My Self Help: March 2009

Friday, March 13, 2009

Go With the Feng Shui Flow

Ask most people if they believe that invisible energies affect their lives and they will probably dismiss the idea as complete nonsense. Then ask them if they believe in gravity, magnetism, or electricity. You can't see gravity, but it's a force that has a huge effect on your life. It prolongs it, for one thing, by stopping you from flying off into space!

So, invisible forces do have an effect on our lives, to a greater or lesser degree, whether people choose to believe in them or not.

The main reason why Feng Shui is regarded as a fad (by an ever-decreasing number of skeptics) is that it cannot be empirically proven. Magnetism has a visible pull on a compass. Electricity can be metered and sold. Feng Shui? Well... it just makes people feel better! That is no proof at all - and at the same time it's the greatest proof, depending on how in touch with your feelings you allow yourself to be.

Literally translated, Feng Shui means "wind-water," an energy that flows like water but passes invisibly through air like the wind. An early form of the practice was known as Tanyu, or, The Way of Heaven and Earth.

Qi, or chi, was believed to be an energy flow or life force by the ancient Chinese. It's scattered amongst the heavens and comes to earth in a most haphazard way. Feng Shui and the practice of arranging your home, your possessions, or your workplace in a certain manner, is believed to catch this Qi or channel it to the best possible effect.

By following the disciplines of this very ancient practice, positive energies can be focused into the practitioner's life in a variety of ways, bringing happiness, success, and even love.

Each new form of energy mankind has stumbled upon has been laughed at by its detractors before its effectiveness was proven and the benefits enjoyed. Feng Shui is no different. Well... actually ... it is!

Feng Shui has been studied for much longer. Believe it or not, Feng Shui was being practiced thousands of years before even magnetism was discovered. It was popular five thousand years ago and its vastly more popular now.

Now, tell me, would a practice last anywhere near as long as Feng Shui has, if it wasn't doing somebody somewhere some good?

The modern world is crammed, more than ever before, with conflict and disharmony. Workplaces are competitive at the expense of others. Roads are clogged up with noise, anger, and fear. Wars flash across our television screens, we are watching images we had never watched before.

Some people dive right into that maelstrom of negativity. They can ride that crashing wave and maybe even make money off it. But it's a short-term thrill. It brings superficial benefits. It never reaches as far as the soul.

For those with higher expectations, the world is something beautiful and we should live in it with harmony. Those invisible forces can help us live a more fulfilling life. Like magnetism helped explorers find north, Feng Shui helps us find our center.

So, for meaningful happiness go with the flow, the wind-water flow. Go with Feng Shui.

If you want to read more about Feng Shui and find very useful information, please visit me at http://www.lifewithfengshui.com

Ancient Greek Food - Olives

Today, you go to the store and buy a little container of olives. You can get them in all different shapes sizes colors, and more. You can buy them with pimentos in them or not. Many wonder how this food became such an important part of Greek culture and large part of their diet.

Ancient Greeks used olives as there main source of fat instead of meat from animal because they thought it was an unhealthy way of getting fat, since the barbarians (non Greeks) ate that way. In actuality, the barbarians ate meat and their products such as milk and cheese because they were nomadic and had no way of growing an olive tree or preparing olives if they saw any.

Preserving olives was possible because there was salt everywhere! Since Ancient Greece was a huge island basically, salt was easily accessible and allowed them to preserve olives with ease.

To preserve their olives, first ancient Greeks would gather them while they where not ripe. They left them in eater that they changed every 12 hours with water that contains wood ash and then again cleared the water. It might have taken a week. To decrease the time sometimes they would cut them with a knife. They, oil would come forth from the olives but this was just used to help preserve them. They were then kept in wine, vinegar, and salty water.

Olive oil was created to help preserve the olives. Olive oil was a great source of the Ancient peoples diet because it was their main source of fat. You might think that fish was a main source of their diet, but these things were very expensive so common people mainly just had olive oil. It is not as it is today where people eat a large variety of food no matter who they are. Ancient Greece was a very socially unequal place.

If you ever dip bread in olive oil, you are carrying out the actions of an aristocratic meal. In ancient times, common Greeks mostly ate porridge and not bread for carbohydrates. Bread was a lot of work to make and was not a common food among them.

Today, olives are eaten by anyone who has a few bucks and can walk or drive to a store. Not so in the days of past. Still, ancient Greeks still figured they could turn tiny strange spherical objects on a tree into a delicious and nutritious food for all of the Mediterranean.

