Feng Shui is the practice of arranging your environment so that energy or 'chi' flows gently and smoothly through your home. The practice is very useful when you are trying to create a comfortable productive home office area. Here are a few tips to achieve the perfect feng shui environment for working in. 

Choose the best Room 

It's thought that energy flows in the door and flows upward first. Therefore the ideal space to create your office ought to be relatively near to the front of the home, on an equal or higher floor. It is suggested to try to keep your office away from dark closets and cellars. 

See Who Enters your Office 

Make sure to put your desk inside a command position, meaning not directly infront of the door, but facing it, and never facing a wall or window. The farthest corner facing thsee observe everything within the room. Though if you are residing in tight quarters, that may not be possible. If you need to place your desk against the wall, it is a good idea to place a big mirror in front of you. This does a couple of things - it allows you to see behind you and it makes like you can move forward without feeling like you are stuck. Positioning yourself so that you are able to see everybody who enters the office also allowsa you to be prepared for whatever business may come your way. 

Determine Your Element 

There are five elements in the practice of Feng Shui: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. It's vital that you know how they work toward creating and balancing an positive Chi, or energy, flow. You need to incorporate all five to your office in certain form, and and it is a good idea to enhance those that best represent your personality and your industry to be able to make your ideal work atmosphere. An easy test that will help you pick which element suits you best would be to consider your preferred vacation place. Would you like the beach, the mountain tops, or perhaps a place with a more tropical climate? 

Need Inspiration? Add Wood. 

Wood encourages creativeness and represents loyalty. Any object, just like your desk, the ground, sections of wall, or any other wooden knick knacks, will satisfy this requirement. The colours green and brown best represent this element.

Need an Increase in Productivity? Add Fire. 

Fire is proven to be probably the most powerful of all the elements. It's aggressive and said to represent passion and excitement. This element embodies energy and should be used to boost action and productivity in your office. 

Need Balance and Stability? Add Earth. 

This element produces a strong ground for building and strengthening relationships-great for companies searching to grow and maintain and grow customer base. 


Want to Rake in the Dough? Add Metal. 

Here's your moneymaker! Metal signifies harvest and financial success. Before you create a workplace made from steel, understand that an overindulgence associated with any of the elements will knock-off your office's Chi and make disharmony. 


Need Assistance Communicating? Add Water. 

Water is the component of communication and opportunities-required for every office! This element is free-flowing and encourages networking, traveling, and knowledge (or learning). 

Finally... Energy can't flow freely if it keeps stumbling over those stacks of paper and the random junk inside your office. So, clear it! Feng Shui is all about balance and organization.

 

A lifetime resident of West Bay, Cora Grant-James attends the John Gray Memorial Church in West Bay. 
During the Christmas season, she helps church organisers to distribute home cooked meals to the elderly and the less fortunate in the community. 
In addition to her work in the community, Mrs. Grant-James also takes on roles with a more civic focus, a leading reason she has been honoured with the Cayman Islands Certificate and Badge of Honour. 
In the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan, she was appointed to the West Bay Hurricane Recovery Committee, whose job it was to assess contractors- estimates for property repairs and dispense government funds to carry out recovery work. 
Mrs. Grant-James has been employed by RBC Royal Bank (Cayman) Ltd., for more than 30 years and holds the position of manager of debt collections. She is also actively involved in her employer's community outreach programmes, including the RBC Children's Cancer Fund Walk, which raises thousands of dollars locally to assist with the care and treatment of young people diagnosed with cancer. 


Source:compasscayman.com

 

Jessica Mc Taggart, the Caymanian star, was rated as the best rider by Norwegian judge Kjell Myhre at the Cayman Islands Equestrian Federation's first dressage show of 2013. 
"Jessica is the star here, she is a very competent rider with a lot of experience," Myhre said. "This is the first time I'm seeing her ride and it's an inspiration for others to have such a refined rider. Members of the Cayman Riding School did well too, using different horses." he concluded. 
McTaggart, who turns 28 in April, emerged one of the meet's big winners, claiming the Adult Prix St. George category on her horse called Ray on Light at 66.579 per cent and topping the Adult Elementary class on Partenon at 65.270 per cent. 
Phoebe Serpell won the Children's Elementary segment on Me and My Shadow at 56.351 per cent. Thea Millward, on Iggy Pop, claimed the Children's Preliminary category at 63.103 per cent. Petra Pinkerton nabbed the Children's C Test crown on Durango at 54 per cent. 
Myhre was only in Cayman for a week, but while he was here, he staged dressage clinics. 



Source:compasscayman.com

Home energy bills are something we would all like to reduce and air conditioners can be the main culprit when it comes to high bills. These few simple tips will help you to keep your home cool while significantly reducing your energy bills. 

1. If you want cool just one room, avoid using your central air conditioning unit. Purchase a portable air conditioner instead. Modern portable models have a high energy efficiency rating, so they will cool your room effectively and save you a lot. 


2. Install mini-blinds or white colored window shades. Mini-blinds can be quite effective and reduce warmth from direct sunlight by up to 40-50 percent. Another idea is to hang bamboo shades or tightly woven screens on the outside of your windows. This can stop up to 80 percent of the suns heat getting through your windows. 

3. Keep all the windows in your home closed throughout the day. In the evening you can open them open for ventilation and switch on a fan rather than using the air conditioning unit. 

4. If you have a mini split air conditioner, ensure that the outside compressor is in the shade. However, 
trees and shrubbery should not be right beside it as it will need some room for air flow. 

5. Ensure that you clean your air conditioners filter once a month as dust can build up which significantly reduces the air flow. 

6. When you go to purchase your air conditioning unit, you must ensure it is the correct size for your room. A unit that is too small will not cool your home effectively, and a unit that is too large will consume far too much energy than needed. 

7. If your air conditioning unit is old, think about replacing it with a new one as the modern i=units have a far higher energy efficiency rating. 

8. Cooking, drying clothes or dish-washing produces lots of heat. Try to carry out all these tasks in the evenings when it gets cooler. 


Many people just switch their units on and set the temperature they require it to be at. Although this will cool your room, it will also cost you a lot more too. Moreover, excessive energy consumption is bad for the environment, so by following these simple tips you could not only save on your energy bills, but you could also help to reduce pollution in your area.