104 | Home Design That Heals

Narrarator 0:04

How would you like to improve your health and keep your family safe? You're listening to the Healthy Home Hacks podcast where we firmly believe in joining optimal health shouldn't be a luxury. Healthy Home authorities and husband and wife team Ron and Lisa will help you create a home environment that will level up your health. It's time to hear from the experts. Listen in on honest conversations and gain the best tips and advice. If you're ready to dive in and improve your well being and increase your energy, you're in the right place. All right, here are your hosts, baubiologists, authors, media darlings, vicarious vegans and avocado aficionados, Ron and Lisa Beres.

Lisa Beres 0:49

friends, it's time to take control of your health. Breathe Better and sleep more soundly. This episode of healthy home hats is brought to you by IQ air, first in air quality, a top air quality technology company for over 60 years. IQ air is the maker of award winning medical grade air filtration solutions that are Swiss made. It's the air purifier Ron and I sleep with every night, and they just launched their new health Pro Plus xe air purifier, this mac daddy boasts a fan that's three times more energy efficient than previous models, plus it's got intelligent sensors that measure indoor pollution levels and activate and adjust based on real time air quality. It's got smart app integration and, of course, a medical grade air filtration with a hyper HEPA technology proven to capture 99.5% of particles down to point 003, microns. Guys, that means powerful protection from allergens, smoke and even bacteria and viruses that you'd otherwise be breathing in. Visit them at IQ air.com then click on air purifiers in the top taskbar to find the ideal solution for you and your family, happy breathing.

Ron Beres 2:09

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. William Morris, but beyond a useful and beautiful home needs to be a home that heals, a place that is a safe sanctuary where we can rest and recuperate from the daily exposures to toxins.

Lisa Beres 2:29

Americans spend 90% of their time indoors today, so it only makes sense that we need to prioritize the health of our homes, from the water we drink and the air we breathe to the furniture we sit on, the bedding we sleep on, and the paint on our walls, everything we eat, wear, touch and use to furnish our homes, is affecting our health daily.

Ron Beres 2:51

Someone who understands the importance of creating a healing Oasis that's visually beautiful is our guest today. She offers her clients a step by step system to help you design your living space for optimal alignment and health. And she's got a fun giveaway for everyone listening my wishes, healing beauty product list. So please stay tuned till the end of the show, and we'll give you the link to snag that swag. Yes and

Lisa Beres 3:22

mawish. Sayed is an award winning fashion and interior designer, a celebrated author, cancer survivor and devoted mother, her creations have adorned bodies and homes for over two decades, fostering spaces that nurture and heal, featured in distinguished publications like The New York Times, Architectural Digest, eldecore and more. Her designs transcend boundaries. Her book purgatory to paradise unveils her triumphant cancer journey, showcasing how design became her healing sanctuary, committed to empowering others, she advocates for personal paradises, affirming that genuine beauty is immediate and attainable for all. Welcome

Ron Beres 4:07

to the show. My wish, yes.

Mahwish Sayed 4:12

Thank you so much for having me, Ron and Lisa, really truly, am delighted.

Lisa Beres 4:16

We are so excited to have you all right, you probably don't know this about me, but I used to be an interior designer prior to this journey, and so I am especially excited to have you here, and I know our listeners are too, because this is just the fun side of all the boring air quality that we talk about. But can you share with our listeners your story, your cancer diagnosis, and how this led to you realizing that embracing beauty and pleasure is vital to our healing journey.

Mahwish Sayed 4:46

Thanks so much. I have been creating beauty my whole life, fashion jewelry or your interiors, and really cancer, when I was diagnosed launched me in. To a completely different relationship with beauty. As a matter of fact, it deepened my relationship with beauty, and here's how so most people, let's just step back for a second. When you use the word beauty, you think of cosmetics, you think of something that's on the surface. And what I'm talking about is redefining beauty as divine cellular alignment, okay? And as an interior designer, that's the universe having a really great sense of humor, because we design our bodies from the inside out every day, and we have the agency to do it. And so while I was going through my cancer journey, I naturally gravitated you know you're in a trauma state when you get that diagnosis and you realize, and you both know that your rest and relaxation state, your parasympathetic state, happens. How does that happen when you're not in that trauma response? So what I started doing was implementing what I call my rituals of reverence, which was grounding in to my physical space and my physical body, using all my five senses and creating beauty in these simple acts. Like, for example, during chemo, I really couldn't eat my mom's wonderful, spicy Pakistani food that she was making for me. And so I, you know, even if it was a sliced banana, I would place it on my best dishes. I would use my best silverware, you know, take, yeah, take yourself out of purgatory. Because, you know, we're always waiting to live these special occasions, right, right? Save that stuff. Well, guess what? Cancer launched me into thinking about truly, what Carpe Diem is all about, life today. So what am I going to wait around for, like, when I'm better in order to use those dishes? Hell no, I needed those dishes today, today, right? Today,

Lisa Beres 6:59

and you weren't using them before your cancer diagnosis. Probably right?

