Fengshui your door!

Saw this house number of the main gate of a private house. It is number 14, but interestingly there is a picture of a pineapple placed after the number.

I cannot help but think that it is for some auspicious reason that the pineapple is used. Traditionally,  the Chinese do not like the number "14" because in cantonese, 14 sounds like "sure to die".  The sound of the Chinese word for pineapple is close to the sound of “good luck coming your way”, so the pineapple has become a popular traditional feng shui symbol of wealth, fortune and prosperity.

I finally met the guru from my dream in real life

Had a blissful weekend. I finally met the guru who appeared in my dream last year.  A few Dharma friends know how special, precious and significant this was to me.  In that dream, I did not even know who he was since I have never met him before.  After that, I only know Choden Rinpoche is the guru of my guru, Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Since that dream, I had been praying to be able to meet 80-year-old Kyabje Choden Rinpoche in this lifetime to be able to receive his teaching and blessings, as well as planting the karmic seed to be connected with him in future lifetimes.

Choden Rinpoche of Sera Je Monastery, is one of the highest of the Gelug lamas, a yogi, a scholar. During the communist Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1959, Choden Rinpoche stayed in Tibet and went into solitary retreat for 19 years. He never left his tiny, dark room in Lhasa from 1965 to 1985, and was virtually unknown in his monastery for this reason. He neither escaped his country after 1959 nor was imprisoned; instead, he lived in a house in Lhasa, never leaving his small, dark, empty room for 19 years, even to go to the toilet, and never cutting his hair and beard. In 1985 he was allowed to leave Tibet for India, and has since taught for many years to thousands of students at Sera Je monastery in South India. At the request of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Choden Rinpoche has travelled all around the world to give teachings and lead retreats.

I took lots of photos of this Enlightened Being, and also had a couple shots with him over the weekend. :D

I made sure I welcomed Choden Rinpoche at the airport, together with some students of Amitabha Buddhist Centre. I offered khata and flower to Rinpoche. When Rinpoche blessed me, he smiled, I was almost in tears - dream came true and my body was burning hot. Rinpoche in real life seems to be very huge in size. When I had a few seconds to steal, I requested Rinpoche for a photo and managed to snap a few of him and also with him. See my single big sunflower for Rinpoche? :)  

The next day, I attended a teaching given by Choden Rinpoche in ABC. He holds many important and rare lineages of the Buddhadharma, especially in the Gelug tradition. He gave teaching of "In Praise of Dependent Origination", the well-known verses composed by Lama Tsongkhapa which pays homage to Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings on emptiness.

After the teaching, it was blessing time. When he saw the sick people or those who needed help, he closed his eyes and took a little longer time to bless them. Rinpoche's voice is deep and resonant, and reminds me of the late Kyabje Lati Rinpoche.

Many people turned up for the session and of course to receive Rinpoche's blessings. Joyous occasion!

I decided at the last minute to attend Lillian Too's spiritual talk in Suntec, just because Choden Rinpoche was to make a guest appearance and I had wanted to bask in his presence longer. This was only the second time Lillian, world-renowned fengshui master, was holding this event about the Third Dimension in Fengshui, which is everything mystical about our surroundings, and not the usual Fengshui fanfare (which is usually in Dec/Jan period). So far, in all of her 300 over books, she has revealed the secrets of only the first two out of three dimensions of feng shui – namely, space and time. Lillian feels that the world is ready to learn about the third and most powerful dimension of feng shui; the spiritual dimension.

Lillian said she was sharing what she has learned from the great masters the secrets and tips, on how we can tap into the knowledge of Ren Chai (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 overcome obstacles and bring success into our lives. She stressed that "this dimension is not religious, but it is spiritual. It is not logical, but magical". There are different realms of existence residing around us and we can co-exist with them and can also engage their assistance. We learned how to use certain sacred rituals to appease the other realms, how to invoke the higher beings, how to wear certain amulets for protection, how to recite mantras and how to empower our objects.

When it comes to empowering objects, of course we had to invite a great master to do it; blessing and consecrating holy objects. Lillian gave a moving introduction of Choden Rinpoche. The Chinese government did not allow him to meditate even in a cave, he meditated at a tiny backroom of a disciple. He did not have anything with him, no mala, no Buddha statue, no thangka, no text etc... he also ate very little, mostly absorbing the essence from the air or plants. Instead of being angry, he meditated for 19 years without leaving the room. Today, Rinpoche eats only one meal a day. Can you even sit still and quietly meditate for 19 minutes, not to mention 19 YEARS!

