Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
The Role Of Dragon In Feng Shui
The dragons, according to the ancient Chinese traditions, are believed to have incredible power of controlling the natural aspects and the climatic conditions, which the human beings cannot dominate. Any natural activity like the wind, clouds or rain can easily be dominated and controlled by these dragons. This is one of the major aspects that have made these Feng Shui dragons immensely popular for people in the field of agricultural business.
Feng Shui dragons also symbolize "yang", which is the masculine energy. This indeed is a very strong force carrying activity and creativity. A Feng Shui dragon symbolizes success in any field of achievement and prosperity as well and the effects can further be maximized by determining the position and placement of the Feng Shui dragon.
More to the point, the dragons also correspond to the east and as such the best suited place for positioning a dragon as a Feng Shui item would necessarily be the eastern corner of the home or the work place. By placing the dragon at the correct position you will be empowered with all the positive effects it has and would help you in earning success and prosperity.
Feng shui dragon is one of the most ancient symbols and it probably the most auspicious and powerful Feng Shui cure available today. Almost every Feng Shui remedy has innumerable functions to be performed, but these dragons are the most favorable ones. This Feng Shui product must not be placed in areas having lower energy levels, such as, the closets, the bathrooms or probably the garage. You need not have too many dragons in your home to increase its effects. Just one piece of this Feng Shui item can help you in achieving what you want if placed in the proper direction.
These dragon Feng Shui enhancers are available in various designs and materials each having its only unique remedial qualities. The dragons symbolize abundance, Ambition, Fame and Life. Feng shui dragons can be availed from various Feng Shui stores, but make sure to learn all about the symbolic meanings of different Feng Shui products before bringing one for your home.
www.buy-fengshui.com is an online Feng Shui Store with over 2000 Feng Shui cures. We carry a wide variety of Dragon Figurines.
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Feng Shui and Clutter – an Essential Tip to Know
The Chinese words Feng Shui literally mean (Feng) Wind and (Shui) Water. This highlights the emphasis of Feng Shui which put great reference to the nature, the environment and the surrounding.
In fact, Feng Shui has little or no connection with religion although Feng Shui is sometimes also being mistaken as part of Taoism. It is not, although they do have some similarities in certain theories about luck and environment. Feng Shui is in fact a study of the natural elements that can affect our life, health, relationship and wealth.
If you dig deep into the Feng Shui applications, they focus very much on the placement of the elements in your surrounding. A comprehensive and effective Feng Shui application focus on the placement of furniture, the design of the layouts and all things that enhance the physical and natural environment.
However, some Feng Shui practitioners use a lot of Chinese ornaments as Feng Shui cures and enhancements; this is because the application was influenced by Chinese Culture as it was originated from China more than four thousands year ago.
In China, due to the Cultural Revolution that suppressed many ancient Chinese beliefs for decades, Feng Shui was almost lost to the world. Thankfully, there were many Feng Shui enthusiasts and practitioners who escaped from China during the Cultural Revolution and they were able to pass on most of the Feng Shui knowledge and application through the generations. Thus, do not be surprised if you observed that the Chinese in China do not know as much about Feng Shui or practice the Feng Shui application as much as the Chinese outside China.
It is common knowledge that our environments have a great impact on our lives. Feng Shui is the Chinese’s ancient way of understanding that influence. Thus, understanding of Feng Shui and the correct re-arranging of Feng Shui elements can lead to an improvement of our life, health, relationship and wealth.
An Essential Feng Shui Tip
“Get Rid of Clutter” - Almost every good Feng Shui class or seminar would say it so. Ever wonder why? That's because it's the truth. The basic premise of Feng Shui is that your life experience, even the extent of your luck – is influenced by your surroundings. At the same time, the state of your home or workspace is a reflection of your mood and attitude.
A simple tip which Feng Shui masters will never tell you as it is just too obvious. This is one tip which they will not tell you when you ask them (at fees costing up to thousands of dollars) to Feng Shui your home or office. Why? Because your home or office would be tidy and neat on such a day. Isn't it so?
Many a times, Feng Shui tips are as simple as keeping your homes or offices neat and tidy. Getting Rid of Clutter is the most important way to dramatically improve the Feng Shui of your home.
It's a Feng Shui tip that many take for granted. They rather spend lots of money buying Feng Shui ornaments which ironically add to the clutter in their homes and offices,
only to realise that their lucks are still as bad (if not, worse off than before) and then they blame it on Feng Shui and said that Feng Shui doesn't work. Keep in mind that Feng Shui when applied in the wrong way can have adverse effects. So, please do not over do in terms of buying and placement of Feng Shui ornaments.
