Cecil Lee

Dear Users, This issue is about Feng Shui and Business 1. In my opinion, Singapore can be considered a country of intellects and majority are salaried workers. Working for MNCs or companies. Perhaps, some feel that it was due to the education system that many have gone thru as far back as the 1960's. This was because Singapore had no choice but to struggle with the bread and butter issues of housing and finding jobs. 2. Several years back several businessmen approached me to Feng Shui a new business: Chains selling bubble tea. 3. I refused to have anything to do with Feng Shui for such premises, simply because, such business models are simply not sound. 4. At that time and worse, still every (silly) enterprenuer are thinking of starting such ventures! 5. Firstly, the entry level is low and any tom, dick and harry can easily open a shop next to yours. 6. Furthermore, such drinks are not healthy as majority contain sugars. 7. Several days ago, I received several calls from some others who enquire to Feng Shui stores selling the current craze " Luo Han " fish or as my friend Frankie, whom I had met in this forum and had since being a very good friend would say " drain fish " or fish that literally came from the drains mixed with other strands of fish. Locally, we have a hokkien term: "Long Kang (drain) fish! 8. Please note that no amount of Feng Shui can help such silly ventures! If anyone, especially Singaporeans are looking at such ventures, please, please don't! The saying goes " come today, gone tommorrow ". A blackhole that sucks your money dry! Warmest Regards, Cecil P.S. A worrying trend for those who are salaried and forced to retire, when they still need to service their condo loans or worse, need to pay monthly maintenance (quarterly) when one reaches compulsory retirement age. Work in Burger King / Mac D? or KFC?... Best to buy a `better' condo instead....in the event, one may need to force sale.

Location: 19 Pepys Road / off Pasir Panjang Road Developer: Oasis Development P Ltd Temporary Occupation Permit date: 1988 (close to 5 years old) Freehold Approximately: 30 units Overall, this type of layout is rare. It would be extremely inauspicious for such a design if the frontage is facing the sea or canal or a water position. The slope at the frontage is symbolic of water flowing away from the development. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Users, 1. Did you watch Discover Channel's series on Chinese Inventions? (cable TV) 2. As China is one of the 4 oldest civilsations spanning over 5,000 years, it actually had contributed lots of inventions. 3. It is interesting to note that in one of the series, a Professor highlighted that although China had a head start or first user advantage she did not manage to benefit from it. 4. It is good to understand why? The explanation was that most of the inventions were in the hands of the few who jeaously guard them. 5. Unlike in the west, many of the Chinese discoveries were shared amongst intellects and thinkers who share and refine these theories. 6. We can draw a parallel to Feng Shui. A decade from now, when China gets very successfully or becomes a commercial power house, Feng Shui will again be re-exported back to the country. I envisage not by many overseas Chinese but rather intellects from the west who do serious research again. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Marie, 1. Thank you for your sketch. However, I cannot really see the octagonal shape especially several of the lines were broken. 2. There are two dimensions in order to have a clear picture:- a. Shapes and Forms b. Flying Star 3. Under the Flying Star, usually if your house was born between 1984 to 2003; the centrepoint has current prosperity. However, in some of the layouts; there can be metal elements such as weak #7 detected there or a combination of #7 with #1. 4. If the centre grid or pie chart already as #7 with #1 this implies that there is already a virtual #7 metal with #1 water. And not necessary to have real water. 5. In addition if you are staying in an apartment, this is even not necessary for a water position here. Not much use since the metal at that sector could be a weak metal #7. 6. Unless, there is a strong metal e.g. #6 at that sector, additional water may help. BUT, it has to be referenced to Shapes and Forms. Or shapes and forms (Qi movement) takes precedence over Flying Star. 7. CAUTION: The above Flying Star assessment is preliminary and it depends on the direction of your exact main door. Sometimes, #7, #1 or even #6 may not be present in your house's actual chart. The second caution is that many parts of the octagon is missing, so I am not really sure where is the centrepoint of your house. 8. Shapes and Forms has the Final Say Based on the broken sketch, it seems to me that there are various missing corners or the form is not as stable as rectangular forms. In addition, based on your sketch, your centrepoint of the house is a stone's throw from the black dot or your proposed water feature. When I looked at the qi flow thru your main door towards the centrepoint of your house, the water feature seems to be in the way. Therefore, I feel very uncomfortable with these two issues. Frankly, if it is me, I would either investigate further or at least put of the idea for now especially if u are staying in an apartment. The maxim: Better safe than sorry! Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Users, 1. This article touches on the Management Principle: " Promoted to the Level of our Incompetence " 2. What this theory says is that, if we do not keep up with our skills, we could easily get promoted to the level of our incompetence. 3. For example, this clerk does a great job at his level. But, through promotions, he became an executive officer. 4. These are higher responsibilities. And he no longer does his usual clerical (monotonous) work but has higher responsibilities such as writing recommendations and supervisiong others. 5. To some others, this clerk's monotonus work can be very very boring and not enriching. 6. But to this clerk, he finds the job conforting. Firstly, it is mechanical and does not need one to use their thinking cap. Secondly, it does not give him stress. 7. We can draw a parallel to this with Feng Shui practitioners:- 7.1 Good Feng Shui practitioners must always constantly catch up or reflect on various cases that they had encountered - both good and bad. 7.2 Good Feng Shui practitioners must constantly, look at or honing their skills. 7.3 The best method is to conceptualize ideas fitting them into easily understood models. 8. A DOCTOR IS A DOCTOR When we talk of a medical doctor, many of us will automatically know that he is qualified in certain fields. Some doctors become General Practioners (GPs), others become Specialists (some become Surgeons, others become specialists in their specific areas e.g. oncology etc... 9. A FENG SHUI "MASTER" Many common folks assume that a Doctor is a Doctor; while all Feng Shui "MASTERs" are the same. The truth is far from this. 10. It is because of this trust in everyone calling themselves MASTER that is a worrying trend. Since, this profession is not regulated. 11. In my opinion, in my country alone, there are many FS practitioners, who use very basic tools of analysis. 12. Some literally interpret the Four Symbolic Animals to a fixed model e.g. North = water tortise, south = red phoenix. And many analysis are on a simplistic view. Inclusive of telling their clients that there must always be a specific wealth sector. 13. To this day, it is difficult to change the mind set of many new clients, who often insists that one reveals their wealth corner. If not, one could literally be taken as a lousy practitioner. 14. If explained properly, I personally feel many clients would accept your answer. 15. My point here is that for the common folks, they simply trust too dearly on everyone that calls themselves a FENG SHUI MASTER. This series of articles is meant to entice readers to put on their thinking cap. Not only when looking at Feng Shui, but looking at the world around us! I personally feel that it is better to teach than preach is always the best means of learning. My hope is that forums like this will continue to act as a catalyst or a bridge for you to jump further with confidence, every step of the way! Cheers! Warmest Regards, Cecil

Further to what I had mentioned earlier, 1. I forgot to mentioned about 9-Star Ki. This model was first exported to Japan. The Japanese make it into a package which looks at individuals (some form of Heaven Luck) with Feng Shui (earth luck). A few practitioners include the other missing element i.e. Man-luck. 2. 9-Star ki can be considered as one and the same with Flying Star Feng Shui. 3. I believe, some good 9-Star Ki practitioners have properly included MAN-LUCK into the 9-Star Ki EARTH-LUCK analysis. And this is one of the most popular forms of Feng Shui practised by the British Gentlemen. 4. But always, there are many who will `miss' the point and concentrate only on EARTH-LUCK. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Users, These are my interesting thoughts on Black Hat Sect:- 1. How I wish, many Feng Shui concepts are as simple as a piece of paper with a pictorial diagram of a cake or trigram divided into eight sectors. Such as helpful friends / travel etc... 2. Unfortunately, real Feng Shui involves not only the interior. And also, it is difficult to believe that there is one model that fits all. 3. So why is Black Hat Sect so (very, very successful?) 4. This is because, very simple models appeal to everyone (who needs HOPE). Hope can be of differing degrees or strenghts. Some may hope for a better career. Some may hope for `prosperity' etc... 5. To me, Black Hat Sect, should not be called "EARTH LUCK (Feng Shui) model" since it does not represent the views of Traditional Authenctic Feng Shui. 6. But nevertheless, if the practitioners are not "greedy" could perhaps be a compliment to Feng Shui by saying that it is more of a MAN LUCK model. 7. Many people go to temple (or other places of worship). In a temple, one can see perhaps a lady, with all her earthly worries, praying hard to e.g. Goddess of Mercy to guide her through hard times. 8. For this reason, it is very difficult to totally eliminate Black Hat Sect. As it has grown pretty large in the West. Much larger than any traditional FS site can penetrate the FS market there. 9. What will happen to Traditional Authentic Feng Shui? 10. One good thing about traditional authentic Feng Shui is that many of its concepts have to do with commonsense. 11. Several Black Hat Sect authors have known that their internal models lack the depth to tackle external environment. Some have, included Shapes and Forms into their fixed ba gua temple. 12. I call this addition a MAN LUCK (fixed template) plus partial EARTH LUCK models. 13. In Traditional Feng Shui, Shapes and Forms has the highest ranking and importance. While compass school complements this with time dimension analaysis. 