Cecil Lee

Dear Anon, Based on my personal experience, a toilet above the 2nd floor would depend on:- 1. The level of usage of the toilet. 2. The higher the ceiling, the better. Under Para 1; water or water vapour may release `negative ions' or water gases so; it is always advisable to keep that toilet as dry as possible. One good thing is that usually, the sewerage pipes are on ground level (unless you also have a toilet) directly above it. It is best to place the bed away from piping from below. Sometimes, because of the gypsum board or false ceiling of the toilet, we may need to explore this further. It is best if the water heater (some of these) are located directly above the bedroom. Stay clear if possible. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Benjamin, 1. To side track (a-bit); I suddenly realised that the forum message under Free Advice (General Topics) is now close to the 5,000 messages mark. 2. I `suddenly' thought of this because, I could still vaguely remember one reply or several replies within the 2,000 message mark on this issue. I cannot blame anyone for not reading the previous message on this. So here goes.... 3. Lilian Too is not wrong in this aspect. This is because, in the `Traditional Eight House Theory'; the backdoor is considered of prime importance because this will determine the type of house e.g. a North house; South house etc.... 4. Here again, I like to emphaise that when one reads a `concept' from an author or site; one should read or apply the concepts; i.e. step-by-step from THAT particular site. And not `mix' and match concepts or steps from one book to another book or to another site. 5. Why is this so? For example, in this site; I have considered users using the common denominator e.g. a handy " ordinary compass ". 6. So when I first devised the Eight House Theory and how to take the compass reading using a Step-by-step guide i.e. it is based on:- 6.1 Template where North is North and South is South. Some Eight House map would use the traditional model of South on the top. 6.2 With the use of the ordinary compass, standing at the centrepoint of the house to determine the direction of the main entrance door = the direction of the door. E.g. a South House. This site uses this concept. 7. However, if one uses a Chinese Luopan; one tries to find the `sitting' (can be the back door) and facing direction i.e. the front or the main entrance. This is why the `backdoor' is considered important or why Lilian Too mentioned it. 8. The Flying Star Theory The Flying Star Theory has made some improvements in the way the `back-door' or `front door' is used. Thus, Flying Star in the traditional model contains the two key words: Sitting direction and Facing direction. Where sitting is (the back) and facing (the front) especially if the Chinese Luopan is used to find the direction. 9. Here again, this site, makes it easier and the true north is = true north. And the direction of the main door can be found if one stands at the centrepoint of the house facing the main entrance door. 10. Therefore, I must again emphaise that one cannot litterally take the work `backdoor' or `front entrance' as being universally equal in meaning by all authors; or sites. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, Feng Shui refers (in general) to the Earth Luck of a home. Feng Shui is about trying to increase the Earth Luck or trying to harmonise the home. Feng Shui thus cannot be done by `remote control'. For example, if one does not live in a particular house e.g. Smith Street, USA and say he/she resides in Trafagar Square, UK. His `earth luck' (the breadwinner's) would then be based on the house that of the home he currently resides i.e. Trafagar Square, UK. And not the house in Smith Street, USA. If the breadwinner stays in the UK. Then the person who earns the most and staying in Smith Street, USA; would instead be consider the breadwinner of this house. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Benjamin, 1. Currently, I understand that you are applying the Eight House Theory. 2. The most popular use of the Eight House Theory is:- 2.1 To find out how suitable the house is to the breadwinner. If the main entrance direction happens to be the death/disaster sector - particulary to the breadwinner than, this house is considered the `most' unsuitable for the breadwinner. 2.2 Do note that under the Eight House Theory one clue is that one must spent time at a sector in order to get the influence. Thus, it does not matter (as much) if say your death sector is in the toilet. Especially if one does not spent so much time there. 2.3 It is good to find out what is the intangible force affecting each member of the family in the bedroom. Other than the above; the Eight House does not mean more. Or one cannot extract more from the Eight House than the above. 3. Do note that the Eight House Theory cannot be further reduced to the Lowest Common Denominator i.e. The Five Elements Concept. This is thus it's inherent weakness. 4. One must take note that in Traditional Feng Shui practise; The Five Elements is the basis of it. For example, under Ba Zi or also known as Eight Characters or Pillars of Destiny; it takes into consideration - The Five Elements Concept. So does The Flying Star Theory which also uses the Five Elements Concept. 5. Thus, both Ba Zi and The Flying Star Theory have as a powerful tool the common denominator = The Five Elements concept to compare and be used for `horizontal' and `vertical' analysis. 6. I usually do an full audit combining the two i.e. Ba Zi and The Flying Star Theory. The summary found under http://www.geomancy-online.com - The report called " Group Analysis " is the means which the two are `combined' and provide a very detailed analysis taking into consideration the above two plus the Eight House Theory. The salient points or important `exceptions' are highlighted in the above report providing what we call a `Helicopter' view of both the Earth Map and Heaven Map combination. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Jyoti, You can understand more on how to use an ordinary compass at this url:- http://www.geomancy.net/fs/cecilcompass.htm Useful information on step-by-step guide in finding the 4 good and 4 bad directions:- http://www.geomancy.net/fs/house1.htm To generate your free Eight House Report and other reports:- http://www.geomancy-online.com Warmest Regards, Cecil

