In this tough economic climate, it is a good opportunity to step back and re-evaluate our living situation and our lives in general.  To help guide us, it makes good sense to start with the feng shui principles.  But where do we start? Trying to implement the information taught by Master Hsu is not as easy as imagined.  In a sense it’s like reading a self-help book.  You read it and think you comprehend it, but changing your habits is never simple.

However, there are simple things we can start with in feng shui.  I am working on my front yard.  Is the path to my entrance clear without obstruction?  Are we protected from the energy of the road?  Does it look presentable?  Do I need to prune a few trees, pull some weeds or trim the hedge?  Stepping back and taking a fresh look at something you observe everyday may spark some new vision.  Spring is here.  Planting some cheerful flowers to greet everyone in the neighborhood is only a small step, but one that will bring a smile everyday.  This should bring everyone some positive chi!

Jenny Hones Feng Shui

In one of the earlier blogs published on April 4th, Master Hsu discusses the natural change of seasons.  He mentions why we find new found energy in the spring and how this connection can be observed through nature.   This point rang so true when I was a chaperone for my son’s school trip, on a study of vocations with animals, to the Seattle Aquarium.

The middle and high school students were asked to gather water samples from the Puget Sound just outside the Aquarium.  These samples were then brought up to one of their rooms where they had microscopes set up for them to observe the plankton they captured.
So what is plankton?  According to Wikipedia, it is divided into three groups.
1.    Phytoplankton
2.    Zooplankton
3.    Bacterioplankton

What caught my attention was when the biologist/teacher mentioned that the “plant” plankton, phytoplankton, which is the green stuff you see floating on the surface of the ocean, sea, lake or other body of water, is responsible for 50% of the earth’s oxygen!  And when does it start to grow?  Yes, in the spring, when there is more sunlight, so we get photosynthesis. With the increase in oxygen within the earth’s atmosphere, it is no wonder we have more energy to get up and go in the spring!  This is the natural law Master Hsu was talking about.

Jenny Hones Feng Shui

All phenomena in nature and the universe is nothing but the process of manifesting and striving for yin-yang balance.  What we can also say is, if anything goes wrong, it is due to yin-yang imbalance.  Designing a menu is the same way.

Good menu design should:
o    be balanced according to seasons
o    consider who will consume the food
o    be a balance and combination of different dishes at the same meal
o    have balance within each dish.

I grew up in a family of ten; parents plus five boys and three girls.  I was the youngest boy.  During dinner, all ten of us would sit around a circular table. My mother prepared all the dishes. From time to time, my father would make a comment on the meal if the dishes tended to be too many cold dishes or too many hot dishes. By hot and cold, what we mean is not in terms of temperature but in terms of the food’s medicinal properties.   Then my mother would make the adjustments accordingly.  The suggestions made by my father also reflected the season and our physical condition.

Food is the first medicine for human beings. During summer you need more cold foods to dissipate the heat. Winter time you need more warm foods to store energy. And on the same table, there should be a balance of cold and hot dishes.  In particular dishes, the ingredients should also strive for yin-yang balance. My father always stressed having food that was in season and he did not care for the exotic food that came from distances away.  All the kids in our family grew very healthy.

There is much information available on the internet regarding the medicinal properties and energy of food.  Blue Mountain Feng Shui Institute also offers a course, The Yin and Yang of Food and Cooking, for those interested in this subject.

Shan-tung Hsu Feng Shui

Work hard and work smart.

From a feng shui point of view, money flow is the same as energy flow.  The main entrance is the gateway for energy flow from outside to inside. The space in front of a door is crucial. If it is open, spacious, and well defined, the qi will corrugate and also provide abundant good flow into the house.  Therefore make sure your front yard is clean open and tidy.  Upon the entrance, the space should be open and inviting. It will be good to have some house plant to provide a good energy connection from outside to inside.

However, there are plenty of suggestions in other feng shui circles that you may find somewhat intriguing:

1.  Get a three-leg toad; it will help to bring money into the house.  (Wouldn’t a four-leg frog do a better job than three-leg toad?)
2.  Place a fountain in the house as water is money; water flow brings money flow.  (So, since water is money; it might be good to have a leaking roof in the house, allowing money to come to the    house!)
3.  Put a vase in the fortune corner of the room and also enhance it by a special vase spray.  (Whoever came up with this idea and also sells the vase and spray would surely  have a lot of money flow into their house, but not into yours.)
4.  Put a mirror over the stove, as it reflects more burners which will help you get rich.  (What an idea! Let’s suggest to President Obama to insert this idea in his economic stimulus package.  He could allow the government to buy every family a mirror to install behind their stove and our financial problem will be easily resolved.)

Shan-tung Hsu Feng Shui

The core of feng shui teaching is about designing our ideal living environment. The guiding principle behind this is the natural principle. The fundamentals of the natural principle stems from the Yin-Yang theory.

What we should try to fine tune in our lives, is the striving for the balance of yin and yang, the two polar aspects of every existence and transformation.  This same principle should also guide our activities in response to the natural seasons.  Seasons has its Yin-Yang cycle.  In spring, yang arises and by summer, yang reaches to the maximum.  Come fall, yin appears and during winter, yin reaches the maximum.  Yang is dynamic and active while yin is the opposite. If we are to live in synchronization with the seasons, we should be active in spring and summer then slow down in fall and rest in winter.  In the natural world both plants and animals exhibit this pattern.  In old times, farmers also followed this pattern; after fall harvesting, the farmer takes a good rest until the spring sowing time.  However, after the industrial revolution, and in this modern society, we have no longer followed the natural way. The human has become a machine. The mechanical 9-5 daily working hour and 5 days a week working schedule throughout the year, in the name of proficiency or whatever reasons, prevent us to resonate with the natural rhythm. It is not ideal for health, emotion, and spiritual growth. It is a stupid human invention. We have lost sight of the big picture- a picture of wholesome living.

Shan-tung Hsu Feng Shui, Yin-yang

If you live within one mile of the tower, the impact of the electronic magnetic field could be significant. However, it tapers off drastically from there.  If you place a layer of copper or aluminum screen under the roof and the walls facing the tower, this will help minimize the impact.

Shan-tung Hsu Feng Shui