14. In our modern times after 1980's onwards, we can see the following:- 15. Traditional Authentic Chinese Model uses:- Heaven Luck (Ba Zi) Man Luck (separate from Earth Luck) Earth Luck Notice that MAN LUCK is seperate from Earth Luck. Many Traditional Feng Shui authors, prefer to talk only about Earth Luck or Feng Shui i.e Shapes and Forms and Flying Star Feng Shui. Although some books merely describe what is Man luck and skip this entire section. 16. The new wave "Black Hat Sect" model:- Combines Man Luck (their fixed ba gua model) with Earth Luck (commonsense Shapes and Forms) 17. My definition of Black Hat Sect's MAN LUCK (fixed ba gua model):- 18. If we were to take a simplistic view of the fixed ba gau model, as mentioned earlier, it gives one a glimmer of hope. Human beings are unique, it is usually HOPE that lifts our spirit, gives us confidence and also most importantly a `will to live' or looking at the brighter side. 19. Don't get me wrong! I am not saying that I am now turning to `Black Hat Sect'. 20. What I am actually saying is that Traditional Authentic Feng Shui practitioners or authors who consider themselves as Authentic FS practitioners are giving the world the biggest worry: Books that PREACH NOT TEACH! 21. In my opinion, many auhors or sites on authentic Feng Shui are therefore, driving Traditional Feng Shui into the ground. Especially with their shallow concept of " X " marks the spot for the wealth sector during their Feng Shui audits. Forgetting that MAN LUCK is just important. 22. Bad Feng Shui can often be negated or neutralised with MAN LUCK. Where a happy family is auspicious. This is where, many FS practitioners have diverted their paths. And leave this loop-hole to Black Hat Sect to take advantage of! 23. In addition, some Black Hat Sect practitioners are highly qualified. The only regret was that prior to 1980's or between then to 1988, many qualified persons, many could not understand mandarin use the Black Hat Sect model instead. My hope for these practitioners is to classify their school as more of a MAN LUCK school. Again, I am just giving you my thoughts on how, BTB has become so successful as compared to Traditional Authentic Feng Shui. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Further to what I had mentioned, 1. I can only think of one acceptable logic for placing a piggy bank at a prominent location: this has more to do with psychology. 2. Usually, if someone tells us that a specific location is our wealth corner; we would consciously try to keep the place clear of other items. 3. And often when we pass thru this location, we may either sublimally think of money (earning money) or happy seeing money on our table. 4. Other than this explanation, it does not mean literally, by doing so, e.g. placing multiple $50 dollars or more notes or stacking fake notes into this bowl or piggy bank. Money cannot automatically fall down a hole thru the sky landing it at our feet. 5. The last point is that we all strive on hope. Many would buy lottery, sweeptakes etc... This is because, we can than look forward with hope. 6. In conclusion, I have suggested that placing a bowl of money etc.. has more to do with beliefs than Feng Shui. It is because of such beliefs, and majority of the time, they do not work or a Feng Shui practitioner reverts to `enticement' to invite them to your premises to perform a miracle. In doing so, it purely enriches the practitioner. Therefore, it is never too late to understand these situations. Try not to fall into such " Feng Shui trap " if u can! The only people who will laugh themselves to the bank is the other person, not You! Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Carrie, 1. It is best to have a firm grounding into many Feng Shui concepts. 2. The key success factor is always asks questions like - taking a three-step approach:- 2.1 What is the aim and purpose of a specific concept? 2.2 What are it's strengths. 2.3 What are it's weaknessess. 3. Try to research into the Eight House by asking the above three questions. Hint: It has to do more of the weakness of the Eight House theory. 4. For example, the eight house theory can only tell one how suitable the house is to the individual or breadwinner. 5. What can u do when e.g. one's prosperity goes into the toilet area? 6. We all know that especially if we live in an apartment or even landed property, it is not so easy to re-locate the toilet. 7. Or for landed property, relocate the underground sewerage pipe anytime we want. We are not playing with lego bricks here. 8. Neither do we want to work long hours in the toilet, if it is considered our prosperity sector. I know, nowadays, a modern notebook battery can last around 2 hours or more. But, these are practical at all. 9. What next? 10. Many of us have taken examinations. And, if we feel that we cannot score well in an area, let us try to check other areas or try harder in other papers or sections to boost up our examination marks. 11. It is no use scoring 100 marks by just `cleaning a toilet'. 12. This is the same as many naive Feng Shui practitioners who can claim wonders - by telling us that a specific spot which they had marked `X' for u is YOUR permanent wealth corner! 13. Let's look at it rationally. Have one ever seen a Grand Master or Master of Feng Shui come up with a book of just 1 page saying that this specific spot in the home or office is our wealth corner? 