Courses
The Story of Your Stuff
Using combination of insights from Feng Shui, neuroplasticity, and science-backed tenets of environmental psychology, this training explores the deeper needs that certain kinds of possessions can satisfy and what distortions we might experience when we have too many of them or aren’t keeping them in good condition. With these insights, participants can be inspired to make changes that bring their space and themselves into greater alignment.
This 8-week series consists of interactive 2-hour sessions that help participants develop the skills to accurately ‘read’ the messages that their surroundings are communicating while providing with tools to engage in a conversation with each space and to make supportive shifts. More information below:
-
Feng Shui can help us clarify our relationship between our surroundings, our mindset, and our life experience. While this can come across ‘woo-woo’ to a lot of people in Western cultures, the fact is that environmental psychology and other scientific fields support the reality that our environment impacts how we think, feel, and act.
If you think about it, why would we pay more to go on holiday to nice places if we weren’t aware that certain settings can give us a desired state of mind and experience?
So – how to create home and work environments that support us in the same way?
It starts with awareness: when you truly *get* the impact of what surrounds you – how and why – you can be inspired to take action, particularly if you have some tools to help you with the process.
This is where this course comes in. The Story of Your Stuff is not your average Feng Shui or clutter-clearing program. It is a deep dive into the practical and symbolic nature of our home environments and possessions, helping to clarify what is truly important to you and what may be present due to past time influences but no longer of value.
In the first iterations of this program, clients who had for years been unable to organize key parts of their home transformed these areas in a matter of days. The capacity to take such action was due to one of the foundational premises of how I teach this material: insight, not advice. The course is based not on ‘shoulds’ but rather on providing perspectives that help you make your own choices for how you want your space – armed with both wisdom and some practical how-to concepts.
Inner shifts support outer transformation
Once you can prioritize what you value and what really belongs, you don’t need to struggle to make things fit in … and lo and behold, you begin to experience the same thing: belonging at home, rather than trying to fit in. And when you experience that at home, you can experience that more in the outer world.
The 8-part program (expanded from 6 parts at previous participants’ request) consists of interactive 2-hour sessions that help participants develop the skills to accurately ‘read’ the messages their surroundings are sending them, arming them with tools to engage in a conversation and make supportive shifts. Among the topics covered:
How and why your home reflects your life experience
How to see your space as it actually is
Understanding the connection between each room in your home and your inner state of being
Exploring the symbolic meaning of most common possessions – those you like and those you don’t
Connecting the condition of your space and belongings to your inner state and life experience
Effective techniques for clearing clutter and managing your belongings
-
Spring 2024 Cohort:
Part 1: May 7, 14, 21, 28
Part 2: June 4, 11, 18, 258 weeks, Tuesdays
11am-1pm Pacific / 1-3pm Central / 2-4pm Eastern / 7-9pm UK / 8-10pm Central European
Sessions will be recorded for those who cannot attend in real-time
-
Registration for the Spring 2024 cohort is reduced from the usual $1197 (CAD) for the whole program of 16 hours of interactive instruction:
Part 1 is offered for $597 (CAD), with the option to attend Part 2 for an additional $547. There are further savings if you pre-register for the entire program at $1097.
This program will soon be moving to a pre-recorded format, so if you want to experience it with me teaching ‘live’, now is your best chance to do so!
Contact Mark if you’d like to join the program or have questions about how it might support you.
“I have taken Mark's course The Story of Your Stuff three times. Each time I have several lightbulb moments that give me the inspiration and energy to continue to facilitate even more positive flow in my home and office. What's more, Mark's unique style and insight creates an appreciation of how our home, our office, and our things exist on both a physical, emotional, and symbolic level, and that by influencing one, we influence the other. I recommend Mark very highly! “
- Leslie Miranda, Psychotherapist | Los Angeles, USA
Bagua Basics & Beyond:
Conscious Decor, The Five Elements, and The Art of Placement
One of the most recognized aspects of Feng Shui involves the use of the Bagua Map, a chart that identifies which parts of your homes represent different life themes. It’s common to hear about the ‘relationship corner’, ‘career area’, and ‘wealth corner’ on blogs and social media posts but there is much more to this use of Feng Shui than is generally found online or in print.
This 5 week series explores the Bagua and the Five Elements in depth. See below for more detailed information:
I have had Mark as my Feng Shui consultant since 2006. Now that he has started teaching online, I have participated in all of his classes, even repeating some a number of times, always learning something new.
One course that I have particularly enjoyed is Bagua Basics & Beyond. My first time using the Feng Shui Bagua map was in 2006 and this program has helped me deepen my comprehension of how Feng Shui works far beyond my previous understanding.
- Beth Sorensen | Chilliwack, CANADA
-
A key aspect of using the Bagua map is choosing themed decor that reflects the universal topics of Career, Wealth, Relationship, Health, and so on. Using the principles of subconscious ‘programming’ (much as is done in advertising), you can choose art and objects aligned with your goals that will send you the right message; similarly, you can find out where what you have been using might be sending the wrong message and working against your conscious desires.
An important mindfully decorating your environment is The Five Elements, one of the most powerful frameworks in the Chinese healing arts. With a natural balance of colours, materials, and symbolic representations, you can harmonize your surroundings so that they look and feel integrated and welcoming.
It takes time and a depth of knowledge to avoid using simple expressions these concepts a quick-fix band-aid for deeper issues and to not have your home look like a car crash of transactional decor – you want to have a home that reflects you and invites opportunity without becoming a Feng Shui Fashion Victim.
Your space should not be a clone of every other Feng Shui fan’s home: it should be uniquely yours.
When you have enough insight and understanding, you can use Feng Shui’s wisdom and principles to create a sustainably grounded environment for your unique life.
For all of these reasons, I designed a five-part program that explores the Bagua and The Five Elements in depth, entitled Bagua Basics and Beyond: Conscious Decor, The Five Elements, and The Art of Placement.
You can’t have the Bagua without the Five Elements (and vice versa), and it is essential to move beyond the superficial into the realm of context and individual expression in order to do so.
-
September 19 & 26, October 3, 10, & 17
Tuesdays 11 am-1 pm Pacific / 2-4 pm Eastern
This is sure to be a popular and insightful program that invites significant outer-world and inner-world shifts.
-
This program with five two-hour classes is being offered for $697 for the 10 hours of instruction.
I present clear, concise, and expansive insights into each of these, offering a wide array of possible items you can use in each area and each room so that you can personalize your space in the way you want rather than just doing something rote because Feng Shui says you should.
Contact Mark if you’d like to join the program or have questions about how it might support you.
What students are saying:
-
The Story of Your Stuff was an eye-opener. I made some simple changes in my daily life and out of the blue I had an over-abundance of energy. Other changes resulted in my being creative again, something that was missing in my life. Looking forward to participating in more courses! A big thank you to Mark!
Alexandra-Jeanne Schütz, Falkenstein, Germany
-
I transformed the most problematic area of my home into my favourite spot, without spending any money and it didn’t take much time or effort once I got to it. This is an area I was avoiding and felt bad about every time I passed it (several times a day). The way Mark led us through the exercises led me to a complete transformation in how I viewed that space. Understanding the deeper issues involved, becoming aware of them, and finally addressing them is what led me to be able to do the changes I did. I now sit in that area daily and enjoy it!
Sophie Lechner, New York, USA
-
Being in a community of like-minded enthusiasts and students has felt like a family that is supportive and caring as we are all learning together and making discoveries and having epiphanies along the way. He is a great teacher - and he’s also funny, whimsical, and current with the times.
Minnie Murphy, Nashville, USA