Feng shui

I surround myself with lots of greenery and natural light in the office.

My latest addition - green Buddha bottle

I've some interest in Feng Shui which means "Wind and Water" in Chinese. Underlying the practical guidelines of feng shui is a general theory of Nature. Nature is generally held to be a discrete entity that breathes qi (a kind of life force or spiritual energy). Since life exists within either air or water, Qi is said to be the life energy that flows within these two environments.

It gets complicated to go into details but I'm always mindful of where I sit and what’s around me. Here are some simple guidelines that I adhere to. Some are commonsense actually.

- Avoid sharp corners especially those that point to where you sit, stand or sleep. Do not put cactus or plants with sharp leaves in the house. Choose those with round leaves.
- Do not sleep beneath exposed beams on the ceiling. It means you’re always under pressure.
- Do not sit or sleep facing exposed shelving. The horizontal lines of the shelves can ‘cut’ you.
- When sitting at a desk, the entrance door should be in a clear line of sight, and you should have a view of as much of the room as possible.
- Avoid sitting at a place where you are facing inwards, leaving your back exposed. That way, nobody can sneak up on you and give you a scare.
- Avoid installing mirrors beside your bed to avoid giving yourself a bad fright when you wake up in the middle of the night.
- When lying in bed, the entrance door should not be directly facing the soles of your feet. In other words, the end of the bed should not be in line with the door.
- Generally the best area in any room is the spot diagonally across the door.
- Avoid clutter or overdecorating your table with too many objects. Clutter blocks the flow of qi and those objects represent piles of stress and bad luck you could be carrying. You should be able to sit at a table and have an open view in front of you.
- Avoid living in houses in front of cemeteries, hospitals, and mortuaries.
- The most auspicious spaces for homes are lots located in streets shaped like a horseshoe.
- In choosing homes, it's best to go for the ones that have a hill or a taller building behind you. That means you will have strong backing. Do not choose one right at the top of the hill where you’re exposed to the elements.
- Homes or apartments that are square-shaped are optimal for chi flow.