14. Only fools, or bigger fools would publish this. Time is the better judge of this. 15. Even iff one truly wants to find out our wealth corner, Para 14 gives the clue: TIME , or our lives are govern by time: time dimension. 16. Each day has different influence, be it from moon, leading to high tide, to the varing atmospheric qi flow, human moods etc... 17. The closes to wealth corners is the use of e.g. Flying Star Feng Shui. Where, if sectors with metal are detected e.g. #6 (big metal), #7 (small metal) we can use water to activate the metal elements. (Based on the five element concept: metal helps water to grow). 18. And this is the most widely used system to detect wealth for buildings and even homes. 19. But caution: the 20 Year Flying Star is just a rough indication. Flying Star can be charted for a Year, Month, Day, hour, minute, second. 20. All of us are already busy, and can we move our water every day, hour and minute to a spot that has metal, since it moves with time? 21. You and me would rather spent quality time, either earning a living or spending time with our family. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear All, Modern Feng and the evolution of Vehicle Safety Standard (C) Cecil Lee 1. I have thought very long about issuing this concept which I term " Vehicle Safety Concept ". 2. In the 1950's suddenly there was a surge in the car population. Vehicles were getting faster. 3. And there were more fatalities from car accidents than any other form of transportation. 4. It was sad because, if cars at that time had some safety features, many drivers and passengers would have survied and many would also live a ripeful age. Or be in their 70's or 80's today. 5. During accidents at that time, passengers were flung out of the cars; side doors also burst open, drivers crushed by the engine block that smashed thru as there were no collapsible steering wheel. 5. Because of the high rate or incidence of fatal accidents involving cars; first was Swedish firm Volvo who first came up with the one point safety belt. 6. Later, more enhancements were made such as templex or shatter resistant glass, accident absorbing chasis body, air-bags etc... 7. We can draw a parallel of the evolution of the car from being unsafe to safe. 8. I can say for sure that modern appreciation of Feng Shui started around mid-1980s and is the craze today! 9. It is good for you to either remember some of the points below and also caution your family members and close friends of the following:- 9.1. Fix-the-leak!, First. This is like adding safety features. Similar to modern cars with air-bags, low speed absorbing bumpers, side air-bags and collapsible body frame with crush zones that can absorb impacts. 9.2. Build a solid foundation of all major key principles and concepts. 9.3. Many us would instead ignore or do not look for leaks, first. But rather, go for the easier route of buying things that were recommended to them like: 3-legged toad etc... 9.4 Many Feng Shui practitioners want to supplement their income (they can earn quite a substantial amount) by selling e.g. wind chimes, wealth bowl etc... 9.5 For example, the costs of making a mass produced wind chime say in China (because of cheap labour and raw materials). The cost of making it may be less than US$5 or less. But the mark-up can range from US$20 or more. 9.5 It is fair, if a geniue FS practitioner feels that you may need a wind chime, i-ching coins etc... But where possible these practitioners should preferably not sell them. As this may ulitmately lead to a conflict of interests. 10. Going forward, if we take a serious look at many Feng Shui practitioner's Feng Shui sites, we often find that they may have many many secrets. 11. And if we analyse carefully, these secrets entail the purchase of some objects such as a special type of wind chime, or a special type of abacus etc... 12. And, I believe, some of these practitioners would simply say that it will not work for you unless, you had perhaps consulted them. Only such practitioners can detect your `wealth' corner. 13. All these should be eye openers for all of us. 14. Unfortunately, many of us live in a gullible world, where we trust our money (flowing out) thru impluse or implusive buying or irrational buying behaviour. 15. This is made worse with Credit cards. Well, lets spent first and worry later! 16. I personally feel that this is not a good model. 17. We should learn a lesson from the EVOLUTION OF VEHICLE SAFETY as the evolution of modern Feng Shui practises comes close to this type of historical events. 18. For our own sake, your family members sake, your relatives, friends and colleagues, please pass the word round! 19. If all of us, do our part to promote " Feng Shui safety " ; we would be in a safer world. 20. After seeing so, so many cases of problems related to applying Feng Shui, it is always best to adopt defence, First. And enhancements, second! You and I can certainly do our part! ... to stem the tide and eliminate the plague of this century! Warmest Regards, Cecil P.S. Fix-the-Leak, First! (C) Cecil Lee

