Feng Shui & Style Are you a Pack Rat drowning in clutter, a Free Spirit who hates to clean up, or a Whirlwind in need of priorities or focus? Learn how to create a feng shui strategy that meets your unique needs, based on five basic feng shui styles. When you begin to study feng shui, you quickly realize the importance of the qualities and characteristics of the five feng shui elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. This knowledge is essential to selecting appropriate colors, furnishings, and accessories for your home. You can also use your understanding of the five elements to develop a personalized feng shui strategy, based on the element that is reflected most strongly in your own style of living. Metal energy is clean, simple, and detail-oriented. Earth is lush, nurturing and comfortable. Water is free-flowing, expressive, and intuitive. Wood is ambitious, forward-thinking, and practical. Fire is passionate, excitable, and changeable. Each of us has a unique combination of these five energies in our own personality, usually with one element dominating. This is reflected in how we decorate and use our homes. Some of us developed a strong style preference at a very early age, which continues to serve and suit us well. Others go through different phases as they progress through life. You may once have covered anything that didn't move in chintz and ruffles, but now find yourself appreciating the clarity of a more sparsely decorated space - or vice versa. During an earlier phase you may have been happy with few possessions and a minimalist lifestyle, only to find greater comfort now in the abundant colors and textures of a more lavishly decorated home. The element that is strongest in your personality right now will influence your current decorating style, housekeeping habits, and your approach to feng shui. Your experience will be more fun and more comfortable when you tailor your feng shui strategies to your element style. Let's begin by seeing which of the five descriptions below most closely describes you: Neat Freak (METAL): I hate clutter! My home is always immaculate, with everything tidy and well-maintained, and I am very thoughtful about what I bring into my space. Pack Rat (EARTH): I love my stuff, and can't get rid of anything. My house is so full of clutter that when something is broken I can't even get to it to fix it. Free Spirit (WATER): I'm too busy being me to clean up! If something's a mess, I just toss a shawl over it. People say my home has lots of personality, and I am constantly redecorating and moving things around. Go-Getter (WOOD): Housekeeping? Don't ask me; that's what the maid and decorator are for. I just want things functional and practical, and I need a quiet place to come home to at the end of a busy day. Whirlwind (FIRE): Enough of the quiz already! I have a million things to do and a short attention span-just tell me how to feng shui my house! Many people are a combination of styles, so it may be hard to choose just one answer. If you're not sure, ask a few relatives or close friends for feedback; if you're a true Neat Freak, you may think your house is a mess even when it's immaculate by other people's standards! You may also find that you live one style, but secretly crave another. As a dyed-in-the-wool Free Spirit, for example, I regularly break the feng shui rules of good housekeeping because I'm just too busy creating, writing, and living to keep things as clean and organized as I would like them to be. But whenever I visit a Neat Freak's home, my soul goes "ahhhhhh." The trick is to be aware of what type of space you are really, truly most comfortable in. As much as I like visiting pristine, zen-like spaces, I know that I don't really want to live in one -- that if I did it would soon look just as lived-in as my current home. Here are some guidelines, based on the element-affinities described above, to help you develop a personalized feng shui strategy: Neat freak Your home is so neat and tidy that it may be a little rigid, sterile, or monochromatic. You tend to like the minimalist look, and are the most likely type to have all-white decor. If your furniture has been in the same position for years, look for ways to get chi moving without making more change than you'll feel comfortable with. Live plants and flowers will bring natural energy and color to your space. You may also need to add more personal touches here and there. Find a place to display a few favorite photographs of friends and family members, so there are some human images around you. Your love for clean, simple spaces and attention to detail mean you are probably on top of any maintenance or clutter issues, so focus on creating a good flow of chi through your home, counteracting any negative influences, and activating your power spots. Your clean and tranquil home is a wonderful environment for self-nurturing methods such as meditation and qigong. Packrat Your biggest problem is clutter! Closets are overflowing, you have three sets of everything, books are stacked two deep on every shelf, you've saved every greeting card you ever got, and all the flat surfaces in your home are piled with stuff. You might still be able to breathe, but your space isn't getting any chi at all! Create some breathing room in your home before you do anything else, or you'll just activate all your clutter into even greater chaos. Chances are you've been feeling a little stuck lately, so focus on getting rid of the old to make room for the new before you do anything else. Once you've cleared out enough stuff to get a good look at your house, make sure you've got a good flow of chi through the space and address any maintenance issues before making other feng shui changes. Your own chi will shift a lot as you clean out your home, so be sure to practice some grounding and balancing techniques as you go along. Free spirit You've been feng shui-ing your space since the day you first got your own bedroom, even if you didn't know to call it that. You are the type most likely to want to work on everything at once, so be sure to define some priorities before jumping into making changes. Your enthusiasm for creative meal may lead you to overlook basic maintenance issues and allow clutter to pile up. Take care of those first, then make sure that you are applying your individuality to your power spots rather than scattering it randomly about the place. of all the types, you are boldest in your use of color, so get out the brush and roller and have some fun with feng shui color-theory. Make sure that you haven't overlooked any negative influences that should be corrected, and use your creativity to develop your own unique feng shui enhancements. You've probably tried a lot of different personal renewal methods over the years, but may not have kept up a consistent practice. Make a commitment to pay as much attention to the inner you as you do to your surroundings. Go-getter Your house is probably beautifully furnished and well maintained, but you may have delegated so many of your