George Christodoulou

If you have any more questions about ancient greek food or you would like to read more about ancient greek food, please visit =>http://ancientgreekfood.net for more information.

Feng Shui Personal Qua Numbers

The practice of feng shui can be dated back more than 3,500 years ago. This ancient Chinese practice utilizes the laws of both heaven and earth to improve one's life by receiving positive energy. It is believed to have an effect on health, wealth, and personal relationships.

Similar to bipolar magnetic fields, polarity is expressed through yin and yang, having two parts: one creating an exertion and one receiving the exertion. Yin and yang in feng shui are achieved through the use of the five elements: water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. Earth is a buffer, or equilibrium, when polarities cancel one another. Feng shui is all about balance.

Placement and facing are also crucial to feng shui. Using feng shui personal qua numbers, you can find which directions are best for you, like which way is best to face your home and/or furniture in your home or office. There are eight directions of facing: southeast, east, south, north, west, northwest, northeast, southwest.

To find your feng shui personal qua numbers: for men, take the last two digits of your year of birth and add them together. Keep adding the two numbers together until you get to a single digit. Subtract your number from ten. If your number is a five, then you will use the number two, yang earth element. Women, add the last two digits of your birth year together, adding the numbers you get together until you have a single digit. Add five to your number, and then reduce it to a single digit again. If your number comes to a five, then you will use eight, yin earth element.

Examples:

If you were born in 1979

Men - 7+9=16
1+6=7
10-7=3
3 is your qua number

Women - 7+9=16
1+6=7
5+7=12
1+2=3

3 is your qua number

Feng Shui personal qua numbers are broken into two groups - Westernly and Easternly.

WESTERNLY GROUP

The Westernly numbers and corresponding elements and directions:

Two - Earth and Southwest
Six - Metal and Northwest
Seven - Metal and West
Eight - Earth and Northeast

EASTERNLY GROUP

The Easternly numbers and corresponding elements and directions:

One - Water and North
Three - Wood and East
Four - Wood and Southeast
Nine - Fire and South

Feng Shui personal qua numbers can also identify which colors you are most successful in. Here are the best colors to place in your environment, according to your number.

One - Black and Dark Blue
Two - Brown, Yellow, Tan
Three - Green
Four - Dark Green
Five - Beige and Yellow
Six - Gold, Silver, White and Bronze
Seven - Gold, Silver, White and Bronze
Eight - Brown, Yellow, Tan
Nine - Red, Purple

Remember, you don't have to adjust everything in your life at once just because you now know what your qua number is and what it means. You must also take into account the numbers of those who live and work around your space and work together to achieve balance.

Robert Grazian is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about qua numbers visit Feng Shui Gardening for current articles and discussions.

Feng Shui Interprets The Street That Ends At Your House

The house which sits at the very end of a cul-de-sac or T-juncture is going to be receiving more energy than the other houses on either side, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. Most feng shui books illustrate how this is a very accident-prone or unhappy home and to be avoided at all costs, but occasionally it is the luckiest house on the block. Why? If the house is inherently good in its "unseen" influences, then all the chi rushing toward that house will activate the good features. So, this type of street alignment will only intensifiy whatever house type it is.

What are the unseen influences? These are the energies created inside the house based on when it was built and what precise directional orientation the house faces. As a concrete example: if you have a house that faces 345 degrees north and built in 1950, this house does not have a very good front door if it is smack in the middle of the front side of the house. It is a house type where the occupant could have head or lung problems. Now, if that same house has a street directly aligned with this front door, it would exacerbate this negative potential of the house. But what if that same house was built in 1990 instead? That house with a north door would have major prosperity energies in that location so a road directed toward it could make it even more active in a good sense.

This is just one of many examples of how the outside forces influence the inside forces and you cannot do a proper feng shui analysis without considering both the interiors and exteriors together.

If you have falllen in love with a house that happens to be at the end of a cul-de-sac, don't write it off as bad feng shui without looking at other important features to the house and getting a comprehensive evaluation to determine the real effects. Even if it is not the type of house that can benefit from the street alignment, there could easily be some good landscaping remedies to off set this oncoming flow of air currents. With enough of a front yard, you could have a half wall, a hedge, a fence, an elevated sculpture, trees or plantings to buffer or re-direct the otherwise direct line of chi.