Dear Users, 1. The Luo Han fish craze ========================= One of my friends who is a fish expert, feels very strongly against rearing such a fish. To him, this fish comes from the `drain'. Yes, this is indeed true. Overall, it is not auspicious to keep two fishes in a single tank even if it is separated by a piece of plastic divider. The reason for keeping them under separate containers is that these fishes (inclusive of the dragon fish) are territorial fishes who refuse to share their surroundings with another competitor. I personally feel that keeping two of these fishes is not ideal as it creates disharmony in the family. 2. Flying Star Feng Shui and Fish Tank ====================================== Many Xuan Kong or Flying Star Feng Shui practitioners do advise their clients to use fishes that represents both metal and water element. Since under the Five elements concept, Metal helps water grow. Since water is represented by blue, black or grey, if the fish tank is a fresh water tank, then, sometimes, a FS practitioner may ask their clients to add 1 black gold fish with ideally 6 gold fishes. Or 1 black with 7 gold fishes. (Where #6 represents big metal element) while #7 represents small metal element. This combination is acceptable. ALternatively, try to make sure that the fish tank has all five elments: water = water in the fish tank rectangle fish tank = earth element lighting = fire element (need not open 24 hours) wood = plants in the tank metal = represented by e.g. gold fish. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Another variation of the Nigeria con artist:- Greetings, I am Haruna Bako, I work with a bank as the manager foreign credits and bills procurement/debiting. I write this mail with respect to a certain sum of money that has been stagnant in our vault for more than 4 years runnning, I would not have raised the issue of contacting you if I could have been able to sort this out myself, the funds was deposited in the name of a company owned by an expertraite firm that did construction works in Bulevard the Morno in Port novo. The company was owned by a Mesuier James gregson, who is an european. I was surmoned by the government to remit all funds that has been redundant over a period of 4 years, it was while going through the files that I came acrross Mesuier James account with a mouth stagering sum of $23.7 million dollars. I decided to contact you because I could not bring myself to remit such funds to an African government that has been most corrupt and left it's citenzenry with little or nothing. So I immediately filed an application in the companies name, stating that the next of kin has applied for the transfer, hence I would want you to act as the next of kin so that we can transfer this funds into your account. I would anticipate that you have a question or two to ask, please feel free to ask any question you think might better foster a more workable arrangement. I'll handle the inside informations, please contact me at the aforementioned email address so as to initiate an immediate procedural retrieval. with kind regards Haruna Bako

Dear all, If you intend to make Feng Shui a serious hobby, you should get good quality compass(es). Alternatively, you can get their economical hiking compass if you are not intending to use it so often. The two world's best (and affordable) compass makers are:- 1. Suunto http://www.suunto.com The type I find very useful can be found here:- http://www.geomancy.net/resources/art/art-recommendcompass.htm 2. Silva http://www.silva.se and their Survey Master series Both companies are truly well known. The Suunto Pilot ================ a. For Suunto, they have another additional model: the Suunto Pilot. (For vehicles) b. Since it is meant for vehicles with lots of steel around it, it is a pleasure to own it since, you can fully calibrate it to very high accuracy - taking into account magnetic influence in the surrounding. This is what makes it very special (to me). c. Although, this one has fewer reading scales, nevertheless; it is handy especially as an additional check of the readings. d. This is because, this compass can be finely calibrated to account for any zone or region in the world. e. As Singapore is on the equator, I bought their " ZONE THREE " model which is suppose to be the optimum for countries close to the equator. f. Please see attached. I had scanned two imagines: one from the box of the Suunto Pilot. This image will show the various zones. You should try to get one that suits your zone. g. Next, I included a sample of the instructions for further fine tuning the calibration. This model, has a North-South calibration dial. And also a East-West calibration dial. h. It is an advantage to have this extra model since it will help greatly to confirm readings crucial to Flying Star Feng Shui. i. However, where possible, you should always take a reading external of a home / office / building to reconfirm what was taken inside the home. j. Please note that even with these compasses, if one does not know the proper technique of compass readings, one can equally get incorrect readings. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Wasis, Sorry for the delay, please see below:- It is like lawyers who argue their case. Sometimes, if the argue correctly for their defendant, they can win the case. Feel free to share with us, if you have any pointers especially if you think that they should belong otherwise:) Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Ivy, 1. Often, some elders (parents) may have a wrong perception that certain years are not good years for marriage or even give birth. 2. But if this is the case, many hotels and restaurants may close down. And for women and children hospitals, they remain idle for much of the year. 3. Frankly, this is not an issue. So long as one does not marry e.g. during Qing Ming and 7th month of the hungry ghosts, other months can be chosen. 