Subtle Energy Flow in Business: Assessment of a Book Shop

An Earth Alchemy assessment of a small-town bookshop. The project evolved over about six seeks and the exchanges are placed and rounded out in order to aid understanding, so are not necesarily in chronological sequence.

Background to project: The building the shop is in is only six years old, and we have been there from the start. From looking at old maps and talking to locals I believe this is the first time there has been a building on this land. In the early 1900s it was used as an outdoor-storage area for a local fruit and vegetable shop, and then a car park. The building has a small public swimming pool and gym. Upstairs is the library, offices, a large meeting room used every day as well as a couple of apartments. At ground level are the shops.

The original furniture plan for the shop was not used, as different freestanding display units were introduced. It is a bargain book shop with very competitive prices, so that is a big attraction. Being a tourist area, about two-thirds of the customers are tourists, mainly coming from big cities. The shop targeted two markets, children and men; hence any goods that satisfied these two interests were put together in the shop. The shop has grown to have in excess of 12 different categories of subject matter.

Chris's ideal for setting up a shop: "If I had carte blanche with any store, first I would place things where they could have the fullest flow, if it is only partial. Secondly, I would work on gaining flow where there was stagnation (or no flow) ."

Flow assessments. The following are some of the actual conversation lines between myself and the person I'm going to name Marie as we moved through the shop assessment.

Chris: "I began with the basics, and so checked the general energy interaction - or flow - between your shop and the Earth spot that it stands upon. What I am seeing is a reverse dance between Earth and the shop. This is independent of the people who work there; this is strictly the flow between the Earth and the shop entity. And it's a tight reverse momentum flow at that , not one that touches the fullness I like to see. As for the nature of the Earth energies there , I don't sense this to be a spot that people cannot be at home in. There are places that by their very nature will highly intensify whatever it is we're feeling or doing , yet I don't sense this to be one of those locations. This means that customers can be at home there. Toward an assessment as to what degree customers presently are at home there, I next checked the flow for the shop with the energy that we'd term "homey". . The shop only has, again, a tight, not-very-well-oriented flow with . This, I am sensing., has much to do with the actual arrangement or placement of the physical accoutrements there such as shelving units and point of purchase displays.

Marie: "I agree the shop is not homey. The ceiling is a large array of flourescent lights and it has a supermarket-type feel. I have introduced a couple of plants but more could be done to improve things."

Employee Flows

Chris: "You have an excellent flow with the Earth spot. (Much better than average.) You do not have a flow at all with the shop itself. This is a stuck energy, and is a conscious burden on you. I would be interested to hear what you actually feel since you have such a divergence here between how you flow with earth and shop. In addition I checked your individual flow with the customers, the other employees and the items in the shop, finding all to be a very positive momentum flow.

Marie: "Your comments come as a surprise; as it has always been enjoyable being in the shop, but you've made me realize that I haven't been aware of the shop itself. Interacting with the staff and the rotas, making the customers welcome, ordering books and keeping the shop stocked-but not the shop itself-have lost that broader view of the place. Christmas decorating is a typical case; have done the windows and put stars up around the shelves, and have a jolly snowman on the counter (that a child has named Chilly Charlie), but the main area of the shop is devoid of any Christmas cheer. Changing that this morning. We put up helium balloons and glittery tinsel around the shelf tops and standing display racks."

An Element in articular associated with the building.

Chris: "Each time I tune in I sense a link to fire element for the shop. Just checking flows, I find that both this shop and this Earth spot have a locked flow with fire element. "

Marie: "Fire element - when we first opened we had problems with the fire alarms! They were going off at unexpected times and there was trouble turning them off... really trying to attract everyone's attention, I guess-and of course we were all mad at them because we had to clear the shops, lose customers, put up with their infernal sound...and we now have a test once a week, so they are still regarded as a nuisance."

Chris: "In checking the other main elements with your shop I note that they each have a good or better flow."

The flow lock with fire element was subsequently opened by both Marie and Chris , each in their own way. Both used for this particular situation used straight subtle energy approaches rather than anything to do with moving of the physcial accoutrements within the shop.

Assessment of display of commodities.

