|
 MAKING
WAVES WITH FENG
SHUI
Q & A From The
Mailbag
by Dennis Fairchild
Our
greatest happiness in life does not depend on the condition of life in
which chance has placed us, but is always the result of good conscience,
good health, occupation and freedom in all just pursuits.
Thomas
Jefferson
As we slide into early
autumn ‘06, let’s hear it for Feng Shui (pronounced “fung schway”),
which has been around 3000 plus years advising how to create the best
living and working environments for your fullest potential. Feng Shui
is a melange of Buddhism, Taoism and rural magic with roots in ancient
agrarian China where farmers worshipped harmony with nature. It has
endured because it works – combining common sense, tradition,
superstition and the power of self-fulfillment. Plus, it’s loads of fun!
Let’s peek through the
post and pursue some recent queries.
Dear
Dennis,
I rent
a home on the east side and in the far back lot there is an old
appliance junk yard from previous owners. My landlord put up a fence to
keep my dogs from running amok in the junk, but I am concerned that the
junk is affecting that area of my life. It’s in the
southwest-love/marriage corner. There is way too much crap for me to
get rid of or pay to have removed. I don’t have the money and it’s not
mine! My landlord was kind enough to put up a fence around the stuff
but it’s still there and visible. Is there any Feng Shui solution for
my troubling situation?
Thanks,
Mary Elizabeth; internet
Dear Messy ME:
In many cultures, it’s
common to keep the remains/ashes of a cremated loved one in a house, but
no longer than 30-60 days. Afterwards, it’s gotta go. Ditto for dead
machinery and junk: it must be tended to ASAP, especially before the
year end’s snow!
Until the landlord or you
are able to remove it: disguise it and make it pretty but NOT yours.
Place some potted flowers around it, a bird bath or outdoor
mobile-hanging/spinning object to “energize” the dead crapola.
Bottom-line: it must be removed; this is your space now. The landlord’s
laziness is creating headaches and frustration. It has to go. Or else,
you and the doggies must! Your landlord is barkin’ up the wrong tree.
Feng Shui urges everyone
this month to tend to the yard, sweep the garage, storage room and
closet floors – especially the southeast (financial) areas. If you see
stuff that you are sweeping around that you forgot you had: toss it!
Away with it! Remember, what’s in your house or on your property affects
your life. Do you really want dusty, broken, unused or forgotten “dead”
stuff in your life? Pro-active cleaning begets major growth. Other’s
skeletons can be more scarey than those in your closet.
Dear
Dennis,
Recently, I relocated to Michigan from sunny Arizona because I missed
the winter snow. I brought many cacti with me for my new condo. Is
bringing plants from an old home into a new one good or bad Feng Shui?
I placed them in my southeast window.
Abe;
Kalamazoo MI; internet
Dear Arizona Abe:
Feng Shui gives two green
thumbs up to healthy, broad-leaved plants, particularly flowering
varieties – epecially when placed in southeast sectors which are
associated with prosperity, wealth. Spikey, dried or sick-looking
flora signify death and should be mulched, not displayed. To achieve
economic and romantic happiness, avoid featuring cacti or plants with
thorns indoors. The common jade plant is heralded as a Feng Shui “money
magnet,” particularly when on stage in southeast areas of the living
room, den or home office.
According to tradition,
round-leaved plants resembling a pocketbook or coin (especially
flowering types) are better than pointy ones. Affluent Asian homes
display an ornamental “tree” made from real jade to stimulate wealth,
although ones with blossoms of green glass is said to be fine too.
Miniature orange trees are Feng Shui faves – whether real or artificial
silk – as oranges symbolize gold coins and, therefore, abundant bank
accounts.
Curly-leafed ferns are
considered to bring good luck when hung in southern areas of a home. An
odd number of 9, 11 or 17 daffodils is said to improve domestic
communications when displayed in the northeast of kitchens. A dozen red
roses is said to generate pettiness amongst homeowners. Too many of
these scarlet beauties attract thorny disagreement. However, yellow
roses act as magnets to attract intellectual discussions and
objectivity.
Check out Nancilee Wydra
or Gil Haile’s garden books on Feng Shui flora and fauna fun. Good
stuff!
Dear
Dennis,
Even
tho I love phenomeNEWS, I am very conventional and rock no boats,
especially about decor. I am intrigued by Feng Shui, but repelled by
the concept of hanging crystals in my foyer, wind chimes in my kitchen
and upside-down flutes dangling from ceilings in order to attract
happiness. Any ideas on Feng Shui remedies that are more mainstream?
Like many of your readers, I’m seeking extra profits.
Terri;
Lynchburg, VA; internet
Dear Terri,
Indeed, not everyone wants
their home interior looking like the local chop suey palace – nor does
Feng Shui advocate strictly ancient Asian motifs as “remedies” or
“enhancers.” Not all churches or places of worship look alike, but
similar mystical decor elements prevail. Ditto with Feng Shui. By the
way, ever noticed how many Feng Shui and Asian symbols look like
Pennsylvania hex signs?
Classical Feng Shui
symbols for attracting the almighty buck include displaying fresh
pineapple, pomegranate or tangerines (colors resembling rubies and gold
coins) on the dining room table (hopefully, one round, oval or
octagonal). Paintings featuring peach blossoms or deer, as well as
wooden statues of one or three deer – especially when placed in a room’s
southeast – is said to make dollars grow. Ditto for paintings of a pine
tree-filled landscape featuring a flock of cranes, either flying or
elegantly standing on one leg.
Displaying odd numbers of
glass eggs in a crystal bowl is Feng Shui cheap but chic for creating
cashflow too. And, rather than hang a small crystal from the ceiling
from a red ribbon, why not pick up a chandelier? With any Feng Shui
fixers you use, quietly acknowledge them and what they represent every
day when you first see it – “Hello, lovely peaches! I welcome your
prosperity-bringing energy.” “Good morning, pine trees. May my income
be ever green.”
Read Feng Shui-savvy
Louise Hay’s fabulous affirmation books – for upbeat, honest ideas how
to honor you as well as your stuff. Also, visual artist and author
Helen Berliner’s Enlightened By Design (ISBN 1-57062-334-1) has some
yummy yin and yang Feng Shui decorating ideas. Trot through your local
art galleries and fairs for contemporary versions of centuries old Feng
Shui realism.
By the way, lovely Louise
H’s one-and-only 80th birthday is this month on the 29th – woo-hoo!!
Dear
Dennis,
I’ve
been married for seven years and things are starting to slow down in our
love life, so I bought a Feng Shui tabletop water fountain. I was told
by somebody (not you) to put it in my bedroom, so I did. Help! Its wet,
cascading sound is driving us crazy at night!
Pat and
Peter; Sterling Heights MI; internet
Dear PP:
(Sorry I couldn’t help
getting a smile from y’all’s initials!)...And the fountain is probably
driving you into the bathroom more often at night, as well. Right?
Since 60 per cent of our body is made up of water, Feng Shui assigns
this element to the kidneys and bladder.
However, fountains,
aquariums and other water accessories are not effective in bedrooms –
the space assigned for repose, relaxation. Best to transplant it to a
southwestern spot in either the family/great room, library or den.
Replace it with something either hanging on the wall nearby or within
eyesight that features “two” of something: two love birds, two mandarin
ducks, two geese, two bucks. Do you get the idea?
Dennis Fairchild is Royal
Oak’s best-selling author of Feng Shui and divination books. For
information about personal tarot card, Feng Shui or astrological
consults,
call (248) 546-6912. To submit a question for consideration in a future
mailbag installment, e-mail
DenFairchild@aol.com. |
