Direct your life with Feng Shui

In its literal sense, Feng Shui means wind and water. This is because these are the only two things that flow, thus effecting the environment and, in turn, human life. In a much broader sense, Feng Shui advocates living in harmony with the earth’s environment and energy lines, so that there is a balance with the forces of nature.

Feng Shui and our life

Often people wonder how a change of direction of the work desk can bring them a promotion. Every person has an internal Chi energy that traditional Chinese medicine doctors analyse to cure the body. Feng Shui aligns the external Chi that directly affects human beings. External Chi enhances our internal Chi, thereby giving us good health. This promotes our clarity of thinking, helps us make right decisions and leads to enhanced wealth. Good Chi also gives you confidence and charisma, which, in turn, brings around friends and new opportunities… and the cycle goes on.

Calculate your health and wealth direction

After years of research, Feng Shui masters have come up with a simple formula to calculate the health and wealth directions of people based on their birth years. This formula deduces the Ming Gua number of each individual. Ming means life and Gua means pattern. This number represents your pattern of life.

A Ming Gua number will always be one of these—1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 or 9. This is because as per the original Feng Shui “Lo Shu” number grid, each number has a direction associated with it except for the number 5, which falls in the centre. It is important to note that all Feng Shui applications are governed by the Chinese Lunar Calendar.

The calculation of Ming Gua number is different for men and women.

Determine your birth year

• If you are born between Jan 1 and Jan 20, then you consider the previous year as your year of birth.
• If you are born between Jan 21 and Feb 22, then check whether you are born before or after the date of the Chinese New Year for that year. If you are born before that date, then you consider the previous year as your birth year, if you are born after that date then you consider the western calendar year.

For example in 2010, the Chinese New Year falls on the 14th of Feb. So people born between Jan 1 and Feb 13 will consider 2009 as their year of birth. For people born on a date like 14th Feb 2010, you will have to check the exact time when the year changed.

• If you are born after Feb 23, then consider your birth year same as the western calendar.

Calculate your Ming Gua number

For women

• Add the four digits of the year of birth.
• Continue adding till you get a single number.
• Add this to 4.
• This gives your Ming Gua number.
• If the result is 5, then consider number 2 as your Ming Gua number.

For example a female born in March 1969 should add, 1+9+6+9 = 25. Then 2+5=7. Now, add this to 4 so 7+4 = 11. And 1+1 = 2. Her number is 2.

For men

• Add the four digits of your year of birth.
• Continue adding till you get a single number.
• Deduct this from 11.
• This gives you your Ming Gua number.
• If the result is 5, then consider number 2 as the Ming Gua number.

For example a male born in January 1969 should add 1+9+6+8 = 24. Then 2+4=6. Now, deduct this from 11 So 11-6 = 5. But since 5 is not a Gua, for male we consider 2. His number is 2.

Check your health and wealth direction

Implement your health and wealth direction

• At work orient your desk so that it faces your wealth direction.
• Take a compass in your regular meeting room and make a mental note of the chairs that have a solid wall behind and which face your wealth direction. You will always have an upper hand in the meetings that you conduct.
• At home, while sleeping, orient your bed in such a way that when lying down, your head points in your favourable direction.
• While eating try facing your health direction.
• Do the same for all other work like watching TV, sitting in the living room, or working at home.
• For stronger effects, it is recommended to be in your wealth sector and also face your wealth direction. Hence a person of Ming Gua number 8 will do best if seated in the SW sector of the premise and also face SW direction.

The more you face your favourable directions, the better you feel.

The above-mentioned method is one of the easiest and strongest methods of aligning yourself with the energy lines of your environment. But remember, there are no free lunches in this world. Human effort is what brings out the best results from the application of Feng Shui. So get going, and don’t stop working.

This was first published in the February 2010 issue of Complete Wellbeing.