Update — Change of schedule: Prepare your home with Feng Shui

The Library has rescheduled the program for Friday, February 5th at 7 pm.  The new title is:”Celebrating the Chinese New Year with Feng Shui”   Laura Cerrano of Feng Shui Manhattan is the presenter.
Registration for the new program will be available in January.

By any measure, 2020 has been a difficult year, with each of us confronting changes in the way we live, including health challenges, possible job loss or restructuring, changes in our housing, children’s education, family relations or political outlook.

Stress and anxiety are at an all-time high and may be considered a second global pandemic. So how can we cope? How can we maintain some semblance of mental health and wellbeing during these difficult times?

Laura Cerrano, a certified Feng Shui Expert, will talk about tools and techniques you can use to approach the looming holidays in a more stable frame of mind. Presented by the Shelter Island Library, the program will take place over Zoom.

Ms. Cerrano, the CEO of Feng Shui Manhattan, began her apprenticeship at age 12 by studying under the guidance of her mother, a certified practitioner. She continued her studies throughout college and then, when her mother passed away in 2010, took over the business full time. Since then, she has established offices in Manhattan, Long Island and California, offering consultations (virtual and in-person,) workshops and classes, as well as Reiki healing.

According to Ms. Cerrano, one of the most important things to do right now is “making peace with the acceptance of change in the outside world. We need to have more emotional agility and mental adaptability” to survive in such stressful times. “The people who are struggling the most,” she said, “are those who don’t want to acknowledge the need for change on either the micro level — in their own homes and lives — or on the macro level — the world around us. If you can accept change,” she believes, it is much easier to adapt.

Modern Feng Shui, she said, is much more than the alignment of a mirror or the use of color in your home. It’s more about shifting perspective to enhance your lifestyle and improve the energy in your space. “It’s about learning how to accept transformation” both at home and the outside world. Ms. Cerrano is quick to point out that Feng Shui is “a lifestyle practice, not a religion.”

It can, however, help you to become more observant and in tune with nature and the cycles of life, including the negative emotions that so many of us are dealing with right now. “It all comes down to what you want to focus on, the good or the negative,” Ms. Cerrano said, “and what can be done during the holidays to help you deal with these issues.”

Attendees are requested to register at least 30 minutes in advance, either on the library’s website (silibrary.org) or by calling Jocelyn Ozelins at the library at 631-749-0042.

Next up: Friday, Dec. 11, “Cooking by the Book:  Celebrity Chefs, Cookbookery, and the Changing Landscape of American Cuisine.” Join food historian Sarah Wassberg Johnson for a journey through America’s cuisine as told by cookbooks.