Mahwish Sayed 7:03

Oh, my God, it's no lie. I wrote this in my book. I used my silverware that I had saved from my marriage after I divorced. I finally used that silverware during cancer after the death of my marriage. So it's like, what was I waiting around for?

Lisa Beres 7:20

Right? You know, so profound. I don't think that's discussed enough. I remember years ago, like, a long time ago, watching an Oprah episode, and she talked about this, living your best life, like every day. And she had all these people on talking about, like, what do you do to live like, fully, you know? And it was the pulling out that beautiful, perfect China was one of the things and like, why are you schlepping around in your sweats all day and saving those couple beautiful, I don't mean a couple, but those beautiful pieces that you only wear on special occasions or weekends or date nights, why not wear them every day? Right? Why not look your best every day? And this is such a great point that you're making, because I think so many of us do that now

Ron Beres 8:03

I'm thinking I should have worn my tux, right? Was that?

Mahwish Sayed 8:06

Right? I love your color. Color is great. Okay,

Lisa Beres 8:09

Ron's out coloring us today. No, that's really cool. And so with that, was it kind of everything, like, I'm gonna get dressed to the tea and, you know, just kind of take that all the way.

Mahwish Sayed 8:21

Oh my god, yeah, oh yeah. I dressed up for every chemo session. I coordinated my outfit, oh yeah, oh yeah. And, speaking of a sensory experience, I even took essential oil, like of lavender, and I would dab it in the corners of my scarf. So while I was going through such, you know, you would think a really intense experience, because I had a cold cap on and my hands and feet and ice to prevent neuropathy, so I would be able to smell something that would help ground me into a happier memory and a happier time in my life. Wow. So think about using your senses, because a lot of times, you know, we're living in this digital age, you guys, and it's so hard not to get seduced by that pixelated world and that virtual reality. And I am all about grounding into your physical reality, especially when you're going through trauma. You want to escape. That's the flight part, right? You want to just zone out. You want to escape. And I think it's counterintuitive, but it's really in order to get through that, you have to ground back into your body, and that's how I did using my designer techniques.

Lisa Beres 9:32

Oh, my God, that is so cool. This is like, something I've never heard anyone talk about. I mean, just hearing you, you hear the truth in that. And we actually, unfortunately, lost our sister in law to breast cancer about four and a half years ago. And yeah, she had neuropathy too. And I would say she kind of lived her life like what you're talking about. She was a very girly girl. I call her like, really, just an like, very bright light and all. Always dressed to the tee, like when we first started hanging out with her. Remember Ron? We'd go to, like, the farm or something for Thanksgiving, and I'd be in, like, just junky, whatever. I don't care, it's the farm I'm gonna get dirty. And she'd be in, like, the perfect little flannel shirt and the cowboy boots and the hat and the thing. And then she really inspired me and to do that, to pull out those nice clothes and look your best and go that extra mile, because you only have one life, right? You're here, yeah? What

Ron Beres 10:25

a great mindset, yeah, to have, maybe

Lisa Beres 10:26

you have more than one life. That's a whole nother conversation in this moment. Oh, we got this one, so, yeah, why? Why save that stuff? So you probably inspired people too, when you were going to your treatments, and people were like, wow, she's really, you know, I could do that right? Because it takes somebody to pave that way to make us go, gosh, you know, I want some of that. I want to feel that energy, you know, oh

Mahwish Sayed 10:51

my gosh. First of all, Lisa, thank you for sharing that about your sister in law. It really touches my heart on a very deep level. And yeah, you guys, I can't gatekeep. I mean, this stuff really helped me, and I didn't look like this. You know, my hair was falling out. I was swollen from the steroids. I had scars, I had burns, I had complications. And, you know, one of the things that I felt so deeply in my core was that I can't go on another day and not share this experience with someone, and if it helps them on a tiny fraction level, then I feel like I've done something. You know, at the end of the day, that's what life is about, and sharing our wisdom and sharing our treasures with one another, that's why we're talking here today, isn't it? Right?

Ron Beres 11:38

Yeah, yeah. What a winning attitude. Okay, well, moish, can you explain to our listeners how beauty in our physical environment affects our biology? Yeah,

Mahwish Sayed 11:48

what a delicious subject to sink into. You know, again, the whole new science. It's neuro esthetics is a really hot subject in the design world right now, and it's basically all about how esthetics affects your biology, your nervous system. And I would deepen that by saying it's not just what you look at, but what you experience on a sensory level, using all the senses. So beauty, again, my definition is divine cellular alignment, like the divine intelligence of ourselves, quoting Bruce Lipton, so it's this idea of you being, see your think of your body as an intelligent life form of a community of cells, right? An eco of living ecosystem. And your home is your macro biome, your other ecosystem. And we're always communicating with one another. So on that level, on a very pragmatic, scientific level, your body is taking cues from your environment at all times, whether you realize it or not. And that's why I ended up getting my certification in applied quantum biology, because I was interested in the circadian aspects of modern living, and how the modern life has actually helped deteriorate our homeostasis, and how to get back into that level of equilibrium where your living ecosystem is in harmony with the world that's around you. So on that level, if you step back for a second, that is well beyond what's painted on your walls. It's about a harmonization between you and the world around you, right? And that inner verse Your home is that first level of where you have agency and control of being able to make those really simple but profound changes and creating that sensory beauty. Oh, well