1000-2000 people waiting for the arrival of Choden Rinpoche. He benefited everyone present who were from all walks of life, not just Buddhists.

Lillian showed this amazing photo when she was with Rinpoche at a holy site. While Rinpoche was reciting prayers, everyone was snapping photos. And when everyone's photos were developed, they found all their photos were radiating rainbow lights all around Rinpoche.  Amazing.  _/|\_

Rinpoche gave an impromptu brief teaching on the precious human life and methods of meditation. He introduced many individual Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and also gave oral transmission of their mantras. He blessed and consecrated all holy objects in the auditorium.

After that, everyone queued up to go on stage for Rinpoche's personal blessings. Those who were present were indeed very very fortunate.

Rinpoche blessed everyone patiently, and this took a long time.

Everyone offering khata to Rinpoche and also had their holy objects blessed once again, individually.

May all those present (even non-Buddhists) know that they were indeed very fortunate to have met Rinpoche in this lifetime. Lama Zopa Rinpoche has addressed Choden Rinpoche as Vajradhara.  Vajradhara is the primordial Buddha who is the same mental continuum as Buddha Shakyamuni but displays a different aspect. He appeared as Buddha Shakyamuni to reveal the stages of the path of Sutra, and as Vajradhara to reveal the stages of the path of Tantra. Vajradhara has said that in degenerate times, he would appear in an ordinary form as a spiritual master. And yes, that day, we had met Shakyamuni Buddha/Vajradhara in the human form. Thank you for coming, Choden Rinpoche!

Also thanks to the amiable and lively Lillian Too for a great event, for generously sharing lots of tips and sacred secrets.    

Feng Shui: Why do you think they are placed there?

My mom was complaining of very tired legs that made her walk with difficulty and pain. So I brought her for a massage at one of those foot reflexology shops in Katong.

While I was waiting for my mom, I was sitting near the entrance of the shop. I noticed that the cashier counter was directly facing the door of the shop and in between them were placed very peculiar objects.  There were 13 cylindrical small pillars made of stone, arranged neatly in 2 rows. Out of the 13 cylindrical pillars, 10 of them  each had a big pebble on top, while there were 2 golden elephant statues on 2 cylindrical pillars, and 2 golden monkeys on 1 cylindrical pillar. Immediately I knew it must be a certain feng shui cure, but I have not heard of this peculiar method/formation before. 

I also guessed that the fengshui cure might have been placed to counteract the escalators directly facing the shop.  Those familiar with feng shui may know facing escalators to your house or shop is a big no-no, generally speaking. The rule of thumb is to avoid the shops which are directly in front of the bottom step of the escalator. This is because all the energy and prosperity is being drawn off and invited out of the shops by the negative arrow of the escalator. While people may think that positioning one's shop directly to where customers can view the store as they alight the escalator is a good location, it's bad Feng Shui and detrimental to one's profit. Thus explains the feng shui cure placed right in front of the shop. And judging from the business of the massage parlour, they were doing ok, although there were many masseuses waiting at the entrance rather than clients. 

I have always been interested in Feng Shui, and will pay attention to interesting or weird placement of objects at certain places and try to guess the purpose behind such arrangement. To me, Feng Shui is not about myths and superstitions but more of common sense and intuition (sixth sense), it is about creating complete harmony to blend in with the natural order of Heaven (天), Earth (地) and you (人).

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".

Shipshape for better or worse?

It was raining heavily again today as I passed by the newly opened Marina Bay Sands Hotel / Resort / Convention and Casino. Can you see the Sky Park at the top of the hotel? Don't you think it looks like and is shaped like a ship? 

This Sands SkyPark is designed by architect Moshe Safdie, and it floats atop the three soaring Marina Bay Sands hotel towering 200m in the sky.  And have you wonder why Singapore has been having unbelievable floods these few weeks, which coincided with the opening of the Marina Bay Sand? 

I heard somewhere a fengshui master mentioned because this gigantic roof top looks like a ship so high, it would make the rest of Singapore land appear to be below sea level, and hence, that is why we are getting floods, which is something that rarely happens! Morever, usually in the middle of the year, Singapore should be the hottest during the May - July period. Instead it has been raining cats and dogs, with floods!