home-maintenance chores that you no longer have a strong energetic attachment to your space. Make sure you don't delegate all your feng shui tasks, too, or they won't have much power behind them. Find small, simple things you can do yourself and be sure to put some of your own energy into enhancing your key power spots. If you arrange for someone else to take care of other feng shui chores, it will be especially important to perform the body-speech-mind empowerments on each one when the work is done. Throw practicality out the window for a moment and choose one unique and unexpected item for your home that expresses the inner you others so rarely see. Chances are good you've been pushing yourself pretty hard for a long time, so be sure to make time for balance and renewal. A candle-lit aromatherapy bath will help you relax so you can enjoy your beautiful home. Whirlwind You're usually moving too fast to pay much attention to your house, but once you get into feng shui you'll want to get it all done in one afternoon. Do some planning before you begin, or you'll jump from one unnecessary embellishment to another without getting to the important stuff before you're distracted by the next exciting idea. You want to start with the wind chimes and water fountains because they look like the most fun, but if you skip over locating your personal power spots you won't know where to place them. And leaving the household maintenance tasks for later could sabotage your other efforts. You'll benefit from the discipline of empowering your changes with a daily ritual-it's an essential part of the process, and the thing you're most likely to skip! Promise yourself a massage when you're done, and splurge on a big bouquet of flowers as a centerpiece for your home, so you remember to stop and smell the roses from time to time. For details on applying these guidelines to your home, order your copy of Fast Feng Shui: 9 Simple Principles for Transforming Your Life by Energizing Your Home today! = Indoor Water Features Water is used to activate or slow down Ch?i in a room, being highly beneficial for health, wealth and relationships. Indoor fountains copy the natural flow of water in a harmonious way creating the energy of Ch?i. Placing a tabletop fountain in your home or office is the easiest way to add Ch?i into you life and will significantly enhance the desires you are working for. They can have an amazing effect on your wealth, romance and general well-being. To enhance your wealth and prosperity, position your indoor water feature in the southeast element of your home or office. For career luck, place in the north. Fountains also add the relaxing sound of a babbling brook to your environment and are recommended for homes that have central heating, as they increase the humidity level which in turn decreases dust, pollutants and static electricity. Flowing or moving water also increases negative ions in the air. Excessive amounts of positive ions (which are created by pollution and other factors) can result in sickness and depression. Water Fountains can help by balancing the negative and positive ions in the air. Wealth & luck = south-east. Good marriage = south-west. Career = north. Helpful friends = west. Good health and family relationship = east. Study & education = north-east = Property Face Way Along with an accurate compass direction, determining your sitting and facing direction is critical to performing a precise Feng Shui consultation. We would estimate that 70% of people get this wrong. This area causes so much confusion, we have been to so many consultations and told beforehand that a property faces a certain direction and when we get there the direction of the front door is totally different to the facing direction. Forget your front door direction Most people assume the front is the direction your front door faces, try and imagine you are in my home as you stand in the centre of my home you will be in my dining room with the living room and hallway and kitchen either side, I have five large windows and one small facing north, there is a road outside and a public footpath also my front garden, but I do not have a front door there. On the east wall I have a main door with porch and one window, which looks onto the next-door neighbours house. Hopefully you will get the idea by now, because my front door faces east it does not mean this is the front of my home, my facing direction is north, this is where the most ?Yang? (activity) energy is, the road, footpath, people and cars going by, the widest part of the building, if you were the architect designing my home from scratch you would definitely put my front door there. This part is very very important, as when you calculate any school of Feng Shui you need to know which way your property faces. If you take my house again (make sure you lift the ornaments and dust underneath) although I may have a driveway leading to the garage and front main door, for example assume at the back I now have a main road, pedestrian footpath, lots of people and activity and even a lovely stream, you guessed it, this would now be my front direction as this is where all my Yang energy is, this is not uncommon when you think about it, drive down any main road you will see many homes with back gardens facing the road and yet they will always think this is the rear in Feng Shui terms. This can be hard to judge even for the most seasoned Master especially if you are on the top floor of a block of flats or a large office building. Facing and Sitting Directions The facing direction is the front that faces the ?yang? (active) energy, the sitting direction is actually more important this is the area that has the most ?yin? (quiet) energy. The sitting direction determines your properties Trigram. So if your property faces 350 degrees north, the sitting direction is 170 degrees south, so the Trigram for this property is ?Li?. Now we know that this is a ?Li? property we would know that the best colour to paint this property on the outside would be fire colours, red, orange, purple etc. How do I know which is Yin (sitting) and which is Yang (facing)? Yang (facing): This is the most active energy, energy that is lively: A busy road. A public footpath. A flowing river. The side of a property that has the most windows. Your street sign. The south (bright) is Yang and the north (dark) is Yin. A childrens? playground or primary school. The main entrance is usually (not always) the facing direction. A nice view. The architects intention, try and guess how he felt the sitting direction would be. A living or family room is normally on the facing side. Just because your home may face a children?s playground this does not automatically mean this is your facing direction, you need to consider all the factors given on this page. Yin (sitting direction): This is where the least energy resides: A back yard usually is your sitting direction or an alleyway. Tall dark trees at the back of your grounds. Smaller darker rooms. The north (dark) is Yin energy. The quiet side of the