Chris: "Was interested to sense not only that there was wrongful energy-flow in the placement of the actual bookshelves and accoutrements themselves within the four walls of the shop, but also of where each category of books were placed around the store walls. With the category placement what I sense is that we are trying to create the maximum physical presence for each category. This depends on placing it within the shops perimeters carefully attuned to where it has the most physical presence energy. . If it is physically present, this would strongly correlate to sales according to what I'm noting. Also..."physical presence" has less to do with being close to the front - yto the door or other obvious spots - than I had thought although this is part of it. The greater part iseems to be how the types of book subject matters flow with the Earth spots such that the energy of the book is more able to shine and be present. So that it sends out like a beacon and draws attention to it. There are such spots for every category, I would assume. It is as though we would place it in such a way as to turn on its luminosity from within, to turn on its ability to project to the world that it is there."

"Otherwise it could well be in the spot right next to the register, and few will pay it any mind. Certainly I have seen this in bookshops with my own behavior. I 'miss' plenty of items that are up front by the registers. It is actually quite unusual for me to be drawn to a magazine or book there; it has to call to me. I see it, of course, but I may not really see it; may not see it in the sense that I am to purchase it. If something lights up enough, then I think that it touches us and we consider it a sound purchase. I have noticed that the prominent people of this world have an incredible physical-presence energy, as fdo products that sell extremely well. So this was my guide as I went around and looked at the flows for each category in your shop."

"I hope you have a copy of the diagram you gave me on the bookshop, or that the placements haven't changed, because I am referencing this." (Link to old shop diagram here)

"The Biography section was the first to catch my attention. It is currently placed oppositely to where it would maximally shine. And that would be on the register wall, close to the register (yes, I understand the bad marketing behind this), or somewhere on that wall closest to the NE corner of the bookshop. Currently it is sitting in the SW corner on my diagram.. And where Biography was, Art could go, as this is not currently placed well where it is at. I like the Health, Alternative and Nature where they are presently at. The entire projection on the back wall that currently has Men's Fiction and Classics/Poetry feels stagnant. The Men's Fiction would be better placed on the two-tiered general rack by the storage room. And the Poetry/Classics would be well-placed where the Men's Fiction now is. The rest of that entire wall that juts out would be exceptionally good as part of Children's Books."

"The transport section would best be moved to where the DIY section is. The flows show good energy for craft and local where they are at (next to DIY). Sports and entertainment would move to the two-tiered shelf standing opposite the Local and Craft section. Videos and Cookery are placed well as is. Military is also placed well as is. Antiques are passable where they are at, too. Computer books could be better placed right next to the antiques, according to the energy flows. This would be a good position in terms of straight marketing as well, since they would then be very visible when walking in the front door. Next to the counter where they currently are is not showing as maximizing them. It makes sense logically as well to move them away form the counter area, since those who are looking for a computer book might tend to stand there and peruse a while given the opportunity and space...which is not necessarily the busy counter area where purchasers are standing as well. "

"And last but not least, the Children's section. I get a really odd feel with the entire setup of the two long freestanding shelving units. They are going the wrong way in my sense; that entire area feels stifled , though I'm guessing it's not an option to move those freestanding units in another direction. So I shall leave this section except to note that I sense you would accomplish much by bringing Children's Fiction out to that mini-wall and wrapping it around as much as possible. It would in essence be taking the place of where now stands Poetry, Classics and Fiction. "

"In regards to the Children section I have always found that children are extremely sensitive (and accurately so!) to the Earth-energy flows and to the overall flows of wherever they are standing. In thinking about the feel of the Children's section, I took a look at some flows to see how children are being affected by this section in general. What I found is that they are feeling hugely burdened while there. How might this stress be manifested by them? Normally, through their behavior being less than stellar to downright incorrigible. Perhaps by them not feeling well after being in there for some time period ..stomach aches most likely as this is our solar plexus or will center and when we lose power we tend to feel it there , and also in the digestive / intestinal area where we "assimilate". If we are having trouble assimilating, then we will likely feel our intestines griping.