I wonder who did the fengshui for the Marina Bay Sands?  From the fengshui angle, if the cause of the floods is indeed due to the 'ship', are we going to be "drowned" soon?  Hope the people at the higher level do something to avert this or have a fengshui cure in place soon. 

Maybe they should convert the 'ship' into a 'plane', soaring up the sky! More auspicious, ain't it?! 

In my opinion, they should have designed the 'ship' on the ground level, as well as a 'plane' on the roof top sky park.  Anyway, Singaporeans are known for being 'kiasu' (unwilling-to-lose spirit), right? 

Rise to the occasion

This year CNY, I actually didn't really buy a lot of stuff, because I'm busy anyway. Let me show you my house and some highlights of stuff. CNY-ish enough?

 

It's a-must to have mandarin oranges, as they signify "kum" which means gold in Cantonese. This is my wealth plant which has been with me for a few years and it is still growing strongly, tied the leaves with red ribbon and it becomes a CNY wealth plant!  A little corner of my living room with one of the Buddha plaque which I lugged back from Dubai, red table cloth spruced up the coffee table. One important thing, we must ensure our rice urn is filled to the brim every CNY, so that it will ensure we will always have enough to eat the whole year long. Stick the rice urn with the word "mun", which means "always full".

  

The couplet of the God of Wealth is a must too. I put it up at my wealth area in the house next to my water feature. Gifts are filling up our house fast, and this here is abalone. This is a bamboo plant is one of the popular plants people buy during CNY. I planted these on soil instead of water. Another Buddha plaque in my living room which I decorated red pebbles around it for a nice CNY touch.

  

This is the Laughing Buddha which we have for many years, looking happy, overseeing everyone who is watching the TV. Haha! This brass plaque is a new one which has the Kalachakra mantra, Chenrezig mantra and Shakyamuni mantra which is to be hanged outside my house above the main door. In this way whoever passes through the door will have their negative karma accumulated since eons ago, purified. This will be personally blessed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. On my dining table, a tray of artificial fruits plus a real pineapple. Again pineapple is something auspicious during CNY. And flowers for offering on the actual day. 

  

My desk has a small golden bowl filled with ingots, coins and abacus, this symbolises there will always be an inflow of money. Niece made these fishes from red packets. I'm too lazy to make anything since all decorations are easily available and cheap. Bought these special Tiger coins packages for niece and nephew as angpow, since niece is a Tiger-born.  We are not short of CNY goodies and snacks. I really tried to cut down the amount of food this year because we always could not finish all the food stuff.  

 

This is my living room. I had to show this because it took me a long time to put up the  stupid sofa covers. Well, my original leather has some holes now, thanks to the old folks' ingenious way of using "anti-leather" spray on them! I had to hide the leather sofa with a DIY cloth cover which has so many folds!! This year I tone down any red in this Southeast part of the house. So it is just my Zen colours of dark brown and green. Oh, the maroon vase has money, ingots and gold bars inside too. How can a vase be empty, right?  :D

Just some other corners of the living room. I have plenty of plants both indoors and outdoors. I had a bright red table cloth on the side board. This is near South and almost to the center of the house. The character "chun" which means Spring is on the inside of my main door. 

These look so auspicious, eh? The organic apples with the word "Gong Xi Fa Cai" printed on them, a pumpkin and the edible ingot which is basically a chewy cake (nian gao). All these are on the altar as offerings. And lastly my main door outside. Red banner and couplets to ensure a smooth year ahead! Notice I did not decorate any Tiger couplets or pictures in the house? Tiger is a ferocious animal, hence it's better to leave him outside, even though this is the tiger year. If you invite him in, you may get bitten! Hehehe! (*joking*)

Ok, have a nice reunion dinner, everyone! 

To do, to do, to do...

I don't have time to blog (in fact I am writing this on my phone outside). Trying to squeeze in these 2, 3 days to get so many things done before 4 Feb. Yes that is the target date I set myself to complete CNY preparations, even though it's still a good more than 10 days to CNY.

What do I need to prepare, you ask? It's the little stuff which many of us may not pay attention to.

1. Salvation Army

It's a yearly ritual for me to clear my wardrobe and pack my old clothes and to decide which pieces I no longer will wear and to donate them to the Salvation Army. I'm no hoarder of clothes. When it's time to go, it's time to go.

