I am currently reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to Feng Shui and addressing the concepts presented in the book in series of blog posts. This post is the second in that series.
Feng Shui it seems is all about energy or Qi and balancing energy is paramount to its practice. Practitioners of Feng Shui believe that an environmental imbalance in Yin and Yang in can lead to both physical and emotional disturbances. Of the history of Feng Shui the Idiot's Guide says:
"Initially yin and yang meant the shady (yin) and sunny (yang) sides of a hill, an idea ascribed to Zhou ancestor Gong Liu when he set about selecting an auspicious site for his people. Some five centuries later during the mid to late Zhou dynasty (c. 770-481 BCE), yin and yang were described as the two primal forces of qi."
While Yin and Yang are commonly thought of as opposites, the relationship between the two is not so much oppositional as dynamic as represented by fluid S curve of the taiji, the familiar symbol of light and dark.
In the Taiji the dark area represents Yin or the feminine principle. The light, Yang or masculine. Yin is dark and cool. It is associated with the moon, night, winter, earth and water. It is imaginative, intuition, creative and is linked with both religion and philosophy. It may be inactive with the potential negatives of sadness, selfishness and greed. Colors associated with Yin include black, brown, blue and green. Its direction is north.
Yang is light, hot and dry. It is associated with the sun, daytime, summer, heat, and light. It is active, firm, logical and fast and is linked to mathematics, science and finance. It may be aggressive or exuberant. Its colors are white, yellow and red. Its direction is south.
A second important principle in Feng Shui is what is called the Five Phases. These phases are identified as fire, earth, metal, water and wood. Each is a manifestation of Qi and has its own Qi character (Fire Qi radiates for example while Earth compacts). Each interacts with other phases in different ways. A domination of one phase creates imbalance which negatively affects Qi.
Each of the Five Phases is associated with a season, direction, weather condition, color, number and trigram which makes it possible to balance Qi in a variety of ways. A room dominated by fire-metal for example may be remedied by earth. Strategies for balancing with earth might include the placement of rocks or crystals, ceramic or clay sculptures or the colors brown and yellow. Water remedies a metal-wood domination which might be accomplished by the inclusion of table fountains, aquariums or the colors blue and black. Wood remedies water-fire. This phase could be introduced by the inclusion of a living plant or tree or the color green.
This is not the sum total of the practice of Feng Shui of course. It is in many ways, an applied science complete with its own symbolism, rules and calculations. I have a great deal more to learn about Feng Shui before putting it into practice in my own home. When this is accomplished, however, I will do a third Feng Shui post, including before and after pics and an evaluation of its affect on my environment.
Before starting this series it occurred to me that the topic of Feng Shui might not be considered mystical in the way of Kabbalah or Tarot. Because its application however was suggested to me by my guides and because I find the underlying spiritual principal of Qi fascinating. I am and have always been extremely sensitive to energy and I find the idea of a systematic approach to balancing the energetic influences in my own environment exciting. I highly recommend the The Complete Idiot's Guide to Feng Shui
to anyone interested in learning more about this very promising practice.
to anyone interested in learning more about this very promising practice.
Today I listened to a fascinating lecture by Dr. Richard Gerber, MD called Exploring Vibrational Medicine 
and intend to order at least one of his books when funds allow. It was truly amazing to hear a physician talk about things like chakras and the etheric body and Dr. Gerber is very much a physician in this lecture. He moves quickly and covers a lot of ground. In the first half hour alone I took several pages of notes finding, surprisingly, that I actually remembered my old college shorthand.
