Before you start making changes to your
living or working space it is a good idea to take stock
of yourself, where you are right now, and where you want
to be. This will give you a better idea of the kind of space
you will want to create. Ask yourself some serious questions
about your career, your relationship, your Future and come
to some firm decisions about where you want to change and
what kind of changes you want to make.
 Tibetan
Ba Gua
Remember it is a basic tenet of Taoist belief that you
are completely responsible for your own life. The point
of Feng Shui is to bring your space more into alignment
with who you are and your relationship with Nature.
According to Feng Shui principles it is not a good idea
to leave any wall blank. It is like having areas of your
life blank. The ideal is to develop harmonious relationships
with yourself, your environment, and with nature. This means
creating a space that will invite good luck, success,wealth
and good health into your life.
To locate the various areas in a room or home, place the
Ba Gua template so that the main entrance is through one
of .... Care er.... Mentors... or Knowledge.
Career
This area represents where you are right now in your career
path. this is part of who you are. To encourage your career
display pictures or objects that are affirming and meaningful
to you and that are related to your career in some way.
If your are changing careers in the near future, or are
thinking seriously about it, display something affirming
that represents where you will be in the near future. it
is important that you be clear about what it is you will
be in the near future. It is important that you be clear
about what it is you want here.
If you are having difficulty in your career, check out
this area in your home. is it cluttered? If the main entrance
is through this area are there dirty boots and garbage blocking
the entrance? Is the entrance clean, clear and inviting?
Do you enter your work through the main entrance or through
the back door? Can you change this ?
Future
Directly opposite the Career area is your
Future area. This is where you want to be in 5 - 10 - 15
years. It is important to have a goal in life. This is not
necessarily related to Career. It could be your Life goal
to retire to Tahiti, for example, or to drive a Ferrari,
or establish a school. It could be a spiritual goal. It
doesn't matter if this is a practical or  an
impractical goal as long as it is important to you. Hang
a picture here of whatever represents what you want your
life purpose to be. Statues, or other 3 dimensional representations
could also be used. This is one area where you can let your
heart soar without regard to practicality. It doesn't matter
if, right here, right now you think you will ever be able
to reach this goal or not. The point is that you will see
it every time you walk into the room and it will become
fixed in your reality.
By the way, it is not a good idea to keep changing your
mind on this. It is important to think deeply and choose
wisely and commit your being to the goal. If you are not
clear on specifics, this is perfectly fine. Display something
that appeals on an emotional level. Something that encourages
feelings of happiness, or peace, or creativity and let the
Universe handle the details. The Taoist idea is that you
are always journeying towards something. The Tao itself
is actually not reachable. Once something is named it is
no longer the true Tao. In that sense, for the Taoist, the
journey is always the thing.
Mentors/Helpful
People
This area is located to the right of the Career
area. this area is to honour and be reminded of those people
both famous and not, other than family members who are important
to you and/or have had significant impact on your life;
classmates, teachers, friends, spiritual personalities or
symbols would be represented in this corner. Photographs,
statues or some other such objects or pictures would go
well here.
Children/Creative
Ideas
This area is located in the Centre-Right position. If you
have actual children, this is a good place to hang or display
objects that foster growth and nourishment. Here you could
hang pictures of the children or drawn by the children,
or crafts made by them.
This area also refers to 'brain children'. That is creative
projects and ideas. This would be a good area for an art
studio, workshop or drawing board. On a desk,pictures of
the kids or by the kids would go here. This also a good
area for a large plant to encourage your own inner child's
playfulness and growth.
In a home, a nursery or child's room should be located
here. In a business, research and development or the art
department should be located in this area of the building.
Relationships/Marriage
This area is located in the far right corner as you enter.
This relates to close intimate relationships such as between
spouses, or partners. This is sometimes called the Marriage
corner. To activate and encourage this relationship it is
usually recommended to hang pictures or display objects
in pairs. If you are just starting out, 2 small paired plants
to encourage growth might be a good idea. Just as the relationship,
the plants will need tending and nurturing and frequent
watering. It is not a good idea to put a cactus or other
such spiny plants in this area as the pointed needles encourage
conflict. The same is true of knives, swords, or firearms.
