Chatting with Sofia Lobo Cera

Have you ever entered a house, an office and felt in harmony? And has it ever happened that you felt bad without knowing why, as though there was some sort of bad energy in the air?

The people from the Far East have been studying the flow of energy in spaces through the vibration of light, sound or electromagnetic energy for a long time now. The way in which spaces are laid out and decorated increases, or decreases, the balance of energy. Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art that helps achieve harmony through healthy environments.
We spoke to Sofia Lobo Cera, a Professional Classical Feng Shui consultant and Chemical, Environmental and Quality engineer, who has been offering suggestions in accordance with the Feng Shui philosophy, pro bono, on how to make changes in the AAAIO nursing home, whose directors were familiar with her work.

After graduating in 2002 in Chemical Engineering – Environment and Quality – from the Lisbon School of Engineering (ISEL) and having worked in several areas, such as construction, factories, urban sold waste management and treatment, and in Lean auditing and certification, it was Feng Shui that brought her fulfilment in life. In 2008, she began her studies at the National School of Feng Shui in Portugal, which she completed three years later. This year she was accredited by the Feng Shui Society, which includes the best Feng Shui consultants in the world.

Sofia has just released her book “Change your Home Enrich your Life) (https://www.sofialobocera.com/publicacoes/mude-a-sua--casa-enriqueca-a-sua-vida.html).

But… what is Feng Shui all about, really? This Chinese philosophy allows us to harmonize, balance and foster the energy in spaces. Accordingly, when the energy flows positively, there is harmony and people become happier, wholesome, healthy and financially stable. Let’s not forget that a home is the reflection of the people who live in it.

To lay out the space following this Chinese philosophy, you’ll preferably use the Luo-Pan, a Chinese compass (in olden days, the point of reference was the sun). Energy charts are drawn up using the measurements taken, taking into account the space’s orientation and outside shapes.

How does a Chemical Engineer, who specialized in Environment and Quality become a Feng Shui consultant?
When I started working in Engineering, I realized “it” wasn’t quite what I had in mind. I imagined I’d be working in research or on something green or even in organizations where processes flowed for a greater good. Yet, when I came across the reality where “machines” did everything, and where every day was the same as the day before, or I found myself working in a landfill, my health frequently taking the grunt, I realized this was far from being my dream. Meanwhile, I continued on my quest, in the hope that I’d find something in my field of work that would make me happy. Despite enjoying certification and quality, I was flabbergasted with the incredibly complicated management systems that companies couldn’t implement in their day to day life, only to run around like headless chickens to get everything in order just before an audit. That was not the order I identified with. I wanted to work on something that gave me pleasure, where I could contribute to society, to the common good. For a while I studied and analysed myself, to find myself, with the help of a coach. After a lot of hard work, I did manage to find myself. Feng Shui was already present in my life since the first year of university and it was something that came naturally to me. One day, after work and after mediating and thinking about why I’d taken the degree I had, I hit my Eureka moment! The thought came to me: “I know exactly why I took a degree in chemical, environmental and quality engineering! Of course! It’s all related! Well: Chemistry => energy; Environment => the environment around us, that is, our home; Quality => The quality of the environments we live in! That’s it! I’m going to take a professional Feng Shui course. That’s what I want to do. Helping others have a better life, the life they want to have!”

When did you feel you had to change the direction of your professional compass?
In the first years on the job, where I realized that what I was doing wasn’t fuelling me. The lack of humanity in companies appalled me, as did those incredibly “yang” environments where people were/are numbers. I didn’t want to be a number, I wanted to continue being a person.

How can Feng Shui improve our life?
We’ve all gone into places where we felt better than in others. That feeling derives from the way in which energy flows in a given space, whether through the vibration of light, sound or electromagnetic energy. Feng Shui techniques can help people synch their energy and even use it to their benefit, strengthening the most positive periods and helping them through difficult times. When the spaces support their occupants energy-wise, life flows in greater harmony and people become happier, wholesome, healthy and financially stable.
Feng Shui allows us to harmonize, balance and foster the energy of homes and spaces, helping their occupants reach certain goals, such as health, relationships, prosperity, wealth, studies, professional life, social status, and many others, as a home/space is a reflection of those who live in or occupy them.

The testimonials I’ve had over these almost ten years of professional Feng Shui consulting are incredible. It’s amazing to see the before and after and feel people’s happiness and the way in which their lives changed for the better.

Is the book you’ve recently launched “Change your Home Enrich your Life” about wanting to help the average person improve their life?
Absolutely! There are many things we can all put into practice in a simple, uncomplicated way and which allows us to get our home’s energy flowing and reaching great results and goals. These are the suggestions I offer in my book in an incredibly simple, organized way that is easy to put into practice. It is a book that, in addition to being for reading, is also one you can refer back to at any time and which we should all have at home, as we will certainly need it in the future.
It’s interesting that I get messages from my readers almost every day, telling me they read the book in less than two days, have started implementing the suggestions and experiencing the results.

Cycle of the Five Elements – an explanation of how Feng Shui works by Mariana Crawford Dourado

How did the contact with AAAIO and the Nova Casa nursing home come about?
I often say that nothing happens by chance. One of my professional goals for this year was engaging in a social welfare act with an institution. It was something I was planning on doing more towards the end of the year, as 2016 has been a year filled with achievements. It started with me obtaining my accreditation by the International Feng Shui Society, which includes the best consultants in the world, refreshing my entire website and organizing my content, my course for Master, and writing and releasing my book. But, in a conversation with Joaquina Cadete Phillimore, where she laid out a few situations the home was facing and which she’d like to improve, I told her about my project and we thought “why not?” And everything was brought forward!

What did you feel when you visited the home for the first time?
When I entered this space, I felt there is concern with the patients’ well-being and care taken with the facilities, which is fundamental for this type of institution. Even though management was careful, I noticed there were still some things that needed doing. And especially because in this type of space we have a lot of stagnant energy, where human beings may be in a stage of decline (energy speaking), and where there is disease and death, this is something felt when you walk into this type of place. We felt this in this home, especially in one of the rooms. However, this can be worked on and improved, bringing healthier, more joyful energy that is beneficial to all who live, work and visit the place. In fact, many of my suggestions are already being put into practice.

What amendments did you suggest to the management of AAAIO to improve the well-being of the patients at the home, by implementing Feng Shui theories?
I made several suggestions, especially in the common areas. Some of the rooms were changed around, as was their organization and layout and some decoration, with things as simple as moving objects around and placing them somewhere more suitable.

The technical areas and offices were also analysed and I suggested some changes organization wise, how the workers were laid out and changes to the decorative items in the offices.

Seeing that this was your first social responsibility project, how do you view this pro bono collaboration with similar entities?
I’ve been doing pro bono work for a while now, but it’s more in terms of lectures at companies and institutions. The first, and the oldest I have to this day is with Centro Pré e Pós Parto ante and post-natal care clinic in Lisbon, where I give monthly workshops to mums-to-be so they can organize their baby’s nursery according to Feng Shui, so the baby is healthy, happy and develops properly.

I’ve also been giving lectures and workshops at companies/organizations for a while now, where the workers learn how to organize their workstations so they feel better, achieve better work/life balance and with this are happier and more productive, which means that progressively the company will grow more and have financial gains. There are also other types of social projects under development, but this type of project was something that came up this year and which I intend to carry over to other institutions.