With clutter, most people cannot think clearly as they always looking for things among the mess. Imagine being feeling happy and good when your minds are always on finding things among the stacks of mess at home or in your office.
Think about this for a while.
You may heard about "Chi" (the flow of energy) and Feng Shui. Clutters basically affect the Chi, and thus your luck. Clutter creates bad Chi flow because it prevents good Chi from flowing within your environments.
Clear the clutter and you clear the space for good Chi to flow, which is much better than placement of any Feng Shui ornaments, to kick-start the good Feng Shui in your environment.
If there is one tip that you want to take away from reading this article, that will be:
Before you rush out to buy any Feng Shui ornaments, start with clearing up your clutter.
Get rid of the mess and you get rid some of the bad Chi (and some bad luck…)
Toon Hwang ONG is the online Feng Shui enthusiast who has spend several years learning Feng Shui. He recently has a chance to learn under a practicing Feng Shui Master and shares the important tips that he learnt via his free e-newsletter.
Get his free e-newsletter at >> http://www.fengshui-do-it.com
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/feng-shui-and-clutter-an-essential-tip-to-know-313069.html
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Feng Shui Decorating Guidelines
The importance of following feng shui decorating guidelines.
Feng shui decorating guidelines show us the correct way to place objects, furniture and how to decorate in order to achieve harmony. Living and working spaces and their decorations affect the people inhabiting them, and feng shui decorating knowledge studies the way to make that factor affect in a positive and harmonic way.
If you want to learn and be able to follow feng shui decorating tips, the first thing to do is to learn about feng shui in general and its main concepts. By learning this, you will find yourself naturally acquiring information on how to decorate any different spaces according to feng shui.
According to feng shui decorating guidelines, the way and the position in which we place our furniture, the colors we choose, the different objects and places we choose for them, everything can be done in a way that ensures harmony. Actually, in China people are used to look for a feng shui expert to guide them in occasions such as when they buy a new house.
Following feng shui decorating guidelines is not the same as decorating in order to make a space pretty or nice looking but it is about making it be in harmony with us. Actually, many times a decoration done by following feng shui would not look nice or be esthetically correct at all. By following feng shui, we could end up doing some of the things we would never have thought to do in our decoration.
For example, the position we place a bed can have main importance according to feng shui decorating tips. A bed should be placed in a position that allows the person to easily look at the door, but at the same time it should not be facing it directly and it should be against a wall. Even if this leads to an option which you wouldn’t have thought of for you to place your bed, you should do so in order to be able to sleep well and comfortable.
Feng shui does not see decoration with the same eyes a merely esthetically based decoration does. Feng shui decorating guidelines are meant to help people make their spaces as much harmonic and positive for their inhabitants as possible, even if esthetics have to be sacrificed for it.
About The Author
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.fengshuicrazy.com. Please visit his website and learn all the feng shui tips you'll ever need!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jakob_Jelling
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Enhancing Your Life with Feng shui
To apply this practice means having to recognize the relationship between man and the environment he lives in. The key to this practice is locating the all important qi by arranging objects inside or outside of your home or even your office space so that qi continuously flows freely in the space thereby producing a positive impact in different aspects of your life. This ancient practice and belief is still being applied today and here are some methods where the art of balance and harmony can make a difference in a person’s life.
Using the Five Phases Method
The five phases method relies in the five elements or phases of fire, earth, metal, water and wood. These elements interrelate with each other through a creation cycle where fire produces earth, earth produces metal, metal produces water and water produces wood. Each element also corresponds to a particular direction where water is placed in the north, fire is the south, east is wood, west is metal and earth is the center.
The best way to apply this method is to make sure that your room or the space you live in has a balance of all these elements to produce good qi otherwise too much of a particular element might go against the other elements and produce harmful qi instead.
Using the Flying Stars Method
Probably the most difficult method to apply Feng shui is the flying star method which takes into account the date your house or office was built, a detailed floor plan and the outside environment of the place. It is similar to having a birth sign in astrology only this time it’s your property’s birth sign.
Although this method can be complex, it is the most accurate of methods and usually done by master practitioners of the craft. What this method aims to achieve is to harmonize your space by finding out the best elements to enhance it and the elements that need to be avoided.
Using the Eight Mansions Method
The most popular application of Feng shui is the eight mansions method or the Ba Zhai. This method requires you to calculate your kua number based on your birth date. This will help you determine your auspicious direction because each kua number corresponds to a particular direction.
This method aims to find out which directions are good for you and which to avoid. It also helps you find out if you are compatible with that particular area you’re living or staying in. Finding out the best direction for you and enhancing that space can help you become more productive in terms of career, relationships, health and luck.
