by llenore | Sep 8, 2014 | Uncategorized
Many cultures are celebrating Moon Festivals today as part of the Mid-Autumn Full Moon that represents, from the Feng Shui perspective, the harvesting of our many blessings of family, romance and the bountiful supply of food.
Auspicious wedding ceremony of my dear friend Nancy and her new husband, Bob, under the Mid-Autumn Moon energy in the San Francisco Bay Area during the Moon Festival, September 6, 2014
The symbology and folklore around this particular Mid-Autumn Full Moon is especially significant to most people of Asian descent since it honors ancestors, family members, the annual harvest and romance.
The Moon Festival celebrates the end of the autumn harvest by gazing at the Full Moon, consuming mooncakes and drinking wine, especially with your loved-one. The Full Moon is the full moon of the 8th month of the Chinese calendar and is held on the 15th day of that month, which in the Gregorian culture arrives during the months of either September or October depending on when the Chinese New Year started.
Modern Day Mooncake Supstitute – Almond cookies with almonds decorated as footballs and “Half-Moon” Chocolate-dipped Raspberry cookies
This is a time of giving thanks for the blessings bestowed upon the family – the plentiful harvest that has been given to them by their ancestors – and is sometimes called the Chinese Thanksgiving. Most of the Asian cultures honor their ancestors in many ways including making sure the Feng Shui is burial site is correctly placed for the deceased’s spirit to bring peace and contentment to the spirit.
Gravesite Feng Shui was one of the first types of Feng Shui practiced and is still in extensive use today. In fact, many memorial parks around the world have been designed to accommodate the beliefs to correctly place and honor the ancestors of the Asian cultures as well as ancestors of Hispanic, European and Portuguese cultures, to name a few. In the San Francisco Bay Area we have several memorial parks with which I personally have been involved to support family members in order to feel comfortable with their decision on site selection.
Cake pops as wedding cake (and “Moon Cakes?”
When the spirit of the ancestors is happy, the family is happy. When the spirit of the ancestor feels loved and honored, their spirit, in turn, watches over the family bringing many blessings to them.
Moon Festivals are a time to honor this connection to the ancestors and give thanks for their support of the harvest as well as the love of life. In fact, some of the folklore about the Moon Festivals directly relate to romance.
Some say the celebration of the autumn full moon dates back to the Shang Dynasty (c. 16th to 10th century BCE). It is believed harvest celebrations originally began with worshiping the Mountain Gods after the harvest.
An important part of the ceremonies is moon worship. The ancient Chinese believed rejuvenation is associated with the moon and water. One subculture has a fable saying the sun and the moon are a couple and the stars are their children. When the moon is pregnant, it becomes round. It becomes crescent-shaped after having given birth to a child.
“Chang’e Flying to the Moon (Ren Shuai Ying)” by Ren Shuai Ying
Another story states that a hero named (Hou) Yi who was an excellent marksman, shot down 9 of the ten suns that rose one year causing great disaster. An immortal admired Yi and sent him the elixir of immortality. Yi did not want to be immortal without his wife, Chang’e, so he let Chang’e keep the elixir. When Yi went hunting in August, an apprentice who knew Chang’e had the elixir came to get it. Chang’e refused to give it to him.
The Wedding Dance
“Instead, she swallowed it and flew into the sky. Since she loved her husband very much and hoped to live nearby, she chose the moon for her residence. When Yi came back and learned what had happened, he felt so sad that he displayed the fruits and cakes Chang’e liked in the yard,” according to a story in Lihui Yang’s Handbook of Chinese Mythology.
Ever since, the folklore about looking at the moon while eating mooncakes, rice cakes, almond cookies and drinking wine with your loved-one while holding hands, has prevailed. It is even said that if you can’t be with your loved-one in person, you are joined in love when you both look at the moon from wherever you are in this world.
When I read this part, I got those wonderful goose bumps and a shiver up my spine. Being invited and participating in a dear friend’s wedding on Saturday – a time the Moon Festivals were being celebrated here in San Francisco – became even more meaningful as we all held hands in honor of their marriage, danced and gazed at the beautiful moon.
Hilory & Linda celebrating weddings and Moon Festivals – And a wonderful life together!
As I harvested the romance of sharing this special evening with my love, Hilory, I was so honored to be aware and conscious of all that was happening around me. This Chinese Thanksgiving and the Moon Festival associated with it have given me a special gift – the blessing of a bountiful life filled with amazing people and a world filled with myth, magic and moments to remember.
by llenore | Sep 4, 2014 | Uncategorized
When I was first introduced to Feng Shui over 30 years ago I had no idea how to succinctly explain what Feng Shui was or how to work with it until I became more aware of our interconnection as human beings and our reliance on nature. That may seem strange to you if you spend much quality time out-of-doors. But I didn’t at that time.
Although I knew the words “Feng” and “Shui” referred to “wind” and “water” respectively, I just didn’t get it. I was on the fast track of upward social mobility. I did spend time outdoors, but it was to quickly mow the lawn or rack the leaves. What we’re talking about is NATURE; That which is natural; That which is nurturing for body, mind and spirit!