Lisa Beres 13:40

said, wow, including

Ron Beres 13:41

from the sensory perspective, did you ever did you go into healing sound therapy as well? So this like frequency healing combats

Mahwish Sayed 13:49

everything you know, in my book, I talk about sound so I just did a workshop recently with other cancer survivors. And again, I started doing workshops. I built a course, because people kept asking me over and over again the same things. I'm like, Oh my gosh, this is something that is so important and impactful, I have to share it with as many people who are interested. But on a sensory level, just as there is junk a light, you guys, there's junk sound too. I mean, I live in New York City, there's jackhammers, there's cars,

Lisa Beres 14:20

there's axis, yeah, yeah. So

Mahwish Sayed 14:23

construction, upstairs, downstairs, everywhere. So it's like, how can I layer and think of yourself as a symphony conductor in your space, and you're layering in the violin and percussion and all of these different parts of your space. So sound, for example, did you know that we are ancient beings? Our biology is ancient. If you look at the human existence as a 24 hour clock, only the last 30 seconds are electrified. Okay, so we have been in tune with the sun and the light of the sun. For mille. India and that biology, no matter how quickly technology gets ahead of us, we're still ancient beings, and bringing that ancient part of us into the fore and designing from that place is such a delicious experience for me. Wow.

Lisa Beres 15:13

You know, as an interior does past interior designer myself? I mean, there was a lot of toxicity in so many of the products, I mean, flame retardants and products that I would use, and obviously the VOCs and all these chemicals. And my story, which you probably don't know, is I actually moved into a newly remodeled home. I was engaged to run, and I became very ill very quickly, and it was the combination of all of the products that were off gassing at the same time I was living there, I was working there, and an EMF explosion in my room slash office, because my bedroom and my office were shared, and that was when light bulbs went off for me that, wait a minute, I had just been spending all of these years making homes look beautiful like you, and prior until we had our healing crisis, right? And then you go, Wait a minute. There's more to this. So our story kind of parallels a little in that that was my aha moment to say, wow. It's not just about the esthetics. It's about the healing energy that your home needs to support you. It needs to, you know, and like you're talking about, even on a very deep physiological level, the colors. How do the colors react to us. We had someone on the show color therapy and how you should be designing your homes for the colors that resonate with you, not what's trendy. You know, that was a big part of that conversation. Like grays and whites are really popular, still natural woods. But maybe that's not your thing. Maybe that's not What lights your soul up. Maybe you like darker woods, or maybe you like deeper jewel tones or whatever. And so I think that's really interesting.

Mahwish Sayed 16:46

I love that. And you know what? Sometimes it takes a crisis like that to kind of launch you into that realm of curiosity, yeah, exploration, and then one thing leads to another, and then you discover this whole other world. And I love that. So it's like looking at, you know, that blessing in disguise, yeah, and being able to turn that around and pivot into this way of being. I love that, Lisa. And by the way, I want to say, when you're designing your space, it is so important that it's a reflection of you, right? It's curated to who you are. Yeah, you know,

Lisa Beres 17:23

we've lost sight of that, don't you think, I think we've lost sight as a society, it's all what's trendy, what's trendy? Oh, farmhouse is in. Everybody go out and get farmhouse.

Mahwish Sayed 17:32

I mean, you know, I'm a fashion designer, and our body shapes are different. You know, on my hourglass shape, if I wear like a boxy shift dress, it makes me look 30 pounds heavier. Why would I even do that? So like dress to your body and create a home to your body too.

Lisa Beres 17:48

Yeah, exactly showcase your assets. Yes, exactly know what you look best in and what doesn't work like you said, Exactly. But you know, going back to that tech part of it, how do you feel about the tech part? Is it just that we need to live more cohesively with it? Do you feel like there's a space for it, as long as we're kind of balancing that energy? Because obviously that pendulum swung too I mean, you go into any house and it's the TV dominates the living room, right? It's so massive, it's an eyesore, unless you have those nice art style TVs, but otherwise they're just obnoxiously big.

