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Ingrid
Quick Bio: (Article underneath)
Ingrid Collins, FSSA, an Accredited Feng Shui Master, is a founder member and currently on the National Executive of the Feng Shui Society of the UK. Her workshop, "Live Life Luckily With Feng Shui," is on 15th & 16th May, 2010, at Windermere Social Club, New Road, Windermere, LA23 2LA. To book for this event, please contact Sue Bond on
Ingrid is also a consultant psychologist and spiritual healer at The London Medical Centre, 144 Harley Street, London, W1g 7LD, web: , tel: 020 7935 0023. She is also the Co-Director of The Soul Therapy Centre in Muswell Hill, London, tel: 020 8883 8562. Her latest book is "Eternal Sparrow: Poetry for love, laughter and life," publ. Strategic Book Publishing, New York, NY, 2009, ISBN 978-1-60860-535-4
Article:
Have you ever noticed that, when your house is clean and tidy, you feel far more relaxed and in control of your life than when you let things accumulate higgledy piggledy, and can't find anything under all the rubbish? Even if you are blissfully unaware of the subtlety of the energy flowing or stagnating in your environment, you instinctively know that you feel happier, lighter and more able to cope when you have cleared and organised your living space.
The ancient Chinese took this awareness and, through careful observation and sensitivity to the subtle energy - which they called ch'i - that flows between Earth and Heaven, developed it into a beautiful appreciation of the study of harmonious balance of natural elements. They referred to this as "Wind, Water," or "Feng Shui." As a mainly rural, agricultural community the Chinese were far more tuned in to the pulse and vitality of the changing seasons, and also far more accepting of death as a normal part of life than we are in the mainly urbanised West. Many people here in the UK have become very cut off from subtle energy sensitivity because sadly our sophisticated, busy lifestyles no longer seem to require that connection to the natural world. So it was at first that the ancients were solely interested in where to place the tombs of their respected ancestors for the greatest support for them in their journey into the Spirit World. By carefully studying the features of their landscape, Feng Shui Masters of old offered advice on the most auspicious places to site the tombs, just as geomancers and dowsers today find that our old and sacred buildings - churches, synagogues, mosques and temples - have been built in places where there is optimal ch'i available. Decisions on where to build our places of worship were made where the most positive ley lines ran and, in many cases, crossed.
Eventually it was evident that the living community also could benefit from the welcoming in of good ch'i, and so people's attention was therefore directed also to the interiors of their own dwelling places. Over the millennia, it became clear that a poor flow or stagnation of ch'i in a particular part of the house, time and time again, would correspond to the same needy area of a person's life, and so an energy map was revealed and developed, whose clearly defined "houses", when superimposed on the ground floor of the property, related to how much or how little ch'i was available to the inhabitants for certain important areas of their lives. The ancient Masters identified eight houses of ch'i, namely: career, marriage, family tradition, fortunate blessings of abundance, the help of good friends, offspring and creativity, reflective learning and future planning, and success and enlightenment. In this way
Fu H'si Turtle
, Feng Shui became a fundamental part of everyday living for those who wanted to live the best life possible, spiritually respectful of Nature and with a feeling of connection to the enormous and generous power of elemental ch'i.
Besides being aware of the interactions between the energy of Earth and Heaven, the ancients also identified other elements which influenced people's lives. In this way, flowing water, lake, fire, thunder, mountain, and tree (representing all the living things on Earth) were noticed as being in a potentially harmonious balance.
Deeper studies of the eight elements and also the combinations of those elements to create stressful excitement with fast, explosive ch'i, or harmonious interactions with easily flowing slower ch'i began to enrich the body of knowledge, and then the ch'i vibrations equivalent to colours and numbers, and the vibrational qualities of textures, patterns, music and perfumes, added to the powerful influence of positive intention, made Feng Shui one of the most amazingly durable disciplines ever developed. The reason that it has endured up to the present day is because it still has relevance and a high level of success.
There are many other areas of life which influence how lucky we are in our lives, for example: the state of the world in practical as well as energetic quality at our birth and throughout our lifetimes. It is therefore not surprising that, developing on from the Feng Shui understandings of harmony and balance, a masterful numerologically based system of astrology took shape also in the East, this time in Japan, called ki astrology, ki being the Japanese word for ch'i. It is a very practical, pragmatic discipline, offering explanations why some people behave the way they do, and making suggestions as to how to handle differences or encourage good relationships. It offers guidance as to the luckiest times to attempt major moves or activities in your life, these being when the ch'i of the environment is flowing the same way as your own personal energy is, so your efforts will not be opposed.
The peoples of the Far East are wise enough also to allow for the factors of educational levels and dietary customs to influence a person's constitution and ease of forming business or personal relationships.
In Bali, the importance of creating a sacred space esoterically by the same principles of honouring of the elements is also a welcome addition to the enhancement of the living space within the home. Modern scientific understandings of the potentially harmful chemical and electromagnetic energies in our environment, as represented by the newly emerging disciplines of electrobiology and baubiology, contribute to our ability to avoid harm and to stay healthy.
So you see, there is so much that you can do to take charge of major areas of your life and to stay healthy enough to enjoy it. Fate can and should play a part in any person's life and, to be well informed about what the Spirit World has in store for you and to ask for guidance, the divination technique of the "I Ching" or ancient Chinese "Book of Changes," which are also based on the same Feng Shui map of ch'i elements, is there to offer help and advice in your decision-making processes.
In my intensive weekend workshop, I hope to be giving you an introduction to all these topics and the ways to remedy poor ch'i, so that you will be able to begin to embark on the most magical journey of your life, so be careful what you wish for ! With all this knowledge at your fingertips, you just might allow it to happen.
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