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West Meets East© By Caroline Patrick Recently I received an email from a woman requesting a teleclass. I had been approached a few years earlier by a Bay Area corporate manager to teach his employees by phone in this manner, but he never got back to me, and I had forgotten about the conversation until the email from the host of her group called SIG asked me to talk about health and Feng Shui. I agreed it sounded like a fun project. The time and date were set for the bridge line call. Questions and answers filled the hour quickly, and we decided to do another hour at their March meeting. Here is the email request and the website showing a picture I painted with an orange, which she features on the site. I suggest you check out the website to view the painting, which I have analyzed for you. Dear Caroline,I came upon your website today when searching for more information about Feng Shui and Health, and was fascinated by your comments on using Feng Shui for betterment of one's health and well being. I'm the Volunteer Feng Shui Special Interest Group Host for Coach U, and I'd be thrilled if you could be a speaker to this issue and hope you may be interested. We have 99 members in our group by email, and Coach U monthly sponsors a tele-meeting for us by bridge line. The number in attendance ranges from as few as ten members to as many as can make the call that particular day. We have members of this public SIG from the student coach, private coach and public populations, so it's a broad range of people with interest in this art. Would you be willing to speak to our group by teleconference on February 11, 2004 at 11:00 a.m. Central Time? Our call lasts an hour, and I usually ask our speakers to speak for 20-30 minutes, with a follow-up Q&A session; however if you feel you'd like to speak a shorter amount of time, I'm open to suggestions. While there is no monetary fund set aside to pay our speakers, the announcement of this meeting goes out to over 5,000 coaches affiliated with Coach U, and your website would be mentioned in the announcement as well as promotion of your talk and website on my website, www.coachforyourlife.com . Our past speakers have truly enjoyed our group and have actually received clients as a result of their engagements, so you might find it helps promote as well. Does this sound like a plan? I hope to hear from you soon, and hope that you're available! Warmly, A Reader The picture the woman chose is a Health one. Oranges are a big symbol for many cultures. The Chinese consider them the shape of gold coins, and joy is what they bring. There are many ceremonies done with orange peels to 'clear spaces.' The aroma uplifts, 'cleans' and cures dead energy blockages in homes and businesses. Orange peels are also used to 'plant' or toss into the air around a home to bless the site, similar to the rice thrown at our wedding ceremonies to invite new growth and fertility to the union. The color orange is an Earth Gua color used as a symbol to give the grain a nourishing blanket of Mother Earth to start the growth process. The color red is used by every culture to represent life's blood and what Christians refer to as the blood of Christ. The color red is used in the South area of the Bagua denoting Fame or Reputation in the ever-evolving and turning of the octagon's wheel. Fire is the Element which burns Wood and creates Earth. Red brings life or Chi to any space that is devoid of energy such as closets, hallways and seldom-used rooms. Just a touch of this fiery Chinese red color to any room adds a burst of Chi. The background of the painting has purple and lavender tones representing the Wealth Gua or Prosperity of your bank account. Purple and gold have in centuries past been worn by royalty to show their spiritual superiority as the rich tone is the highest energy vibration in the color spectrum. The Chinese Masters of Feng Shui consider money a spiritual blessing to be used to prosper and provide families and businesses with never-ending 'money Chi.' Of course, most of us have forgotten to share our blessings in the form of money as we forget the give-and-take action keeps the energy flowing! So to energize the Center or Health Gua of the home, place the painting on a wall in the middle of the house. Oranges are also packed with vitamin C and the inner white pulp contains many minerals for healthy skin. I have a friend who eats little of the orange, but eats all of the white pulp for the minerals contained in the peeling. She also looks young for her age. Another space to use the image would be in the far back left area of the home or business, or any room you have Feng Shui-d separately, such as an office or kitchen. This Wealth corner is activated by the color purple, and the round shape of the orange brings the 'joy' of money to your bank account. The number 9 in the East is a very auspicious lucky number, as it is the number of long life and abundance. In the West 9 represents perfection, eternity, and freedom. Place 9 oranges a centerpiece to any room or entry way to welcome the breath of life to your home. Don't forget to clear the clutter before you energize your any space, as cluttered hallways are the veins of your life and act as 'waterways' to the future. Career profile for Caroline Patrick, author of THE POWER OF FENG SHUI ARTWORK IN THE HOME AND BUSINESS Caroline Patrick has conducted over 2500 Feng Shui consultations and has documented many of these experiences in her weekly newspaper column titled WEST MEETS EAST, which has been a highly popular addition to the Benicia Herald's newspaper each Wednesday for the last six years. Teaching is her passion and for the last 35 years Caroline's range of subjects has included art, herbs and Feng Shui. Her classes and workshops fill with eager students learning ancient ideas in a modern format. Her past and present teaching experiences include Cochise, Pima, Arizona Central, Solano and Skagit Valley Colleges in Arizona and California and Washington State. Santa Clara County Teachers Council Conventions, AMA Continental Congress Convention of Surgeons, and Medical Research Facilities have asked her educate their employees and spouses, and Feng Shui their facilities. She has appeared on television and radio. Business owner of Caroline's Arts and Feng Shui Shoppe in the San Francisco Bay Area for eight years, Feng Shui Practitioner, speaker, teacher, writer and author, Caroline has recently relocated to the Northwestern U.S. and lives on an island in the San Juans. Her current consultation business is called Caroline's Feng Shui Concepts. Caroline can be reached at: Caroline's Feng Shui Concepts (360) 293-2268 caroline@fengshuiartistry.com www.fengshuiartistry.com www.moongateschool.com |