Feng shui-Proof Your Life
Testimonies of the benefits of this ancient practice are many and its effectiveness can be traced from ancient times otherwise this practice would not have survived today. The concept is simple and everyone can benefit with some semblance of balance and harmony in their lives. It’s just a matter of recognizing the value of qi and making sure everything in your surroundings brings you peace.
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The History of Feng Shui
To use this ancient technique, you have to understand the influence of cosmology on earth. You should also have knowledge of how astronomy and astrology influence the placement of buildings. You also need to understand Confucian classic, the weathering process, the forces of nature, the magnetic fields and how these all influence us. If you think about it, that is a lot to study.
The history of Feng Shui originated in the West Han dynasty around third century BC. Those who practice it believe that the earth is alive with energy. If people built a structure on a land that has revitalizing energy, then they would prosper. If this is placed in a site with bad energy, misfortune will occur.
Originally, Feng Shui was used to help place tombs for those who have died rather than for building homes for the living. Back then, they believed that choosing a good burial site will bring peace and prosperity to those who remained here on earth.
The instrument used to select the correct burial site was known as the “Lo Pan.” This invention was traced back to the Yellow Emperor where it is said that the “Lady of the Nine Heavens” gave him this knowledge.
This ancient compass was called the Hin Shi and is described as a square base called a diviner’s board, holding a bowl of water which floated a magnetic south pointing spoon. The Hin Shi then developed into the “Lo Pan” and during the Sang Dynasty, this was used to navigate at sea. When this was brought to Europe somewhere during the 13th Century, this was better known as the compass which helped navigators explore the rest of the world.
But going back to Feng Shui, if the “Lo Pan” can be used to pick good burial sites, couldn’t it do the same for erecting buildings where people could live? The answer is yes and so this device was now used to analyze the orientations in a relationship to the main door, the bed and the stove.
Since then, both the rich and the poor incorporate this in their architecture. Archeological studies have shown that ancient Chinese city planners were made in concentric rectangles surrounded by walls that were then surrounded by lakes, hills, valleys, gardens, courtyards and parks which were to enhance positive energy.
As for buildings, these were constructed to enhance a healthy relationship between family members and the country.
This is where Yin and Yang comes in which this is considered to be the foundation of the universe. Coming from Taoism, these two are complete opposites that cannot exist without the other.
For them, the left side of the building must represent Yang or the male force while Yin or the female force is on the right.
Examples of Yang in the past included sunlit roofs, built areas and an elevation in the front. For Yin, there must be empty areas, shadowed eaves, set back structures and elevations in the back.
The history of Feng Shui was almost forgotten when the communists took over in 1949. If it wasn’t for the masters who practiced it and shipped it out to Hong Kong or China, we would have never known it existed. Feng Shui made its way to the US only in the 1970’s. Various articles and shows have focused on it and people now use it to help in building a house or a building.
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Harmonizing with Feng shui
The purpose of the application of this practice is to locate that Qi or that vital energy in your surroundings by creating balance and harmony around you. Here are some Feng shui theories that can give you a better grasp of this concept of balance and energy.
The Power of Qi
Qi is everywhere and the key is to find it. This energy is a result of interactions in the environment like the yin and yang and the five elements of water, fire, earth, metal and wood. This theory believes that the way you arrange your surroundings and position certain objects around you can affect your energy levels. It also believes that these energy levels can even influence your health, wealth, relationships and even luck. By properly organizing your environment, qi can flow through the space freely and can create a positive effect to those who live in the area.
The Union of theYin & Yang; Yang
The yin and the yang are two opposing forces or energies that work together creating a unity of opposites. The yin is characterized as the passive energy that is associated with the characteristics of water, cold, peace and tenderness while the yang is described as the active energy like those from heat, fire, excitement and speed. In other words if yin is matter, yang is energy and neither of them can exist without the other. The key to understanding this practice is to achieving a proper balance of yin and yang in our environment.
Balance through Bagua
The bagua is a popular Feng shui instrument that is shaped like an octagon and is divided into the eight cardinal directions of North, South, East, West, North East, North West, South East and South West. The theory of the bagua is that each of these directions corresponds to a part of our life. For instance, the North portion of the bagua pertains to one’s career while the south pertains to the fame or reputation of a person. The other categories of the bagua are family, children, prosperity, relationships, wisdom, and travel.
The theory of the bagua also believes that each of the eight directions pertain to a part of our life and in order to activate the energy or improve a certain part of our life is to find the direction it corresponds to and make the qi flow into that space positively.
Finding the Harmony
Understanding and appreciating the art of Feng shui is accepting that there is an existing relationship between you and your environment. The theories of this practice present information on how a person can achieve balance and harmony with the environment which can have a great impact in particular areas of a person’s life.
