Dec 9, 2021
The Balance and Flow of Feng Shui
with Kate MacKinnon
During the early months of quarantine some of us were suddenly
working from home on dining tables, couches, in our bedrooms,
corners of the house, garages, and even closets and cars. We
experienced a new relationship with our home environment and how we
inhabited it. Some of us rearranged, repurposed, or
completely renovated our spaces to meet our sudden and new
needs. As we looked at our spaces we may have noticed areas
we didn’t use, enter as much, or may have even avoided. There
may be spaces that feel heavy or off-balance when we are in
them. Now, some of us continue to work from home or some
hybrid of in-person and at-home work and could use some guidance
around how to harmoniously integrate our needs. According to
Feng Shui principles and expert Kate MacKinnon, there are
adjustments we can make to allow balance and flow into our ‘new’
spaces to create a harmony of peace, productivity and joy in our
homes.
Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full
episode:
Be inspired by Kate’s journey to the highest levels of the
corporate world in the earlier years of technology in
business.
Hear how Kate balanced her talents and interests in art and design
with her corporate career in technology.
Discover the practical power of Feng Shui and how we can make
adjustments to our environment to increase abundance and energy
externally and internally.
Resources:
My first book, Relationship Ready: How I Stopped Fucking Randos
and Started Cupcaking My Soulmate, is available on Amazon and
Audible. Grab your copy now!
Subscribe to my mailing list on my website.
Visit my website to learn about my coaching programs.
Visit Kate’s website┃Instagram┃Facebook┃LinkedIn
Watch Kate’s TED Talk: Women, Aging and VisibilityVisit
Kate’s website┃Instagram┃Facebook┃LinkedIn
Get Kate’s 9 Free Feng Shui Tips
Episode Highlights
It Was Clear Early On…
Kate was always an artist, did well in school, and had a lot of
interests.
Her childhood dream was to become an interior designer. At age 7,
she daydreamed of rearranging people’s homes and buying furniture
for her best friend’s dollhouse.
In her elementary and high school years she was always doing
art.
Her parents' advice was to pursue ‘a real career and do art on the
side’.
The 70s
Kate majored in Psychology and minored in Studio Art.
Deeply influenced by the feminist movement and the women she
admired.
She moved to New York City and her first job was at Barnard College
where she learned how to operate a word processor the size of a
dining room table. She loved it and likened it to 3-D art as
she merged texts and files.
“Everything I learned about technology, I learned from that word
processor”.
“My Life is Filled with People Who Mentored Me”
Kate was freelanced as a graphic artist and word processor
operator.
At a temp job, a woman saw her talent and mentored her. She
gave her opportunities to learn how to fix computers, make
decisions, and teach people how to use computers.
The company hired Kate as a business systems analyst which is the
underlying thread to her entire career in technology.
Following Her Intuition
Though technology in business was not widespread, Kate followed
her intuition and left graphic design to focus on systems.
After 6 years at this job, Kate’s mentor suggested she look into
banking, “banks are hiring people like you…I encourage you to find
a job in technology”.
Kate acknowledges that her mentor saw an aptitude in her that even
she did not fully recognize.
A Corporate Woman in Technology… in the 90s
Kate never accepted assistant positions that were offered
because she could operate a word processor. She had an MBA and was
determined not to settle.
In 1999, Chase Bank hired her. She was promoted along the way
and found great success at Chase.
Five years into her work at Chase, she felt unfulfilled in her
creative and spiritual self. At the time she was working in
training and development.
Leap Into Entrepreneurship
Kate had worked with many consultants in her work at
Chase. She thought, “maybe I’ll go and be a consultant”.
“I was 40, and I thought if I was going to go off and be on my own,
now is a good time. If I fail, I can always come back and get
a job.”
Kate held the faith that work would come. Two days after she
left her job, she was hired for a 7 month job. There the woman who
hired her helped her launch her career in training and
development.
“Art on the side”
She was hired for a big Y2K project by Chase for which she would
travel to Hong Kong.
One of her coaches at the time introduced her to Feng
Shui.
While working on the project in Hong Kong she took a bus tour and
saw Hong Kong through the lens of Feng Shui. The experience
made a massive impact and connection for Kate.
She loved how Feng Shui touched all the different interests and
talents she had.
When she returned in 2000, she studied Feng Shui under the Holiness
Grand Master Professor Lin Yun who brought the BTB Feng Shui school
to the west .
As she grew her consulting company, she had a studio to do her work
and study Feng Shui.
Banker by Day, Feng Shui by Night
In 2005, Kate took a job at Chase as she felt the economy
changing. Gratefully, she had a ‘safe’ job as the 2008
financial crisis hit.
She practiced and consulted on Feng Shui on the side.
In both realms of her work, she brings the spiritual to the
concrete.
What is Feng Shui?
It is an ancient Chinese art and science of placement used to
create harmony and the balance and flow of positive energy in your
environment.
The words literally mean ‘wind water’ which are the two most basic
elements of life.
Feng Shui supports your life energy, or Qi.
Five or six thousand years ago, it was originally used to identify
land for farms or homes. It was used to find land that had good
water, soil, food source, and protection.
How Feng Shui Supports Us
Many clients go to Kate when they feel stuck or are unsure of
what to do with their environments.
Using Feng Shui principles, Kate considers the energy of the person
or people and the energy of the space and property.
Our homes are a mirror of our inner self. It’s like a map and
if things are making us feel uncomfortable or blocked in our
environment, when the external is adjusted, the internal is
adjusted as well.
Tips for Working at Home
Don’t set up the work space in the bedroom.
Position the desk with your back toward a wall to feel
energetically supported.
Face yourself toward the door, but not in front of it.
Have a good chair. The support is important.
Clutter is the number one offender of Feng Shui. Start and
end your day with a clear desk. Bring out one thing you’re
working on at a time.
At the end of a day, close the door to the work space if
possible.
Kate’s Daily Non Negotiables
Sleep
Gratitude
Meditation
About Kate
Kate MacKinnon is a certified Feng Shui practitioner who has consulted in Feng Shui for businesses and individuals for over 20 years. Before becoming a Feng Shui expert, she worked in the corporate world as a Vice President for JPMorgan Chase & Co. and founded her management technology consulting company.
Kate taught the first online Feng Shui course for the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and a workshop for the Hospital for Special Surgery and Global Real Estate Women’s Group at JPMorgan Chase. She has written articles on Feng Shui and been a guest and interviewed by thought leaders on Speaking, Life Transitions, and Women Empowerment. Kate’s inspiring talk on Women, Aging, and Visibility can be found on TED.com
Kate’s mission is to use the power and wisdom of Feng Shui to
illuminate and inspire women to step into their power and greatness
and live a life of beauty, grace, dignity, and Abundance and make a
difference in the world.
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To pursuing our passions and building our businesses,
Heidi B