2. Spring Cleaning

Although we have a part time maid who comes once a month to clean the house, we still need to wash the toilets, mop floors. And I have cleared and packed the store room, really incredible how much junk we have only one and a half years in this place.  Most of these junk are my parents' stuff, things which they would not be using anymore yet they are keeping and do not allow me to throw. Even then, just the storeroom and kitchen alone, I have thrown away more than 10 bags of rubbish.  Can you imagine how many pots and pans we have as well as tons of Tupperware items Mom bought? If I am living alone I  definitely will have so much lesser junk. Luckily the more tedious tasks of cleaning our numerous windows and all cabinets and cupboards are done by the maid.

3. Repair Works
Coincidentally and luckily some items in the household got spoilt or broken just about the same time before the CNY.  I had my bedroom door handle replaced as the lock was spoilt, had to pay because the so-called warranty is over (HDB really need to review the quality of products by its sub-contractors as I heard many of the neighbours have the same problem). The pump of my water feature also got spoilt, the spring inside broke. So I bought an even more powerful one.  The pipe of the toilet bidet was also leaking so I had it fixed. We also had all the aircon units serviced. Now the aircon in my room is freezing. I got a new set of sofa covers after much difficulty because we wanted to maintain the leather sofa.

3. Feng Shui

Being well exposed to feng shui, it has been my interest and hobby since childhood to read up on feng shui, bazi, flying stars, face reading, animal zodiac signs and even astrology and numerology. Each year I will know from reading, that particular year's flying stars and thus implement the cures to the specific sectors of the house which fall under unfavourable flying stars. For example, the 3 most important areas to watch out for are the locations of the Tai Sui, the Five Yellow and the Three Killings for the current year. So my job is to install the cures / solutions where these 3 areas are. To me, it's better to be safe than sorry.

4. Dressing up

Not dressing myself up, but rather the house. After the springcleaning is done, it's time to decorate the house with auspicious CNY couplets and scrolls. It livens up the atmosphere, you know, sets the mood for the new year. One important couplet I will definitely buy a new one each year is the God of Wealth. It's become a habit. We want new wealth every year, right?

Ok these are just some of the preliminaries for the Chinese New Year I usually do. I've not talked about food and reunion dinners yet. Man, sometimes I wish to just getaway for a holiday during this period in order to avoid the hassle. But on the other hand, I feel these are necessary and important to ensure we have a good and smooth year ahead, even if just psychologically. :)

Are you a 甲?

Another random surprising discovery. We know that in life reading, there are 10 Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches.  

10 Heavenly Stems 天干 

12 Earthly Branches 地支  

Each individual has our own unique ba zi, which is made up of 4 heavenly stems and 4 earthly branches, a combination from the above. That's why it's called ba zi (八字). Below is a sample of a ba zi of a person.

The Day Stem represents ourselves, our own personality.  Ok here's my surprise. I just discovered that there are a total of 5 persons (FIVE!!!) whom I got to know in 2008 whose Day Stem is 甲 (Jia Wood). 

For the fact that in my circle of family and friends, I rarely come across 甲 Day Stem persons, so  to actually get to know 5 total strangers with this Day Stem within a few months  is a little too coincidental and surprising. Morever, I usually do not get to befriend too many strangers who become acquaintances in such a short span of time. 

From what I read from the internet.... "a Jia Wood person appears to be straight forward, stubborn and inflexible like a tree growing slowly and surely straight upward to reach the sunlight while the root is firmly rooted on the ground growing downwards to reach for water and nourishment in the earth. Therefore, Jia Wood people have strong will power. In the face of adversity they will not give up easily. They are also people who will develop and plan their action carefully moving toward their goal".

I do not know the impact of these 甲 persons on my own bazi chart. I am not too sure yet, but I do know that  I detest one of them alot. Another 2 made me rather uncomfortable and stressful. I need answers.

Well, this was just a little discovery and observation I had.

Mini plant

I discovered this new thingy - a real miniature plant in a capsule, complete with soil. It is called a Pet Plant or Mini Plant, and is the size of a thumb. It costs only $3+.

It can be hanged on your phone while it grows. Once they have grown bigger than the capsule size, they can be transplanted to a larger pot. Underneath the capsule are tiny holes where you can soak it in water once every 2 weeks. On top of the capsule, are also tiny holes so that the plant can breathe. There are a few types of plants available: one is a cactus, another a bean-like plant, another looks like an aloe vera plant and this one shown is called the lotus plant.