property. The kitchen and bathroom (not always) is normally at the back. Bedrooms are normally on the sitting side. Utility or washrooms are normally in the sitting direction. The sitting direction could look onto a large building or a row of houses. The side of the property that is not that attractive to the eye, i.e. down-pipes from the bathroom, gutter pipes placed sideways across the main-wall. You will need to take a view on all of the above; a good test to find your facing direction is, if you had to take a photo of your home or office which angle would you take it from? Would you take the picture of the front door that has nothing on that wall except the main entrance or would you take the picture of the side that has the most windows and is more pleasing to the eye. = Feng Shui & Mirrors For some "Mirrors are known to be the aspirin of Feng Shui" , so what do these mirrors do and how do they affect the Feng Shui in a house or business? Mirrors have a useful nature. They can be used to hide pillars, to expand the appearance of a room, and to be used in a piece of art. Without the mirrors, the pillars would divide the room and make the restaurant appear smaller. While this is an architectural remedy, but has nothing to do with the chi of the building. It can be said that from a Feng Shui perspective, it does create a better environment. After all, Feng Shui is about creating a more comfortable and supportive environment. Let me clarify, while mirrors might be recommended as a visual change, they are not a remedy against bad chi. Traditional Feng Shui utilizes only the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water as remedies to energetic issues in a house or building. Mirrors do not play any part as a remedy. often you will see mirrored baguas opposing each other on two houses that face each other. Sometimes there will be a bagua feud - the bigger bagua wins. This is not Feng Shui, but rather superstition mixed with egotism. Traditional Feng Shui does not subscribe to mysticism, superstition, or religion. So how did mirrors get mixed into Feng Shui concepts? It is very likely that one of two things (or perhaps both) created this belief in mirrors. First, in the Middle Ages, mirrors were made of polished brass. A master would suggest that you need a mirror in a certain area. It was not the mirror, but rather the brass (metal element) that would create the remedy. Another very likely misunderstanding is a very well known Feng Shui book title: "Eight House Mirror Theory." This book says nothing about mirrors as a remedy, but rather, it infers that after performing calculations based on the eight directions, you will have the answer before you as clear as a mirror. Again, people who knew about this book, but did not know or understand its contents probably took the title as a literal recommendation. Mirrors as stated above, can create an architectural or artistic effect, but are not to be mixed with Feng Shui remedies. If you are looking for a Feng Shui practitioner, be wary of those who prescribe mirrors as a solution to your Feng Shui woes. = Buildings & Environment The Feng Shui of all buildings, no matter what they are used for, is very much the same--as is the Feng Shui of gardens, parks, and seating areas outside offices. So, overall and looked at in very simple terms, there are two basic types of Feng Shui, indoor and outdoor. Workplaces tend to be rather more difficult than homes because of the mixture of people who work there and because of the eclectic blend of their styles and personalities with the building. The building then, should try to be within the supporting arms of the Dragon and the Tiger, whilst protected by the Tortoise at the rear, and in front of the building, the 'footstool' of the Phoenix. As I always say at this point, this is the perfect positioning which a Feng Shui consultant would recommend for the building of commercial premises in somewhere like Hong Kong or Taiwan. We, in the West, often have to 'put up with what we are given' and this is where Compass School Feng Shui can be useful in helping overcome any difficulties and 'poison arrows'----sha chi. Flow of Chi The flow of the chi around and into the building is vitally important. It should be a steady, constant, meandering flow, neither rushing through as in 'gorge and rapids,' nor stagnating in dark pools. The history of the building should be checked, as you can do with a house. Were the previous occupants happy, successful and healthy--or were there problems, bankruptcy and illness? Knowledge is power, and these problems can be overcome, either by using the Eight Remedies, or even through Space Clearing and Cleansing, a ritual to 'frighten away' any really bad luck which remains. Pa Kua Planning Once the Pa Kua sectors have been realised, you can then begin to work out the best possible positions for types of staff, i.e., marketing, sales, accounts etc. But, when you know their personal Pa Kua numbers as well, this can be done with pinpoint accuracy, taking into account their inate personalities. As a general rule, 'bosses' and managers are well located in the North Western sector, which symbolises the 'Authority Figure' as well as mentors, networking, important meetings and helpful people. The South East, the wealth corner, would be best for finance, accounts and cash register operatives in shops, whilst those workers specifically dealing with personnel functions would be best located in the South West. Each time, colours, elements and ornaments would all be taken into consideration, plus the placement of desks, furniture, pictures, electrical equipment, lights, spotlamps and shelving. Active Energy Business premises are active, busy sites and the energies to be encouraged are very yang. Any empty spaces within the building or immediately around it, like empty offices, warehouses and derelict ruins would have to be considered as 'pools of decay' and protected against. Inside the building, there is going to be lots of necessary movement and activity as well as loads of angular office furniture, mainly metal plus all of the electrical equipment and so, without much help, the site will already be very yang. It is important that with the decor and the remedies, that this highly powerful yang type energy does not go 'over the top' and become too oppressively yang and so disrupt the workplace and, more importantly, the staff who are working there. If the public are often there as customers, it is very important that the atmosphere comes across as 'friendly and helpful.' Main colours can be neutral, even bordering on pastel, with bright touches and splashes being brought in where they are appropriate. Metal is supported by brown, orange, terra cotta, yellow and strengthened by white, cream, gold, bronze or grey. Water is supported by blue/green and strengthened by black. Desks Desks are best made of wood whenever possible. There are precise measurements for desks which will bring strength, support and authority. A good sized, very large desk, recommended by Feng Shui