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LIGHT VISION |
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Have
you heard about the ancient Feng Shui teachings - the Chinese art of
positioning objects in the environment to facilitate the flow of the
universal vital force called by Chinese "chi"? According to
these approximately 4000 year old teachings everything is connected.
By enhancing the positive patterns of energy in our environment, we
can facilitate good health, prosperity, a happy love life, other relationships
with people, our skills and knowledge, career and even creativity or
the ability to bear children. Sharon
Stansney in her very interesting book "Feng
Shui Chic Feng
Shui - The Introduction. Feng Shui teachings not only help us to choose the proper location of our living space, but how to design it, including garden design. The Bagua Idea. There is more than one Feng Shui school, but all of them are based on the system of so called bagua - an octagonal figure. To apply it in the living space, it is often replaced by a square or rectangle divided into 9 parts that always come in a particular order. Each part, so called "gua" is related to a different area of once life. You will find more info below. Western Feng Shui School - BTB (Black Hat Sect Tibetan Buddhist) Teachings. According to one of the most popular Feng Shui schools in the western world - Western Feng Shui Black Hat Sect Tibetan Buddhist or simply called Black Hat or Black Sect Feng Shui, bagua is always oriented according to the main entrance to the living space, or so called "mouth of chi". This is a modern version of Feng Shui, which was developed in the middle 1980s and it is a combination of Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism, Psychology and Traditional Feng Shui. In contrast to other Feng Shui schools, Black Sect Feng Shui relies less on compass directions and astrology. Instead it seems to be based on a more spiritual approach and focuses on the internal orientation and organization of the space. The symbolic meaning of objects placed in the environment and conscious intent and visualization are emphasized. Traditional Chinese feng shui schools do not officially recognize the Black Hat Sect due to its failure to adhere to some previously set principles. Drawing the Bagua of Your Home. The above-mentioned eight bagua areas encircle the 9th central Health area. To find out, where each area is located in your home, draw a rectangle or square in which your entire house/apartment plan will fit, including all corners and attached structures belonging to you (even a garage counts). You might notice that some areas are missing. Then divide your bagua into 9 areas by dividing each side of the square or rectangle into which your home fits into 3 equal parts. Now draw two vertical and two horizontal lines between these points on two side and top and bottom parts of the figure. You should end up with 9 parts - 8 going around and one central. This Feng Shui School teaches that you should always orient your bagua according to the main entrance. On your bagua drawing the entrance will be always in the bottom of the figure and it can be in any of three sections: in the lower left corner - in the Skills and Knowledge area; in the lower middle part of your bagua - Career/Life Journey section or in the right lower corner - Helpful People and Travel area. Areas of your home are as follows, starting from the lower left corner (Skills and Knowledge section) going in the clockwise direction: in the middle of the left side of the bagua is the Family area. The top left corner is related to Wealth and Prosperity, middle of the top area to Fame and Reputation, the top right part correlates with Love and Relationship. Creativity and Children area is in the middle of the right side of bagua, and in the right front corner is the Helpful People and Travel area. Career/Life Journey is related to the middle front (bottom) area and in the center of the bagua is the Health area. Each section is related to a particular so called "element", as well as colour and by enhancing this area by the use of proper elements or other objects and harmonious space design, we can influence this particular area of our life. However it also works another way. By having this area missing from our bagua or if there is too much clutter, an imbalance of elements, or lack of harmony in this area, we can negatively influence this particular area of our life. Don't worry too much if any of the areas are totally missing or are smaller than others. There are various things you can do to enhance them for proper balance using so called "cures". For example if one or more areas of your house bagua fall outside you can extend it by building a porch there, adding some lights etc. Always keep in mind the proper balance of the elements according to the area you are enhancing. I can not go into too many details in this article, since it will be too long and it may confuse you. In Feng Shui teachings, there are 5 basic elements: Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal. In this article, I would like to focus on enhancing the Love Relationship area of your living space, the part of your house which is in the right top corner from your main entrance. It is related to the element of Earth. If you have a happy love live and good relationships with people, you feel a sense of connection to something larger than yourself and are able to follow though with the people or projects you commit to, then maybe you should leave this area as it is. However if you are single and looking for an intimate