Naturally I chose the lotus plant because it is round and looks nicer and has many green leaves. I can hang it anywhere. Think I will hang it on my bag so it can follow me wherever I go. Why? Because plants belongs to the wood element and I need wood! Haha!

Picture perfect

A year ago, before I shifted to my new house, I had planned what colours I wanted for the walls of each room. In the end I decided for each room, 3 sides of the walls would be pure white - not apple green white, not rose white and not bluish white etc.. but PURE white - and 1 side to be the one different dominant colour.

For my living room, I chose a very nice calming dark green for the wall where my TV was, so that my eyes would not tire while watching TV. I chose another brighter shade of green for the bedrooms. This is because my house faces East and the living room and my bedrooms are at the East and Southeast (both are of the "wood" element). Green belongs to the wood element. All my furniture are also wood, the Zen style, with lots of green plants. I chose the rest of the walls in the house pure white because my house is facing East and sitting on West, my main door at the West. West is metal element and white belongs to the metal element. I wanted the colours to be harmonious and to complement the house. And green is my lucky colour and white my wealth colour!

During renovation and painting time, lo and behold, the painter got the colours of the walls wrong and painted the other wall green instead. I said no, wrong. They repainted and still it was wrong, ended up I have 2 small sides of the walls painted the dark green. They did corrections twice and still got the combination wrong. So, me being soft hearted, said ok, leave the 2 walls green (each at opposite ends) since they looked alright, and I pity the workers to have to repaint the walls again. I thought the different colours could demarcate an invisible line between the living area and dining area (both are together in one big area space).

During the CNY I pasted one CNY poster on my green wall. And one tiny patch of the green paint would come off if I were to take out the poster afterwards. So unless I buy a painting to cover the patch, or leave the poster hanging there forever or I repaint the wall. I chose the last resort. First I could patch up the ugly hole. Second it would look brighter (eventhough it was not dark in the first place). Third, when we take group photos next time, there would not be a green and white background. Lastly, I could use the extra white paint to patch up any smudges on all my existing white walls. See, kill many birds with one stone. =>

So I bought white paint and brushes and personally painted the green wall to white, all in less than 2 hours. I am like that, when I made up my mind to do something, I would do it immediately and not wait (unless I was undecided, then I would procrastinate a longer time). Here is the final look. Although I like my green wall, I think it is brighter now and at least the entire stretch of wall is in the same colour now.

But anyway, I still have my green wall at my TV corner at the East area of the house, which was the original plan.

“If you paint in your mind a picture of bright and happy expectations, you put yourself into a condition conducive to your goal.” - Norman Vincent Peale

Mysticism on mystic knot

Recently I bought a small pouch to store my mala beads for prayers, because the older pouch was getting worn out. I did not want to just use any other existing pouches because no matter what, the mala beads is a holy object. And holy objects should be treated with respect, it must be pure and clean wherever it is placed. And my mala beads has been blessed by many gurus and high lamas. It is one object that is very precious to me.

This red pouch has a mystic knot on it and the zip behind, tied with a chinese coin and chinese red ribbon. It looks very "cheena" with the red and traditional mystic knot but I like it very much. Love at first sight.

The Mystic Knot is one of the most often used symbols. Being a combination of six times the infinity symbol, this feng shui knot symbolizes a long and happy life full of good fortune. The Mystic knot is sometimes called the endless knot as it is said to "swallow its own tail".

In Buddhism, the mystic knot is one of the 8 magical auspicious objects. It reflects the Buddhist philosophy that existence is one endless round of birth and rebirth. In spiritual tradition, this knot is often regarded as lucky knot.

At a less spiritual level; the knot is the perfect emblem for undying love. It is a symbol suitable for ensuring that the romance in marriage will last. It represents a long life uninterrupted by separation, heartbreak, setback or suffering. A symbol for longevity and endless togetherness and also signifies good health. As a feng shui cure, the mystic knot represents a harmonious flow of auspicious energy uninterrupted by any setbacks, accidents or misfortunes.

It is believed that the presence of the feng shui mystic knot will benefit every aspiration of your life.

Feng Shui nightmares!

I have a guest room which no one sleeps in. And we've got 2 still-new King Koil single mattresses and an extra 28-inch TV brought over from the old house. So we stacked both mattresses up into a single size bed and left it and the TV in the guest room. And because no one would be sleeping in the guest room, I just "anyhow" arranged the bed as shown below in the beginning.