experts [see books by Lillian Too], for a 'top boss' would be 33 inches high [3 is a strongly yang number, symbolising the East, growth and ambition], 60inches long [6 is wealth, power and authority, symbolising the North West] and 34 inches wide [3, already mentioned, 4, number of the South East--wealth and riches, together making 7, a very magical number, linked to the stars and constellations]. A smaller desk could be 33 inches high by 48 inches long and 32 inches wide. L shaped desks, so very popular these days, are not very auspicious, rectangular shapes are far, far better. Computers on desks will give out a great deal of yang energy in the form of electro magnetic fields. This is good in the office environment as long as it does not become overpowering because of all the other yang energies already there. Yang energies, and remember in Feng Shui, we are constantly striving for harmony and balance, can be harmonised with the introduction--as mentioned earlier--of yin [near pastel] shades in the decor. Whilst at desks or computer work stations, office workers should never, ever sit with their backs to the door. The desk should be placed diagonally opposite the door with a clear view of anyone who enters. The back wall behind the desk should be solid with no windows; on this wall, place a picture of a mountain, symbolising support and strength. If a window does back a desk, then it should be protected--vertical blinds will do the job very well indeed. A manager's office and anyone in rank above manager, should ideally have their office(s) well into the 'heart' of the building, but never at the end of a long corridor, especially if the corridor has three or more doors in it. All offices, as with all rooms in a house, are best if they are regular with few corners and no alcoves. offices near toilets, especially right opposite toilets are not good Feng Shui. Open angular shelving should not threaten desks. Glass fronted shelves are best, or protect them with trailing plants or with books, or files brought right forward to the edge of the shelves. office Organisation Front doors and entrance/reception areas need protection from any external 'poison arrows', such as T-junctions. Front doors and entrance areas for one person business or small businesses are often, if possible, best aligned with the Pa Kua number of the boss. General good directions for office main entrances to face are South, which would fit into the Form School ideal site location of the 'Phoenix footstool', backed by the protective armchair. Also remember that South symbolises Fame, Public Recognition and Reputation. The Southern entrance is excellent for shops or any premises dealing directly with the general public. Another good location for the main entrance is South East, representing Wealth and Richness of Life. Reception areas or offices near the main entrance need to be as spacious as possible with excellent lighting. Do not let mirrors face the main entrance, so that chi would be reflected straight back out again. Broad leafed plants and attractive colours in this area would be excellent. Tie them in with the elements and colours for the Pa Kua locations. Reception and initial 'Hello and How are you?' meeting rooms, for visitors to the company are excellent in the South, or in the North West, the sector of mentors and influential, helpful people. Desks in reception areas, or indeed in any offices in the building which are too near doors may need windchimes to moderate the flow of chi. If, however, windchimes are considered 'too weird' for the business environment, then broad leafed plants can do the same job. If desks are near to pools of stagnant chi, hidden away in corners, near to alcoves or actually in alcoves,remedies need to be applied-such as uplighters/spotlights. But, lights right above people?s heads are not conducive to good chi. Shelves and mirrors too near a desk would also not be good for the person trying to work at the desk. Clutter and untidiness, of course, also need to be avoided, especially on desks, but around them as well. Go back to thinking about the Pa Kua sectors, and remember what the South East represents-----------, so, clutter in that Wealth corner, or even worse, rubbish bins, waste paper baskets or paper shredders there would not be good Feng Shui! Using Remedies and Protectors Colours, elements, directions and locations should all be considered, especially remedies such as, electrical equipment, clocks, mirrors, lights, windchimes and crystals. South East = Wealth All businesses are concerned with wealth in one way or another, so the South Eastern sector of the Pa Kua applied to a business premises is usually the most important. If this sector is stunted or missing, or if this is where all the staff toilets and rubbish bins are located, obviously there will be problems that need sorting out using the Eight Remedies. I recommend the use of Chinese coins, tied together with red ribbon. Use three of them,and they must be Yang side facing upwards. This is the side of the coin with 4 pieces of writing on it. You can also use pound coins [Heads=yang,Tails=yin]. Put them in or near cash registers in shops, in invoice books, near sales figures, in the accounts department in offices. Cash registers in shops, or any offices or areas connected in any way with finance and accounts should never be close to, or even worse, facing a toilet or kitchen. Mirrors reflecting the cash register or the account books are excellent Feng Shui, as are good luck coin balls tied with red thread hanging in the 'financial areas', or frog and/or fish ornaments. Also remember that especially in the South East, water signifies wealth so a small water feature or aquarium with moving water would help, ensure that any water flow is pointing into the office and not, as with small waterfalls, facing the main door. The Eight Locations - Business Implications The eight locations can also be seen to have special implications to do with business life. The Centre, as you know, is an extremely precious and powerful area, symbolising earth and the number 5, where the chi swirls and can produce extreme change. It should be left as clear and as empty as possible. This is very important in shops, to allow the customer freedom to browse. I once provided a consultation for an office where the rest area for the staff was in the tai chi. Needless to say there were many staff problems, arguments and no team building! The North West, metal, number 6, is usally a good location for 'bosses' of any description including managers. The chi here is strong, powerful and supportive, helping with organisation, authority and leadership qualities. The boardroom or any important management rooms should be in the North West whenever possible. The West, metal, number 7, is good for creative work and new projects or developments inside the company. It can be used very well for sales or credit chasing, finance, account records. The South West, earth, number 2, symbolising relationships has a slow and staid chi energy but can be good