Dr. Gerber defines vibrational medicine is a form of medicine based on the concept of diagnosis and treatment of illness based on energy. He discusses various models of medicine and reality, and what he refers to as multidimensional human anatomy such as the chakras. He also discusses vibrational medicine healing techniques, including psychic healing, flower essences and crystals.
and intend to order at least one of his books when funds allow. It was truly amazing to hear a physician talk about things like chakras and the etheric body and Dr. Gerber is very much a physician in this lecture. He moves quickly and covers a lot of ground. In the first half hour alone I took several pages of notes finding, surprisingly, that I actually remembered my old college shorthand.Dr. Gerber defines vibrational medicine is a form of medicine based on the concept of diagnosis and treatment of illness based on energy. He discusses various models of medicine and reality, and what he refers to as multidimensional human anatomy such as the chakras. He also discusses vibrational medicine healing techniques, including psychic healing, flower essences and crystals.
As it is impossible to do a presentation like this justice in a single relatively short blog entry I want to devote this entry to the scientific theory behind vibrational medicine as presented by Dr. Gerber. A key point in understanding this theory is the contrast Dr. Gerber made between two very different scientific models as reflected in the practice of modern medicine. The first is referred to as the the Newtonian model, the second Einsteinian.
The Newtonian model, based on the work of Sir Isaac Newton, describes a largely mechanical reality. According to this model, which is reflected in Dr. Gerber's view in the training of most physicians, the heart may be conceptualized primarily as a pump, the lungs as a bellows, the kidneys as filters, the muscles as pulleys, etc. This view lends itself to problem solving that is largely mechanical in nature - the replacing parts with surgery, for example, or the utilization of targeted medication that creates specific chemical outcomes.
Do these measures save lives? Absolutely and Dr. Gerber is quick to point out the benefits of such Newtonian type advances in medicine such vaccines, chemotherapy, declotting agents, antihypertensive medication, organ transplant and cardiac surgery. He is also quite aware of the downside in terms of antibiotic resistance, side effects and surgical complications. In his estimation an energetic approach can provide effective modalities often overlooked or underestimated by mainstream medicine.
The energetic approach to medicine is, according to Dr. Gerber, also the Einsteinian or vibrational model which describes the universe as a series of interpenetrating energy fields. This is the realm of modern or quantum physics where matter as we perceive it does not strictly exist. Dr. Gerber explains this quite understandably, saying that Einstein's famous equation e=mc² (where e is energy, m is matter and c is the speed of light) shows that energy and matter are interconvertible and thereby two expressions of the same thing. High energy particle physics experiments bear this out, showing that at a micro microscopic or quantum level all matter exists as a form of frozen energy.
This is where, Dr. Gerber says, the Einsteinian model begins to predict a faster than light view of etheric energy. By plugging in a velocity greater than the speed of light to the e=mc² equation, physicists such as William Tiller of Stanford University, have postulated the concept of negative entropy, a state counter to traditional or positive entropy. Positive entropy may be loosely defined as a system's gradual decline into disorder which make negative entropy especially interesting.
Tiller's work showed that energy which travels faster than the speed of light demonstrates the unusual property of negative entropy or the tendency to become progressively more ordered or organized. According to Dr. Gerber this runs counter to the known laws of thermodynamics. It also has fascinating ramifications for those of us seeking a common ground between science and spirituality. May we consider negative entropy a force in an ordered universe?
Dr. Gerber goes on to discuss multiple scientific sources including Nobel prize winning physician Björn E W Nordenström, Albert Szant-Györgyi (discoverer of vitamin C), and Russian medical researcher Alexander Gurvich whose 1920s experiments with onion roots proposed the existence of the biophoton or endogenous light - a form of light emitted by an organism and able to pass through quartz (though not glass) to communicate with another like organism.
Dr Gerber discussed subsequent experiments by German biophysicist Fritz Popp which systematically proves the existence of biophotons. This experiment involved cultures placed in adjacent Petri dishes and was conducted with both glass and quartz (crystal dishes). Popp was able to prove a communication between cultures placed in the quartz dishes which did not occur between those placed in glass.