But recently my mom began to sleep frequently in the guest room, because 1) father was "imperfectly" snoring too loudly disturbing her, 2) my father caught a throat infection and was coughing away, she didn't want to get infected and 3) she has her private space reading in the guest room. But this got me feeling a little uneasy with the way the furniture was arranged as it was a little "salah" (wrong) in the first place.
I drew this layout to illustrate. First, the bed. From what I learnt, the bed should never face the door directly. This is because of the "shar qi" that is coming from the door when one enters the room. See the poisonous arrows hitting the bed? Do not sleep with your feet facing towards a door, this is known as the 'coffin position'. In feng shui they say that a bed aligned with the door resembles a coffin that is always taken away feet first. When your feet are in line with the door, you lose your energy at night/ your energy gets weaker, as it is not properly contained, so to speak. In feng shui, doors serve as energy connectors between different areas, thus they always have a sort of pulling energy. If the bed is in line with the door, your energy will be constantly pulled at night. So it was definitely a no-no, a most unfortunate position to sleep in!

Next, the big TV screen is also facing the bed. Again more shar qi. The glass TV panel is akin to a mirror which reflects and this should never never face the bed. The basic advice is to avoid positioning them where you can see your own face whilst in bed. They are said to reflect one's negative energy when one is sleeping, thereby causing nightmares. This principle applies to any object that reflects like paintings, computer screens or metal surfaces.

I am no feng shui guru, but I think these are basic rules to observe. So I shifted and rearranged the bed and the TV and ironing board to the below. I covered the TV with a thick green table cloth as there was no where else I could place the TV.

After that, I explained to mom why I had to shift the bed. She immediately looked relieved. She quickly told me, in fact she was having nightmares recently whenever she sleeps in the guest room. She dreamt of her 3rd uncle (my grand uncle) in his old house. He was bedridden for many years due to sickness, and when he passed away, his body was moved out of the door feet first, exactly the "coffin position" in the dream. My mom was petrified because her uncle has passed away for more than 20 years! And it was the first time she dreamt of him, his passing away, his house, his room, exactly where the bed was facing the door!

I told mom she should have told me earlier! Imagine what other unfortunate consequences which could have happened, all because of the silly bed and TV! Hopefully, she would have a more peaceful sleep now and no more nightmares!

More wisdom!

Recently I thought I had a little tiny dot of something stuck on my upper right molar gum. But I could not remove it. It suddenly dawned on me that maybe my upper right molar is growing! At this ripe old age? I have 2 wisdom teeth, one on my upper left molar and the other on my bottom left molar (this was already removed). And there is no sign of my bottom right wisdom tooth coming out as I have flat gum/space there.

I remember my first wisdom tooth extraction well. It happened in my 20s. At that time, the wisdom tooth was already grown but had turned into a bad horrible toothache. The dentist confirmed I needed an operation but it would be a straight forward case and I would need 1 week to recuperate after. I thought tooth extraction was just chicken feed. The dentist injected the gum around the wisdom tooth with anaesthesia. Although I did not feel any pain then, I could feel what he was doing to my mouth. I could feel him plying my mouth wide open and in a few seconds, he was cutting the gum around the wisdom tooth. Nip nip nip!!! And in a few more seconds my wisdom tooth was out. He proudly showed me the culprit (who was causing me pain). My case was considered a straight forward op. He told me the anaesthesia would wear off in about an hour's time and I should take the pain killers immediately. I went home and immediately fell asleep. But I was awakened by the excruciating pain in my mouth. The anasthesia has already worn off! It was the most dreadful pain I had ever felt in my whole life that shook my whole body. My health has been excellent all along (with blessings, I had no need to be hospitalised), so that pain was the worst I had ever experienced, because it just numbed my whole body while the mouth erupted in all kinds of pain. It lasted 2 days. I had to be quick to take the pain killer but then I found out I was allergic to the damn pain killers!

Now you know why I am most dreadful and afraid that I have another wisdom tooth (right upper molar) growing! I am hoping I would not need to extract this one in time as the right bottom molar is absent (hence I have the space to accommodate the new wisdom tooth). I need to visit the dentist to confirm that.