Mahwish Sayed 18:24

Oh my god, I have so much to say about this. So much. Tell us. Tell us where to begin. First of all, a smart home is not so smart. You guys, some really dumb, very, very dumb. Please. Don't go for it, please. Yeah, I know. The other thing I want to say, and this is very important, we have become really seduced by this idea of convenience, okay, and what's been marketed to us as being convenient, suddenly we're like, yeah, it's convenient. It's going to save us time. But what if it kills you? Like, really, is it that convenient? It's going to save you? Convenient for how long? Yeah, yeah. So I'm not going to name names. It's a certain company that really drives me bananas, and they're always advertising like, it's washable, It's Pet Friendly, it's a rug company, and so, you know, it's going to make your life easier. You can throw it in your washing machine. Yeah? And they don't advertise what's actually the content of the rugs. Yeah, I've started looking, and I know, and you know, polypropylene is incredibly toxic, and it was one thing for it to be outside, used as an outdoor rug, but to be inhaling that space. And by the way, most people you know, you said 90% is spent indoors. The biggest source of toxic air pollution is your carpeting. Okay, yeah, is your flooring. And if you're spending 90% of your time in your sarcophagus, like, without any circulation, then you're like, literally interred in your own home, breathing these not just VOCs. I want to mention something really important. You imbibe your materials in the form of death. Dust, nanoparticles. So what you put around you matters, and wool, cotton, linen has been around for 1000s of years, if you have not gotten sick from it. And by the way, it's actually more cleanable. I would say most of these synthetics that you know, bamboo silk, which is not even silk, it's not bamboo, it's discos. So it's like that very, very seductive marketing

Lisa Beres 20:25

this vegan leather. That's one vegan leather. It sounds so healthy vegan leather. Oh, it's vegan. And when I first heard of it, I was like, I don't know. They're not harming an animal. What is it? It's plastic. Guys, it's plastic. It's plastic. Yes, it's vegan. It's not from an animal, but it's plastic, but it's marketed in a sexy way, right? I'd speak in leather. Oh

Mahwish Sayed 20:45

my god, I talk about this all the time, all the time. Love this. Love this. Yeah, and

Lisa Beres 20:51

speaking of because this has been really in the news lately, all of these plastics in the clothes like we're basically people are walking around in plastics nowadays, from rayon to polypropylene, polyester, poly, anything poly, right? Is plastic, and that's petroleum derived. And are you familiar? I'm sure you are, because you seem so abreast and into this the frequencies of the fabrics.

Mahwish Sayed 21:14

Yes, okay, yeah, it's in my course.

Lisa Beres 21:17

It's in your course. Okay, it's so interesting. Because Ron, if listeners, if you've heard of David Hawkins chart of consciousness and how each emotion has a frequency, like shame and guilt are very, very, very low emotions low frequencies, whereas, like joy and hope and love are the highest. And so they can measure the frequency of materials. And so when you're walking around in a really low frequency clothing. What is that doing? Right? How is that affecting you?

Mahwish Sayed 21:47

Yeah, and I want to add that we are electrical beings, and a lot of these materials rob us of our electrons. That's part of the problem. And the ones that give you back, which are related to the frequency, are wool and linen, those are the two highest materials, although, weirdly enough, when you wear them together to cancel each other, that is

Lisa Beres 22:08

that true? Yeah, okay, wow. That's weird. Well, okay, wool and linen, and then what about hemp? How do you feel about hemp? I

Mahwish Sayed 22:14

love hemp. I love hemp. Think about it this way, whatever your great grandma used, yeah, that's the way to go. Go back to that. Now, I come from a very ancient culture. I grew up in Pakistan. I grew up in four generations under one roof. I learned how to dye things using onion skins and ashes from newspapers. Yeah, I designed clothing collections that were tea dyed from hibiscus and different types of teas. And so like, going back to those ancient traditions that were passed down from generation to generation of the family, in my family. So that's something I really like to go back to and use, like 17th century stump work techniques. That's embroidery techniques, wow. And so that's something that I bring to the four my backgrounds in textile conservation. I worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Wow, you

Lisa Beres 23:07

are such an interesting person. Can I just say, like, I know I could talk to you for like, five hours. You have such a rich tapestry of your story. We didn't even really get into your background story of that. But that's talk about a full circle moment, like, nothing's an accident, right? Nothing's an accident in your life. I mean, the fact that that was your history, and now here you are doing this incredible work is not a coincidence, right? None of us is anyone listening your story. Whatever your background is, there's a reason that that happened, and there's a reason how that's going to serve you in your life.

Mahwish Sayed 23:40

Oh, my God, you're so profound. I love it. Um,

Lisa Beres 23:45

everyone's so zen. I'm so zen. Okay, so people want to know, how can we decorate our homes to support our health and healing? Start

Mahwish Sayed 23:53

by your senses, your five senses. I mean, I lead workshops on this. Think about sight. Sight is, you know, we talked about color frequencies, colors that resonate with you. I often tell my clients, what did you like when you were six? Yeah, before someone told you what was like trendy and what was in fashion, yeah, what was that color? Was it the purple that Ron's wearing? Like, was it that grape? You know, get back to that. And it doesn't have to be like, Oh, my God, I have to paint my wall. It's great. No, you can have like, a pillow, right? Think of your sofa as your little black dress.

