Feng Shui Tips

Get only the best tips, news, and advice from the world of feng shui. Get a helping hand in what can be an otherwise complicated and confusing way of life (as opposed to harmonized and balanced which it should be) - feng shui!

Friday, July 15, 2005

What In The World Makes Lucky Bamboo Lucky?

Fengshui - A bouquet full of luck: "A bouquet full of luck

By Sushan Shetty
(Courtesy: Miscellany)

If you are the kind who have always wanted indoor greens but want to go in for some low maintenance foliage, then lucky Bamboos might be just the thing you'd like. Despite their name lucky bamboos, they are not really bamboos, but just look like them. Their botanical name is Dracaena Sanderiana and they play a very important part in Feng Shui.

Lucky BambooNamrata Tirumale and Seema Parasampuria are the promoters of Foliage that markets an exclusive range of lucky Bamboo plants imported from China where it is grown as per Feng Shui principles. According to ancient Asian legend, the gift of living bamboo brings good fortune, hence the name lucky bamboo. 'Whether or not you believes in the luck aspect, I'd says that these plants make great gifts and bring greenery into the house,' says Namrata.

Seema is all for the fact that all the plants need in the way of maintenance is regular cleaning and changing of water in the vase. "In the west, giving lucky Bamboos has replaced bouquets. Flowers will die after some time, but these live on. One can always add some flowers into the arrangement and add more color," suggests Seema adding that the plant can take a lot of rough handling and doesn't dies easily.

Lucky BambooSymbolic of happiness and prosperity, the number of sticks used gives significance to the arrangement. The plants are half inch thick and green in color. Through manipulation of the light source, the bamboo can be trained to have curls or spirals and form lovely dancing' bamboos. Once they have reached the desired shape and size, the sticks are cut and do not grow any further, only the leaves continue growing. The different kinds of arrangements these bamboos are trained into range from many-layered towers, pyramids, walls, knitted bamboos, wishing well, curly bamboos, spiral and straight live growing sticks. Some of these have been given wacky shapes like the heart shaped ones that make great gifts for Valentine's Days and the ones that make dollar sign.

Count your lucky bamboo

* Three stalks - brings Fu (Happiness), Lu (Health) and Soh (longevity)
* Five stalks - Represents the five different parts of life from which wealth comes.
* Six stalks - Brings prosperity and favorable conditions.
* Seven stalks - Bring good health
* Eight stalks - brings growth and prosperity
* Ten stalks - Implies completeness and perfection
* Twenty-one stalks - offers a very powerful all-embracing blessing.

Caring for your plant

* Good luck plants are hardy; they don't need a daily dose of sunlight.
* All they need to grow is plain water (no soil) and shade.
* The water should be changed every 3-4 days.
* No need to add fertilizers.
* Once a fortnight remove the plant from its vase, wash the vase as well as the pebbles and remove the dust from the leaves before replacing the plant in fresh water."

Well this one I've personally been wondering about for about 2 years! So I'm glad I finally have an answer! I hope it helps you too!

Sam, Feng Shui Tips

Feng Shui Fundamentals - If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It!

Feng Shui Palace | feng shui 101 | first chapter of book: "Ancient Chinese Secret: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

When you are first using feng shui, try to concentrate on fixing the problems you are currently having in your life by enhancing those specific bagua areas rather than making drastic changes in all areas. There's plenty of time to refine your feng shui after initial changes start to bring you more into balance."

Sound advice. I really get carried away sometimes with all the new cool Feng Shui Tips I learn. Whilst I bet its true most probably aren't looking to feng shui unless they are looking for change, this is some really great advice!

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Sam, Feng Shui Tips

I Think There Might Just Be - How to Get a Prom Date With Feng Shui

How to Get a Prom Date: "The biggest part of graduation for me was the prom to celebrate the end of high school. Use the Feng Shui principles to get a prom date.

Difficulty: N/A

Time Required: Minimum 1 week
Here's How:

1.

Remove all memories of past boyfriends or girlfriends in your room. That includes all gifts, cards and photographs. If you are unable to throw them away, box them and place in a room other than your bedroom.

2.

Clean your bedroom. Often the room becomes stagnant with the past. Clear the clutter to bring in new energy for your new goal of getting a prom date. Clean your bedsheets and place a green or pink cover on the bed. The sheets are cleaned to remove the energy of past thoughts.