For more information about traditional feng shui, for either residential or commercial properties, visit Kartar Diamond's website at http://www.FengShuiSolutions.net

Year of the Earth Ox 2009 - Through Feng Shui Astrology

THE SIGN OF THE OX

Born:

1925,1937,1949,1961,1973,1955,1997,2009

(remember if you birthdate is before February 4th in any year the use theprior birth year)

The strong Ox symbolizes prosperity through hard work. They are methodical, calm and dependable. They make tireless, patient workers that can stick to any routine. Laziness is not a option to this creature.

They respect tradition.

They are strong by nature and can persevere what ever life throws their way.

They make excellent parents as they symbolize parental love because of the tenderness and nurturing behaviour they bestow on their calves. They are deeply devoted to their children and families. They possess a quiet, uncomplaining strength. Their steady, reliable character excels in positions of authority and trust. He has a logical mind gifted with intelligence and dexterity.

Although they can be introverted, they have the ability to rise to the occasion and express themselves powerfully and convincingly, that commands respect and attention in any room. His eloquence in speech makes him credible and a patriotic leader. In times of trouble, his presence of mind, refusal to be

intimidated and innate self confidence take over . He is tenacious by nature and can survive incredible adversity. Their capacity to endure the greatest of hardships has kept entire nations and families together. They tend to triumph over life just because of their stubbornness to give in.

They are proud and walk with their shoulders back and head held high.They are at their best during the peaceful hours of the early morning. When the Ox rests he reassembles his great strength to forge ahead through any obstacle of the day ahead.

For 2009:

A Challenging year for career but a great time to decide what you want to specialize in andensure you take the coursesnecessary in order to do so.

Be conservative this year with spending, health and love! Slow and steady can alsowin the race!

2009 Fay Chapple

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fay Chapple is an International Feng Shui Expert, award winning Interior Decorator and Life Coach, and is Principal of the award winning Home & Life Design Firm Blue Avalon.

Blue Avalon specializes in Interior Decorating, Feng Shui and Abundant Living. Blue Avalon is the publisher of The Blue Avalon Journal, a monthly e-zine packed with ideas, tips and insider secrets! To subscribe log on to our site at http://www.blueavalon.com and you'll receive a bonus book, The Number One Feng Shui Secret That Will Transform Your Life!

Blue Avalon - "Harmony for your home... Balance for your life!" http://www.blueavalon.com

Feng Shui Flying Stars - January 2009

What to look out for this month

January 6th - February 3rd, 2009

The energies of the directions will change and therefore we need to prepare and know what to expect!

This is a general overview. The Stars react differently based on the sitting and facing of your home so you should be aware of these directions.

For January 2009:

Southeast:

The number 5 star (a negative star) flies into the southeast bringing bad luck and illness. If you are residing in this sector -be careful with all decisions this month. And place some metal in this sector for the month.

South:

The 5 - 1 combination is one of water and earth which is not ideal - be careful if you are playing sports or in general guard against accidents. A medicine buddha or symbols of prosperity and victory will help here.

Southwest:

The 7-3 combination again is a difficult one and can cause concerns with arguments and fights so be careful with your words and actions if you reside in this sector. If this is your bedroom - add some blue (a blue rhinoceros is always auspicious) and focus on symbols of friendship and peace.

East:

A great combination for prosperity and success. If your office is located in this sector it will be a great month for business as your prospects increase! Great for students as well, a water feature and a dragon symbol will help boost this great energy this month.

Centre:

The 6 star brings good luck with it and this energy permeates throughout the house. Keep this energy alive with yang (lots of activity here) and lights!

West:

8 brings with it prosperity to those who reside here! A water feature would work well here, although keep children out of this area as this strong energy may cause them minor illness.

Northeast:

A great place to study for exams or to write your novel! Creativity is featured here this month! Also great for romance and family - Mandarin ducks, family portraits, mentor symbols and crystal points work well here.

North:

The 2 star is know for illness so be cautious (in particular men of the family) if you reside here. A wu lu beside your bedside (or other metal rounded sculpture) will help you keep healthy. However there is also career prospects here -- so if you reside here, make sure your money frog is in place or any symbols of wealth and prosperity.

Northwest:

The 7 violent star combined with the 2 star is not good news. Be careful with burglary here - make sure you alarm system is up to date and doors and windows locked if this is your front door. Keep protection symbols in this area this month.

Remember these are only general guidelines and it is best to do a full audit of your home in order to benefit the most from the changing energies of the stars!