“Can I have a mirror in the bedroom?” my client timidly asked during our Feng Shui consultation. The answer is also a question: “Ever been afraid of the boogieman?” It’s a great question. And the short answer is that mirrors can be incorporated into the bedroom as long as they don’t reflect back onto the bed. If it does, there is a potential for it creating what I call the “boogieman effect.”
But before we confront the boogieman, let’s look at the affect of mirrors.
Mirrors are energy vortexes!
Mirrors are stimulating! They expand a room’s size, they increase light, they reflect our image (our self-image), they draw in positive energy, and they deflect negative energies.
As our goal is to have our bedroom be calm and peaceful, all that energy being transmuted by mirrors may activate energy flow and all that energy will likely disturb our sleep. For this reason, I recommend that mirrors (and all reflective surfaces for that matter) in the bedroom minimized. I’ll share specific suggestions for mirrors in the bedroom later, but first, let’s tackle that legendary creature of terror…
The boogieman!
As a child, I was afraid the boogieman! I never thought of him as the boogieman and would have denied any of this had you asked, but I did have an irrational, childish fear there was something under my bed or in the closet. It started each night when my eye would catch the slight movement of something, a curtain blowing, a shadow moving, or a light being reflected. Quiet, invisible, quick, it had to be the boogieman!
This is what happens when we consciously or unconsciously catch our reflection while in our bed. Out of the corner of our eye, we glimpse another being. And in our semi-conscious state, unable to fully focus, our unconscious mind is alerted to there being an another presence, seemingly right in the bed with us!
As a result, our reflexes peak and we can’t sleep soundly as our nervous system will be primed to respond to the slightest moment of this mysterious guest. In the long term this will lead to our creating imaginary fears and unpleasant suspicions. In the case of partners sleeping in a bed together, the reflection can even plant the suspicion of there being a “third” person in the bed, and thus in the relationship, leading to stress around infidelity.
This “boogieman effect,” as I call it, was explained in the old days by the belief that as we slept our souls would leave our bodies. As they did, if they saw their reflection, they would get spooked, and this would cause the person to have nightmares and restless sleep. Another legend statess that as we sleep, our bodies recharge, filling up with positive energy and releasing all the negative energy. But, if a reflection is facing the sleeper, the negative energy cannot leave, it bounces back into the sleeper and may even become compounded.
Whether it’s negative chi expelling from our bodies, our soul startled by its reflection or our unconscious mind convinced of another presence, reflective surfaces towards the bed disturb sleep and need to be addressed.
Feng Shui Solutions
The ideal situation is to move the mirror that reflects back on the bed. But if that is not possible, cover the mirror or place something like a vase with flowers or other decorative item in such a way as to block and create a barrier to its reflecting back onto the bed.
As for mirrored closet doors, it may open small spaces and add ambience, but at night it can be too much. Fix this by hanging a sheer or light curtain across the closet doors that can be closed at night and opened in the daytime.
Televisions and computer screens also reflect back at the bed. At night, these items are best hidden under a cover, a decorative or simple cloth. Ideally, a TV would be in an armoire completely closed away.
As for mirrored headboards, well, they just need to go. And sleeping under a mirrored canopy is not advisable if for no other reason than the chances of it falling. Ouch! Save such set designs for impromptu hotel stays, like at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo.
Your bedroom is your nest!
Treat your bedroom as a sanctuary, your sacred space where your conscious mind can rest and your body can regenerate. Look around your bedroom and identify what items promote a calm, safe energy that will grant you the possibility of a sound sleep. And remove, cover, or minimize items that are stimulating and energetic.
Bottom line, you don’t have to believe in the boogieman to be affected by too much reflection in the bedroom. If you decide to use a mirror in the bedroom, place it somewhere that ensures you can’t see your reflection from the bed.
Sweet Dreams!!