3.

Start wearing green and pink clothing to school. The green and pink may be undergarments, shirts, jackets... Green and pink are the colors of love."

I know its the wrong time of the year for this but I just had to post it! Who'd ever have thought of using Feng Shui to get a date for the prom, yet here's an article with 11 tips in total! Wow!

Sam, Feng Shui Tips

Is There a Feng Shui For EVERYTHING? Sleeping Bag Placement!

Pitching A Tent: "Sleeping Bag Placement
Are you off to the back country for a romantic retreat or is it for rest and relaxation. Whatever your reason for camping, be creative with your sleeping arrangements. Your sleeping position will give you hot passionate sex or aid in your finances. Experiment with the locations and be sure to record your results.

* Put your tent up in your campsite.
* Sit or stand in the center and locate North. After North is identified all other areas are easily identified.
* Place your sleeping bag in the position for the type of weekend you desire."

This article continues for the campers amongst us! Wow! I'm totally blown away! Post any other wierd Feng Shui tips articles you find and I'll showcase them ok?

Sam, Feng Shui Tips

Continuing On Our Current Home Theme: Feng Shui House Numbers

Feng Shui House Numbers

"Chinese numerology is based on homophonic principles. Homophonic means having the same sound. Therefore, according to the principles of Feng Shui, words with similar sounds make a number lucky or unlucky.

Number 4 and number 13 are unlucky according to the principles of Chinese numerology. The number 13 adds up to four. Four sounds like death in Cantonese. However, four sounds like more in English and that would make it a lucky number.

Number eight is a lucky number because it sounds like prosperous in Cantonese.

Choose your numbers based on your primary language in the home. There are a variety of words for each number that can make it lucky or unlucky.

A good house number combines both odd and even numbers. Odd numbers are yang and even numbers are yin.

If your house number is considered unlucky, there is a simple cure to remedy it. Place a circle around the house number or buy a circular house plate for the number. This cure will contain the number and it will cease to create bad luck.

You are best to choose a home with good Feng Shui and cure the house number than choose a home for the house number with bad Feng Shui."

Keep in mind the feng shui tips that can be found here and you can't go wrong!

Sam, Feng Shui Tips

It's too bad this is this bloggers only post! 7 Lenegdary Feng Shui Tips

FENG SHUI function: "The Golden Rules

THE SEVEN GOLDEN RULES OF FENG SHUI
(if you do nothing else)



1. Remove clutter-behind doors, in pathways, on desks and tabletops, in closets, garages and cars.
(a place for everything and everything in its place)

2. Close toilet lids, keep stoppers in sinks, repair leaky faucets and loose or squeaky door hinges.

3. Use the Ba’Gua grid for the appropriate elements and colours in each room.

4. Use light to increase chi, & replace burnt out bulbs.

5. Place furniture appropriately-bed not under a beam or window- couches and desks in positions that provide a view of the room.

6. Remove any object that has negative memories or connotations for you.

7. Make positive affirmations, and think positive thoughts about your wishes and desires."

Awesome, awesome stuff! As I take a look at other peoples blogs on Feng Shui Tips it saddens me to see that noone seems to keep an active blog for particularly long. This is a great post of Feng Shui Tips, its a shame the author didnt post more!

Sam, Feng Shui Tips

Color Blowing - That's A New One On Me!

Everything And Nothing: "Color Me Skeptical

Chromotherapy is the use of color and light to bring about homeostasis - health and balance. It's been around since the ancient Egyptians, who built solariums with colored glass. In modern times, it's used to cure depression and help stroke victims recover.

Some use colored silk cloths placed on the body. Some used colored gels or panes of colored glass. Some use eyeglasses with colored lenses. Practitioners of Feng Shui use color in homes and offices for the optimum balance of energy.

But the most interesting to me is color breathing. With color breathing, you visualize a particular color, then inhale and exhale that color. (Raymond Buckland claims he's taken 15 years off of his life breathing the color pink - so I'd try that one first.) Purists recommend that you are lying on your back in an area free of electromagnetic interference - head pointed north, arms outstretched.

I have tried this several times but when I close my eyes I see a rainbow of colors, never just one. Red is usually the most overpowering of the myriad of colors but it might just be the one I latch onto because it's my favorite color. But I'm sure there's many items in my house with electromagnetic fields that I don't know about.

