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West Meets East© By Caroline Patrick
Wind and Water Out of Balance
The ancient Chinese system of Feng Shui, translated as “Wind and Water,” continually gains popularity as Westerners seek harmony and balance in their lives, looking for alternatives to health care, financial stability, communication in relationships and a barrage of Career changes brought on by the instability of current changes in our country and other countries. “Global warming, wars and weather are to blame,” the 10 o’clock television news announced. At the end of a long day it seems unfixable. Too much, I just thank my “lucky stars,” as they say, that I’m not sleeping in an Astrodome or in a car without gas on a southern U.S. highway tonight.
I lived in tornado country for the first 30 years of my life, thinking everyone had a basement to wait out the current storm. I have had a tree come crashing through a bathroom while taking a shower and the roof lifted up and set back down 6 inches off center the same day by tornados. My husband was in charge of installing many of the alert systems in our city, which blasted horrible noises in the night as the next tornado approached our home in a place known as “tornado alley.” It was perfectly normal conversation at a Midwest gathering to share your story of how you survived the last storm. One pregnant girlfriend grabbed up two of her little ones, jumping into the bathtub and with a mattress close by covered their bodies just as the latest storm blew off the roof to the house.
The next 20 years, our family decided to try the deserts and mountains of Arizona. Although each place I have lived has an up side, the high desert can dish out its strange weather, from violent wind and thunderstorms, to our barns leveled in the middle of the day, to a tipped 60-foot trailer we were living in while building a house (we were rescued by my father-in-law in the middle of the night on top of that mountain), to a flood taking our home and everyone else’s within a 50 mile radius. I hope I have passed my courses with the imbalance of Wind and Water or learned my lesson, as so not to repeat it.
The blame rests on the environment, our physical presence and our spiritual connection with heaven and earth. If you live long enough, hopefully experience has shown us what to do and what not to do! What can each of us do to shift the balance of “Wind and Water”? The short version is not to build or live in a flood plane or near a large body of water that has a tide. Don’t build or live in “the veins of a dragon” or over steep waterways, next to water towers and mountain canyons. Use common sense when choosing plots of land. Check for underground water, septic systems or caves. Being stubborn has its merits, as tenacity leads to success in some instances, but to rebuild because of “family roots” in a toxic environment would symbolize to the outside world that your family has no roots in a soggy marsh, as they would eventually rot. Why not have a family meeting and head to higher ground with the new generation?
“Don't build or buy on top of a mountain,” the Chinese system warns, as you will be open to the Wind blowing away your other Elements. Reputations (Fire) and Family (Wood) opens you up to lawsuits and more. Each part of the country offers a new experience as the Earth changes moment by moment. Earthquakes are another shaking event. Living briefly in a mobile home park many years ago, I witnessed several small shakes. The travel trailer windows curtains hung from brass metal rings. I was always forewarned by the very faint rattling of the metal shifting against metal when a quake was building up. One day I lay reading on the couch when the warning sound came and went.... and I continued to read as the sound stopped. Suddenly the whole 40-foot 5th-wheel was dancing. I tried to get up as I heard the park vacationers screaming. Waddling across the floor I tried to save the newest purchase, the television. Grabbing tightly around the wide object next to the door, my eyes were mesmerized by the ten-foot hedge waving up and down like ocean waves, with each wave the whole root system came out of the ground and then sunk again and again. The surreal scene stays with me, as I layer the experiences of Mother Nature throughout my life. I have surmised we are just here on Planet Earth as visitors, as if in a foreign land.
The 5000-year-old Chinese investigation of Wind and Water and their findings have given me insight into how I can improve my environment, and as a bonus they have also kept records on Health through acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. Please check out my websites for more information on Feng Shui and The Art of Placement.
Come Join the Fun! October 5th, 7-9 pm in Benicia. Email for class information or to sign up. Seating is limited as we will be meeting in a wonderful local home. I will be giving a class WEALTH and DESIGN DETAILS which can cause ILLNESS. All new material............Increase your knowledge of how you can help yourself and family.
WHAT IS CUSTOMIZED FENG SHUI MENTORING?
· It is for those wishing to study with me privately. ONE ON ONE. · The cost is $350 for three hours a month, through phone, email and faxes. · A six-month commitment is necessary. · 27 red envelopes (first month only) and the first month’s payment of $350 due on the 1st of each month. · A monthly mentoring date is set for at least one to two hours of phone conversation, at different intervals. · Packets of hard-copy material are sent for you to study each month. Emailing and faxes will be part of the course also as we go over floor plans. · The material is copyrighted, but I will give you permission to share a lot of the information. Caroline Patrick Caroline's Feng Shui Concepts Mt. Vernon, WA 360-424-1501 caroline@fengshuiartistry.com www.fengshuiartistry.com www.moongateschool.com
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.
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