The Yin and Yang area of a Building

To determine the best room for each function one of the tools a Feng Shui Consultant refers to is the Yin and Yang area of a building.

Yin and Yang are opposites and belong to one of the ancient Chinese believe systems going back to a couple of thousand years BC. The Chinese claim that the initial philosophy of yin and yang (or the idea of "opposites") date to about 5.000 BC.

Yin and Yang are of interest for us as it helps us determine possible functions in a building. In this area yin and yang refers to the following:

Two ways of checking for yin and yang areas in a building is to:
A) Analyze the Qi Flow of the building and individual rooms.
B) To determine the direction of the building and following the sun's path.

Both the direction of a building and the sun paths can be different. While the sun might be shining into the back part of the building, the front part is the active one with a noisy highway passing by the front door.

Example of the sun's path for the given floorplan:

 

So what could be a possible outcome of this analysis?

It can give us an indication which room is the best to sleep in, the best room to work in, the one best for social gatherings and the one best suited for our child.

Example:

In the picture above the flat is split fairly evenly between a yin and yang area determined by the sun's path (and in this case the direction of hte main road (which is not indicated in the picture). The lower right room is best for sleeping, the room next to it would be good for resting too. While the two top areas are best for a living room or a Childrens room.

Statue of St. Joseph

The swallow return to San Juan Capistrano today, a 'miracle' that happens every year on this date. But what some don't know is that this day is also dedicated to St. Joseph. Anecdotes abound about people who sold their homes only after burying a statue of St. Joseph in their yards just prior to signing the sales contract.

If you're trying to sell some real estate, bury a statue of St. Joseph, upside down or head first, in the 'Helpful People' area of your yard and then wait to see if you can swallow the success of your own sale! Believe me, from everything I hear, the almost immediate results are heavenly!

Eight Rock

According to the crazy calendars that I consult with today is often referred to as 'Proposal Day.' In Feng Shui there is a 'cure' that will ensure that the one you love finally takes a knee. The proposal cure goes like this: take eight big rocks or even boulders and place them one atop the other in the 'Romance and Relationship' area of your backyard.

 The eighth rock or boulder should be spray painted gold and tied with a red ribbon or cord and then placed at the apex of this configuration. Put this pile in place for at least 27 days and then expect the ultimate ask. If you don't have a space outside to compel the commitment, then do this same thing inside your own living space in the same 'Romance' arena.

Once you have gotten around to putting this golden touch into place, it shouldn't be long until you see a ring to match!

Elucidation

When he wrote that 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,' clearly Charles Dickens didn't know his Feng Shui or he would have known that through these teachings obstacles turn into opportunities and bad times into blessings.

 He himself started out his professional career working torturous 10 hour days inside a London boot blacking factory. But that factory gave him fodder for the literary classics that he was soon to pen gracing the world with a legacy of literature that still magnetizes to this day. In celebration of this, his birthday and in order to bring balance to your space and make all of your days 'the best of times,' place a lamp or a light or even just a lit candle into the 'Knowledge' area of your main floor. 

Let them burn brightly for at least three hours. In Feng Shui, this effort is believed to bring elucidation, education and an incredible lightness of being into your home and into your life. This cure is, quite literally, a true page turner!

Paper with Honey

It was this day in 1948 that someone shot the messenger and silenced a voice dedicated to the idea that every human being deserves to live a life of peace and love, harmony and balance. 

On this day, 61 years ago, Gandhi breathed his last but right before he died he looked at his murderer square in the eye and he forgave him. To the end this simple yet so powerful man showed us all what a planet of peace and love, harmony and balance could, be but not without the critical component of forgiveness involved. 

On this day, think about someone who you need to forgive and then do the following: write the name of anyone who you have an issue with on a small white piece of paper with a red pen. Fold the paper and put it inside any small jar or glass container. Cover the paper with honey and close the jar. Now, each day for nine days straight, light a small white tea candle that is placed atop that same closed lid and silently send forgiveness to whoever it is whose name is in the jar. Open up and let the love in. Forgive and then heal.
 With sweetness and light.

Plants and Evergreens

We see so much evergreen all around us at this time of year. As Martha might be wont to say though, 'it's a good thing.' See, green is really cool -- a cooling color, that is. 
Traditionally, at this time of year there is an abundance of fire energies heating up a lot of our living places; candles creating low-lit ambiance, active wood burning fireplaces and additional lights strewn around our space that can actually create a subtle sense of stress if not counterbalanced with a cooling and healing color such as green.

 Plants and evergreens will clam the atmosphere and also promote peace as well as lifted spirits and emotions. Tone down that seasonal red with a bit of green and find harmony hanging in your stocking this holiday season.

Trinkets and Ornament

If you do decide to go caroling today, be sure to take along a little something special for those whose friendship and love you cherish and whose homes you are planning to stop at. Not only should you each add something to their holiday decor that will leave them with a personal and powerful energetic reminder that is much more than a seasonal song in their heart, you should also encourage them to come and visit you with something that speaks to their individual energies as well. 

Some customs and traditions tell us to make sure that anyone and everyone who spends time in our space should also add something personal to the decor in our own home in order to make the energies more solidly and sacredly linked. In my house, we leave some trinkets and small ornaments at the door so anyone entering can just grab and hang on the tree, adding their invaluable energies to ours!

White Balloon

In 1981, on this same day, Ron Clark, Rocky Aoki and Larry Newman ballooned from Nagashima, Japan to Covelo, California in the Double Eagle V, the first balloon to ever cross the Atlantic. The wishes of those three intrepid explorers came true on this day and now here is an opportunity for you to explore and conquer new horizons using balloons of your very own. 

Get a plain white balloon and fill it with helium. Knot and tie it with a tail of nine or 18 inches of red ribbon, sting or yarn. With a new black marker used specifically for this adjustment, write a dearly held wish or desire on the balloon and then sign and date it. 

Now, take this circle of your life to any open space on any sunny day and let your wish go to the 'mouth of the sky dragon.' Watch your balloon fly high and towards the horizon until you can no longer see it. That means the sky dragon has swallowed it and will grant your wish within one year's time. 
Ancient advice with a contemporary spin, just what every explorer needs to conquer new territory.