1.   Intention: Why are you there?

In feng shui, the goal is to shift or choose an environment to support a specific goal and overall success. 

When living in urban areas often the appeal is easier access to work and social experiences. Of course, during this 2020 pandemic, this has changed. But ask yourself, is your current urban home environment supporting your goals? Maybe, before you ask that question of yourself take some time with pen and paper to write down and brainstorm what your goals are.

Personally, I moved to NYC to be around a diversity of experiences and cultures. As a queer, non-binary, artist, and alternative living consultant who teaches balance through feng shui and digital wellness, it felt important to be in an environment where “different” approaches are valued. Additionally, (pre-pandemic) some of our friend’s lived nearby. 

For me, the value of an urban environment is access, with everyone stacked on top of each other + easy public transportation and the ability to walk we save the value in building our Nest in the urban jungle that is NYC because our intention is to feel supported, and for us, a big city meant easy access to support systems like best friends and family as well as a variety of work and play opportunities. 

Consider who you have access to and who has access to you when asking yourself why you live where you live.

Finally, a reminder to be open, to avoid limiting yourself when daydreaming about where you live. If you can dream it you can do it. Take some time to dream about your ideal life, your ideal day, and where you see yourself waking up, and what you are doing in two years.

2- Building an Optimal Nest

A major observation as a feng shui and digital wellness consultant is that clients often struggle to build supportive spaces or take advice because they do not know their own intentions. Allow yourself to envision what you want and what you need before diving into building an optimal nest.

 3-   Your Nest is Your Art 

Just like the clothes you wear to express who you are, your external environments are often an indication of your internal state. 

When a bird builds a nest they are careful and particular about the materials they select. Everything is curated with a purpose. 

When building an urban home, often the size of the space plays into how you adorn and design it. Consider curating items you love, if everything is your favorite and brings you joy more often than not it always goes well with your other items.

In art, artists are also particular about what makes into their masterpieces, for painting the colors and compositions are chosen with purpose and intent to support the overall space. 

To design a space with good flow and a sense of ease and balance aim to only have items that bring your joy. This does not have to mean buying new things (for those on a budget) it can mean finding items on the street (you are in a city), maybe, if it suits you, manifest it, print pictures out of what you want or make a large item like a bed frame or sofa your background and invite that item to find you, imagine you already have it and enjoy how it makes you feel. 

Finally, good art takes time, when building an urban nest allow yourself a six month to a year to find the items that support your success and make it feel like your home

4-   Embrace the Elements

An actual nest in nature is open to the elements. Human beings evolved spending large amounts of time in nature. We a physiologically designed to take in sunlight in the morning, breathe fresh air, and listen to our surroundings. 

Even in a city find ways to be present with nature. 

This can be incorporating house plants into your design and taking time to witness, enjoy, and take care of them each day. 

It can also mean enjoying the light where ever it falls in your home. 

Making sure to open your windows during the day (even in the winter) to allow fresh air and the sounds (even streets) in. 

Other elemental tips that help to move in a house and make it feel more like a cozy home are candles, fireplaces (even pretend portable ones) space heaters, and Himalayan sea salt lamps. In some urban homes, small water features that can be easily cleaned and maintained or even just pictures of flowing water can liven up and help balance a space. 

To be Nested in 2021 you need to know...

A home is your nest, a space built with intention, that supports who you are and what you need by optimizing the features that lead you to live there, joy and ease with the items your interact with every day, and inviting in the natural world so we are reminded of how humanity is interconnected even in its quest to build urban landscapes.