Long ago, I read a chinese book written by a Hong Kong fengshui master cum buddhist master, Edward Li. That book was talking about reading the fortune of face/body/palm. Each page would focus on different unique features. For example he mentioned we should never let the hair in our nostrils grow out (especially men), and we should always trim nostril hair. This is because having the hair grow out of your nose (which represents wealth) signifies potential money loss (lou cai). I remembered he mentioned about teeth on one page. If my memory serves me right, I think he mentioned ideally we should have 32 teeth or more. I counted and I have 30 teeth then. I was thinking at that time, what happens then if we had to extract our wisdom tooth or other tooth? I remember last time during the period whenever something was wrong with my tooth (eg. toothache or when a tooth need filling), my job was not smooth too. Was there any correlation or just coincidence? Well, just teeth for thought.... hehehe....

Dream

I had another dream last night. I dreamt that MLY came to fengshui my house again. In the dream, I was impatient and sort of fearful - an uneasy feeling. When the doorbell rang, MLY was outside, she was wearing something blue and black. She said she was here to fengshui my house. It was an unexpected visit and I was surprised she came as I did not arrange for this session.

When MLY came in, she immediately took a seat on my sofa and set to work, with a flurry of papers and drawings and the compass. I sat at a further distance. I did not utter any sound, which was unusual of me. I did not bothered to engage in small talk or even joke. I merely watched her go about her work. I was thinking "what's wrong with my house now?" Then she stopped her work halfway and was flipping through a fengshui book or magazine, reading and turning each page carefully. I think it took ages, as I sat there for a long time. Suddenly she got up and walked towards me, and from her bag, she took out another book and gave it to me. She said she bought it and would like to give me the book to read. I said thank you and accepted it.

Then as she walked around the house, suddenly the windows in the house became very high, almost above our eye level. And sunflowers began to sprout from where the windows were, at an amazing speed. This was not the first time I dreamt of MLY and sunflowers. I just stood there amazed as the windows just went higher and higher and sunflowers grew higher and higher. Or did I became a dwarf? It reminded me of the scene in Jack & The Beanstalk. Hehehe.

"So Jack jumped up and dressed himself and went to the window. And what do you think he saw? Why, the beans his mother had thrown out of the window into the garden had sprung up into a big beanstalk which went up and up and up till it reached the sky.

The beanstalk grew up quite close past Jack's window, so all he had to do was to open it and give a jump onto the beanstalk which ran up just like a big ladder. So Jack climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed till at last he reached the sky. And when he got there he found a long broad road going as straight as a dart. So he walked along, and he walked along, and he walked along till he came to a great big tall house, and on the doorstep there was a great big tall woman. She was the ogre's wife who made Jack hide in the oven to avoid the ogre who eat young boys.

Well, the ogre had his breakfast, and after that he goes to a big chest and takes out of it a couple of bags of gold, and down he sits and counts till at last his head began to nod and he began to snore till the whole house shook again.

Then Jack crept out on tiptoe from his oven, and as he was passing the ogre he took one of the bags of gold under his arm, and off he pelters till he came to the beanstalk, and then he threw down the bag of gold, which of course fell into his mother's garden. and then he climbed down and climbed down till at last he got home and told his mother and showed her the gold and said: "Well, mother, wasn't I right about the beans? They are really magical, you see."

Then suddenly I woke up. Hmm, such a weird dream. Now what is supposed to be the meaning of this dream again?

宁可信其有?

I just heard first-hand news on how the Ox has come to clash with Goat people. A friend, who is a Goat, related what happened to her and her husband these few days. They were supposed to have left for a holiday before CNY. Her husband who was working in Malaysia, came back to Singapore. But he forgot his air tickets for their vacation and left them in Malaysia. So he got his driver to send them back to him.

The driver while driving from Malaysia back to Singapore got involved in a hit and run accident. Apparently, he was hit and robbed as well. His mobile phone, the air tickets and the money his boss had given him were all stolen. When the husband did not hear from his driver, he thought something might have happened. He and one of his staff then drove to Malaysia to try to find his driver on the same route. They passed by a spot, saw an overturned motorbike. Then they learnt there was an accident and the driver was sent to the hospital, now in A&E. His staff upon hearing this, wanted to find out more about what happened, so he crossed the road to ask some people there. Unfortunately, he was also knocked down by a passing hit-and-run truck. He broke his hip bones. Her husband, who saw what happened, was too shocked and passed out.