Lisa Beres 24:29

Oh, ours is black. We have a black sofa.

Mahwish Sayed 24:33

Think about accessorizing with scarves, right? With accessories and pillows are inexpensive and completely changeable, like change with not just the seasons, but change with your mood. You know what I'm saying? Like, think about I often advise, if you can't afford even to change a pillowcase, take go shopping in your closet, go find a scarf and wrap that pillow with your. Scarf, ooh, try it out.

Lisa Beres 25:02

Yeah, get creative, right? Yeah, try it out. Yeah, learn to sew. Nobody knows how to sew anymore. I don't. But even,

Mahwish Sayed 25:10

like, you know, during chemo, they had instructed me to wear, like, have silk pillowcases. And I was like, I just can't deal with, you know, trying. And by the way, all the silk was not real silk. It was, it was fake polybatten, right? They

Lisa Beres 25:23

call it Batten, yeah. Don't

Mahwish Sayed 25:24

even get me started. So I have like, an arsenal of, like, scarves that I've collected over the years, also traditional scarves. And so I wrap, you know, beautiful, silky, real silk scarves around my pillow. And that's what got me going into thinking about, like, you don't have to go out and buy. I didn't have the energy to so I started just shopping my own closet. And, you know, redecorating my space during cancer treatment. You guys, that's when I started redecorating.

Lisa Beres 25:56

Really, were you doing interior design prior to that, or were you just fashion at that point? No,

Mahwish Sayed 26:02

I've been doing interior design for a couple of decades. Oh, okay, yeah, but

Lisa Beres 26:06

you just, you're, it sounds like after the diagnosis, you took a pendulum swing on how you were gonna approach design, yeah, were you already incorporating some of this before?

Mahwish Sayed 26:15

I think I naturally already was and but I started becoming very intentional about it. Okay? And from there, it was really interesting. When I started looking at the five senses and then creating these workshops for other cancer survivors, I realized something really important. Now, I'm a high end designer. I'm in New York City. You know, a lot of the people that I was doing these workshops for, they were like, I can't afford you. Well, how am I going to get beauty in my life? I'm like, everybody deserves beauty, everybody. And especially when you're going through something as traumatic as cancer or any other kind of illness, you need beauty the most. And here's why a lot of people think they have to wait in the Purgatory of treatment or in purgatory in general. You know, I'm renting this apartment, therefore I'm not going to put a hole in the wall, I'm not going to decorate. I'm not going to make it mine. I'm not going to personalize it, because I'm waiting to live, I'm waiting to live that best life sometime when I get that thing right. Yeah, right. So I think it's so important to realize that we all have the ability and we deserve to have that beauty right here, right now. And I thought, you know, my renovation, some of them take a decade, okay, you know, to complete, if it's really complex, wow. So what am I going to wait around for? And maybe I'm not even going to be there. So I started really implementing these techniques right here, right now, in my own space, because that's all I had, yeah, and then all of a sudden I realized you deserve to have beauty, accessible, beauty, attainable, beauty that is speaks to your soul, and when it speaks to your soul, you are in Divine Alignment your biology. And this is what I write in my book, your soul and your body are not two separate things. They're one and the same that is

Lisa Beres 28:02

so beautiful. Yeah, I think you're right. And going back to my sister in law again, like she lived in Manhattan Beach, which is here in Southern California, they have a really nice apartment that has an ocean view and, like, all windows. And when she was in the hospital, she just was like, the rooms are so cold. There's not even pictures, I don't think on the wall, and it's just all the machinery and noise. And I always would say to her, I don't know how people heal in these environments. And we would bring, like, I think even her husband brought in, like essential oils, for sure, and like aromatherapy and all of that, and like anything, just to kind of change that environment. And then she was always like, I can't wait to get back home. I can't wait to get to get back home and see that ocean view. Because ocean view, because that was what filled her soul so much. And so, yeah, I feel that with anybody going through any illness, yeah, and clutter, would you say? Like clutter is a biggie, because clutter makes you feel icky, right? When you see it, it just changes your energy, right? You feel guilt, you feel icky, you feel dirty,