relationship, and your love life or relationships are not as perfect as they could be, perhaps you might do some work to enhance this area. Go to this area and look around. Is it inviting to you? Is it ready for two people or just one? Is it clean or are there cow webs, dust, clutter or some broken objects? Use all your senses to check it out. Is the paint on the wall fresh or dirty and pealing? Does this area smell nice? What do you hear? What do you see when you look through your window? Do you have an open and nice view and fresh air in this room? Does if feel happy and full of energy or stagnant? Think how you can improve it to make it better. First of all if the walls or floor needs renovating or repainting have it done as soon as possible. Have this area thoroughly cleaned and refreshed. Open windows at least once a day to allow fresh air and energy to circulate. If you can design your living space it would be one of the best areas for your bedroom, as long as this area feels quiet, relaxing, is not too noisy or the entrance is not hidden or seems blocked. It should also not feel stagnant or depressing. If it not possible to have the main bedroom there, the second best area is in the Prosperity/Wealth section of the home. If your bedroom is in fact located in the Love/Relationship area, now is the time to find the best position for your bed. If you would like to have an intimate relationship, choose a bed that can accommodate two people. If you can't do that, make sure that at least you have one spare pillow on the bed. The bed should be positioned in a way, so you can see a door to the bedroom when lying in bed and as much of the room as possible. This is so called "commanding position". While in this position you should feel protected and safe. Also avoid having the bed in a direct line with the door. According to Feng Shui this is very dangerous position and could even create serious health problems for whoever sleeps in this way. Also avoid a position when the bed is very close to the door or one side of the bed is in the direct path from the door. Placing bed under the window should also be avoided. Ideally there should be no objects with sharp corners in the room pointing towards the bed. They create harmful energy patterns, so called "poison arrows" emitting a sharp negative energy towards your body while you sleep or relax. If possible avoid placing the bed under beams or slanting ceiling. If you can't avoid it, placing some soft fabric between you and the beams can help. There are also other so called "cures" that you can use to neutralize influence of various harmful energies in the environment, but I can't go here into too many details since this is not the scope of this article. I am trying to concentrate on enhancing this area and not describing too many so-called "cures". Have
the head of your bed against the wall. A note here - it is not recommended
to get a used bed or even worse a used mattress. Used beds carry the
chi energy of previous owners. Apart from using Feng Shui, to find the best position for your bed, it would be a good idea to consult a professional dowser - a person who can detect harmful underground energies and, which can be coming from the earth itself or from the underground water. The geopathic stress and dowsing could make a topic for another article. In fact dowsing was once part of ancient Feng Shui practice. For now you can check this link to find out more if you are interested. Also avoid sleeping close to man generated electromagnetic fields. Why you should not do that, find out more on the page that I have already mentioned. You can also read about electromagnetic radiation hazards in "Wikipedia Encyclopedia" or here. Some
Feng Shui practitioners even recommend sleeping with your head in the
direction of your so-called "Kua". Kua is related to your
year of birth and it is different for male and female. Kuas are numbers
from 1 to 9 and people are divided into two basic groups - East and
West Group. The auspicious direction of your head while sleeping or
the most beneficial direction you are facing when standing or seating
depends on the group to which you belong and on your Kua number. Please
keep in mind that Chinese solar year begins either on February fourth
or fifth and not on January 1st. Some practitioners even use Lunar years
to determine kuas. To
read more about this and find out what is your Kua number and auspicious
directions to enhance various areas of your life, check out this
link
or read this book Back to your Love/Relationship section of your home, remove the clutter from this area. If you bed is located there, make sure there is no clutter around or under the bed and the energy can move freely. One of the good colours to enhance this area, especially if it is a bedroom is pink. The colour pink is so strongly recommended for a new relationship, that some even advise to wear some. It doesn't even have to be visible. Some experts advice to avoid using colour peach in this area, however I am not sure why, since peach is an earthy tone. It
is important to create nurturing, warm and healthy energy in this area