4. More importantly, the two dates should match both you and your partner's ba zi. 5. I have provided you a courtesy combined ba zi report that analyses both you and your future husband's ba zi. Simply unzip the attached file and look at the report Ivy-May2003.htm 6. Please note that your husband is a weak fire person. While you are a strong metal person. Your best combined auspicious dates for marriage in May 2003 are:- 05 May 2003 (Mon); 08 May 2003 (Thu); 09 May 2003 (Fri); 17 May 2003 (Sat); 18 May 2003 (Sun); 20 May 2003 (Tue); 21 May 2003 (Wed); 29 May 2003 (Thu); 30 May 2003 (Fri); Please note that unfortunately 23 May 2003 (Friday) is the 4th month, 23 day of the lunar calendar. This date is very inauspicious for your partner and inauspicious for you. Wishing both of you "Bai Tou Dao Lao!" Happiness and Long life! Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Mercedes, Frankly, this question is very general. Objectively, companies look especially for specific skill sets that can help them to enhance their business. This is not Feng Shui:- And nowadays, jobs also depends on the number of applications and suprisingly, it also depends on your cover letter and resume. From past experience, the human resource department staff or manager will take no more than 30 seconds glance at your letter and resume. Therefore, it is highly essential for you to attract their attention. Thus cover letter should be short and sweet and the first page of your resume should have a photo. Nowadays, you can easily scan it clearly. Anyway, wishing all the best in your job application! Warmest Regards, Cecil

1. This is more of a commonsense. But, it does invariably affect both your Man (person) and Earth (Feng Shui). 2. In Singapore, if you are ever considering buying a second-hand landed property be it a terrace, semi-detached or a bungalow (a house on it's own), please take heed of the following story:- 3. Do take note if you stay at St Michael's Road/Towner Road, Pasir Ris and many areas that are close to canals or damp locations: "There was once (6 years ago), I went to a bungalow at St Michael's Road in Singapore to do a Feng Shui audit." "As part of the audit, I checked the flooring and found some very strange cracks on the floor". 4. This is an important consideration, as the foundation is important for a FS accessment. "I peered down into a crack, and low and behold, I saw the face of a termite smiling at me thru the crack. The termite, "greeted" me with surprise!" 5. The owner immediately called the pest control people to exterminate these white ants (termites). 6. Do excercise care, when you next look at a second-hand terrace or any landed property especially with locations that have dampness such as a canal even as far as 1 km away. 7. This is because, when the property was new, most probably, the site which the building is, has been treated with slow release chemicals that keep termites away. But, if there was regular pest control check done annually, then, your entire investment can literally be `eaten' away right under your very nose. The morale of the story " Prevention is better than cure! " Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, 1. The best way to understand web sites that promote: e.g. Helpful/travel, fame and reputation is to check out their PRODUCTS page. 2. In my opinion, in many or most situations, you will invariably see some or even many types of goods (at very high mark-up price) with the aim of making profits out of everyone. 3. This is especially in the USA: If we ever want to consult a FS practitioner in your area; ask this question:- "Is your FS fees fixed?" This is because, the FS fees may be stated at US$150, but when the FS practitioner comes, he/she may cart along a full suitcase of "valuable" FS items. At the end of the session, your total audit bill may come to as much as US$1,000. Remember, when the FS practitioner leaves, you will be permanently stuck with all these clutter. 4. Another good question is: "If you are asking me to do enhancements, YOU MUST allow me to understand what you are trying to neutralise based on Yin and Yang and/or The Five Elements concept". Anything else, is suspect! Caveat Emptor: Let the buyer beware! Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Aaron, Please see below:- 1. a protrusion or 2. an indent (missing corner) Usually, if your house is nearly rectangle all round; this missing corner or protrusion is often not the main concern. The main concern is whether there are any external threats around. 1. This type of "Feng Shui" can be classified as pathetic. 2. Firstly, this is very popular with authors writing English books, which first appeared in the early 1980's. 3. Without much imagination, many `create' people became overnight authors. 4. What can be so simple as writing such a book within days or week with chapters like: Chapter 1: North - Career Sector Chapter 2: SW - Romance Sector This is the type of commercialisation that lead many into trouble. 5. This is a modern invention. Be my guess whether it can work. Hint: it is too general to be of any use to everyone in the whole world. More importantly, a bedroom should be as rectangular as possible. It would be good if you can provide a sketch, for a better understanding of the situation. Hmm.. metal chimes... Is this really needed? Hmm... helpful/travel; this is an authentic Feng Shui forum and such things are never discussed here. If we sit down properly to analyse, this type of modern invention REQUIRES everyone to purchase something material. The only people laughing their way to the banks are the producers of commercial goods. It will always end up with a hole in our pockets. Like the tobacco companies, these type of gimmick will never end as long as there is a readily available market for it. