West Meets East©

By Caroline Patrick

Lawsuits and Landowners II

Several times a year questions come to me regarding the buying and selling of property and legal aspects concerning land. They come in clusters, which I find interesting. The seasons Fire and Water, which could be spring and summer, steamed up emotions releasing themselves. The Water Element related Yin-female energy and hot sun drenched Yang-masculine Chi associated with Fire-summer heat compete in the race of change. Both energies are necessary for moving life forward as Fire burns up all old ideas and things while Water cries, comforts and sooths the emotions of upheaval.

I can certainly relate to all of these stories of change as I have painfully walked through literally......Fire-structures burnings and flood consuming our land and home several years ago. Starting over is rough IF you struggle. The point I'm trying to make is, there are times when fighting the issue is only a wake-up call to "move on," but at other times it is a push to stand up and say, "no more." Everyone has to make their own evaluation based on their own experiences with personal or perhaps property problems.

Last week's column was concerning easement issues and the original intention to provide only normal access to the neighbor's property. The traffic at the side of this person's nine-acre plot has increased to 100+ vehicles a day! Of course this private land has become commercial. Never assume anything.....always have everything in black and white when dealing with land. The reader asked my Feng Shui advice, and I gave her a few tips on relieving the stress.

The first suggestion is always a friendly chat and maybe some brownies to sedate both parties (sugar produces a mucus condition in the body or water-under-the-bridge effect for a short time, then if more brownies are consumed a weight gain and more fat and water weight and mucus as to create an "I don't care anymore" condition). So........as the reader has described in her email "a lifetime of brownies won't help the situation." On to step two: clear the clutter in all sections of the house and yards and place a Bagua mirror, a special mirror used in Feng Shui, to redirect the negative energy. This eight-sided mirror sends your intentions in a quite private way, pushing the prayer to the neighbor in a silent request. If your living spaces are congested, though, it will also reflect your confusion straight to the recipient, so clear the clutter before sending the LOVING message to the neighbor. Remember, what you send out always comes back, a thought I recycle in my mind every day!

Another question I asked the reader was in relation to the elevation of their property, as I have found during my career as a consultant, people who build at the "top of the mountain" find themselves open to law suits, the King-of-the-Mountain syndrome effect. Another no-no was a stagnant pond located in the Fame or Reputation Area of the backyard. This problem alone invites trouble as the far back middle section of your home or land lets water and fire steam up the problem.

Here is the client's second email confirming some of my insights.

Hi Caroline,

Thanks for all the information you sent me. I was wondering whether you have a fax machine - I happen to have floor plans on an 8½ by 11 page that I had made for the purposes of Feng Shui a few years ago. Can I fax it to you?

We are living on one of the highest points in our town; however, the town water tower and these neighbors are positioned just slightly higher. Our property, and theirs, has a history that I have always described as a power struggle. The woman who used to live here sold a little more than half her land to the first owners many years ago. Then they sold it to these people six years ago. Both have been controlling, power-hungry people. (In fact, the previous owner used to come by to see the new owner to make sure the new owner was not letting us "get away with anything" - on our own land, mind you.)

Both sets of neighbors (previous and current) blatantly trespass others' boundaries and would literally take over someone else land if they weren't otherwise stopped from doing so. This brings me to the lawsuit issue. We have already made numerous attempts to avoid a lawsuit (we would have given them a lifetime supply of brownies!), but the expense of a new road causes them to refuse to see that their commercial business is not our responsibility.

I said all that to say that my husband and I have experienced more peace in our lives since we have stood up for ourselves and had papers served to them (we are both working on boundary issues, interestingly. I have been seeing a life healer to work through many issues in my own life for quite some time and realize fully about putting negative energy out there - neutrality is better - love is best, I realize). We no longer feel as "victimized," so to speak, but the cars are still there racing through our land. I honestly just want the town (literally - everyone's on our property) out of our backyard.

You asked us if we have a history of neighbor problems. If there has been any consistent problem, I would have to say it's about not standing up for ourselves - sort of letting people trespass over us; or it's about feeling like a victim because of not taking charge. Interestingly, when these neighbors first moved in, they told us how glad they were to be living next to us because all they wanted was peace because all their previous neighbors had been "so bad" - so impossible to live next to.

Regarding clutter, I lost my job a year ago and have done an unbelievable amount of decluttering our home - it seemed like I was taking ten large trash bags a DAY out of our home for many days at a time, and I did this for many, many months. I still cannot believe how much I have removed. There is not much obvious clutter in our house at this time. I feel like I am now moving onto a deeper level of cleaning though and will continue getting rid of more stuff.

Outside, however, is another story. We live on an old farm and have recently (three years ago) decided not to operate it. There are lots of things that can be done to clean up the property. For example, we have a pond in the back of our property (must be in the "Fame" section of the Bagua) which is very stagnant and should either be cleaned or filled in. I was concerned about how this was affecting our land/home and got some estimates to fix the problem, but it is very expensive and I am not working right now.

The "easement" I have been speaking about runs right through from the main road through our Helpful People, Creativity, and Love and Marriage sections on the Bagua.

I will order the Bagua mirror and talk to my husband about the worst clutter on our land. We have already removed some very old outbuildings, but we still have an old barn that we are unable to remove at this time. Please let me know if I can fax you our house plans.

Thanks for your help.

A Reader

Dear Reader,

Hello again, yes I have a fax. I will need to set a time as we have two lines and two computers but the fax is dedicated to one of those lines.

Please send the plans and I will give you my suggestions for your home and property. As I explained above, take a tour of your land and house, see where the most congestion is located, as the nine-section Bagua also relates to nine areas of your body. Example: How are you feeling? If your hip becomes troubling, check the Wealth Gua or section of the house and yard, since this section represents the abundance of money. You mentioned your job layoff. Feet are related to Family and Health area to the middle left side of the house and etc. As you commented, the easement runs across Helpful People, which is head, Children and Creativity mouth, and Marriage abdomen and organs.

I still recommend as a suggestion a CONVEX Bagua mirror placed inside the house FACING and shining OUTWARD toward the neighbors with a LOVING message stuck on the back of the mirror, inviting them to move onward to a more successful space without any more problems or complications.

Don't let the clutter overwhelm your life, just do one room at a time, in the most crucial places or Guas. You will find relief with this unloading of outdated papers and furniture.

Caroline