The art of Feng Shui and Love

There are some days when Love shows up  like a thirsty pup at a mountain runoff stream and we just lap and gulp it up.  Love can be as simple as a beautiful sunrise. Love can also show up as a romantic dinner for two that wraps around you with words that become backward sentences of happiness. 



Although my initial interest in Feng Shui was for rehabilitation of my health, Love was also an elusive element in my life in 1994.   At that time my pain was so great physically and emotionally that I did not have the clarity to see that I really was seeking a relationship with God. Only now with all these years of distance and time can I look back  and clearly see that.  



If you are in your younger years and your life feels like a washing machine that is stuck on the permanent agitate cycle it really is worth hanging around and living long enough to compile your own answers to inner happiness.  If you are here on planet earth, then indeed you are a miracle. Just you being here is a miracle. Just me being here is a miracle.


Being.


I have a note on my wall - the same note that I have carried with me since 1978 when I studied Design in Atlanta Georgia for a year.  I cannot remember where I read it, and it was one of those things that had a profound effect on me.  I still have that same piece of paper. It has survived all these years and the paper is now yellowed, curled and the sides have various shadows of tape that have been added and removed through all the moves with me.  Many other affirmation statements have come and gone through the years, but this one has stuck with me all this time.

It is still and always in my mind.



One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life.  That word is  ~ LOVE.
Sophocles (497-406BC)
Ancient Greek playwright



From the first interest I had for Feng Shui, love was on the front burner of my seeker mind.  Finding love, keeping the love you have. Love, love, love.  I thought it would be of interest to share with you the two different perspectives (Eastern and Western Feng Shui) to enhancing the love element in the sanctuary you call home. 

Love begins with you I have come to realize first and foremost.  You might want to get up from your computer and try on Louise Hay's mirror work lesson by seeing and looking into your own eyes and saying to yourself:  "I Love You, I really Love you."  How can you love someone else, if you do not love yourself first.  Another way to digest this is; How can you let someone love you if you do not love yourself. If you think that someone else can fill the void of love for you,  your life experiences will show you that this is an impossible desire.  




In Western style Feng Shui,  also referred to as Non-directional Feng Shui, the Love area of your home/apt./room is in the rear right section of the structure you are working with.  Think of a grid that has nine boxes on it and lay that grid over your living quarters.  The rear right top corner box on that grid is your Love gua. You hold this grid over each individual room as well to find the rear right section  love corner on the smaller tai chi.  When you are using this grid stand at the room's entrance looking into the room for proper placement as a overlay to read where the energetic patterns pool.  This grid in Feng Shui is called a bagua map.



In Eastern style Feng Shui or referenced also as Compass Style Feng shui the love section is dictated in a different manner.  There are several systems available in eastern style Feng Shui to work with the Love element, but typically and most known is the Southwest corner of your home as the romance gua.  The two different schools of thought merge here as far as the small tai chi is concerned and again you can use the southwest corner of each room to enhance your love desire. 



I remember when I attended the Western School of Feng Shui  and at an informal gathering someone had said that the two schools of Non-Directional versus Compass Feng Shui did not relate so well to each other.  It is only when I immersed myself in Eastern style Feng Shui that I could work the two different systems in my own mind on friendly terms.  You see both languages (which is how I relate to them) have the same intention; to create a harmonious sanctuary to live in.




When I studied with Grand Master Yap Cheng Hai on the first pages of my learning module was outlined - The Concept of the Universe. This explains how Feng Shui can lend harmony to your life. It is explained that our lives are broken into three thirds, each lending a different area.

THE CONCEPT OF THE UNIVERSE - THE COSMIC TRINITY

Heaven Luck= Destiny with a dose of luck thrown in. We are born with this fate. It is our DNA coding of sorts, how we are hard wired.

Man Luck= What we achieve through hard work, education, perseverance,
virtues  and our good deeds.

Earth Luck=is where Feng Shui comes in.  The art of harnessing the benevolent forces of nature. Induce the positive aspects conferred by Heaven Luck and reduce the negative.




Feng Shui principles work on the unseen subtleties of nature.  Many times when a person uses these principles by artfully placing and observing their intention - the results are not seen in the immediate or on a tactile level.  Energy does not live in the same time reality that we do.  It is constant and always moving. 