Mahwish Sayed 29:03

yeah, clutter is a form of stagnation. It okay? It's energetic stagnation. And we're all about flow, okay, if you think about dis ease, lack of ease, it's about blockages, right, right? So that clutter, on a visual level, is a blockage in your life, yeah, and I would add to that by, you know, I curate your home and your space. Think of your home if it is indeed your sacred sanctuary. I always say, think of your coffee table as your altar. Would you put candy wrappers and old magazines and, you know, junk on your altar? No, you would curate your altar to only have sacred objects on it, yeah, talismanic objects. Speaking of talismans, you know, a talisman is an object that's imbued with magical powers, or basically meaning that has meaning for you. And I think it's. Really important when you're decorating your space to only have these objects that have that beautiful meaning for you, and get rid of the rest. Yeah, get rid of the rest. And so, for example, when I was going through cancer, I put, you know, a picture of myself when I was 15, long before boys, when I was, you know, making scraps and then sewing outfits together with my grandma's old things. And I put that picture up where I can see her every day, because I didn't look like her anymore. I was swollen. My hair was falling out, my eyebrows, everything. I didn't look like her anymore. And so she was my talisman, that reminder that I was that little girl, that that little girl still existed, and that beauty and that innocence still was there because I was suffering. I was in so much pain, and so I was able to put her in a place where I would see her every day as a reminder. And I think we forget that we can be intentional in our decor, whether that's the picture of a loved one, whether that is, you know, an object, a stone that you picked up from a trip that you know, have good memories about, eat that in a place where you see it every day, right?

Lisa Beres 31:15

That's awesome. I was awesome. So beautiful. Yeah, and would you say your whole home decor should everything should have meaning? Are you saying just the coffee table?

Mahwish Sayed 31:25

Oh, no. I mean, go for it. I always mention the coffee table because it's a starting point that everyone has, and it's

Lisa Beres 31:33

something that you see every time. And I signed up for your newsletter and got your opt in, and you had mentioned candles. And obviously, Ron, I talk a lot about non toxic candles, and why you don't want the synthetic fragrances, but you said something really interesting. I don't want to give away your freebie, but about the power of the flame. Can you shed a little light on that?

Mahwish Sayed 31:55

Sure, sure. So like I had mentioned earlier, we are, you know, ancient beings. Our biology is very ancient. And other than the sun, fire light was the light that affected our biology for millennia, for 1000s of years, and most people don't realize, you know, everyone's talking about, you know, so trendy red light therapy. But like fire, light is the only other source of natural infrared light that is a healing light, right? It stimulates the collagen in your skin. It stimulates healing, wound healing. And so by incorporating firelight back into your home, you're attuning yourself to your ancient biology. And it's such a simple thing to do, and what I want to add as a ritual of reverence, as a ritual like a bedtime ritual, is and I did this, but I don't recommend you keeping your candles on while you're going to sleep, but please turn off all your overhead ceiling lights at night, because the location of your light affects your biology, too, and not many people realize this from a decorative standpoint. Yes, I love chandeliers. Consider them bling, like on your little black dress, the jewelry, right? They're fabulous for that, but they should not be that your only source of light at night. As a matter of fact, if you think about the sun setting, the location of the sun to your body sends signals to your body, right? Okay, and so the location of the light at night should be at eye level or lower. So whether that's a sconce or a table lamp, interesting, and the frequency of that light also matters. So when I say candlelight, I actually turned I took a candelabra like an old fashioned, like, you know, vampire hunter movie, and I put it on my coffee table, I lit the candle, I turned all the lights off. It was so glorious. You guys, how pretty. Oh, romantic. Oh, that's

Lisa Beres 33:51

so neat. Yeah, I'm a fire crazed. I love it. Ron knows I have a candle every night. I light a candle every night. I love it. We were meant to meet and not a battery operated, although I do have some of those. But like, I light a real candle every night, and we light our fire, like, ridiculously, too much. I remember one day the gas guy came and knocked on the door, and he's like, what's going on in this house? We're like, what? And he's like, the gas is really high. We're like, awesome. Could be the fire I love it, right? And then, like fire pits, it's good that fire pits would become really popular, because the battery operated candles, they're not the same. You don't feel the same. You know, they can be a good addition, but it's not the same, right? Even when you go to a restaurant, it's a battery candle versus a row, and you can feel that energy.

Mahwish Sayed 34:37

I don't go to that restaurant. If they do battery operated. You don't go there. No, I don't go there. You want them to

Ron Beres 34:43

clean the wax off the table every day from the night before? That's perfect. Wax

Mahwish Sayed 34:47

is patina. Don't need to, yeah, yeah. It's fine. Oh, okay.

Lisa Beres 34:51

Well, beeswax and coconut wax, not petroleum derived wax, which is most paraffin wax. So we don't want that, yeah, for sure. So

Ron Beres 34:57

everything, what we're talking about now is biophilic design. Right? Is that what we're discussing?

Mahwish Sayed 35:01

Yeah, so biophilic design basically means that, you know, our ancient biology is connected to nature. And by the way, when you were talking about the hospital room being so sterile, there are studies done with patients, they increase their recovery rates by 30% you guys by looking at either a picture of nature, or a painting or a print of an artwork that was nature, and sorry, Jackson Pollock, he used his stuff and the patients did not heal as quick. I believe that. Yeah, that makes sense, yeah. So the idea of bringing nature inside your home is really integral to creating that synergistic beauty. And you know, when you look at leaves, which, where in nature, do you see? Right angles,

Lisa Beres 35:49

nowhere, nowhere. Yeah, we

Ron Beres 35:51

just heard there's no such thing as a straight line, right? And as far as the geometry of our reality, right, there's really no such thing as a straight line. The deviates. For some reason, we're

Mahwish Sayed 35:59

curves.