for personnel work, good customer liaison and interviewing new staff, representing as it does, careful solid progress and strong physical relationships. The South, fire, number 9, is Fame, Public Recognition and Reputation and therefore links in with improved sales and advertising/marketing, PR., and design departments. This is an excellent location for shops. The South East, number 4 and wood element, has already been discussed at length being the Wealth corner. The East is also wood, number 3 and is an excellent location for computers, technical design and where necessary-kitchens, toilets, rest rooms and training. It has a very active chi energy, where ambitions can be realised; any hi-tech equipment is well placed in this location. The North East, earth, number 8, has a strong, sharp energy, symbolising learning, knowledge and inner self-growth. It usually is associated with hard competitive skills, motivation and getting difficult work and projects carried through to completion. But always remember the chi here is unstable and can quickly change. Speculation, such as stock exchange trading, investments, are very often found in this location! Finally, the Northern sector, number 1, element water, is strongly associated with career matters. There is great power and strength here, protection and support. Siting of Departments in Small Businesses The information given above could be applied to a small business, restaurant or shop occupying just one room, by placing the Pa Kua over that individual room. The power and strength of the application would never be as strong as that used for the whole building. The office environment of a small business is crucially important, since all the functions of the business may be crowded together. Feng Shui can be very helpful in bringing efficiency and progress into a business like this, and also helping with good working relationships between staff and the satisfaction they get from their jobs. It will also help to provide surroundings free from negative stress while enhancing the 'feel good' factor which is needed to help keep the company growing and therefore also ensure individual growth of wealth! Energy Levels The chi energies have to flow freely but not too quickly around the business premises. It should not be allowed to rush or to be blocked or become stagnant. The energies of the staff and how this impinges on and exchanges with the environmental chi is very important as well. often in modern office layout, there will be use of communal desks and the associated equipment with very little room given for personal space. With loads of yang energy zinging about, more rounded features, water influences, plants and softer colours are often needed to stop the overwhelming effect of 'being on top of each other'. Personal, individual offices or work stations can have the opposite effect and so more angular, more yang colours and ornaments need to be introduced. Sometimes these very personalised offices can become too strongly identified with home with cuddly toys and photos brought in. This can often have an inauspicious effect, when 'home' is located in a workplace, making life a bit 'too comfortable' and alterations in enhancements would probably have to be made to counteract these energies. Article written by Paul Darby. Paul Darby is a feng shui expert, a registered consultant with the Feng Shui Society(UK), who travels all over advising individuals and companies on homes, gardens and offices. = Office Environmen The Feng Shui of your workplace is important as it's a place where you'll spend a lot of your working life. If you own your own business then it's important you get the Feng Shui right in order for the business to be successful. If the Feng Shui is of the overall office is good, then the Feng Shui of the individual works will be enhanced. Depending on what area your business is specialising in, you may first consider the position of your office plan and using Pa Kua. For example you may consider positioning the office in the North East (Knowledge) Sector if it's a knowledge-based business, or in the North West (Mentor/Networking) Sector if the business relies mostly on contacts outside the office. Entrance - Make sure the entrance is wide and well lit with a "bright hall" for ch'i collection in front of the main doors. - Check that rubbish does not accumulate outside your entrance door. - Light the entrance well, for example with uplights. - If you are able, protect the entrance of your office building with two lions (sometimes referred to as Fu Dogs) as they help to reduce the entry into the building of bad (sha) ch'i. - Place a water feature or fountain near the front doorway, this will welcome good ch'i. office Layout - Avoid long, straight corridor or furniture alignments. - Get rid of as many sharp corners as you can and make sure people can move freely. - Square pillars should be softened, perhaps with a climbing plant. - Make sure you can clearly see the doorway of your own office. Clutter - Treat all your personal or financial files with respect, especially files that contain potential and ongoing projects. Do not leave them on the floor. You do not want your business trodden on. Give your company name or logo the same respect. Never place your company name or logo on the floor as this symbolises thousands of people's feet stamping all over your business. - Make use of filing systems and trays. Activating Sectors - Activate the prosperity sector in the South East by using water features such as fountains or fish tanks with eight colourful fish inside (plus one dark one to represent the balancing Yin). - Activate the fame sector in the South especially if your business depends on public recognition, by installing red furnishings or other representations of "fire". - Activate the networking sector in the North West of your business with Metal - filing cabinets and perhaps electronic equipment. You could also use large crystals. - You could also activate the career sector in the North area of an office. However, this would activate and promote the careers of all members of staff in the office. If you want to activate this feature, place a water feature in this sector. Secret Arrows - Make sure your desk is not hit by "secret arrows". Avoid locating it at the end of a long corridor or pointing at by corners of the walls, pillars or other desks. If you cannot move your desk, try and soften the corners with plants or screens. - Position your back against a wall for "support", avoid showing your back to an open space, window, door or corridor. = Stress in Office As a leading feng shui practitioner and meditation teacher, privately, for celebrities, on TV and in magazines, the subject of stress in the workplace is one that I come across on almost a daily basis. Stress in the office can be caused by a seemingly endless cocktail of problems, which build up the 'pressure', and allow no release! A bullying boss, unreasonable manager, sales targets, threatened redundancy, computer breakdowns, lack of information can