As you can read, the cosmic trinity as applied to Feng Shui  this ancient art is available to enhance  your lifestyle.   Non-directional Feng Shui is more intuitive and fluid.  Eastern style Feng Shui has all the benefits of an Asian cultural background where these teachings were used for thousands of years.





Non directional Feng Shui energy enhancements for your Love gua. When you have established where your Love section is, have fun with these enhancements.

1. Items in the colors  of  red, maroon, and pink
2. pairs of things, two chairs, two pillows, hearts, doves, lovers
3. Quotes and affirmations and sayings pertaining to Love and Marriage
4. Photos and artwork that have a personal association to Love

Work with colors that reflect the colors of your skin in the bedroom with soft warm beiges, russet red,  cocoa brown and flaxen golden colors.  These colors reflect all nationalities and you can find a compliment in this framework.  

If you find your Love corner is outside then follow the love outside to the garden or your deck or even into your garage and use these enhancements wherever this energy sits in your home.  Outdoor garden areas can do really well with the energy of light, as it acts as an enhancer.

Terah Collins author of  The Western Guide to Feng Shui, rocks. 

Working with Eastern philosophy Feng Shui enhancements for your Love gua.

1. Energize the southwest corner with earth and fire elements
2. Earth elements are crystals (natural stone not glass) and  ceramics, even cement qualifies for this and all stones and rocks.
3. The color of the southwest in Eastern style Feng Shui is ochre
4. The shape associated with the southwest is square.

Lillian Too has some good books to inspire you with eastern style Feng Shui.

Working with elements can be a lot of fun.  Earth is the natural  element of the southwest and the Fire element feeds it.  So if you combine using a pair of solar butterflies in your southwest corner garden  you start to see how you can overlap some of the information garnered from these two different schools of thought.  The light is fire, and also the butterfly is fire element (as are all living things).

Also what these two different schools of Feng Shui  language both work with  is placing your enhancements with intention.


I guess some may read this and realize that their bathroom or laundry room are in their love corner. I did mention how to deal with a love corner that is really outside due to the shape of your house.  In these instances work with powerful quotes and blessings of love. I once saw a garage that a woman had enhanced with the most beautiful exotic paper fans that were three feet wide with beautiful Rumi poetry written all over them. Needless to say everyone always migrated out to the garage because it was so peaceful and loving. 

Every home comes with its own lessons.  Take the time and enhance every single room with Love.  You will be really pleased by taking the time to state the love you have for yourself and the ones you love. The action of this mirrors love back to you. 

You can visit my blog posting on the Forbes sisters that did a video on Love.



Enjoy. Now go grab yourself some love.



Have a beautiful day,



Photo: PKM (My talented friend, photographer Paul Murphy) 'Sunny day'



joy,



Rena 


www.talktotheturtle.com




  

Positive affirmations & surfing a wave of happiness

In the early morning eye blinks of today I find myself drinking a strong cup of java while I  reflect on how valuable it is to create an overall affirmation for your life.



"Don't worry be happy" is a pleasing mantra.  Maybe Snoopy is onto something.  Maybe we are all just way over thinking the whole pursuit of happiness thing.  Perhaps we need to just keep it simple and let our inner happiness surf outward  to meet our outer happiness. 




I have the unction that inspiration is always knocking at our door of well-being.  Always surprised and relieved like that of a dear friend, our mind welcomes the inspiration for wonderful and amazing paths of creation.

Follow your imagination to the waters edge....

I guess my question to ask myself and I share this question with you as well, "What do you love to do?"


If you are experiencing life resistance and certain plans and dreams fall through take a step back; then consider visiting yourself with a self inquiry question.  

Why is it so easy to make a living at what I love to do?



There I said it.  Cat's out of the bag. I am grabbing my metaphorical wet suit, a surf board and head out to catch that wave to happiness.

As I catch my reflection in the mirror, I throw in an "I love you" to myself like the perfect cream topping to a frappe mocha. 





The Zak Noyle, surfing photographer video below celebrates one person's  personal expression of happiness. 



The narrative of his life process includes words like quiet, nice and peaceful.
This career life expose video of a guy just having a blast with his life dream is so happily inspirational.



