West Meets East©

By Caroline Patrick

California Or Bust, or Feng Shui On The Road Again! (Part 1)

I decided this year to start off the New Year 2005 with a special treat for myself. An invitation came in the mail for HH Master Lin Yun’s 73rd birthday celebration at the Fremont Hotel in San Francisco for the 2nd of January. Living in the Bay Area of California for many years, I had never attended this yearly celebration. Professor Lin brought Feng Shui to the United States via Berkeley in 1986, presenting The Art of Placement at the University known for its world changing ideas and “far-out” presentations, a forum for taking extreme subjects and making them mainstream. That’s where it all began – Feng Shui, an ancient Chinese system used to keep living and working spaces in harmony and balance.

There were a few other teachers on the scene beginning to introduce Feng Shui, but none with the personality and charisma needed to win over the world with charm, grace, sincerity and humbleness. What more do you need when looking for a teacher. I found three mentors which had attended many of these first classes and so was able to learn as much as possible before studying with Professor. And so I began the journey which changed my life inside and out. I knew I had found a great source of knowledge when he made the statement, “Feng Shui works even if you don’t believe in its source. You can be of any religion or race to use this system, not just Chinese.” “That works for me,” I thought.

I began packing the car, as I decided to drive to Sacramento to visit my daughter a couple of days, then to Benicia to see friends, and then on to Berkeley to stay at the Culture Center where visiting dignitaries and families alike stay at the beautiful facility near the campus. Wonderful, special holiday meals are prepared at the Center, and I looked forward to the Chinese delicacies made in honor of Master Lin. Then on to the bigger feast and birthday in San Francisco.

My husband and I now reside on a small island in the San Juan Islands of Puget Sound. Washington State is one of the most beautiful places we have lived. The weather can get “iffy” during the winter, but it looked like I was going to have a leisurely drive, close to 14-16 hours of beautiful country. I love to travel alone, as strange as it may seem. I can stop when I want, take pictures for reference material for future paintings. I have traveled I-5 many times from Canada to Mexico. The scenery through the mountain passes is my favorite part, as I love getting to the top of the mountains and seeing the snow-covered peaks and foggy valleys. The morning mist is alive as the frozen clouds rise and fall in the distant pine trees.

I caught the 7 a.m. ferry. The frost covered the open car ferry, and the angle when loading puts your car in strange positions depending on the tide. Seagulls soared overhead as the engines of the 22-vehicle passenger boat slowly forged ahead in its six-minute crossing. When I first began living on the island, I vowed I wouldn’t succumb to using this magical time to make cell phone calls, clean the car or read a book, that I would meditate open-eyed at the vastness of beauty surrounding me as the ferry took over the control of the journey. I have pretty much kept to that vow, as each trip is a gift of time. Anyone who has vacationed in this area knows what I am describing to be true.

Now the engines roar once again in a type of reverse, which helps control the large vessel as it comes into the dock. When I turned 12, my father presented me with a boat and 7½- horsepower motor as we lived on a lake. It was to keep my eyes off of boys and keep me busy running all over the lake picking up and delivering groceries and gasoline. What Daddy didn’t realize was boys turned their heads to see the boat and wondered what in the world I was doing running the thing. His idea backfired. So I recognized the sounds of the two engines on the ferry and why the captain pulls into the docks at such angles.

The rising sun blinded me as I turned east and drove toward I-5, which runs the length of the United States North and South. At the end of the day with Seattle and Portland behind me, I stopped at Grants Pass. Sleep was wonderful in the high city, but when I woke up the next morning, I could see snow clouds out the window and got on the road quickly, stopping to gas up first. In Oregon it is still the law that an attendant has to gas up your car. I rolled down my window and a gust of cold wind took my breath away. “How is the road ahead?” I asked. “No sense going anywhere, passes are closed, better go back to your motel,” he advised. “When do you think they will open?” I responded. “Never know,” was his reply. With that advice I returned to the hotel and asked for the key back. The lobby was full of people in the same boat. I intended to lay down and wait in my room and see what happened next. (to be continued)

Caroline Patrick, Feng Shui consultant/practitioner, teacher/speaker, Feng Shui artist and writer, lives in the San Juan Islands, off the coast of Washington. Her weekly newspaper article called WEST MEETS EAST is a popular Feng Shui advice column. She enjoys answering your questions, when possible. Some questions will be chosen for publication with the permission from the reader. Enjoy her new 5 Element attached-folding cards which can be used as a Feng Shui enhancement or correction in any space. Larger prints of several selected paintings are also available. For consultations, speaking/teaching engagements and art evaluations contact her at caroline@fengshuiartistry.com or visit her websites at www.fengshuiartistry.com and www.moongateschool.com.

Any suggestions given in this column are only for entertainment. Please contact your physician for any medical or herbal advice or diagnosis. Caroline Patrick is not responsible for any misuse of her advice or suggestions.