Study shows an increased production of energy-boosting beta waves when sitting under a tree. From John Tess.com
To better understand Feng Shui, the first thing I would say to do is to think about sitting by the side of a stream. Is it quiet? Restful? Turbulent? Dried up due to a drought? Flooded due to recent rains? Are you under a tree? Do you feel relaxed, energized?
Now think about sitting at the top of a mountain where regular winds occur, like the mountains along the Washington State coastline. I choose this as an example since the winds come off the Pacific Ocean year-round, especially during the late fall and winter. While sitting there, think about the movement of the wind. Is it strong, ready to blow you over even though you are close to the ground? Is it a gentle breeze? Is it coming from the north or the northwest? Is it swirling leaves around you or, if there are leaves, are they flying past you in a storm-like fashion? Do you need to take shelter from the wind behind a tree or even inside a building?
Now take these two examples one-step further. What if you were a house instead of a person? And what if as a house you were in these same locations?
Are the windows shut keeping stagnant air inside the house and sealing off all sounds of nature? Would you hear the sound of a gentle brook? Do you open the windows to let the sounds of nature gently penetrate through the windows? Does the wind freshen the air inside your home?
Is the house in the direct path of storms? Does it feel like a wind tunnel even when the windows are shut due to not having protection on the windward side of the building?
As human beings we lived outside with nature. That is until we become so smart we were able to construct buildings – buildings that are literally the box in which we have placed ourselves. Now removed from nature, we continue to isolate ourselves from all that is natural.
And we often don’t even have the pure natural world around us even when we go outside. There are concrete pads and patios, asphalt driveways and roads, and artificial turf. We have “trees” made out of metal holding cell phone transmitters. Let’s have a “tree-hugger” hug one of those!
My point is – Feng Shui is all about the natural energies of the world around us, especially the wind and water, in useable and appropriate proportions. We need nature to nurture our bodies, minds and spirits. That’s what Feng Shui is!
by llenore | Aug 15, 2014 | Uncategorized
What’s by your front door? Have you looked recently?
Evaluate your front door for “Good Feng Shui” as well as “Bad Feng Shui” in order to attract the type of energy you want for brought to your life.
Using Feng Shui we discover like energy attracts energy like. Henceforth, beauty attracts beauty and “dead plant” energy attracts “negative” energy. We want to take an inventory of your front door. Be very hypersensitive and aware of everything around it. Everything from the street to the front door applies.
I’m going to analyze the above photo from a Feng Shui perspective – the good, bad and ugly. To help you understand how something “cute,” or seemingly harmless, could have a major impact on how the occupants experience life as they traverse the walk from sidewalk to front door.
Since like energy attracts like energy – just think what you are attracting when you have a fire hydrant just outside your front door. – You might just be putting out fires all the time.
Let’s talk about ugly and potentially bad Feng Shui first. When I saw this fire hydrant at the base of the stairs to this home’s front door I had a couple of immediate visceral responses. First I thought – “Where did they get it?” Was it stolen?” Then I rationalized it probably was acquired through someone’s work, possibly someone working for the fire department or a public service employee.
Then it hit me. Seeing this fire hydrant every time I walked up to or out from this home I would feel as though I needed to “put out fires.” What a horrible way to spend one’s life! Even if a fire man or woman lived in this house, Wouldn’t it be sad for them to feel they had more fires to put out at home upon returning after a long shift. Or to have it reenforced each day as they left, there’s more fires facing them again today.
Another challenge with this house are the stairs up to the front door and the inability to see the front door when walking up the stairs. After a long days’ work, the energy needed to climb even a few steps could be exhausting. When we have stairs to climb, we want to have something so beautiful it literally pulls our energy up to it so we can see and enjoy it. In this case, seeing a bench only reenforces the thought of being tired and needing to sit down when you get to the top.
Instead of a bench at the top of these stairs, displaying a lovely plant or peaceful statue, like an angel or spiritual icon, would relax the mind as well as changing the body’s response from one of “being tired and needing to rest after climbing the stairs” to one of “isn’t that lovely” or “I want to get closer to enjoy it.”
The positive elements about this front yard leading to the front door are the beautiful Japanese Maples on either side of the walkway by the base of the stairs. The vibrant color attracts energy to the home. Unfortunately, Japanese maples lose their leaves, so about one-third of the year the entrance is void of color or some kind of positive energy attractor.
Some walkway lighting, ceramic statuary, the bench at the foot of the stairs or colorful pots with flowers would bring vital energy to this home.
How about a wind chime, hummingbird feeder or flag on the front stoop to pull the energy up the steps? These would attract and raise the energy as one walks up as well as bringing awareness to the beauty of the outdoors as the occupants leave. It might even bring a smile or the sound of a peaceful “Hum!” as the essence of nature greets the occupant or the object delights the eyes as they open the door to leave for the day – stimulating a response beckoning them to return home to enjoy their lives.