My friend in Singapore did not hear from her husband, and could not contact him on the phone. She did not know where he was. She spent the past weekend alone at home, waiting anxiously for him, when they should have flown off for their vacation. She did not inform anyone. She spent the past Saturday and Sunday visiting the temple, without knowing what else to do, and she did not want to disrupt anyone's CNY. She visited her father-in-law's tablet in the columbarium and prayed for her husband's safety.

On the first day of CNY morning, she woke up with still no news of her husband. She saw a dead bird in her big koi pond (first time a bird was found dead in her pond). My poor friend was so worried she decided to go to the police station to make a police report of a missing person. As she was on the way, she discovered she has left her handphone at home. So she turned back. And then her husband called. Apparently, he has lost consciousness for 2 days and was in a Malaysian hospital, so could not have contacted her. The doctor has said he was lucky to be alive as his blood pressure shot up to a dangerous high which could have caused a stroke when he passed out.

Then last night as my friend was home alone, she suddenly smelt smoke coming from her neighbour's house. When she peeped over the wall, she saw a fire on the grass pad and a tree. She was shouting and shouting to see if anyone was home. Finally someone came and put out the fire. If my friend was already asleep upstairs earlier, her house might have been set on fire as well. Imagine what would have happened.

After all the numerous unlucky events that happened within a few days, my friend was so shaken and exhausted and in fear. She is scared what else will happen next. When I heard all these, I found them too incredulously unbelievable. Why so suay? She told me tomorrow she will be going to pray to Tai Sui (Great Duke Jupiter).

It is up to you to believe whether such clashes exist when your own animal sign is in conflict with the annual year animal. There is an old saying 宁可信其有,不可信其无. I would rather believe in it than do not believe in it. Just make sure you take preventive measures as much as you can and be protected.

Elephants everywhere

Wonder have you notice, this year I seem to see a lot of elephants around, being sold in the shops. Wooden elephant statues, brass elephants, jade elephants, stone elephants in all kinds of sizes, shapes, postures and designs. It can be due to religious purpose, or feng shui purpose or just purely elephants are such cute animals. Or maybe the traditional Qi Lin, Dragon, Fu Dog, Dragon Tortoise etc.. have become too common, they ran out of ideas what to promote (there are even Rhinocerous being sold too). This year it seemed many advocate the use of elephants. Strange phenomena.

I found online this write up about elephants:

The elephant is a sacred animal for many oriental cultures and carries a great amount of symbolism. It also is one of the sacred treasures of Buddha, and according to Buddhism it is a celestial animal. It is seen as a representation of morals and dignity as well as it can help people having good luck.

According to the oriental traditions and feng shui, the elephant symbolizes power, strength, wisdom and longevity. This allows feng shui practitioners to combine this symbolism with some of the bagua map life areas in order to enhance them. For example, whenever the career bagua area needs to be enhanced, a feng shui practitioner can recommend placing an elephant since it would help through the attraction of wisdom and power to that part of the house.

In feng shui, elephants are also used as house keepers and guardians. This way, their powers can be used in combination. Whenever a person needs to attract power or maintain it within their office, they can place an elephant near the front door since it would not only help him achieving it but also keeping him and the power he gains safe.

Symbolic elephants can also be used according to the materials and elements they contain in their structure in order to achieve the proper balance within an environment. This way, whenever one of the five main elements (earth, water, wood, fire and metal) is needed in order to harmonize a space as well as strength, power or wisdom are needed, placing an elephant which contains it can be a great solution.

The elephant’s characteristic of being sacred has its origins by being the animal that would bring flowers and carry the gem of wishes to Buddha. Elephants are very important animals not only for Buddhism and feng shui but also for the oriental cultures in general. Elephants carry a very wide range of different symbolism, from wisdom, good luck, power and carefulness to longevity, and oriental cultures are very respectful for them due to such symbolism as well as to its characteristic of being sacred.

I took the above photo of elephants and their backside in Chiangmai Thailand (hehehe). Personally I like elephants, especially those which are white in colour, in sitting position with trunks high up.

And it sounds hilarious, I actually indirectly derived my moniker, STUMPBO, from DUMBO, Walt Disney's famous flying elephant character. Do you remember DUMBO, with huge ears that fly and a cheery character? Well, I am not dumb, I am just stumped with things around me most of the time, so hence I am STUMPBO.