" With either physical or emotional disturbances, their parents will be leaving the shop sooner rather than later, leading to probable lost sales. As any marketer knows, the longer and more happily one stays in the shop, the more chance they will find something(s) they cannot part from. I know from my own personal experience of when my sons were very small that there were shops we learned through conditioning not to go into at all, after the first time or two turned into challenges that I wished to avoid. We would go into such stores, and even I could feel our energy field changing within 30 seconds . After exiting such shops, it would take about 5 minutes for us to all calm down again. There were also places, though., that I would sometimes literally bring my children because I knew they would calm them . Those places, of course, did marvelous things for our energy field very shortly after stepping inside and I also did show my appreciation by purchasing whatever it was they purveyed, being happy to do so! "

Marie: "One thing to watch out for will be whether the children are less fractious and demanding when they come to the shop. I worked at one of the other shops for a day and noticed how well behaved the children were compared to the ones that visit us ...yes, the children that visit us can be 'little horrors' on occasion."

Chris: "All of these are mere suggestions. You will be the better one to sense things out if you are there.

After the Changes

Chris: "I received your new shop diagram yesterday; thanks for sending.

Chris: "You used much if not all of what I suggested in category placement, and I'm wondering how this jives with your personal assessment.

Marie: "We came together on moving the Fiction to the counter, but my idea was to move the Local to the Children's, to be on the opposite site of the shop. Have now left that where it was. But the Children's is wrapped around that sticking-out wall a lot more successfully now. I nearly sent you my proposed plan, but it was so similar to yours that I decided not to. The significant difference was that I had just about done an identical switchover of Children's with Local and Crafts, whereas you left Local where it was. On reflection my move had been from the desire to do something radical rather than to go with the flows of the shop.

Chris: "Now I guess we shall have to see if this translates into sales."

Marie: "I'm expecting that this is going to be difficult to assess financially; the shop has been on an upward curve since opening-and we have had changes in sales caused by changes within the town. I sense that our test of how this is affecting the shop will be in our experiences and in the comments of the customers. So we'll watch out for any changes, e.g., people browsing longer, etc."

Chris: "If I place the diagrams side by side-old next to the new-it is clear that the flow is much improved in the newest. And I am speaking, I think, more about the floor-space usage rather than where the sections are located. It felt tight and stagnant in the Children's area before, and now it does not at all. Just superb. Checking a couple of general flows I am finding that before, the shop had a reverse dance with the Earth spot it was standing on; now I am noting it is a solid constructive forward motion that looks to be in the process of getting even better. That feels nice..."

Note: In looking at the comparisons, there is no need or desire to look at details but to sense them the overall energy of entire shop. There is a much lighter, quieter feel to the new shop layout .

Customer Reaction

Chris: "I am also noting a very positive change in flow between the clients and the shop. Previously this had been a stuck flow, burden on the client, and is now a wonderfully positive momentum flow. This means that the client, while they are in the shop, will feel more mental agility whereas before they perhaps had felt less, and also emotionally good, especially for the children."

Marie: "What has surprised me is the low number of people who are asking where a section has been moved to...they are able to find them very easily without asking. Before when we moved sections, you can bet for the first few weeks people would come to the counter because they could not find where their favorite section had gone to. A couple of regular customers commented how roomy it now felt, also that it seemed less convenient for shoplifting. Everything feels much roomier-the Biography/Sports area is getting a lot more interest, also the Computer books. A few grumpy children today, all because they wanted to stay in the shop when it was time to go-but no tantrums all weekend. Apart from a couple of people no one has really commented on the changes, and it's just because they have automatically gone to the old sections, which means they've accepted the changes very easily.

This has been a very successful project. It has achieved the objective of bringing an improved flow to the shop, in both the movement of customers around the different areas as well as in the subtle energies and interactions within the space. In reviewing the place in which we work we have increased the shop's trading potential, and also improved the interest and efficiency of all employees within the business.

Chris's input has been vital to this procedure as she has provided an unbiased perspective with suggestions and insights. This has eased and confirmed the process and I thank her for the thoughtful and helpful consultancy work she has provided.

We have realised that this method is not restricted to retail outlets and could be applied to any employment situation. I recommend this procedure to all who wish to maximise their performance in whatever area of work they are involved."

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