Lisa Beres 36:00

We're all curves guys, yeah, yeah, yeah. Life is curvy. Life is curvy. This curvy, yeah? And we got to embrace those curves, whether it's on your body or in life, right? Because life's gonna throw you curveballs, whether you like it or not, you know,

Mahwish Sayed 36:13

yeah, embrace my jiggle. That's

Lisa Beres 36:17

really and you have beautiful leaves behind you. I can tell you have a lot of plants in your space. So the power of real plants, you know? Because that's another thing, the artificial olive trees and fig leaf trees, I mean, they're so popular now in home decor, and it's like you're right, because some of these things can look really pretty, but you can enter a beautiful space and not feel calm, right? And what you're saying is really making sense, because, say, you go into a space with fake plants and synthetic fabrics and battery operated candles, versus maybe the same space, to be a neat study, to do two spaces. One has real plants, real candles, natural fibers, and like, test those subjects and see, you know their emotions. How do they feel different in each space?

Mahwish Sayed 37:00

Absolutely and by the way, it's a double whammy with those fake plants, because they're releasing VOCs.

Lisa Beres 37:08

Prop 65 Well, we're in California. Do you know what prop 65 Yeah, so like, you'll see it on Amazon or whatever. And it's like this product is 65 warning, it contains chemicals known to cause cancer. Okay, what? Why are you putting that in your home like and you're being warned. So same with them. Starbucks coffee. That's a whole other thing, right? They had the signs out. I don't know what happened. They used to, used to go to the Starbucks and they would have the signs, did you know? Because it's the way they could. It's when they roast the beans that it creates a carcinogen. Oh, you're right, right, yeah, oh, my God, a whole nother thing. Okay, can you share with listeners how they can design their homes like a goddess by transforming their homes into a healing oasis? You talked about shopping your closet, which I love, bringing in plants. Any other tips?

Mahwish Sayed 37:57

Oh my gosh. So lighting, for example, we talked about incorporating candles and the location of your lighting. And here's a really, really simple hack, you guys, open your window, open your window, open your window, because if your indoor air pollution is so extreme, opening your window helps create that circulation. And since sunlight is not polarized, it will bounce off surfaces. I'll give you two designer tips that I use. And wonder, Lisa, if you did this too, is I would use mirrors perpendicular to the window to like for a Central Park View. I would increase, you know, that view and that space, and create that spaciousness. And also in low ceiling spaces, I would do a ceiling high gloss to be able to elevate visually,

Lisa Beres 38:47

color paint on the ceiling, or accent color,

Mahwish Sayed 38:50

same color, to just create that kind of space. Great tips, yeah. So by doing those two things in terms of reflectivity, you're not only creating a visual, you know, stimulation, but you're actually bringing that light frequency into your body, because your body has photoreceptors, not just in your eyes, but all over your skin. We are like beings. We actually emit like our eyes can't detect it. So it's really important to use these tips and tricks by opening your window polarizing, you know, getting that light to bounce off surfaces like a vampire hunter.

Lisa Beres 39:26

Back to that vampire theme.

Mahwish Sayed 39:28

Yeah, I know I was obsessed for my adolescence, so I just think that it's really the simple things are the best things, and they're also really easy to remember. I mean, let's not complicate life is this already so complicated?

Lisa Beres 39:41

Is right? Technology is making it more complicated and overwhelming. And I think you're right, like we always talk about your home being your safe sanctuary, you know, having that digital detox, turning off your phones at a certain point at night, sit in that beautiful space and enjoy it without the distractions, right that we just. The phone is like, you know, this sort of feels like, sometimes, like, answer me. Can't look at me, right? I'm here. It's like a little annoying little sibling.

Ron Beres 40:12

But was she already gave us some great tips on how to be cost effective or budget for certain items, like, for example, the scarf over the pillows. We thought was beautiful. But do you have for our listeners, any other way for them to access beauty now without waiting?

Mahwish Sayed 40:26

Yeah, I have a gift for you guys, for your listeners.

Ron Beres 40:30

We love gifts. Yes,

Mahwish Sayed 40:33

it's at claim your paradise.com. Forward slash.

