at http://FengShuiConsults.com. Want more tips? Sign up for Master Reiss’ Feng Shui Newsletter at http://FengShuiConsults.com and start out with Nine Tips in Nine Days: Simple Power Tips to Change Your Life.

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Been together for a while? Love life buried under piles and piles of “reality”: kids, work, schedules and more schedules? Don’t see any way out?

You’re not alone. It’s the common plight of the modern couple. I see it all the time with my clients. It’s a scary place to be. That “loving feeling” feels gone, gone, gone and you’re afraid you’ll never get it back.

Don’t give up. You don’t have to settle for a dismal desert of love if you’re willing to make time for PLAY TIME the Feng Shui Way.

First, are you ready to PLAY?

Ask yourself the following questions:

Past: Was there a time when you couldn’t keep your hands off each other?
Lust: Do you both really, really want that old passion feeling back?
Action: Are you both ready to make changes to get it back?
Yes: Are your answers Yes, Yes, and Hell, Yes? Then, YES, you can have it back!

So you do want to PLAY! Now get ready to do the TIME.

Take stock:
• Stand in your bedroom door and look in. The far right corner is your love area. What’s there?
• What pictures do you have on the walls and dressers?

Initiate change
• Make sure the love area is uncluttered. Get rid of any “stuff.”
• If the bathroom is in that corner keep the door closed.
• Add items of love: pairs of love birds, pink roses, mauve sheets.
• Remove pictures that aren’t happy ones of you and yours. Pics of the kids, pets or “grands” out. The bedroom is for loving couples only!

Make the time
Commit to weekly “love time.” Just the two of you. Always include three elements: food, activity and contact. (And no cheating: the activity and the contact are two separate things.) Try a picnic with a walk holding hands or a movie with dinner and a good night kiss. Of course, if the mood is right, you don’t have to stop there.

Enjoy the process:
The most important step. Smiles and laughter, giggles and groans are the real aphrodisiacs.

Loving isn’t about being the world’s greatest lovers; loving is about being truly connected; lovemaking is the glue that helps keep always lovers together. And the loving never has to stop if you make time for Feng Shui PLAY TIME.

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I began writing this post on the beach the other day (no, I don’t take my laptop to the beach – it was fountain pen and pad). Sitting there under our umbrella, I sketched out the tiny apartment I lived in when my wife and I met.

Do you know that little place matched the Feng Shui energy patterns of the house she and I bought together almost two years later?! (Of course, both had very strong love areas or guas).

So, the more things change, the more they remain the same, right?

The answer is…yes. Yes things do remain the same. Knowing nothing about Feng Shui, I instinctively created one space after another that showed what was most important in my life – Love. I changed  locations, size, and more, but the Feng Shui emphasis on Love Power remained. Love was the constant.

And the answer is …no. Things don’t have to remain the same. I’ll let you in on a secret – along with the strengths I also created and then re-created blockages,  breakdown spots. Everyone does this.  But you don’t have to leave things that way.

You can use the power of the

S.D.B. Method

1. See the block

2. Do something (like Feng Shui cures) to remove it

3. Believe in the power of positive change

First: See

Where are your blocks? How do you know if that dead tree is in Love or Wealth? Use the Bagua, the Feng Shui energy map. The basics are simple. Use this drawing as a guide. Just remember that you always stand looking in (see the doors).

Since I love LOVE, let’s use your bedroom as a model. Stand in the doorway and look in. The left corner of the far wall is the Wealth area or gua, the right corner is the Love area and the center part of the wall is where we look for Fame issues.

Now that you’ve identified your guas look closely. What’s going on in them is what’s going on in your life. Is there a pile of laundry in your love area? Dying plants in Wealth?

Now use the map and look at what’s going on in your house and on your property. You may see the same conditions repeated on every level. (If you’d like more detailed help using the Bagua take a look at my DVD on the store page.)

Remember, TO SEE is the first step to Feng Shui Power. Open your eyes, be honest, and you’ll be amazed at what you uncover.

Next time, Step 2:
DO – Getting Into Action!

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