These ought not to be displayed in this corner. In a home,
this is a good area for the master bedroom. In a business
it is a good place for the manager's office.
The wealth area is located in the far left
corner. This area represents money, prosperity, riches,
and possessions. If you want to encourage money and wealth
to come into your life, you could display pictures of money.
I wrote a cheque to myself for $100,000.00, framed in an
expensive frame, and hung it in this corner at a time when
I was completely broke. it took some time, and of course
there were many other factors, but eventually I was able
to cash this cheque.
You could also display or keep valuables such as gold, silver
or crystals in this corner to encourage a constant flow
of wealth. A fountain or fish tank is popularly put in this
area to encourage the free flow of money Qi. A metal wind
chime would also work well in this corner, particularly
if you are 'stuck' in money issues.
It is best to keep this area free of clutter.
This is also not a good area to locate a toilet or back
door, as Qi will have a tendency to flush away or escape.
If your toilet is in this area, make sure you keep the seat
down, the door closed and hang a small mirror on the door
to deflect Qi back into the house.
Ancestors/Family/Community
This area is located in the Centre - Left
position. This refers to Parents, elders, ancestors, as
well as one's wider family in the community and even
globally. In oriental culture elders are valued
for the knowledge that comes from experience they posses
and honoured for that reason. Experience, as they say, is
the best teacher. Pictures of your extended family are good
here. This might be good place to locate an altar, place
a globe, or some other such reminder of one's place in the
community.
Knowledge/Wisdom
This area is located to the left of the Career, and is
one of the areas through which one may enter a home, office,
or room. This is an area for learning and study. A library
or book shelf would go well here. This would be a good area
to display pictures of sacred sites such as Stonehenge or
Easter Island.
Health/Well-Being
The exact centre of a home, business or any room is considered
the health area. The Centre is seen as the heart of a room.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine the heart houses the Mind
or essence of a person and depends on the free flow of Qi
through all the other organs for good health and clarity.
The same is true of one's space. Feng Shui does for your
space what TCM does for your body. It is all one integrated
whole. This area reflects not only your physical health,
but your overall Life health, which depends on the free
flow of Qi through all the areas of your life. If one lives
in clutter or an environment where the Qi flows too fast
or too slow, one will be susceptible to foggy thinking,
emotionalism, and even physical illness. In the same manner,
the way one lives reflects how one thinks. It is reciprocal
arrangement.
Power
The power area of any room,home or business is always the
point furthest from the main entrance. This is almost always
either the wealth or relationship corner. In ancient times
the thinking here was that if an enemy entered the room,
you would have a clear overview of the entire room and have
maximum response time. For the same reason it is not a good
idea to sit with your back to the entrance. In a home a
master bedroom located in the Relationship area would reflect
the seat of power in that home. In a business setting, it
is a good place for the Manager's office since he mainly
deals with people. The Boss's office would best be situated
in the Wealth area since it is his job to make sure the
business makes money. If this is also the power corner this
would auspicious for the company's profitability.
If you are currently in a business that is having money
problems you might want to check out where your office is
and consider moving it.
If you are organizing your desk, it might be a good idea
to think about where your power resides. Is it in your relationships
or is it from your wealth?
In 'L' shaped or oddly shaped homes or businesses one of
these areas might be missing altogether. In this case you
may find you have difficulty in exercising your personal
power. You will need to take some sort of curative action.
See cures.
Standard
Form School Ba Gua |
Taking
Stock
As you move through each room taking stock, ask these specific
questions.
1. What is the purpose of this room?
2. What do I want to accomplish in this area of my life?
3. How am I doing right now? (on a scale of 1 - 6)
4. What specifically, if anything, needs to change?
5. How do I want to change? ( more? less? faster? slower?)
6. How do i feel about this room or space? (very often
we can get a feeling about a space - good or bad)
Asking these questions will help to give you a snapshot
of our life as it is now. According to Taoist principals,
everything changes, so you can expect change anyway. The
magic of Feng Shui and like practices is that it gives you
some power to influence the change that comes anyway, in
a way that is beneficial to you.
Remember, Feng Shui is just one of a number of practices
of the Ancients designed to create a life of health, wealth,
success, good luck, ease, joy, and grace.
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