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Users, 1. For the company signage e.g. above the door, it is best to adopt the Yin and Yang concept. 2. This is where Yang = odd numbers e.g. 1, 3, 5, 7 etc... 3. While Yin = odd numbers e.g. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 etc... 4. More importantly your company logo should either have Yang dimensions at the length or width or vice versa. 5. For example, your logo panel can be e.g. 5 feet 8 inches by 2 feet 9 inches etc... (even vs odd) It will give the signage a balance of yin and yang. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Further to what I had mentioned; For the surface area of your `Feng Shui friendly' tables or for anyone wanting to manufacture Feng Shui friendly tables can use this explanation:- (One Feng Shui foot is nearly equal to an imperial foot. One Feng Shui foot is roughly equal to 43 cms.) Description of tables with multiples of 17 inches (lenght x width):- THE MAGICAL 17 INCH FACTOR "One Feng Shui foot was derived from the side of a square, where the length of the diagonal of a square is the square root of two. In the West, this is known as the `magic square'. Thus multiples of 17 inches will translate to several square foot of the optimium auspicious width. " Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Mercedes, 1. Firstly, have confidence in yourself. 2. I like to share with you another key success factor which I feel is useful. 3. In my undergraduate and post graduate days; quite sometime back; it is good to have a few good buddies to share notes or meet up reguarly to go thru assignments. 4. Frankly, I am not in the nursing profession, alhough, `nursing' or using elastoplast to fix leaks is one of them. So I am not too sure how you carry out your assignments etc... 5. I personally find buddy system useful, because firstly, it is a great motivation for several reasons: 5.1. More heads are better than one. 5.2. Motivating each other. 6. Eventually, the few of us, managed always to be either 1st, 2nd or 3rd in all the individual papers. I believe, this is due to examination techiques, going thru past year papers and the pooling of minds and selective notes. As well as motivating each other. 7. Don't worry if at the end of it, one does not seem to gel everything but everything should gel well - at the right time e.g. taking the test. 8. One of my most favourate movie is: 8.1 In US it is called: Critical Decision 8.2 But in Singapore it is called: Executive Decision. 8.3 This show was shot by Warner Brothers: starring Kurt Russell and Halle Berry (the most recent pretty James Bond girl). 9. I have watched this show at least 100 times throught these many years. And the ending has a good line. Where, Kurt Russell, who is not a jumbo jet pilot but a miltary adviser flew this plan and tries to land it. 10. He (Kurt) tried first to land at Dallas Airport, but was unsuccessful. He then make a turn towards a small airfield and when recognising this small field, he had a little confidence. Halle Berry who plays the flight attendant was helping him with the instructions: finally I like this part something like: 9.1 Kurt Russell: what else did I forgot (after lowering the wheels and checking air speed); 9.2 Hale Berry: Who cares, JUST FLY THE PLANE! 9.3 Kurt Russell: Got a sudden surge of confidence and then flew the plane, landing it safely on the ground. 10. All I can say to you, "who cares" about worrying too much, JUST DO YOUR BEST or FLY YOUR PLANE!:) Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anthony, 1. Earth predominantly gives off sickness Qi. This is why #2 and #5 are predominantly bad earth elements. 2. If we look at a Chinese luo pan, we will notice that the outer shell is a rectangle. 3. While the inner is a rotating circle metal piece. As many of u know, circle represents Metal element. 4. A luo pan consists of: Outer square piece represented by the earth Inner metallic dial represented by Heaven. 5. In many of the cures, we therefore, see that Heaven Qi or Heaven Metal Qi is used to neutralise bad earth elements. 6. Therefore, metal, is the chief ingredient. Please see below:- To be effective:- 1. It must not those `play, play' type with so many colours on it. 2. Where possible, use 6 rod, metal hollow windchime with wood clinger because, it makes the most noise. 3. To be effective, it must make `metallic' sound to defuse bad earth qi. 4. To install a wind chime, one should scan the immediate environment to see whether air can pass thru it. If it is blocked by another building nearby and air cannot move or pass thru it, better hang 6 coins inside the house. 5. If really really bad stars especially those encountered at East (Period 7) where there can be as many as #5 x 2 or even 3 of these because of the year also having #5. 6. In such a situation, the next immediate cure is the use of: find a glass jar, place 6 coins in it. Many authentic FS practitioner may even ask that you place a piece of flake gold into it. Add a teaspoon of salt and fill it with 1/2 or not more than 3/4 of water. Stir it. This is best left at a ventilated location. 7. If there is a toilet sandwiched between this room and the bedroom with such bad stars, one can place a bottle gourd; between the toilet bowl and the wall next to the bedroom. 