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A Few "Bugs"
I was virtually born with polio, sidelined from the scramble of normal
school
activities or sports, so my achy-breaky leg braces found solace and
stimulation at the library; my adolescent pals and teammates were books.
Now, almost 50 years later, I spend hours each day weaving through web-sites or
attending conferences: trying to keep a finger on the pulse on what is called
Feng Shui. Gator-Ade for my Soul.
But lately, a few bugs crawled up my bagua.
In addition to being a graduate of several Wind and Water Schools, I remain a
charter member of the Anne Frank-choir which chants that "everyone is
basically good," and if you can't say something nice about someone/something:
bite your tongue.
-
A recent San Francisco Weekly article raked over Black Sect's Professor Lin
Yun with anecdotal sticks and stones. Not flattering, nor "nice" stuff.
Happily, the author acknowledged that she never spoke with Lin directly. If
you haven't seen the piece, check out
http://www.sfweekly.com
and sweep-search "feng shui" for August 26,
the Ken Starr syndrome seems to be catching.
Please check it out. NOT chic-chi, anyway you look at it.
As my friends know, I'm not a contemporary or Black Sect practitioner but I
maintain a deep regard for (most) teachers. Ms. Bramble, one of 2 featured
interviewees
(http://www.loop.com/~bramble/fengshui)
from the Classical
School/Larry Sang Schools of FS, is someone I respect. Her witty historical
insights on her web-site are very much on-target. As aggravating as this
article is, it reminds us that "we" must listen and never stop learning. And
to beware/be alert of the power of the press.
EVERYONE is getting hip to wind-and-water venues. ("Feng Shui" is now
included
in the Webster dictionary.) And everybody has gotta start somewhere. As I
have said before, we could count FS titles on one hand during the first
Clinton inaugural. Now, it takes a village!
-
I'm not shocked to discover the new book "Feng Shui For Cats: By and for Cats"
by Roni Jay is collecting hairballs on Borders' bookshelves. (Feline-fan
that
I am, I'm a bit kibble-and-bits embarrassed. --Puh-leeze! Which sector do you
keep the litter box in? Meow-Mix Ming Tang-stuff, fer shure). I'm awaiting
The Feng Shui Cookbook by Elizabeth Miles with some apprehension, too, but I
might eat my words later.
-
On a similar note, how about the David Pursglove TrendAnalytics Group's web-site
http://www.wizard.net/~forecast?
This self-important, no fact promo-selling FS shtick to restaurants makes me shudder.
I think it's best for any
serious restaurateur to "86" this silly marketing side dish. You're welcome
to complain to the "waiter" at 202-244-3686.
-
IF there is a point to my solo, it's merely that each of us must speak up.
Normally, I'm thrilled hearing about a new FS title. (Do you vote? I hope
so!) But nowadays, LA Weekly reminds us, anyone can anoint oneself a Feng
Shui Master and hang a shingle in less than 4 days. I'm not into exclusive
"Feng Shui certification". And I don't have a solution for halting the
proliferation of instant FS-gurus.. Clients and students MUST caveat emptor.
What's YOUR take on this eternal tangle?
-
Onto a brighter note.
The Feng Shui premise, like Anthony Lawlor relates brilliantly in his divine A
Home For The Soul hardcover, is that the sacred we seek can be found right
under our nose. Daily life is filled with common icons like the flag, the
cross, the Coca-Cola sign, the Almighty dollar. But by discovering the links
between the historical and symbolic power of direction, form and space, we
become nourished and blessed. Soulfullness permeates everyday life. It's
the
glue that links mind to body, body to home, home to earth, and the earth to
cosmos.
In the 70s, Lakota medicine man Lame Deer wrote in his book Lame Deer, Seeker
of Visions:
"What do you see here, my friend? Just an ordinary cooking pot, black with
soot and full of dents? It is standing on the fire on top of that old
woodstove, and the water bubbles and moves the lid as the white steam
rises to
the ceiling. It doesn't seem to have a message, that old pot, and I guess
you
don't give it a thought. [But] I think about ordinary, common things like
this pot. The bubbling water comes from the rain cloud. It represents the
sky. The fire comes from the sun, which warms us all. The steam is living
breath. It was water; now it goes up to the sky, becomes a cloud again.
"We Sioux spend a lot of time thinking about everyday things, which in our
mind are mixed up with the spiritual. We see in the world around us many
symbols that teach us the meaning of life. We try to understand them not
with
the head but with the heart."
The characteristics of a home that attends to its needs cannot be captured in
a simple laundry list of attributes. Certain qualities, however, can point
us (as Lawlor says) in the direction of experiencing greater depth and
meaning in our spaces.
-
In his book, Jun'ichuro Tanzaki likened the privy (once colloquially known
as the outhouse) In Praise of Shadows:
"The toilet may have its charms, but the toilet is truly a place of spiritual
repose... Our forebearers, making poetry of everything in their lives,
transformed what by rights should be the most unsanitary room in the house
into a place of unsurpassed elegance, replete with fond associations with the
beauty of nature."
I'm going to go clean my bathroom now.
Keep unnecessary merde outta the house... and consciousness.
About the author:
Dennis Fairchild is the Birmingham-based author of several books, including
Healing Homes:
Feng Shui - Here & Now,
the US correspondent for Europe's Feng Shui For Modern Living
magazine and spoke at the 3rd annual International Feng Shui Conference.
Also of Interest:
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