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How to tap that vital energy flow
Naomi Gunasekera meets Feng Shui expert Philip Ong
He is a man who has experimented with colour, sleep, furniture, bamboo, fountains, junctions and plants and lost his life savings in an attempt to master the Chinese art of Feng Shui. Ten years later he is a master of the age-old Chinese art of Feng Shui and runs his own Feng Shui service at Coronation Shopping Plaza, Singapore. Master Philip Ong of Imperial Geomancy Services, Singapore, was in Sri Lanka last week to deliver a couple of introductory lectures on Feng Shui.

Feng Shui, meaning wind and water, is an art that endeavours to strike a balance between wind and water and thereby allows favourable energy (Chi) flow.

It deals with placing your furniture in line with your element or colouring your home or office in line with your element and preparing yourself for your up and down cycles through appropriate direction, orientation and positioning.

Speaking to an enthusiastic audience at Odel Unlimited in a heavily incensed room decorated with Chinese bamboo, lanterns, bells and candles, Master Ong shared his experiences as a Feng Shui practitioner who counts a decade of service. "When I came into contact with Feng Shui, it was in the form of a joke. Someone told me that according to Feng Shui a husband may have to smell the wife's feet and the wife the husband's if they didn't share the same position of sleep," he said, pointing out that the principles of Feng Shui developed over 2000 - 3000 years ago had a logical basis.

Explaining the joke, he said that we are either easterly or westerly persons when it comes to our position of sleep. "If you don't sleep in the appropriate position you will never get proper sleep and always twist and turn in your sleep. I know this because I carried out a number of tests on my family. I used to position my son's pillow to suit a westerly person because he is easterly and he would always get up from the wrong side of the bed. Those who have problems in getting proper sleep must find out their sleeping positions and this well help them to a great extent."

As to whether one is easterly or westerly can be determined by a small test.

A male must take the year of his birth and deduct the last two digits of the year from hundred and divide the outcome by nine or the closest dividend of nine. Where the number is the closest dividend, the difference between the number to be divided and the dividend must be considered. If this number is 2, 5, 6, 7 or 8 the person is a westerly and must place his head towards north-west, west, south-west or north-east. And if the outcome is zero one must consider 9 as the outcome.

Those who get an outcome of either 1,3,4 or 9 are easterly and must place their heads towards north, south, east or south-east. (If the year of birth is taken as 1950, 100-50 = 50/9 = 45, 50-45 = 5, westerly).

For females, the calculation is somewhat different but the numbers are the same. A female must deduct four out of the last two digits of the year of birth and divide the outcome by nine or the closest dividend of nine and follow the same procedure as the men. (If the year of birth is 1950, 50-4= 46/9 =45, 46-45 = 1, westerly)

Feng Shui focuses on energy flow and as an art it directs people to have the most appropriate energy flowing into their homes or businesses depending on the element (Fire, Water, Earth, Wood, Metal) of the breadwinner of the family or head of a business.

"A business facing a junction will never prosper because there is too much energy flowing in and out. If I happened to own a hotel at a junction, I would have closed the front opening and created a side opening and transformed it into a transport company." Master Ong pointed out that a number of Orchard Street hotels facing junctions blocked their entrances by way of screens and fountains in order to allow favourable energy flow.

According to the principles of Feng Shui, you must never have cactus at your main entrance because the Chi or energy flowing into your house becomes spiteful when it comes into contact with the cactus and creates disharmony.

"Nor should you have pointed things facing your entrance; that causes your downfall. You must also avoid taps that face windows or doors because the money that comes in is caused to go out easily," said Master Ong who feels that there is a growing demand for Feng Shui services the world over.

"Over 30,000 Feng Shui practitioners offer their services over the worldwide web and you must be able to distinguish bogus Feng Shui practitioners from real practitioners because it is a big business today."

An authentic Feng Shui practitioner, according to Master Ong, will calculate one's element (Fire, Water, Wood, Earth or Metal) based on the person's date and time of birth and determine how best the energy flow (Chi) could be utilised to bring prosperity.

An art of placement, Feng Shui is used to analyze neutral environments in order to locate sites with a favourable circulation of life energy. Feng Shui principles are, therefore, applied to analyse and enhance urban and interior spaces.

"No major building project in Singapore or its neighbouring countries is undertaken without consideration of the Feng Shui of the site and building. The owner of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank demanded Feng Shui be applied in the design of its skyscraper headquarters. This influenced everything from the form of the exposed structural system to the placement of the lobby escalators and doors."

