Fengshui your mind first

The well-known geomancer, Lillian Too, once said: "If nothing much happened to you last year, be thankful! This means nothing bad or traumatic like accidents, divorce, death in the family, job loss or robbery occurred. People tend to assume an exciting life refers to glamorous travel, parties, big events, promotions, money windfall, striking the lottery or other happy events resulting in fame and fortune. They forget an eventful life can also bring controversial or bad things. So if your life is not thrilling, be grateful."

I believe in feng shui and I also believe in life reading in relation to bazi 八字, because every individual's life journey is unique. According to bazi analysis, a person's character and certain events are all already mapped out at birth. However at the same time, I believe in controlling/changing our fate (although it is an uphill task, it IS possible). This is because how we behave at the present moment, will affect the future. Karma, my friend. Our fate can change for the better if we strive very hard to do more meritorious deeds. Even if we do not see the results in this lifetime, we could reap the fruits of our positive actions in the next life. So, nothing is ever constant or 'fixed' for life. Instead, we can make use of the tools and methods of feng shui and bazi to help us as a guide, to be prepared to ride out the rough times and know when to take advantage of the good times.

These days, there are still some people who view feng shui as being something "superstitious". Often, there are some friends around me who like to ask, "So after fengshui-ing your house, can you see any positive results?" or "after knowing your bazi, have you strike it rich?" etc.. To all these skeptics, I would usually reply, "Fengshui-ing your house or knowing your bazi does not mean it is your immediate ticket to success or wealth, and it does not necessarily mean you are going to be famous overnight. If you look at it the other way, maybe it is because you have done something to enhance your luck/life, you have had already prevented some tragedy or disaster or sickness from happening! You could have nipped the problem in the bud without realising it. I may not have strike it rich, but at least I am not dead". Dang. This would usually be followed by silence (of the other party).

You get the drift? Everyone is different. Everyone's perception of things is different. Everyone's life map is different. Not everyone will become rich in this life. Not everyone can be his/her own boss. Not everyone has perfect health. Not everyone will have a perfect marriage. How "lucky" or fortunate we are in this life depends on what we have done in the past as well as at this present moment, and also our own karmic disposition. But first and foremost, our mind must be receptive. At the very least, prevent the bad from happening.

Lillian Too explained that she has already spent a good 15 years popularizing and simplifying methods for people to tap into the first two types of luck that govern outcomes in our lives – tien (heaven), and ti (earth) luck. To harness luck from the earth, landscape, symbols and formulas are used. To benefit or overcome obstacles caused by the cyclic changes of time, we need to understand the cycles of our heaven luck through bazi reading.

The other new dimension is how we can tap into the knowledge of ren cai (mankind luck), which requires us to use the power of our own mind and sacred rituals to enlist the help of cosmic forces in the spiritual realm to cover obstacles. And this is what I was trying to convey in my earlier paragraph. This dimension is not religious, but spiritual. You can do something to clear your obstacles and thus enhance your luck and success, in this life and also the future lives. For example, if you attend a prayer session or perform a certain ritual, you could rid yourself of a huge obstacle from befalling you. Sometimes, instead of getting badly hurt in a car accident, you could have just had a brush with another car and got a dent instead. Be grateful for all that you have encountered. Be receptive and know how to help yourself, within your means/control and the universe in turn will be kind to you by helping you. Says Lillian, “feng shui works regardless of your religion but you MUST be kind-hearted, sincere and magnanimous".