If you have more success than me, try these colors.

Red - Increase energy and power, improve love life

Orange - Get attention, cure procrastination

Yellow - Encourage optimism and joy, let go of material possessions

Turquoise - Improve immunity, gain more power

Blue - Relax, treat insomnia (I need this one!) and high blood pressure, gain confidence

Purple - Boost self-worth, gain wisdom

Magenta - Let go of negative feelings"

I found this post on a topic I've never ever ever heard of. If your fortunes are different please let me know!

Sam, Feng Shui Tips

Yum! Eat Your Way To Better Feng Shui

Feng Shui Times for Articles, Resources and Feng Shui Tips for your Home and Office: "Chinese Food and Feng Shui – Eat Your Way to Improved Feng Shui
If you think about it, Food and Feng Shui go hand in hand. You can achieve improved energy by optimizing the Feng Shui of your food and by using food related items to your advantage. Elemental balance, Yin/Yang balance, Aromatherapy, and opportunities to increase prosperity and abundance are all important parts of Feng Shui and food.

Elemental balance in food can be achieved through use of colors. A plate full of monochromatic food can look pretty bland and probably wouldn’t get a seal of approval from a dietitian either (they usually advise a plate full of many different colors.) So a stir-fry made with yellow bell peppers, green bell peppers, orange bell peppers, red tomatoes, Chinese purple eggplant, and some pink shrimp would be a much better Feng Shui choice. Fruits and vegetables come in an array of colors; use them to your Feng Shui advantage. You don’t have to eat every color in the rainbow at every meal, but more colors in your diet will go a long way towards optimizing your Feng Shui.

The concept of Yin and Yang can also apply to your food. With food, Yin would be the milder flavors while Yang would be the bolder flavors. Chinese recipes already take advantage of this type of Feng Shui balance. Sweet and sour, hot and sour, and strong flavored dishes paired with plain rice are all examples of Yin/Yang balanced foods. When preparing these dishes the cook is always careful to balance the opposing flavors. Sweet and Sour Shrimp that is all sweet or overly sour wouldn’t be very pleasing to the palate and wouldn’t be good Feng Shui. And pairing a spicy dish with other spicy dishes would overtax the taste buds. Yin and Yang can also be used to explain the appeal of dishes featuring a mixture of soft or delicate foods with crunchy or crisp foods. Tofu dishes with chopped nuts or diced water chestnuts always balance these textural differences. A plate full of crunchy food could tire the mouth, while a plate full of soft food might not seem very fulfilling. Balance is very important in food and Feng Shui.

Aromatherapy is very important in Feng Shui because all senses need to be accommodated. Nothing is more pleasing to the nose than delicious smelling foods. Think about the scents when cooking Chinese food. Everyone in the house knows you’re cooking when the house is filled with the scent of toasting Szechuan peppercorns. And what a joy it is to smell a grinder filled with ground Szechuan peppercorns (toasted or un-toasted.) Aromatic seasonings like garlic, scallions, chilies and ginger often go into the wok near the beginning of the cooking process so they can lend their scents and lightly stir-fried flavors to the main ingredients. Plus, they are a treat for the cook to smell and they fill the home with a wonderful aroma. These wonderful scents rid the home of negative energy and fill them, and you, with positive energy.

In my Feng Shui practice I’ve found that prosperity and abundance are extremely common Feng Shui goals. There are many ways to increase your prosperity and abundance through food and food related items. One common Feng Shui recommendation is to use your stove (this is not about your oven or microwave, just your stove or cook-top) often. This is because your stove, and its burners, represents wealth. More burners would be better than less (so having a stove with five burners would represent extra wealth luck while one with only two burners would symbolize diminished wealth luck.) You need to have any broken burners repaired as soon as possible, because they would represent economic troubles. Using all of your burners evenly is much better than using one or two ‘favorite’ burners every day while ignoring the rest. Stimulating your wealth energy by using your stove often (hopefully by cooking meals using most or all of your burners throughout the day) can even be done by just turning on your burners every day for a few minutes. Gas stoves are better Feng Shui than electric stoves, though I would never recommend changing stoves or cook-tops for that reason alone. Wasting money is never good Feng Shui!