all lead to stress. Add to this SBS-'Sick Building Syndrome'--a working environment which is unfriendly because of unfriendly harsh lighting, lots of corners and sharp angles pointing towards you--called by the Chinese ?poison arrows?, too many large windows, badly designed air-conditioning, plus constant noise, and you can quickly see that stress at work, and the absences caused by it are very, very common. Whatever the problems caused by stress, the answer I have found to be useful is a combination of two vital 'medicines'. Ancient Eastern Philosophy calls them, 'internal and external landscape', and it describes how to achieve the perfect flow of natural ?chi? energies--preventing, reducing and taking away the stress--permanently. The 'external landscape' is your surroundings. Feng Shui uses the chi energy of the office environment, making it friendly instead of antagonistic. Colours, interior design, mirrors, plants, lights, seating, desk positions plus careful use of ornaments, pictures and soft furnishings can all help to radically improve the surroundings of our workplace. A carefully balanced chi energy, like a good balanced diet, will help to reduce stress significantly- and, in my work, internationally, over the last thirteen years, I have found feng shui to be very useful in all sorts of working environments--hospitals, schools, hospices, care homes, dentists, doctors, sales offices, finance houses, retail premises, hotels, cafes, restaurants, undertakers, chapels of rest! You are however restricted to the basic shape and layout of the building, the 'work environment', where you can exert little control, unless you are involved in the original plans [something, incidentally which I am doing more and more of]. So, sometimes, an 85%, 95% 'de-stressing' is the best that you can achieve. This is why, when I can, I suggest that the staff become involved with the destressing of their 'internal landscape'. The destressing of personnel is much easier to achieve, quicker, more practical and often 100% is very possible and permanent! Destressing the person means that the person remains destressed, no matter how the environment around them alters, or how bad the day gets. This is because the change comes from within-- the 'internal landscape'. Over many, many years, I have used meditation, chi-kung and tai-chi to destress private, corporate, business and celebrity clients--changing the flow of natural energy, the chi around the body, in the same way that yoga, acupuncture and the martial arts do. The external chi energy of the environment-feng shui, is exactly the same as the internal chi energy--indeed the two are constantly in a flow of exchange, a bit like photosynthesis in plants. Chi-kung, standing, slow moving exercises- called 'The Eight Pieces of Treasure', used by the Shaolin Chinese warrior priests as a warm up focus, a strengthening and calming exercise and meditation before they practise kung fu, if often the simplest and most ?life-changing? way in! I teach my students how to breathe in a different way, in an aware way, so that each breath and each move within chi-kung becomes a powerful destressing tool for the whole mind and body. of course, the beauty of using the breath is that you carry it with you everywhere you go--always and everywhere, so you can perform your breathing, meditation exercises anywhere--not just in a special meditation place, although that does help as well, especially in the early 'learning' days! From these simple exercises, breathing awareness--a student can be taken deeper and deeper into 'sitting' meditation, where the breathing can be slowed even further and visualisations, affirmations and mantra can be added to make the experience more and more powerful, more and more 'destressing'! The student thus learns to control breath, mind and the body--brain, heart, pulse are all affected. Life remains the same, full of problems, as life always will be, but the student?s approach to life is no longer stressed and panic ridden-it is now strengthened, calmer and more assertive! Fifteen minutes chi-kung and the slow moving tai-chi, through to twenty minutes sitting in meditation, the student can take the effects way into 'real life' and become totally destressed. I have recently finished filming a programme for BBC 2 TV, 'Everyman', where the exact process I have been describing has been recorded and examined. The results, everyone agreed, were spectacular. I was teaching nine factory workers from Wigan, Lancashire how to ?destress? themselves. For four weeks, first of all in a very noisy factory, and then finally for two days at a 'retreat', I taught them to use the tool of meditation. Many of them were sceptics. Many of them had problems with sleeping, anger, stress, panic attacks, heart palpitations, blood pressure. All received help from the work I did, many were changed forever! Their heart/pulse/breathing and metabolism rates were all checked regularly and thoroughly and showed dramatic changes. More importantly, the workers themselves noticed changes in themselves and these changes were also noted by family, friends and work colleagues. The results although spectacular are not unusual. Stress levels were drastically reduced, the evidence was overwhelming. This programme will be screened shortly. Watch it and judge for yourself! With any class I teach, I take in a small glass coffee jar, filled with clean water. At the bottom of the jar, I have placed a spoonful of soil. I shake the jar for one minute, to show my students the results of one minute of stress and anger. The water---the human bloodstream--is left clogged with toxins/chemicals for about eight hours--the water is cloudy, no longer fit to drink! In life, of course, stress and anger are repeated over and over again during the day, so 'the water' will never become clear again! The toxins will be constantly flowing around the bloodstream! Meditation cures stress, and here?s the even better news--------everyone CAN meditate! If you have tried it once and did not succeed, or think perhaps that you never will try it, you need to see what is stopping you. Look in the mirror- and that?s the only thing stopping you--yourself! = Chinese Ancient Literature Ancient literature is a precious cultural heritage of China's several thousand years of civilization. The Book of Songs, a collection of 305 folk ballads of the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn period, compiled in the sixth century B.C., is China's earliest anthology of poetry. Qu Yuan of the Warring States Period, China's first great poet, write Li Sao (The Lament), and extended lyric poem. The Book of Songs and Li Sao are regarded as classics in Chinese literary history. Later, different literary styles developed in subsequent dynasties. There were pre-Qin prose, magnificent Han fu (rhymed prose), and the yuefu folk songs of the end of the Han Dynasty. Records of the Historian, written by Sima Qian of the Han Dynasty, is respected as a model of biographical literature, and The Peacock Flies to the Southeast