My own personal water experiences in Hawaii were actually pretty scary.  I got swamped by a wave on the north shore as a young teen and was very grateful to survive it.  I look to every water experience to be enjoyed with a tremendous amount of awe and respect. I love the water but I know her strength.  The Zak Noyle documentary, however, illustrates a deeper story than just water or photography and surfing to me.  There is  a lesson to be enjoyed on the art of  Zen through this  photographer's personal inner shine.  



The inspiration I took away from watching Zak Noyle at work was  "When the student is ready the ThouGht arrives".    



Zak Noyle's lifestyle pt. 2 video shows through example  that  the daily ritual and discipline of exercise opens doors to creativity that would not be possible otherwise.



Work hard play hard.

  

I think when I grow up I want to be like Zak.  Living my dream.  To create and creating all in one swell of a breath.  However I will be doing my surfing on the safety and dryness of  a beach and firmness of the land. 






Zak Noyle / Momentum pt.1











Zak Noyle / Momentum  pt. 2







Have a beautiful day,



Photo: snoopy-rc



Joy,



Rena 



www.talktotheturtle.com

Fun sayings, positive affirmations and powerful quotes:

I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it.  I want to have lived the width of it as well.
~Diane Ackerman (1948 - )
  American poet, writer and social worker




Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended with diligence.
~Abigail Adams (1744-1818)
  American first lady, wife of John Adams




You can only perceive real beauty in a person as they get older.
~Anouk Aimee (1932 - )
  French actress




"Stay" is a charming word in a friend's vocabulary.
~Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888)
  American writer







This is one of my favorite positive affirmations statements:

Isn't is great to know that you cannot control your world from the outside?  To try and control things on the outside feels impossible because it would take so much work, and in fact it is impossible according to the law of attraction.

To change your world all you have to do is manage your thoughts and feelings on the inside of you, and then your whole world changes.

~Rhonda Byrne
  Creator of "The Secret"







Here is an excerpt from Deepak Chopra M. D. book, Creating Affluence ~ Wealth Consciousness in the Field of all Possibilities

"T" stands for transcendence, timeless awareness, talent bank and tithing.  My personal experience is that without transcendence, life has no beauty.  In order to live a full life it is necessary to go beyond all boundaries.  

As the Sufi poet Rumi has said, "Out beyond ideas of right-doing and wrong-doing there is a field.  I'll meet you there."  I feel that my experience of transcendence through the practice of meditation gives me an inner stability and silence that is not overshadowed by any activity.  That silence stays with me so that no outer experience can overshadow the awareness and experience of the self.  

"T" also stands for timeless awareness, as opposed to time-bound awareness.  Time-bound awareness occurs when we relinquish the self for the self-image.  The self-image is the social mask, the protective veneer behind which we hide. In time-bound awareness our behavior is always influenced by the past and by anticipation and fear of the future.  Time-bound awareness is burdened by guilt and sorrow.  It is rooted in fear.  It causes entropy, aging, and death.  Timeless awareness is the awareness of the self.

The Vedic seer says, "I do not worry about the past and I am not fearful of the future because my life is supremely concentrated in the present, and the right response comes to me, to every situation as it occurs."

This is also the state of bliss.

The self is not in the realm of thought.  It's in the gap between your thoughts.  The cosmic psyche whispers to us softly in the gap between our thoughts.  This is also what we call intuition.  Time-bound awareness is in the intellect; it calculates.  Timeless awareness is in the heart; it feels.

"T" also stands for talent bank.  In order to maximize creativity and offer the best service, it is good to develop a talent bank or a coterie of individuals with unique and diverse talents and abilities and whose individual talents, when added together, are more than the sum of the parts.

"T" also stands for tithing.  Tithing means giving away a certain portion of your income without conditions or strings attached.  When you give, a vacuum is created that attracts even more of what you have given away.  As Emerson said, "Without a rich heart, wealth is an ugly beggar."







A lovely quote by author Louise L. Hay

When we are ready to make positive changes in our lives, we attract whatever we need to help us.






Have a beautiful day,



Photo: 'harbor view' rc


Joy,


Rena


www.talktotheturtle.com

Toltec wisdom & inspirational jewelry pt.2

When I am asked what I know about the teachings and Toltec wisdom of Don Miguel Ruiz, I answer with this honesty.  