The dishes you serve your food in can also increase your prosperity and abundance. Ornate or expensive looking dishes carry wealth luck. Chinese or Asian dishes with fish designs or other wealth related designs also improve your wealth energy. Crystal glasses also improve the energy of your dining room table. The best way to serve up a meal that symbolizes prosperity and abundance is to set up your dining room table with your favorite fancy setting and crystal or crystal-like glassware, fill your table with an abundance of wonderful food (more food, more money), and double the food (thereby doubling your wealth) by hanging a mirror that reflects your dining table.

So now you’re ready to use all of your burners every day, cook elementally and Yin/Yang balanced Chinese meals, fill your home with amazing aromas, and sit down to a glorious meal at your prosperous dining table.
This article is brought to you by
Leslie Jacobson

Leslie Jacobson is a Certified Feng Shui Consultant and has a Masters Degree in Counseling, and a Masters Degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. She has attended classes, workshops, and seminars led by the biggest names in Feng Shui including Grand Master Yap Cheng Hai, Denise Linn, Raymond Lo, Professor Lin Yun, Jami Lin, Nancilee Wydra, Katherine Metz, Nancy SantoPietro, Dennis Fairchild, Laurelyn Baker, David Daniel Kennedy, James Allyn Moser, Carol Cannon, and Deborah Walston. She draws upon her training, skills and experience in Psychology and Counseling to make sure that your home or work place is both physically and psychologically pleasing to you personally.

Leslie and her brother Mark are available for home and business consultations in the South Florida area. Their company is called Feng Shui Consultants of Boca Raton. They have recently begun offering E-Consults for the many out-of-towners who are interested in benefiting from their expertise. They are also willing to provide lectures to groups in Palm Beach County. Leslie and Mark are also offering Feng Shui Ride Alongs. It's your way to learn Feng Shui by watching us work. Currently, they are working on their first Feng Shui book.

Email her at BocaFengShui@Yahoo.com or visit her website at www.geocities.com/BocaFengShui/fastentry "

Good eating!

Sam, Feng Shui Tips

Want To Share Your Feng Shui Skills With Others As A Consultant?

Home Improvement: Advice & Features: Feng Shui: "Ask Angi
Feng Shui Expert Angi Ma Wong answers your questions.

Q. I have a passion for feng shui and want to know which books to buy, where I can take classes and how to become a practitioner?

A.

Currently the two most popular schools of feng shui are the traditional, classical Compass School and the Black Sect Tantric Tibetan Buddhist School. Compass School is particularly scientific and follows definite guidelines translated from classical Chinese feng shui teachings and literature such as the thousand-year-old Water Classics.

The Black Sect School is more intuitive and thus allows practitioners to employ a creative license that would horrify a traditional Chinese expert. Because individual intuition varies, so do the interpretations and the results.

The use and application of the bagua is the main difference between the two schools. In my new book 'Feng Shui Dos and Taboos,' I give an illustration of how each school applies the bagua to an identical floor plan featuring adjoining rooms separated by a door on a common wall.

If you practice one school, stay with it and be consistent. Avoid mixing applications, especially in the placement of objects. If you get positive results from implementing the guidelines of one school, by all means, stick with it!

Of the more than 200 feng shui books in English, the content ranges from excellent to ludicrous. Research the background, experience and training of the authors – some are merely writers who have taken a class or two or have read a few books are jumping on the bandwagon, practicing and writing books without adequate experience.

There are classes at community colleges and universities or privately sponsored programs, but it is a challenge to find legitimate masters. Because feng shui is hot right now, there are many charlatans coming out of the woodwork. In my experience, true masters are humble, very knowledgeable and have themselves studied under Grand Masters for many years. I study with Malaysian Grand Master Yap Cheng Haiin Malaysia. It may be expensive but the successful results I am able to provide for my clients are worth it.

Another good way to find a legitimate teacher or author is to attend one of the many feng shui conferences around the world. Conference organizers usually invite the best and most well-known speakers to present at these events.

Don't be seduced or fooled by a fancy Web site with lots of bells and whistles. These may only represent the work of a clever marketer or very creative, talented Web site designer! I have horror stories from folks who were hooked by such sites on the Internet, spent tens of thousands of dollars for travel and accommodations to foreign countries only to be taken advantage of. "

I just thought this was important, where theres a passion theres a consultant or so it seems so if this is your calling then act upon it!

Sam, Feng Shui Tips