represents the magnificent yuefu folk songs. These are all well known among the Chinese people. The Wei and Jin Dynasties (220-420) were a great period for the production of poetry. The poems written by Cao Cao, a statesman and man of letters of that time, and by his sons Cao Pi and Cai Zhi, are fervent and vigorous. They are outstanding forerunners of the progressive literature of later generations. The Tang Dynasty gave birth to a great number of men of letters. The Complete Tang Poems is an anthology of more than 50,000 poems. Representative poets include Li Bai, Du Fu, and Bai Juyi, who are the pride of the Chinese people. The Song Dynasty is well known for its ci (lyric). Song lyricists may be divided into two groups. The first, best represented by Liu Yong and Li Qingzhao, is known as the "gentle school"; the second, the "bold and unconstrained school," is best represented by Su Shi and Xin Qiji. The most notable achievement of Yuan Dynasty literature was the zaju, poetic drama set of music. Snow in Midsummer by celebrated playwright Guan Hanqing and The Western Chamber written by another zaju master, Wang Shipu, are masterpieces of the ancient drama. The Ming and Qing dynasties saw the development of the novel. The Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, Outlaws of the Mars by Shi Nai'an, Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en, and A Dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqin are the four masterpieces produced in this form during this period. They have been celebrated for centuries for their rich historical and cultural connotations and unique style. The new cultural movement that emerged in the 1920s was an anti-imperialist and anti-feudal movement. Progressive writers, represented by Lu Xun, gave birth to modern Chinese literature. The most outstanding representative works of this era are the novels The Diary of a Madman and The True Story of Ah Q by Lu Xun, the poetry anthology The Goddesses by Guo Moruo, the novel Midnight by Mao Dun, the trilogy novels Family, Spring and Autumn by Ba Jin, the novel Camel Xiangzi by Lao She, and the plays Thunderstorm and Sunrise by Cao Yu. = Characteristics of Chinese Ancient Literature China has one of the earliest civilizations in the world. The brilliance of Chinese literature, with its long history, and diversified genres and forms, rivals any great literature in the world. The Book of Poetry, the earliest anthology of poetry in China, a collection of poems created between 11 BC and 6 BC, reflects the depth and profundity of social life. The special expressive methods used in The Book of Poetry, i.e. fu(descriptive prose interspersed with verse), bi (metaphor), and xing (evocation, starting off a song by evoking images quite apart from the central subject), are praised by many foreign scholars. Drama emerged in China before the 13th century, when Yuan Drama was at its prime. The representative figure in Yuan Drama was Guan Hanqing, who created altogether 70 dramas, including Snow in Midsummer Rescued by a Coquette The Wife-Snatcherand Lord Guan on His way to the Feast. These works not only demonstrate the richness and maturity of Chinese drama, but also integrate the merits of shi poetry of the Tang Dynasty and ci poetry of the Song Dynasty (song lyrics). Guan Hanqing set the lines in his dramas to music, hence expanding the performance of poetry from being recited to being sung. The unique modes of expression and artistic charm of shi and ci poetry bring full play to its language potential. Shi and ci are written in varied ways following strict forms, and are read sonorously and forcefully.Mao Zedong, the great man of our times, while carrying on the excellenttradition of shi and ci, also promoted the art to new heights. The novel first came into being in the Song Dynasty about 1,000 years ago. It was called "storytelling script" at the time. In the early Ming Dynasty there emerged two great novels: Outlaws of the Marsh written by Shi Nai'an, and The Romance of the Three Kingdoms written by Luo Guanzhong. The two novels have won great fame worldwide for their magnificent stories and vivid portrayal of a galaxy of distinctive characters. Chinese literature has formed five distinctive characteristics during more than 3,000 years of development: 1. Literature's role and significance have always been given great emphasis in its long course of development. Confucius (551' 479 BC) first claimed that "poetry may serve to inspire, to reflect, to communicate and to admonish." Cao Pi, Emperor of the Kingdom of Wei in the Three Kingdoms period, also attached great importance to creative writing. He believed that written works could help rule a country, and said: "Writing is a great undertaking beneficial to the management of the country. Life is short and the fame never lasts, but writings are immortal." Du Fu, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty was more direct in elaborating on the role of poetry. He said that the fundamental purpose of poetry was to purify social morals. And Bai Juyi, another famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, said: "Writings are created in order to point out the errors of current ills and offer curative advice." These remarks by ancient poets, writers and literary critics produced profound influences on the later development of Chinese literature. Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, assimilating with discernment the rational parts of these assertions on literature's role, put fotward a more definitive slogan: "Art serves workers, peasants and soldiers; art serves the people and socialism." Under this guidance, literature in the liberated areas made memorable achievements. And modern Chinese literature, especially the new literature, has attained unprecedented development and prosperity. 2. Chinese literature is an open literature which constantly brings in new ideas in literary forms and styles. For example, the form of poetry was developed from the four-character poem to the five and seven-character poem, and its style was developed from classical style to modern style, Lushi (standard form of poetry), and free verse poetry; and prose was developed from pre-Qin prose to Han rhyming prose, parallel prose and classical prose (as emerged in the movement for "The Revival of Classical Prose"). The kinds and forms of modern prose today are even more diversified. In terms of genres, Chinese literature encompasses shi poetry of the Tang Dynasty, ci poetry of the Song Dynasty, Yuan drama, and novels of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Several thousands years of development shows that Chinese literature is always in a state of change and innovation. One thing needs to be pointed out is that China is a nation of high rationality and can treat the changes and revolutions in literature forms dialectically. A new form of literature does not necessarily cancel out the previous one. For example, after the seven-character octave and seven-character quatrain occupied the dominant place in the poetry world, five- and four-character poems did not become extinct; on the contrary, they have Survived even till today. Another example, the creation of moden verse is encouraged these days, but there still is great enthusiasm for writing classical-style poems among modern writers. Moreover, shi poetry and ci poetry co-exist peacefully in today's literary field. In Song Dynasty, ci poetry took an overwhelming place, but many other poems also gained great popularity. 