"Not a lot, but I feel there is a special  beauty and truth in what  he has written."

 Don Miguel Ruiz, is the author of The Four Agreements.  I wrote about reading his book on this blog previously and subsequently listed it as  pt. 1.   It is the type of book that you gain something more from  every time you read it.  My posting outlined  a deeper level of understanding in myself of what my motivation was to create inspirational jewelry. 

It was very brief.  My writing that is.  I feel that I did not spend the appropriate amount of time out of respect to Dr. Don Miguel Ruiz.

I pulled a copy of The Four Agreements from my personal library, all three shelves full that it is.  I wanted to share this excerpt from The Four Agreements as a gift to my friend who is working through big changes in her life. 

My friend recently lost her job, and I have been doing my best to listen and be a good friend.  When I read Don Miguel Ruiz's work, it shows what a really warm kind teacher he is.  It is great to have friends to talk things through with.  Then  one needs to push out to deep water with the Great Whale as your friend and find the wisdom that lies in the deep blue restful water of the ocean.  


Don Miguel Ruiz, author ~ The Four Agreements ~ A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom.  A Toltec Wisdom Book.   


Bio:
Don Miguel Ruiz was born into a family of healers, and raised in rural Mexico by a "curandera" (healer) mother and a "nagual" (shaman) grandfather.  The family anticipated that Miguel would embrace their centuries-old legacy of healing and teaching, and carry forward the esoteric Toltec knowledge.  Instead, distracted by modern life, Miguel chose to attend medical school and become a surgeon.

A near-death experience changed his life.  Late one night in the early 1970s, he awoke suddenly, having fallen asleep at the wheel of his car.  At that instant the car careened into a wall of concrete and Don Miguel remembers that he was not in his physical body as he pulled his two friends to safety.  

Stunned by this experience, he began an intensive practice of self-inquiry.  He devoted himself to the mastery of the ancient ancestral wisdom, studying earnestly with his mother, and completing an apprenticeship with a powerful shaman in the Mexican desert.  His grandfather, who had since passed on, continued to teach him in his dreams.  

In the tradition of the Toltec, a "nagual" guides an individual to personal freedom.  Don Miguel Ruiz, a "nagual" from the Eagle Knight lineage, has dedicated his life to sharing the wisdom of the ancient Toltec.


Excerpt from The Four Agreements ~ The First Agreement; Be Impeccable with Your Word.

There was a woman, who was intelligent and had a very good heart.  She had a daughter whom she adored and loved very much.  One night she came home from a very bad day at work, tired, full of emotional tension, and with a terrible headache.  She wanted peace and quiet, but her daughter was singing and jumping happily.  The daughter was unaware of how her mother was feeling; she was in her own world, in her own dream.  She felt so wonderful, and she was jumping and singing louder and louder, expressing her joy and her love.  She was singing so loud that it made her mother's headache even worse, and at a certain moment, the mother lost control.  Angrily she looked at her beautiful little girl and said, "Shut up! You have an ugly voice. Can you just shut up!" 

The truth is that the mother's tolerance for any noise was nonexistent; it was not that the little girl's voice was ugly.  But the daughter believed what her mother said, and in that moment she made an agreement with herself. After that she no longer sang, because she believed her voice was ugly and would bother anyone who heard it.  She became shy at school, and if she was asked to sing, she refused. Even speaking to others became difficult for her. 


Everything changed in the little girl because of this new agreement: She believed she must repress her emotions in order to be accepted and loved.


Whenever we hear an opinion and believe it, we make an agreement, and it becomes part of our belief system.  This little girl grew up, and even though she had a beautiful voice, she never sang again. She developed a whole complex from one spell.  This spell was cast upon her by the one who loved her the most: her own mother.   Her mother didn't notice what she did with her word. She didn't notice that she used black magic and put a spell on her daughter.  She didn't know the power of her word, and therefore she isn't to blame.  She did what her own mother, father, and others had done to her in many ways.  They misused the word.

How many times do we do this with our own children?  We give them these types of opinions and our children carry that black magic for years and years.  People who love us do black magic on us, but they don't know what they do.  That is why we must forgive them; they don't know what they do.

