Imaginif

Feng Shei is happening at Imaginif. Previously I worked from home. Office and washing juxtaposed with files and pyjamas late into the night has never phased me. The opposite; I am a highly motivated work from home devotee and would sooner collapse time and have a load of washing happening while I counsell, supervise or educate than drive around town looking for a park, feed the meter every three hours once precious park has been secured and work in the surrounds of a sterile and sick office. But…now that I am a respectably (re)married woman who has to consider the needs of another, separation of home and office has finally occurred. Bugger! I had to clean AND I got blisters. Not on!!!

Whereas often home life takes precedence, Imaginif placed office above home because our work is designed to harmonise and keep your home safe (your children especially) - there is no separation between my personal and political. My work is my life. Paul and I moved out (next door!) and have turned our large home into the Imaginif house of safety. We’ve moved into a tiny one bedroom flat where there is almost insufficient room for me to belt my laptop when the curtains are drawn. A good thing, I am worthy of having a break. I do not need to be on duty 24/7. I need to put some Yin in my Yang!

The move got me thinking about best use of space, defensible safe, safety audits (NEVER clean fans - do you know how dangerous they are to wash!!!!!!!!!) and our grass roots business model that we call the Imaginif family. Our family needs to be safe. We work with heavy emotional impacts. Improve Health, Wealth and Relationships. Oh yes please. That is what we do as therapists. We frequently deal with people in highly aroused or depressed states. How could I create an office that demands relaxation and harmony? Ummmm, research consistently led me to Feng Shei pages.

Aussie blogger Carole Fogarty, from the Healthy Living Lounge, has long been on my preferred reading list. I love her life work, blog and personal philosophy but it is too hard for me to do it because I don’t deserve such niceness and rightness. My work is a struggle and that’s just the way it is. WRONG!!!! I realised that I needed to give myself a little contact therapy - a jolly good slap!

Nine sure signs the energy in your home is stressed confirmed for me that our Imaginif family office space needed an intensive treatment plan of feng shei counselling. Not one to shy from confrontation in the therapy room, I immediately rewrote my home case plan and redesigned my therapeutic interventions (aka furniture placement and balance).

The 13 Do’s and Taboos for the Feng Shei office let me know that I was unconsciously acting out the taboo of talking about sexual assault. With a depressed looking office space, what could I expect to attract but more depression and it’s cousin, silence. While every tip in the 13 list was imbued with honey for my soul, it was Tip 12 that spoke the loudest to me: DO treat the files in your office with respect. They represent your past, present, and future business.

Counselling and files go together. Best practice makes it clear that files are to be well maintained, secure and what should go into case notes. Best practice has been internalised by me to reflect dark, dingy, minimalist and hidden. I guard my flies with my life - I am my files chastity belt. Oh stop it Megan. My filing cabinet IS my life. It is the heart of my office and the most frequent meeting place of myself and the other two therapists working with me. My filing cabinet is today going to take a spoonful of sugar in the way of a feng Shei face lift. I will remove the vampire cloak (16 boxes of junk atop the cabinet) that sucks the life from my files and reposition the cabinet to become a lover for magnetic poetry and a stand for fresh tropical flowers. I’m going to make my menopausal filing cabinet sexy, yet safe and secure. After all a girl has the right to wear what she wants without fear of being sexually assaulted.

How come I didn’t think of this before? I worry myself sometimes! I’m off to the market to buy some fresh flowers.