As it is known that ultraviolet light passes through quartz this indicates that cells were emitting photons of light in the ultraviolet spectrum. According to Dr. Gerber this research and others demonstrates that the body does not consist only of mechanical chemical and electrical systems but of light energy systems as well. And this is fundamental for an understanding not only of Dr. Gerber's work but for many alternative treatment modalities such as light and color therapy, as well more traditional applications such as acupuncture.
One thing I love about Tarot is the way my understanding of it evolves in parallel to my own spiritual development. I started reading Tarot 40 years ago this summer at the age of 13. Transported from an urban area to a small rural town, I was the only person I knew with a Tarot deck - leaving me pretty much on my own with the little white book that came with the cards.
My initial understanding of Tarot came from that little booklet, courtesy of Arthur Waite and US Games and I dutifully committed all of the definitions to memory. Of Judgement the little white book says: "20. The Last Judgment.- Change of position renewal, outcome. Reversed: Weakness pusillanimity [timid or cowardly], simplicity; also deliberation, decision, sentence." So when I read for people, that was what I would say.
For me, however, that interpretation never felt quite right. It seemed too general and very inconsistent with the picture displayed on the card which seemed, in spite of my completely secular upbringing, to be obviously religious. Going by the picture was a problem for me as well as I had very little understanding of what the booklet called (but did not explain) "The Last Judgement."
So I began to read the card somewhat vaguely as commentary on taking responsibility for ones actions and an awareness of karma which was as close I could come to the tenets of mainstream religion.
So I began to read the card somewhat vaguely as commentary on taking responsibility for ones actions and an awareness of karma which was as close I could come to the tenets of mainstream religion.
As time passed however I found myself revising again, interpreting the card generally as an awakening or new awareness of whatever circumstances were predominate in the reading at hand and I continued to read it that way for several years. In the late 90s however my spiritual frame of reference began to change and as I became increasingly fascinated with angels I began to read every winged card in the deck as an indication of their presence. In some respects I still do that.
My understanding of the Judgement card has continued to expand however. I still see the presence of the archangel Gabriel and all the wonderful qualities of this compassionate being when I look at the Judgement card but I see the promise of spiritual awakening and ultimate transformation, as well. When this card falls in a reading it may still speak of a new awareness of circumstance but in such a way as to afford us the opportunity to advance, a soul level lesson, an opportunity for a revision of our understanding of the divine.
My understanding of the Judgement card has continued to expand however. I still see the presence of the archangel Gabriel and all the wonderful qualities of this compassionate being when I look at the Judgement card but I see the promise of spiritual awakening and ultimate transformation, as well. When this card falls in a reading it may still speak of a new awareness of circumstance but in such a way as to afford us the opportunity to advance, a soul level lesson, an opportunity for a revision of our understanding of the divine.
While not a believer in the traditional Christian concept of the Rapture, I do read this card as a call to a higher reality, seeing in it both the mystery of the upper worlds of Kabbalah and the spark that can be activated in any one of us at any time.
I'm currently reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to Feng Shui because, even though I am not crazy about labeling myself an idiot, I have found that the small sample of Idiot books I've read offered a comprehensive, user friendly and reasonably well written introduction to their respective subjects.
The people hired to write the Idiot books seem to know their stuff too. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Kabbalah was written by Rav Michael Laitman, for example, and the three The Idiot's Guide to Feng Shui authors, Elizabeth Moran Master Joseph Yu and Master Val Biktashev, are well educated and well known Feng Shui practitioners. They are also quick to point out that you will be getting traditional Asian Feng Shui instruction in their book, not the dumbed down Western self-help version of the topic. This appeals to me.
The book covers a lot of ground and at 68 pages into it, I have to say (in a completely noncritical way) that aside from the introductory material I have not learned an enormous amount about Feng Shui. I have learned about Chinese history, religion and philosophy, however, including great explanations of Yin and Yang, Taoism and Qi. The authors talk about the human brain, the difference between the Asian and Western psyche, energy and physics as well, and quote some very interesting Western scientists (Bohm,Sheldrake, and Newberg), whom I hope to be blogging on at some future point, in the process.