Lisa Beres 40:36

Podcast, oh. Podcast, okay, I have a different Yeah. Okay, perfect. And so

Mahwish Sayed 40:41

basically, what that is, are my top three things that you can have today to start creating that healing sanctuary for yourself and live your paradise. Mm, hmm, I

Lisa Beres 40:53

love it. I'm going to plug that in a minute, and this will go for your offices too, right, guys. So if you work outside of the home in an office building, which is, like, rare nowadays, right? We used to be everyone. Now it's like most people working, but either way, wherever your office is, like, make that beautiful too, because that's another area that is so overlooked. You go into some of these offices and it's like, uh, you know, and especially if they're in cubicles, it can just have such a like, dead energy, right? Yes,

Mahwish Sayed 41:21

I actually have that as a part of my course, because it's interesting. It's patient and providers. So basically, anyone who's in treatment space, a doctor can really implement these things, because a lot of times you don't have control if you're in a hospital setting. But I actually have wonderful, accessible protocols that any doctor can use, oh,

Lisa Beres 41:40

wow, that's fantastic. You know, my mom was a nurse, and she lived in Hawaii for 25 years and worked at a rehabilitation center called Kehoe rehab, and the patients, it was like a long, skinny building up on a cliff that overlooked the ocean. So every patient had this amazing Five Star Ocean View, and she got to work there, and I would think, wow, to talk about, like, I mean, a lot of these people are end of life, but like, leaving in that energy, even when you do transition to have that be your environment, you're looking out at the ocean of Hawaii. Like, how beautiful, right? I used to think these patients, like, really hit the jackpot. As far as, like that, end of life, care,

Mahwish Sayed 42:24

Lisa, I love what you said. It's in my book.

Lisa Beres 42:27

It is, yes, that's

Ron Beres 42:29

so funny.

Mahwish Sayed 42:30

I'm like, has she read my book? No,

Unknown Speaker 42:32

I need to, though

Mahwish Sayed 42:34

I am, you know, I channeled the goddess Persephone. And the goddess Persephone is the goddess who went into the underworld, and, you know, is in line, met and married Haiti. So that's death, right? And so I want to create my life's mission is to create beauty for those passing through to the other side, and to have a beautiful journey and beautiful transition, because it's a real big part of my heart, yes, part of my heart, because I dance with Hades. I dance with tango with Hades. And I think that anyone who faces that moment should face it with serenity and grace and beauty, especially

Lisa Beres 43:15

that and not fear, right? I think so too. And I think our elderly in the society sometimes get, you know, mistreated, ignored, you know, whatever, and why? I mean, that wasn't like that in the past. You know, people revered the elderly, and they were like the wise ones, and we took advice from them. And, you know, having them transition in to such a high vibe. I know one time I was getting my wisdom teeth pulled out, and the dentist or the nurse said, right before you close your eyes, think of the most beautiful place. Think of your happy place. And I love Lake Tahoe. And I was thinking of Lake Tahoe. Next thing I knew, I woke up right I had the surgery was done, and I had the smoothest procedure. I barely had pain. I healed like amazing. And I always attribute it back to that and how nice that nurse was to tell me to have that thought right before I went under anesthesia.

Speaker 1 44:08

She's divine. She was divine. She was divine.

Lisa Beres 44:12

And all these people have horror stories with their wisdom teeth. I'm like, really, not me. Oh, you know. So that's another thing too. Is just our our thoughts, our thoughts are so powerful, right? The way that we think. And how do you feel about Feng Shui? This is my last question. How do you feel about Feng Shui and all of that?

Mahwish Sayed 44:28

It's another modality. It's another lens through which to organize your poem and to organize your relationship to your home, right? And I think whatever way speaks to your soul, go for that. There's not one right or wrong answer. It's just about what really, truly resonates with you. And it just like that dress. It's like, wear that dress today. Like, try these things out today. Don't wait. And if feng shui works for you, great. If something else works for you, great. It's just. About really embracing again, what I call your sixth sense, your intuition, your inner GPS. Yes, we start listening to our bodies. They'll tell us what's right for us. Yeah,

Lisa Beres 45:10

slow down, quiet the mind and really listen, right? Just listen. People don't listen. So, oh, this was amazing. I love, love, love talking to you. I love what you're doing. I'm rooting for this plan for the center that you're going to have, or whatever that vision is. What an important mission you have. Yeah, thanks, yes. And to have a vision like that, you know, because you're already successful and you already have a lot going on, and to actually take that is so incredible. So thank you so much for being with us today, friends. To grab a copy of my wishes, healing beauty product list. Head to claim your paradise.com. Forward slash podcast, and you can find her book, Purgatory to paradise. How cancer helped me design an authentic life. You can find that in paperback, Kindle and audible on Amazon. And we will put the link to both in the show notes to work with or learn more about my wishes services. Visit her at claim your paradise.com

Ron Beres 46:08

and as always, head to healthy home hacks.com for all the links and show notes, and be sure to subscribe to the show so you don't want to miss another episode like this. Get ready to uplevel your health. And also, we greatly appreciate your support, and we do reviews, make sure they are five stars and great especially this one great job. My wish everyone, take care. Thank you.

Lisa Beres 46:30

Thank you. Bye, everyone.

Mahwish Sayed 46:32

Thank you so much.

Narrarator 46:35

This episode of the Healthy Home hacks podcast has ended, but be sure to subscribe for more healthy living strategies and tactics to help you create the healthy home you always dreamed of. And don't forget to rate and review so we can continue to bring you the best content See you on the next episode you

Transcribed by https://otter.ai