When Feng Shui is applied to a home or business many different features are examined and analyzed. These include neighbourhoods, streets, sites, directions, shapes of buildings, roofs, doors, windows, rooms, stairs, location of stoves and other equipment, chimneys, drains, beams, columns, lights, and many others. Feng Shui is used for the enhancement of space conducive to the accumulation and flow of good Chi.

People who live and work in such an environment feel more energetic, creative, and balanced, thereby increasing the potential for social and financial success and personal harmony.

The Feng Shui of a place also can be 'tuned' for specific uses by taking the Chi of the owner and occupants into consideration. A house benefits from calm, harmonious Chi, but a store requires more stimulating Chi to promote sales.

According to Master Ong, having pointed objects facing your entrance causes trouble and one can determine how best to use the Chi by doing a calculation with his/her own element.

"It helps you to find co-relation factors that will bring you luck.

"It also helps you to find your up and down cycles and make maximum use of your vitality year. It helps you to determine your best sitting position, colour, job or career based on your element enabling you to reap better results by attuning your environment to meet the favourable Chi."

Feng Shui tips for romance
The south-west corner of your house is where love reigns and you should pay special attention to it. It governs love, romance and family happiness. So if you wish to improve your existing relationship, place a family photo in the south west corner of your home and make sure it is a happy photo or even a painting of a family. If you wish to enhance romance, place a dragon headed tortoise with a piece of red ribbon in his mouth.

Hanging a chandelier or crystal sphere or ball in the south-west corner of your home is wonderful for activating the chi energy that stimulates romance. This introduces fire into this segment, which has earth as its presiding element to bring in love.

Soft or pastel colour lampshades with soft lighting in the south-west creates an atmosphere of romance. Candles in all shapes, sizes and colour are also suggestive of love. Apart from giving your area a warm glow, it also enhances the entire look of your home while promoting romance.

Pink sheets raise subtle yang energy, which enhances feelings of love and romance in those who seek conjugal bliss in the bedroom.

Feng Shui tips for your home
There should be no shoes or slippers lying around outside the main door of your house. Allow that space to be free and clear. The chi rides with the wind and collects the smell of shoes and slippers thus causing sickness.

There should be no television sets in your bedrooms. If you cannot get rid of that habit, then cover it with a plastic table cloth after watching.

There should be no mirrors opposite your bed or at the side of your bed. Mirrors opposite the bed can attract a third party to the relationship.

If you already have a fish tank in your house, be careful. A fish tank placed correctly can bring about greater fortune as you will tap on the "Divine Water Dragon's Den". But if placed wrongly, it can cause you to have lawsuits, bankruptcy, work pressure and problems.

In your kitchen, ensure that there is no refrigerator, washing machine, washbasin or toilet opposite your stove because fire and water clash causing family members to have disagreements.

Try not to allow children to sleep on mattresses on the floor for it causes them to fall sick frequently because the chi is not able to flow underneath the bed. Ideally, chi should circulate around the mattress where children sleep to allow them to be healthy.

Your bed should always have a solid wall behind it. This is important if you wish to have a good rest. A solid wall simply means that you can go into deeper sleep and therefore enables you to have good rest.

Always open your bedroom windows at least once for 20 minutes a day to allow fresh chi to come into your bedroom. If not, you will sleep with stale chi every night. And if that happens, you cannot expect your life to bring in more good fortune.

Feng Shui tips for your business and office
Always sit with a solid wall behind your back to ensure that you have support in your life. Never sit with a window behind you. Always place the fax machine, telephone and computers in the wealth area to increase business.

If you wish to be the leader in your industry, place a dragon on the right hand side of your desk facing the window or the door.

If you own a shop, try and place the till in your wealth corner, even your petty cash tin. Order books can also be placed here with Chinese coins held together with red ribbon.

You should not have any cactus or sharp looking plants in your office as these plants have sharp leaves that cause the wind to pass through them thereby making the chi fierce and sharp.

Never have the main door of your office opening into your table as the chi coming in will hit your face causing you obstacles and problems. The chi from the main entrance of your office should also not meet a wall inside the office because it will have to turn on meeting the wall thereby slowing down the business in return.

Do not place a paper cutter machine next to the main door. The cutter machine is to cut papers. Therefore if located here, it will promote backstabbing and fighting among staff.

Do not place an empty vase next to the main door, as the new chi once it enters your office will be sucked into the vase causing nothing to be left for the environment.

The figure of the three legged Toad God is used for attracting wealth and abundance. Place this creature at your office entrance, facing your office for luck and wealth. And always leave the coin in its mouth.

 


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