7.1 Do a search for Bottle Gourd in this forum to understand what I mean. 8. A wind chime should be hung outside such as the ledge roof or to the level of the ceiling height. This is because, too low, the sound cannot flow into the bedroom. 9. This can be done but do monitor how it sways. If because of walls or ledge, it sways rather than clings, than it should not be too good. 10. The best position is that the clinger, moves and hit the rods. Rather than the rods sway fiercely with the wind MOST OF THE TIME. This is expected before a storm. But during normal operations, it should not be so. 11. If the wind chime is of medium size, sometimes: some of the rods rests on parts of the grille. And if one looks closely it looks tilted. This is not auspicious. 12. Tall cupboards usually are rectangular in shape and not advisable because it is not aero-dynamic. And seldom clings. And because usually the cupboard is next to a wall, the qi cannot fully circulate thru it. 13. In addition, most cupboards are made of wood and would absorb most of the qi sound making it's use here suspect. 14. Usually, in Feng Shui, hanging wind chimes inside a house is more symbolic since as you had mentioned, it seldoms chime. 15. The most effective is to use grandfather clock at specific locations or locations with either dead qi or still qi instead of a wind chime. 16. Nowadays, money spent on wind chimes goes into the pocket of the manufacturer, seller and many, many Feng Shui practitioners who push such stuff. 17. When, I have the time in the future, I can provide you with a three or four page article just on wind chime, placement or purely on commercial reasons. 18. If one search the internet, you can find wind chimes that are marked up so high that one wonders who pockets the money. 19. In my opinion, if you are ever searching for a reliable FS practitioner, the first thing one should do is check out whether are they selling any PHYSICAL GOODS like wind chimes, god of wealth etc.... For me, be weary of such practices. 20. Practitioners should avoid selling them because, (profit from these) may override their assessment of your home/office premises. Do be careful here! From a commonsense approach to Feng Shui it makes no sense for this. For a Feng Shui practitioner, frankly he "does not care" because, eventually, he is not sleeping in this room. But you and I know: if we place such things next to the aircon, it may cling and cling. You and I are the ones who will be facing this kind of `crab'. not the FS practitioner who happily takes your money and is not seen again! Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Mercedes, 1. We can draw a parallel with Feng Shui. 2. For most of us, what comes immediately to our mind is enhancements, first and do not blink an eye to the techniques. 3. In Feng Shui, you can learn everything from a Master or even do the best Flying Star Chart, but in the end, it is not the best chart but rather, how one apply the appropriate technique which can yield success. 4. For example, you have asked which is the best month and date to take your nursing exam. This is similiar to looking asking a Feng Shui practitioner, what enhancements I can make to pass my Feng Shui examination. 5. Frankly, the month is not as important as the day. But again, what matter most is not whether the date is auspicious or not but how one approach the examinations. 6. I give this example: 6.1 There are two boys taking an examination. One boy, spends his entire day and night slogging to read / re-read his history text book. 6.2 But there is another boy, who, always, spend much of his time playing games e.g. football, basketball and swimming. He spent little time in his studies. But when he studies, he look at the past year questions and from there, he try to see how best he can answer it! 7. Guess which boy became a doctor? 8. It is the boy who actually studied, the `smart' way by selective learning instead of the boy who only knows too much that when it is time to write his answers, he usually may write out of point. 9. In fact, in nearly all my Feng Shui audits, clients always ultimately ask the question "where is my wealth sector"? 10. If anyone is new to this forum, please do a search to find out my explanation of this. 11. Frankly, it does not matter which day we take any examination:) The only reason, why we may perhaps try to find a good date is like using a comforter or baby teet to calm our nerves or give us some added confidence. 12. Otherwise, imagine when each of us were young, and if the examination is an internation one e.g. UK Cambridge examination papers, we cannot ask the examiner: Hey, wait! This day is inauspicious for me. Wishing you all the best in your examination! Remember: Technique is the key success factor for passing any examinations! Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Sachin, Please see below:- As one Feng Shui foot is = 17 inches. And at 17 inches or multiples of it e.g. 34 inches, 51 inches are considered most auspicious for good fortune or wealth. 2ft 8 inches is = 32 inches is considered OK. But a better measurement is 17inches x 2 = 34 inches or 2 ft 10 inches is a better choice. DESK OF DIRECTOR:--5FT.8 Inches x 2FT 10 Inches X 2FT 10 Inches But if you are using this measurement than go for:- 7 ft 1 inch x 2 ft 10 inches x 2 ft 10 inches. For the Desk of Staff, if you had made a mistake above than go for:- 4 ft 3 inches (which is 51 inches) x 2 ft 10 inches x 2 ft 10 inches. The 17 inch method has been the standard even for an auspicious document pouch. Warmest Regards, Cecil