Interview: Grace Niu from Feng Shui Serenity

As a mum, and entrepreneur, who has an interest in all things soulful, soul-aligned, and living a high-vibe life, I've decided to start an interview series where I chat with other inspiring soul-preneurs about their businesses, lives, and what lights them up. 

First up is the beautiful Grace Niu from Feng Shui Serenity. Grace is a destiny coach and qualified Feng Shui consultant. She uses destiny profiling, and personalised Feng Shui, together with a mentoring program to help navigate us through life's obstacles and challenges, from relationships and health concerns to career and wealth creation. So let's dive in and learn more about Grace and Feng Shui Serenity...

When was Feng Shui Serenity born and how did it come about?

Feng Shui Serenity greeted the world whole-hearted in March 2016.

I felt it was buried deeply in my psyche for as long as I had lived but I just didn’t know. Looking back, I would have to say that “My Destiny has led me to it! And it is definitely written in my chart!” I wish I knew how to read my own Destiny chart back then. It would not have been so agonising and I would have done it in a heartbeat.

Coming from a Chinese background, Feng Shui has always been part of our culture and within the family. I didn’t take it up seriously until we bought our first home in 2006 when both me and my husband started to experience some health issues. I have also intuitively felt that the energy within the house was somehow draining and exhausting. In the quest of searching for answers, I enrolled at the Australian College of Environmental Studies and since completed on the subjects on Feng Shui, Chinese Astrology, Space Clearing as well as Geobiology and how to create a healthy home.

I now understand that the Feng Shui of your home needs to match with your Destiny chart so the energy are harmonious to ensure your most intimate environment - your home can support and nurture you in all endeavours in life. Otherwise, it can create all sorts of challenges in life. Needless to say, we have since sold and moved out of that house and found a beautiful home that perfectly matches our energy blueprint. It is incredible how big the difference it makes us feel on a daily basis.

Before I knew, I started helping relatives and friends finding their perfect houses too. It had never crossed my mind at the time that I would be doing this FULL TIME in 12 months time!

Meanwhile, my glamorous corporate job of 15-years as a brand strategist in a global media agency started to show cracks. I was driven but uninspired, I was busy but unfulfilled. Simmering beneath the surface, I had the unshakeable feeling that I was meant to do something else. But I didn’t know what and how.

How funny sometimes those dots aren’t connecting until the exact time arrives. And thank god, it did, eventually!

I quit my job in June 2015 and never looked back. Instead of scrambling ideas to start up, I decided to do nothing but “be” for a while. The more I spend time in nature, the more I understand the meaning of ‘the path of least resistance’... As I was held by mother earth and its ancient wisdom, I started to hear the whispers that had always been there...

In March 2016, Feng Shui Serenity was born. It was created to provide a unique perspective using Eastern wisdom to heal the Western mind. By discovering my clients cosmic blueprint at birth and applying the technique of Feng Shui, I help them to realise how powerful they already are and how they can answer their deepest calls as courageously as they can.

12 months later, as my office now ranges from my dining table ...to the nearest park or beach...and visits to homes and offices across Sydney and in the country...I’m grateful that Feng Shui Serenity is slowly but surely magnetising many like-minded souls from different corners of the world...

What did your career path look like before Feng Shui Serenity?

It would have been pretty safe and predictable, which for a Metal person (me!) is not the worst part because we do like orders, disciplines and tend to be perfectionists. I have, of course, planned out my whole career path - I was the Media Planning Director back then and the next step would be Head of Media, with a regular monthly pay check.

However, should I have stayed, I would have lost the opportunity to be truly awakened, to discover my cosmic blueprint, purpose and my authentic voice. In this journey, each day is exhilarating and liberating. So I’d say it’s a pretty damn good trade-off. :-)

Can you tell us a bit more about how Feng Shui works and what Destiny Profiling is all about?  

“The Four Pillars of Destiny is a fascinating and unique system that is based on the philosophy called The Five Elements Theory, which we consider it the order of the universe. It is the most sophisticated and reliable system to date and has withstood the test of time throughout thousands of years of Chinese history.

Each person’s chart is unique and reveals a story about his or her destiny based on their DOB as well as the birth time. The Destiny chart is literally your essence at birth, it is your cosmic blueprint. By analysing the energy flow as well as the interaction between the Five Elements within the chart, we are able to decode valuable information such as who we fundamentally are, what we are here to do, what element(s) support us and how we can get heavenly support and achieve a joyful life effortlessly. 

Why are you so passionate about helping people discover their destiny chart and step into a light- filled life?

