West Meets East©

By Caroline Patrick BorNei

Certified Red Ribbon Professional of the International Feng Shui Guild

Conversations about Love and More

Last week I was talking to a friend who is so very wise. We don’t talk often, because her advice is so profound it takes weeks to absorb and process the information. In all the years we have known each other, the anticipated phone visit seems to center around our love life, her husband, my husband and kids. This time our Career’s were the main topic, what new Feng Shui we had learned and used for the whole house, the Helpful People Garden she had designed in the front yard using a round Metal fountain with a statue of an angel, since this was also the Heaven Gua, and she added a Buddha for extra luck. She added some playground equipment to the right side yard for her grandchildren in Children and Creativity, and a labyrinth with a Kuan Yin statue in the center to watch over the children while playing. The new playground served as a deterrent, keeping the kids out of her Partnership area in the backyard, which is located to the far back right of the house looking toward the property from the street. This is considered an adult-only area and sacred, as I coined it years ago. Each section of the Bagua, or 8-sided octagonal section of the ancient wheel, has energy, color, a body part and purpose, called aspect. Use this powerful energy to your advantage. A wedding or Love Altar placed in a special corner can remind the couple of their commitment, using fresh flowers, a lamplight ring filled with essential oils which, when heated by the bulb, will turn any room into a special love nest. We conversed about our many home consultations, as her career centers on home décor and how love blossoms or separation occurs and is evident just by “reading the house.”

Sharing the funny and sad stories from our life path careers, the minutes ticked away quickly. I talked about the importance of a love garden, designed for couples to talk, whisper and share feelings, a statue of man and woman embracing, instead of using childlike images; a love garden with winding paths, a swing for two, a small round table with two chairs, your two personal Zodiac Animals set side by side, two cranes or two mandarin ducks that mate for life. Peonies are a Chinese favorite for love, planted outside or a painting inside, two orange trees or two flowering trees. Add bamboo to support any triad you wish to see flourish. Dead trees and flowers will block the energy of any Gua. Keep spaces uncluttered and clear, especially under the bed. We agreed jewelry is always a woman’s treasure. Earrings are a favorite, while other women like a necklace with a sacred gem next to their heart. Red and pink crystal hearts and rose quartz gems heal the heart and keep love flowing. Special Carnelian Malas or Bodhi seed bracelets, which absorb, cleanse, stimulate emotions and passion. These items and images raise Chi, bring joy through the senses and visual aspect, when displayed or worn.

The idea is to keep the far back right corner of any dwelling, inside and outside of the house, as a place to celebrate love. The conversation continued in the direction of passionate love, sacred love and more. I told her about a couple who wished to be pregnant, had been to doctors and clinics for three years with no results. They were still young and loved the outdoors. With their love of nature, I suggested they take their sleeping bags and make love in the moonlight for several nights in the Partnership corner of their back yard. They loved the assignment. Guess what, it worked! They were pregnant within a month.

Another way to gain control and restore respect from your children is by hanging a large wedding picture of you and your partner or similar portrait of just the two main partners living in the house. Place it in the Partnership corner or far back right room. If you have a two-story house, place one on both levels. There should not be pictures of the whole family. Children’s pictures, toys, pets or teen hangouts are forbidden. I also caution parents not to give any bedroom to children in the far back corners of their home. This “adult only” energy is too powerful for them. PS: Many problems in marriage show up in detail designs, which can be altered and/or beds that need to be placed in a different position called the commanding position.

We continued to talk about my recent move to Portland in an art community, that I recently sold my 5 Element Series of artwork and was working on a new series of sacred art, which can be used as cures or corrections in homes and corporations. I continued updating my friend about a recent China trip, and we discussed the Feng Shui adjustments I did to sell my condo last summer, when no one was selling anything! Our talk went on for an hour, catching up on life, when suddenly we realized our husbands’ names had not been mentioned. This was very unusual. It seems we were both having relationship problems. Both of our life spouses insisted buying houses which did not support marriage, and we gave into their whims of a poor Feng Shui house design, which aggravated our marriages. Though love for these men seemed strong, the cures, corrections, enchantments and design details we insist on for our clients were forbidden by our spouses in the new homes and now she was dealing with the outcome, which I had already experienced. Wow! Silence filled the air. “This is an interesting turn,” I thought.

Then she spoke. “Caroline, we married out of our tribe,” she whispered. “When you marry within your ancient tribe, it is easy.” I realized she was right on. She wasn’t talking about love, passion, race, religion, having money or being poor, she was talking on a deep, deep level of choosing someone who was instantly a joy, familiar and on the same page. A relationship where there was no arguing, blame, criticizing, behaving or trying to change someone. “We are happy because we have learned to work on ourselves, building a solid core of Chi inside our bodies and minds, like the bamboo that flows in the wind, but is strong enough to build bridges. Like the cypress and pine tree that says green in winter and summer.” I agreed completely and now needed another few months to digest this latest wisdom in the mystery of love. “Thank you once again for your insight. Until next time take care and buy new pink or peachy flesh colored sheets for your bed.”

“Thanks for the Feng Shui advice. Love you dear,” she responded.

WHAT NOW? Many people are asking. I have solutions for you!

Mark your calendars, I will be in Benicia for consultations, home and commercial properties, starting April 8, 2010 for approximately 10 to 14 days. Please call for an appointment (503) 208-2960 or email me, caroline@fengshuiartistry.com. If you would like to host a class, please contact for information.

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.

Caroline Patrick Bor Nei is a certified Feng Shui Practitioner and a Red Ribbon Professional of The International Feng Shui Guild. Her abilities as a consultant and artist are widely known in the US and abroad. Caroline has completed over 5000 consultations for individuals, large and small businesses. Return clients appreciate the value of her suggestions both mundane and transcendental, providing support on multiple levels. As a college art instructor for many years, Caroline understands the power of color, its symbolism and the visual effect images have on individuals and their surroundings. Her home base is Portland, OR where she continues to write, teach, paint, do illustrations and give herbal medicine making classes. She is available for Feng Shui consultations; Feng Shui art consultant, advises builders, architects and mentors a few serious students.

Call 503 208 2960 or email caroline@fengshuiartistry.com

Caroline’s “West Meets East” weekly newspaper column, can be read from an archives on her website www.fengshuiartistry.com