of your home. Bring fresh flowers into this area, as long as the smell is not too strong and can be annoying or even harmful. Make sure there are not dead animals and plants. Even dry flowers should be avoided. Artificial realistic looking plants and flowers are fine. Bright light in this area during the day is good, as long as it is pleasant and not too harsh or overpowering. In evening you can have softer, more romantic light. Candles would work well to enhance the romantic atmosphere, but remember to never leave them unattended and have the fire extinguished before sleeping or leaving the room. Also avoid placing candles close to objects, which could catch fire, or in windy areas. While you make any improvements to this area of you living space, it is important to visualize this part of your life improving as well, so positive visualization is very important and helpful in making your enhancements more effective. Visualize your relationships or love life improving as you make your "cures". If there is large window in this area of your home, too much chi might be escaping, causing loss of energy in your relationships. To stop it from happening, you can hang a faceted crystal ball in front of the window or a wind chime with a pleasant to you sound, as long as it is not making too much noise to disturb you. Remove all objects around the door that can create an obstacle on the way or while opening the door. This applies to all doors in your house and on your property. Blocked doors mean blocked chi/energy movement to these areas. It doesn't mean that the doors have to be kept open, but they should open easily. Also having doors that clash in your house and particularly in this area can badly reflect on your relationships causing conflicts and arguments. I have already mentioned to you that Feng Shui teaches us about the five basic elements. You can strengthen this element by adding more of it, or by adding more of enhancing it element. The so-called "constructive cycle" is as follows: Water nourishes Wood, Wood feeds Fire, Fire generates ash (Earth), Earth creates ore (Metal). Condensation of Metal produces Water. So for example to enhance the Earth area of you home you can either add more elements related to earth (for example some terra-cotta pots, colour yellow, earthy tones, ceramic sculpture, or add a little fire in the form of yellow or red candles (they don't have to be burning), other red objects like artwork with some red or earthy tones, as long as it is not depicting above mentioned undesirable in this areas subjects. Water features in this section of the bagua like fountains, aquariums, or pools are not recommended in this area, as well as artworks depicting water. If this corner is missing and it is your garden, then you can create there a beautiful rock garden. Please also keep in mind the so called "destructive cycle": Too much of one element could be bad. Fire melts metal, Earth muddies water, Metal chops wood, water extinguishes fire, and wood breaks Earth. Don't think about these destructive elements as always bad since they can actually help us to balance the elements we have too much off. So if you think you have not enough of one element you can add it or use the element that "feeds" it. If you have too much of it, you can use destructive element to balance it. Balancing all elements is not always that easy and you might need professional advice to get it all right. Still don't be too worried about it either, since one of the most important things is your visualization and that you imagine that by making these changes you are improving your life. Beside the things I have already mentioned to enhance your Love Relationship area you can add colour red (fire) since fire creates Earth, undergarments (if appropriate), sensual sounds, symbols that mean love and happy relationship to you. Things to avoid, beside what I have already mentioned, are "unfriendly or frigid stuff, images of single people or other single objects. TVs and computers are not appropriate in this area, particularly if it is your bedroom. In case you are looking for an intimate relationship, it might be also a good idea to seat down and think how you would like your ideal partner to be. Write it down and place it in the private box in this area. Review it from time to time and make changes if necessary. The Love and Relationship area is also in close correlation with the Skills and Relationship section that is apposite to it across bagua. If you have made many improvements to your Relationship area and you still don't see many positive changes, maybe it is time to take care of your Skills and Knowledge area of your home, as well as to think about somehow enhancing your skills and knowledge. Maybe you can sign up for a couple of courses or go back to school, or read more books. It could be actually a very good opportunity to meet new people and to start new relationships, maybe even to find one you are dreaming about. I
hope you have enjoyed reading this article and now you feel ready to
make many positive changes in your life. I invite you to view our galleries
and store where you might
find some artworks to enhance the Love and Relationship area of your
home. If you feel like you need to do some more reading about Feng Shui,
I have prepared for you a recommended reading list with links to books
on www.amazon.com If you would like to buy any of this books, please
buy them through our links so we will receive a small percentage from
sales at no extra charge to you. Thank you and once more good luck.
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Contact us at: renatara@ica.net Copyright © Renata
Ratajczyk 2007. All rights reserved. |
"
wrote: "Applying Feng Shui principles to your home
can open you to new experiences, enhance relaxation, rejuvenation, stabilize
your moods, encourage creativity, confidence, help to focus on detailed
tasks, increase intimacy in your relationship, strengthen immune system
and energy levels, help you to let go of unwanted clutter and to bring
balance and harmony into your life." It is sounds interesting to
you, please read on.