4: Can the Tao be spoken?
The fifth chapter of the Xi Ci (or Da Zhuan) commentary on the Book of Changes contains a saying, “One Yin and one Yang make the Tao. People use it daily, but do not know it.” Over the centuries, many scholars have tried to explain this saying, but their explanations have been too abstract for most people to understand.
3: Feng Shui and Natural Law
To talk about Feng Shui, we have to talk about natural law, since it is one of the two pillars of Feng Shui.
2: Feng Shui is Design for the Living Environment
When we talk about “designing our environment”, the term “environment” can refer to different scales. It can refer to a city, a neighborhood, a building, or even a room, or the furnishings or decorations within a room.
1: What is Feng Shui?
In August 2018, I was invited by the lineage holder of the Taoist Quan Zhen School to participate in a forum, the first one of its kind ever held in China. During the meeting, there were many Taoist scholars, practitioners, and historians.
We often think of Feng Shui in terms of the environment, what is outside and around us. Even though we may be aware that Feng Shui applies to every level of manifestation, from the smallest to the largest, it is still easy to miss a very important application that is very close to home, each and every person.
Mirrors are common household items. They are used for dressing, for reflecting more light and for creating the feeling of a larger space. But mirrors also have negative aspects.
Mirrors can create false images and incite chaos and conflict. For example, a bedroom with mirrored closets often creates insomnia. Also, have you ever noticed that if you talk with a friend while sitting next to a full mirrored wall, the discussion often turns into an argument?
“Is it better to have a round or square dining table?” In feng shui consultations, this is a frequently asked question. Naturally, which is better has a lot to do with the space; the surrounding furniture, the family structure, and the setting one is trying to create.
In consideration of any work, we always begin with the fundamental principles of yin and yang. What is dynamic and mobile is yang, while what is static and stable is yin. Hence, round shapes are yang and square or rectangular shapes are yin.
In Form School feng shui, mountain and water are the two key features of the Four-Feature model that is used in analysis and design. (The Four Features are Mountain, Water, Guardian Hills, and Energy Spot. These constitute the keys to interpreting the energetic composition of any structure.)
The recent unrest in Ukraine over its president Viktor Yanukovish backing out of a trade deal with the European Union, prompted one of my students in Kiev, to ask me about the national flag of Ukraine. How does the flag of Ukraine reflect the fate of the country? The flag is composed two equal sized blue and yellow bands. Originally, yellow on the top, now it is reversed and blue sits on top. Does this make any difference?
There is a country with a land size of 35,900 Km square, 0.37 % of USA. It has a population of 23 million (7.35% USA). This country has no oil, iron, coal, gold, or mineral deposit, nor does it have any other noticeable natural resources.
Yet this country has accomplished:
GDP per capita: $37,000 (USA $49.800)
Foreign Reserve: 408 billion. It ranks No. 6 in the world, next to China, Japan, European Union, Saudi Arabia, and Russia.