The book also quotes Fritjof Capra (author of The Tao of Physics which I absolutely must read). In it, he says: "Like the quantum field, qi is conceived as a tenuous and imperceptible form of matter which is present throughout space and can condense into solid material objects. The field, or qi, is not only the underlying essence of all material objects, but also carries their mutual interactions in the form of waves."
In their own words, the authors say: "Qi is the stuff of and behind it all. It's the stuff that breathes life into plants, animals, the mountains, oceans and us. It's the stuff of dreams, intuition, fate and luck. It's the stuff at the core of non-living matter such as airplanes, building and the chair on which you sit. It's the stuff acupuncturists stimulate with their needles. It's the stuff martial artists conjure up to split solid objects. And it's the stuff Feng Shui practitioners harness to improve the health, wealth and relationships of their clients."
The book goes on to liken Qi to Ki (Japan), Prana (India), Pneuma (Greece), Ankh (Egypt), Ruach (Hebrews), Tane (Hawaii), Arunquiiltha (Aborigines) and Orenda (Iroquois).
Interesting stuff and as I am not an especially linear thinker, I'm enjoying the ride. A linear person could certainly skip ahead and would probably find that the format lends itself to skipping ahead. Feng Shui was suggested to me in a channeling session, so I'm curious to see what effect it will have on my living space also where the pursuit of some of the other concepts introduced by the book will lead me. I will write more as the journey progresses!
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| Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery |
Imagine you have been granted one wish. You can have anything you want without restriction but there are no do-overs, no second chances, no exchanging your wish for a better one. So what do you want? A million dollars? A great job? Perfect health?
All great things to have certainly but all ultimately finite and subject to loss. You can ask for a million dollars and lose it to bad investments. You can become the president of a big company the day before it goes belly up. And while wishing for good health sounds safe enough, even a person in excellent health is subject to bad luck or accidents. You might be better off post wish, then again, you might not.
Keeping all of these possibilities in mind, you might ask not ask for a particular object or state of being but rather for a quality or strategy which would make it possible for you to get what you want independently. That wish might sound something like, "I would like to know how to make a million dollars," or I would like to know how to create optimal health.
Not only are these wishes something that can't be taken away, they are abilities and strategies that can be applied over and over in any situation or circumstance. And this is how I look at Tarot. Or try to.
Let me clarify by saying that I do believe in energy and momentum and agree that interpreting the direction of the energy at work in our lives is an important part of most Tarot readings. We all pull cards looking for information and it is perfectly reasonable to ask if conditions appear favorable for a certain enterprise or relationship. What if conditions aren't particularly favorable, however, and you are determined to achieve a specific goal anyway?
This can be unwise but it can also be admirable. You may win against all odds and realize your dream. You may fail and learn valuable life lessons in the process or develop a skill set that will guarantee success in a future endeavor. You may even need to succeed at something that is not necessarily in accordance with your life path in order to truly understand that path or simply remember it. This is not to say that people should be falsely encouraged. Only that they should not be unduly restricted.
As I evolve as a reader, I see my role as one of pointing out possibilities, potential problems and providing strategies for myself and for others. I find myself relying more and more on higher energy, establishing a connection not only with my own guides but with those of the person I'm reading for. I ask, what does this person most need to know and how might they realize it? And that is what I try to tell them even if it isn't always the question.
In my own personal readings, I ask questions similar to the following:
- How does this situation relate to my life path?
- How can I learn from this particular event, person or circumstance?
- How can resolve this situation for the highest good?
- How can I establish a better connection with loved ones?
- How can I attract positive energy into my life?
Am I ever predictive? Sometimes I am. But as I evolve as a reader and, even more importantly, as a person, I find my emphasis shifting. My ultimate goal with reading tarot on a personal level is one of empowerment and this is what I most hope to communicate to others through my readings.
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