3. Chinese literature pays great attention to learning from, and converges with, the world's advanced and progressive literature. The Chinese nation has always been enthusiastic towards foreign culture. As early as in the Southern and Northern dynasties, Chinese began to translate Buddhist scriptures. In the Tang Dynasty, the eminent monk Xuan Zang went thousands of miles to India to search for and translate Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. In the Qing Dynasty, Lin Shu, who was a juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examination at the provincial level in the Ming and Qing dynasties) during the Guangxu's reign, translated more than 170 European and American novels into Chinese. After new China was founded, many marvelous Soviet and Eastern European novels were translated and introduced to China. Since China began to institute reform and opening, a powerful upsurge has taken place in the publishing of excellent international literary works and literary theory. Chinese intellectuals, especially writers and artists, have shown amazing wisdom and creativity in learning from the world's progressive literature, reflected in the following aspects: (1) The introduction of new art forms, as demonstrated by the short stories of Lu Xun and novels of Mao Dun, the modern poetry of Guo Moruo, Wen Yiduo and Xu Zhimo, and the stage plays of Cao Yu. (2) Learning from foreign art forms and carrying out reforms in traditional Chinese literary forms, i.e. the modernization of old Chinese literary forms. For example, Zhao Shuli's new storytelling-style novel, Liu Shaotang's legend-style novel and Liji's folksong narrative poems. (3) The creation of new forms through absorbing useful efements from both Chinese and Western literary forms. For example, the opera White-haithed Girl is a combination of western opera, stage play, traditional Chinese opera and yangko dance (a popular rural folk dance); while many skits, suddenly popular on stage and television are a hybrid of special expressive methods borrowed from the one-act play, Chinese crosstalk, as well as artistic styles from film and TV, giving them strong vitality. 4. A diversity of literary schools have developed freely and compete on an equal basis with each other. This has always been a positive tradition of Chinese literature. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Chinese ideological and Cultural circles had witnessed a situation of "a hundred schools" of thought contending with each other. During this period four famous schools emerged: Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism, and the Legalist School. A number of important works representative of ancient human civilization came forth in this period, including: Analects, Mencius, XunZi,LaoZi,Zhuangzi, and Hanfeizi. Later, during more than 2,000 years of history, many more literary schools appeared, such as the "Gentle-' School, the "Heroic" School, the JiangXi School, the Chaling School, the Gong'an School, the Parallelism School, the "Tfue Colors" School, the Wujiang School, the Linchuan School, the jingling School, the Tongcheng School, the ChangZhou School, and the yuanyang hudtie pai ("Mandarin Duck and Butterfly" School). In the development of the modern novel, there has also been the New Sensualism School, the Native School, the Social Analysis School, the Beijing School, and the july School. in the development of modern poetry there have emerged the july School and the Nine-leaf Poets. "The Potato School" and the "Hehuadian School" came up after the founding of new China. It is the nature of literary creation that gives rise to a situation of many literature genres vying with each other And this kind of phenomenon also marks the prosperity and vitality of literary undertakings. Chairman Mao, observing the law of literary creation, further put forward, in his important work, "On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People" (published in February of 1 957), the guideline: "Let a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend." In expounding this guideline, Chairman Mao said: "Letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend is the policy for promoting progress in the arts and sciences and a flourishing socialist culture in our land. Different forms and styles in art should develop freely and different schools in science should contend freely. We think that it is harmful to the growth of art and science if administrative measures are used to impose one particular style of art or school of thought and to ban another Questions of right and wrong in the arts and sciences should be settled through free discussion in artistic and scientific circles and through practical work in these fields. They should not be settled in an over-simplistic manner" In contemporary times Chinese literary schools with nationwide influences include: the Native School represented by Liu Shaotang, and the Urban Life School represented by Deng Youmei and others. The formation and flourishing of diversified genres in contemporary Chinese literary circles shows that the massive potential of Chinese writers and artists have been brought into full play, which also provides great momentum for propelling forward the development of Chinese socialist literature. 5. In the development of Chinese literature, folk literature has always developed side by side with scholarly literature and greatly driven the development and prosperity of Chinese literature as a whole. Taking The Book of Poetry as an example, feng(songs) belongS to folk literature while song (hymns) belongs to scholarly literature, and ya (odes and epics) has characteristics of both folk and scholarly literature. Therefore, The Book of Poetry is a perfect blending of both folk literature and scholarly literature. Ci poetry and san-qu songs (lyrical poems set to music) started as forms of folk literature and were later developed into scholarly literature. "Storytelling scripts" also appeared as a form of folk literature in its early stages. It changed to a novel form during the Ming and Qing dynasties, to become the leading form of Chinese literature ever since. The close relationship between folk literature and scholarly literature has been further reinforced and developed during the socialist period. Every year the state has organized writers and artists to learn about the common people's lives all over the country, with the aim of leading Chinese writers and artists to build and maintain close links with folk literature and folk Culture. |
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