Another example:  You awake in the morning feeling very happy.  You feel so wonderful, you stay one or two hours in front of the mirror, making yourself beautiful.  Well, one of your best friends says, "What happened to you?  You look so ugly.  Look at the dress you are wearing; you look ridiculous."  That's it; that is enough to put you all the way down in hell.  Maybe this girlfriend just told you this to hurt you.  And she did.  She gave you an opinion with all the power of her word behind it. If you accept the opinion, it becomes an agreement now, and you put all your power into that opinion.  That opinion becomes black magic.

These types of spells are difficult to break.  The only thing that can break a spell is to make a new agreement based on truth. The truth is the most important part of being impeccable with your word.  On one side of the sword are the lies, which create black magic, and on the other side of the sword is the truth which has the power to break the spell of black magic.  Only the truth will set us free.



This thing we call gossip.


Looking at everyday human interactions, imagine how many times we cast spells on each other with our word.  Over time this interaction has become the worst form of black magic, and we call it gossip.

Gossip is black magic at its very worst because it is pure poison.  We learned how to gossip by agreement.  When we were children, we heard the adults around us gossiping all the time, openly giving their opinions about other people. They even had opinions about people they didn't know.  Emotional poison was transferred along with the opinions, and we learned this as the normal way to communicate. 

Gossiping has become the main form of communication in human society.  It has become the way we feel close to each other, because it makes us feel better to see someone else feel as badly as we do.  There is an old expression that says, "Misery likes company," and people who are suffering in hell don't want to be all alone.  Fear and suffering are an important part of the dream of the planet; they are how the dream of the planet keeps us down.

Using this analogy of the human mind as a computer, gossip can be compared to a computer virus.  A computer virus is a piece of computer language written in the same language all the other codes are written in, but with a harmful intent.  This code is inserted into the program of your computer when you least expect it and most of the time without your awareness.  After this code has been introduced, your computer doesn't work quite right, or it doesn't function at all because the codes get so mixed up with so many conflicting messages that it stops producing good results.

Human gossip works exactly the same way.  For example, you are beginning a new class with a new teacher and you have looked forward to it for a long time.  On the first day of class, you run into someone who took the class before, who tells you,  "Oh that instructor was such a pompous jerk!  He didn't know what he was talking about, and he was a pervert too, so watch out!"

You are immediately imprinted with the word and the emotional code the person had when saying this, but what you are not aware of is his or her motivation in telling you.  This person could be angry for failing the class or simply making an assumption based on fears and prejudices, but because you have learned to ingest information like a child, some part of you believes the gossip, and you go on to the class.


As the teacher speaks, you feel the poison come up inside you and you don't realize you see the teacher through the eyes of the person who gave you that gossip.  Then you start talking to other people in the class about this, and they start to see the teacher in the same way: as a jerk and a pervert.  You really hate the class, and soon you decide to drop out.  You blame the teacher, but it is gossip that is to blame.

All of this mess can be caused by one little computer virus.  One little piece of misinformation can break down communication between people, causing every person it touches to become infected and contagious to others.  Imagine that every single time others gossip to you, they insert a computer virus into your mind, causing you to think a little less clearly every time.  Then imagine that in an effort to clean up your own confusion and get some relief from the poison, you gossip and spread these viruses to someone else.

Now imagine this pattern going on in a never-ending chain between all the humans on earth.  The result is a world full of humans who can only read information through circuits that are clogged with a poisonous, contagious virus. Once again, this poisonous virus is what the Toltecs called the "mitote", the chaos of a thousand different voices all trying to talk at once in the mind.

Even worse are the black magicians or "computer hackers" who intentionally spread the virus.  Think back to a time when you or someone you know was angry with someone else and desired revenge.  In order to seek revenge you said something to or about that person with the intention of spreading poison and making that person feel bad about him - or herself.   As children we do this quite thoughtlessly, but as we grow older we become much more calculated in our efforts to bring other people down.  Then we lie to ourselves and say that person received a just punishment for their wrong-doing.

When we see the world through a computer virus, it is easy to justify the cruelest behavior.  What we don't see is that misuse of our word is putting us deeper into hell.



I told you it was deep....