As I was standing at the cross road in 2015, contemplating quitting my job and started on my own, the most valuable piece of advice was derived from my Destiny chart. It has changed my life. My Destiny chart revealed that as of 2014, the energy in my luck pillars was shifting (god, didn’t I feel it!!) The theme of my upcoming decade would be very different from the last 2-decade I’ve experienced. It is changing from ‘Direct Wealth’ (pay cheque, salary) to ‘Indirect wealth’. This indicates that the way I’m creating my wealth will be very different. Instead of have a salary, it will be coming from an unconventional source. (Can Feng Shui & Destiny Profiling be any more unconventional?!) The energy will be supportive for me to gain power and status during this phase because my favourable elements are present during this time. Based on my Self element Metal, I will have the advantage of doing any diagnostic work because Metal people have the ability to see and exact the essence and get to the core of the issue. The archetype of a Metal person is the Alchemist. I knew then, I was born to do this!

I want to reveal these information to help people do the same so they can take destiny into their own hands and change it for the better. Especially when they are at a crossroad, fearing the unknown. This information will shed so much light onto their path, it is like your birth right, you just need to claim it. Why wouldn’t you want the universe to have your back? 

If anyone would like to know more about the Five Elements or the Four Pillars of Destiny, they can download the FREE eBook called “Eelmantary Vibrations - An Introduction of the Five Elements” here.

I always diagnose a person’s Destiny chart before I dive into any assessment on the Feng Shui of their home to ensure the recommendations are tailor-made rather than one size fits all. In summary, Feng Shui is about harmonising the environment you live in with your personal blue print. It is so much more than re-arranging furniture, it is about a deeper understanding of the energy flow and how we can harness it to work to our advantage. I’m giving a 1-day workshop at the North Sydney Community Centre talking about some basic concepts and guidelines of Feng Shui. I will also be sharing 2017 annual energy tips that you can apply straight away within your home. More information on the event here.

What is the biggest challenge you've faced along the way in building your business?

Technical side of things are definitely the hardest part of running your own business. Such as learning how to be hands-on maintaining the website as well as building a landing page from scratch. Keeping up with all the social media constant algorithm changes is another challenge.

What is your proudest career achievement?

When I started to receive Destiny Profiling requests from Norway, Singapore, London and America.

I also love to visit my clients in country NSW. The time alone on the road is the most meditative time for me. I usually intuitively sense the key Feng Shui issue or found the solution before I step into my client’s house.

Favourite thing about living in Sydney, Australia?

The ever-changing harbour view and easy access to all cuisines around the world, including the authentic Northern Chinese food.

(I was born in the Year of the Pig, so yes, we love luxuries as well as good food. :-)

Who inspires you?

People who are more grounded, real, less commercialised and less in your face, who I can relate to everyday. I draw inspirations from each one of them on daily basis.

Belinda Davidson 

Susanna Conway 

Deepak Chopra 

Lee Harris
Eckart Tolle 

Rebecca Campbell

What are you reading right now?

Eastern Body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra system as a Path to the Self - by Anodea Judith

Visit Grace's website, Feng Shui Serenity to learn more about her, her business, and the wonderful services she offers. Thank you for sharing your time, energy, and thoughts with us Grace xx

Credit: all images care of Grace at Feng Shui Serenity

Awakening

Does anyone else feel exactly like this?!! When I read this I thought "YES! This is it! This is exactly how I feel right now." After a year and a half of daily chakra cleansing and healing my energy field, dedicating myself to meditation, mindfulness practices, and re-reading Eckhart Tolle, this is how I've come to feel. I thought perhaps I was still stuck in thick and muck of working through some really deep blockages, which I quite possibly am, but this quote above from Eckhart really resonates with exactly how I've been feeling for a little while now. 

The process has been a gentle one. I don't mean there haven't been rough periods, because there certainly have been, and I know there'll be plenty more to come because, well, facing our shadow is the only way to let more light in. To clear away the cobwebs and the fog and come out the other side lighter and more joyful. There will always be ebbs and flows because that's how we learn and grow. What I mean by being gentle is that I didn't wake up one day and say "wow, I'm suddenly going to cut this and that person out of my life and I'm going to stop doing all these things, take up these things, and stop reacting like this, and start thinking this..." etc. It's more that now certain things will happen and I can see that I no longer feel the same as I did say a year ago, or I no longer react the way I would have even 6 months ago. 

Every day I see people madly going about pursuing their "passion" and that's wonderful if it truly is what lights them up and what their soul purpose is. I say, high five to you!! But for me, I keep seeing all these courses on discovering your soul purpose, your true calling etc etc and these courses don't seem to have any deep dedication to spiritual practices and I think, how are they going to help me? I can already list off all the things I'm deeply passionate about right now and that light me up, but none of my chosen paths have ever been right for me. The door has always closed. So now I can see that the reason I've been feeling lately like I was drifting along in a sort of limbo, or as Eckhart says above, "a no-man's land between two worlds" is because I've come so far and have released so much of what was never really me, yet I still have much work to do. My "inner and outer purpose have not merged" yet. So today I feel a ripple of excitement. That bubbly sensation that much adventure awaits and I would say that I can't wait for the integration of my inner and outer purpose, but then that wouldn't be very present of me, would it? ;-)