Although each person has their own potentials in the area of health, wealth, relationships and luck, what this practice really teaches is how to enhance these areas for practitioners to make the most out of their lives.
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Feng Shui Theories
Qi
The Qi, pronounce as "chi", is a difficult word to understand and is usually left as it is, without translation. In the most literal sense, the word means "air". In today's feng shui, Qi is similar to the word "energy". A more traditional explanation of Qi as it relates to understanding of local environments, the orientation of buildings, and the interaction between the land to the vegetation and the soil quality. An instrument that is used to determine the flow of Qi is the luopan.
The theory of Qi stems from the different beliefs from the Axial Age. One such belief holds that the heavens influence life on Earth. This may seem outrageous to some people, but scientists today now know that space weather exists and can affect some technology such as GPS, power grids, communication and navigation systems, etc. and the internal orienting faculties of even birds and other creatures.
Polarity
Polarity is another theory used in the practice of feng shui. It is expressed in feng shui as the Yin and Yang Theory. Polarity that is expressed through yin and yang can be compared to a bipolar magnetic field. It is made up of two forces- one creating a force and one receiving it. Yang is the force acting and yin is receiving. This interaction is considered as an early understanding of Qirality. The Yin Yang Theory and connected to another theory called the Five Phase Theory or Five Element Theory.
The so-called "five elements" of feng shui are water, wood, fire, earth or soil, and metal. These elements are said to be composed of yin and yang in precise amounts. The interaction between the two forces became the foundation for the practice of feng shui and how it is said to strive to achieve balance.
Bagua
The two ancient diagrams that are known as the bagua are common fixtures in the practice in feng shui. They can be compared to the cardinal points of the compass today. The bagua diagrams are also linked with the sifang or "four directions" method of divination that was popularly used during the Shang dynasty although the sifang is considered to be much older.
It was also known to be used at Niuheliang as well as a big fixture in the Hongshan culture's practice of astronomy. And it is in this area of China that can be connected to Huangdi, who was also known as the Yellow Emperor. It was Huangdi who was known to have invented the south-pointing spoon.
The cardinal directions that contained in the bagua diagram are said to be determined by the marker-stars of the mega-constellations known as the Four Celestial Animals. The East is considered to be the Blue Green Dragon. The South is the Red Bird. The West is also known to be the White Tiger while the North stood for the Dark Turtle.
These feng shui theories also loom large even in today's practice of trying to achieve a good balance in the environment as well as the lives of people.
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Feng Shui History
The astronomical history of Feng Shui is evident in the ancient instruments that were developed in its practice. The earliest known Feng Shui instrument may have been what is known as the gnomon. This instrument was used along with trying to circumpolar the stars in order to determine the north and south axis. This was basically used in laying down early Chinese settlements.
The ancient Yangshao and Hongshan cultures in China provide the earliest evidences of the practice of feng shui. As early as 4000 BCE, doors from Banpo dwellings were aligned to the star called Yingshi just right after the winter solstice. This allowed the homes to be sited for better solar gain. During the Zhou era, the star Yingshi was known as Ding and had a great influence in trying to determine the appropriate time to build their capital city. This is according to records on the Shijing.
Another example of the practice of ancient feng shui can also be found from the grave at Puyang that dates back to about 3000 BCE. This particular grave contains mosaics of the stars called Dragon and Tiger along with the Beidou, known in the Western world as the Big Dipper constellation. The mosaics seem to be oriented along the north to south axis. The presence of round and square shapes were also found at the Puyang tomb as well as at the Hongshan cultural ceremonial centers and the former Longshan settlement. These evidences suggest that the practice of gaitian astronomy (belief in a round earth and a square earth) was already present in the ancient Chinese society.
One of the oldest instruments used in ancient feng shui were the liuren astrolabes. These ancient instruments consist of a lacquered, two-sided board equipped with astronomical sightlines. The oldest of the liuren astrolabes have been found and discovered from tombs dating from 278 BCE and 209 BCE. These ancient astrolabes show the cord-hook diagram and some those found even include the magic square of three. The markings on these instruments remained unchanged, from the ancient astrolabe down to the first magnetic compasses.
The practice of astronomy that bears a striking resemblance to many modern feng shui devices and theories were also discovered on a jade artifact found in Hanshan that dated at around 3000 BCE. Ancient structures in China which included its palaces in the capital cities are all influenced by feng shui in their design and layout. The rules that were followed were written during the Zhou era on the "Kaogong ji", or the "Manual of Crafts".
The magnetic compass was initially invented for the practice of feng shui and has been in use since its invention. Traditional feng shui instruments include the Luopan or the earlier south-pointing spoon or the zhinan zhen. This shows the extent of feng shui history and its long standing practice in ancient Chinese history.
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