The following videos are of Don Miguel Ruiz 10 year anniversary of being a heart attack survivor and subsequently a successful recipient of a heart transplant.  The video is intimately raw in its format, with Dr. Ruiz  sitting in a chair which appears to be a home.  I almost felt like looking away at times because of the depth of his sincerity of speaking his truth.  I felt that he was having a conversation with some close family members and I just happened upon the video and was extended the invitation  to watch in and listen.Whether you connect with the Toltec wisdom or not, the love that he  speaks with I feel  resonates across all fields. 

My girlfriend was smiling when I told her  I had created this particular posting with her in mind  to offer her something to really ponder.  From the shore of losing a job, to the deepness of life and death itself....

We all need to find our own way.  Don Miguel Ruiz speaks of how he has found peace for himself on his path, of this life dream.




Video: 10 year anniversary Don Miguel Ruiz pt. 1











Video: 10 year anniversary Don Miguel Ruiz pt. 2










Now go outside and play....





Have a beautiful day,



Photo: 'almost there' rc


Joy,


Rena 


www.talktotheturtle.com

Personal freedom & inspirational jewelry

Beautiful morning today!  This is how I answered my phone and  started off a  conversation with my dearest friend who recently lost her job.  "I guess so", she replied quietly.  "I am actually calling to get one of your inspirational jewelry dangle things."  


Yippee! a sale... 

We talked for a bit more about how and when I could get her the dangle that she wanted as a gift  for a friend's celebration party.  The conversation quickly turned to the fact that she was unemployed and how the trauma of losing her job was really taking its toll on her daily happiness quotient.  We walked  together again through her long detailed workplace story, as  a good friend does. Me, listening and waiting for a moment to interject with  some good jokes to help with moving the pain of disappointment through her memory cells.  

Awe... a hurting bunny.

I thought I would offer up an  analogy on moving past pain to help cheer her up.  I acknowledged the fact that she had lost a job that she felt should be hers.  I also agreed with her that she did a good job and reminded her sometimes even when people do a good job there may be no reward for that  deed, in hard cold cash.  However, knowing you did a good job and feeling peaceful on a spiritual level,  does not pay the rent. 

I get it. 

So, how do you emotionally move ahead?

I brought up another dog story for my friend.  This one was of my beloved dog Dakota that passed away earlier this year 2012.  He had an amazing nose for food.  Whenever I sat in the living room with my dinner plate,  it seems he would appear from nowhere.  If I put my plate down on the coffee table to go grab something, he would be up on his feet and start cruising.  "No, I would say with authority."  Just keep moving." He always would immediately choose to slip into the default  hard of hearing mode.  I would raise my voice one octave and say again. "Come on now, move along.  Move along Dakota".

A bit of a standoff here. He would look at me and start with the telepathic dog talking  he had mastered over his ninety-eight years.   Technically because the food was at his eye level this should mean (in dog logic) at least, a taste of my meal should go his way.  He would then walk on by slowly like he was doing me a favour.  As he moved on by  he would look over his shoulder at me, surrendering to the outcome.

I think there is a lesson to be enjoyed here from the late great doG Dakota. In actuality he  probably went across the road and ate some horse manure at the neighbours' pasture just to get even. However the most key element to my story is that albeit reluctantly.. he did...move along.  

That is my point I said to my friend.  You have to move along. Think of the Himalayan yaks working their way up the narrow path of Mt. Everest, one hoof in front of the other with their load of human supplies on their furry backs.  Not knowing or thinking about the reward of the view at the top for their steady easy pace up the mountainside.  When the landscape of your world appears to be  really tough and chaotic on the outside, move your thinking to something that you can accomplish, like the Yaks of the Himalayas do. 



One foot in front of the other.  Keep moving forward. Don't look back and for sure do not look down...

"Not to change the subject my friend asked, but have you ever heard of Don Miguel Ruiz?"  I was at a dinner party and someone brought his name up."


"Yes I replied.  That's another conversation.  I have to get going here.  Talk to you soon." 

"Thanks for listening to me" -  she blurts back  through the still lingering  pain of disappointment".


"Like you haven't done this for me?  That is what friends do. Lean on each other.
Listen to each other."









Have a beautiful day,



Photo: 'safe landing' rc


Joy,


Rena 


www.talktotheturtle.com