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Dear Jonathan, Currently, we are looking at it from the point of view of Shapes and Form Feng Shui. As `corner' or `sector' Feng Shui e.g. South-West = Romance/relationship sector can be quite misleading. This type of `sector' Feng Shui; in my opinion is too general to be considered applicable to everyone. However, if we use Shapes and Form, (as a `replacement' to this `sector' Feng Shui; we are concerned with the placement of the bed in-relation to the bedroom. It is always best to place the bed on the opposite wall of the bedroom door provided there is not a window there. If there is a window, there; then there should be a gap between the bed and the window. In Shapes and Form Feng Shui; one consideration is that two bedroom doors should preferably not face each other. (Best avoided as; it was felt that the parties living in either of the bedroom may `clash' or quarrel. For example, the son and say another sibling. Other FS theories and concepts can be applied further. But, this depends on the level of participation or non-participation into the use of them. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Beng Swan, 1. For Feng Shui in business, the most vital question asked is: 2. Is my business doing as well as those IN the SAME industry? 3. For example, if one owns say a provision shop in a neighbourhood. One shop is doing well and the other is not doing as well; Feng Shui can help. 4. But if one's company is e.g. in the Dot Com industry; where there is a high rate of `cash burn'; no amount of Feng Shui can help in such a situation. 5. For businessess, it also involves many factors e.g. 5.1 Marketing / Competitiveness of the good i.e. pricing 5.2 Is your market a niche market? or entry into the market is easy/difficult? 6. Is your marketing channel adequate? Advertising? Acceptance of your product and service? Are you marketing your project in new channels such as the internet - this can be quite an uphill task especially if people want to touch and feel the product and buy it immediately from a shop rather than the internet. The above are some of the diverse issues or considerations that you have to make. They are not the least, the final questions that need to be asked. Other factors may be involved. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Melody, 1. The most common `neutral' colour is white. Or pastel shades of white. Locally, many condominiums like to paint the interior e.g. beige or tones of it. 2. White is an acceptable colour because it is considered or represents - the metal element. Metal element is one of the best colours to use because; it can be used to cure both " bad earth elements e.g. #2 sickness and #5 misfortune and others such as bad wood e.g. #3. 3. When Ba Zi is applied, we look at the element and strength of the person living in the particular room. For example, if the person's element is weak wood; a FS practitioner may advise the breadwinner to paint the room to suit this person e.g. either neutral white (if there are some imbalances where green (wood) or blue (water) element cannot be used. 4. The `Binding' Element In a further example, assuming that this is the master bedroom where: 4.1 The husband's element is Strong Wood while 4.2 The wife's element is Strong Earth. We can introduce a `binding' element to benefit both of them i.e. to benefit Strong Wood and Strong Earth. The element that can benefit both elements is = Metal. Thus, in their bedroom, one can e.g. consider painting the room white and since one of them is the breadwinner, areas where both spent time at e.g. the living room and the dinning room can use more of `metal' element to help bind their relationship. Reference: The above report is available under www.geomancy-online.com (Group Analysis Report). For those who do not want to use a binding element could perhaps, as usual, apply `trial and error' or use their instincts or simply choose white colour for the entire home. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear SY, Thank you for your layout plan. Yes, the layout is pretty `unique' and sometimes it may not be feasible to simply divide it into shapes such as eg. Two `L' shapes as they may not be such. In your case, the preferred option is to make a photocopy of the layout plan or print it. Paste/glue the photocopy on a cardboard. Next `cut-out' the outline of the layout plan. You use a nail to balance the layout. When you are able to balance the entire `cut-out' layout, i.e. centre of gravity then use this point as the centre-point of the home. You can then from here determine the direction to the main entrance. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Students who have completed your course in the last few months, We will be posting your Certificates this by weekend. Warmest Regards, Cecil Lee

Dear Benjamin, Please see below:- Yes, it is prefered to have a water fountain at the frontage of the house. Usually, the water fountain should be low and this would represent clear space at the front. And a fountain can help to circulate `vibrant' Qi at the entrance. In your case, you can still leave the fountain there but consider other water element e.g. in colour such as grey, black or blue. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, Thank you for your layout plan. 1. Based on Shapes and Form FS (without consideration to other Schools), in my opinion, I would prefer bedroom 1, which is above the laundry area as opposed to bedroom 2, above the kitchen. 2. Attached please find the layout plan: house.jpg which shows the preferred position of the bed in bedroom 1 and 2. Marked by a rectanglar in RED and in BLUE. Depending on the window position, the head of bed if possible is preferred not to rest against a window. 3. I have marked the centrepoint of the home. Even if you are just renting a bedroom, you can take a compass reading of the house and check the `Eight House' of your room to see whether Bedroom 1 is better or Bedroom 2. If Bedroom 2 is auspicious under the Eight House, then, you should try to use this room instead of Bedroom 1. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear SL, When the Flying Star course starts, in early October, you can find out more about how to draw the Flying Star Chart. It uses a formula and is not directly related to the I-Ching. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear SL, Thanks. The Flying Star Course will be launched on the first week of October 2001. Warmest Regards, Cecil For the Ba Zi course, I will look into it after the launch of the Flying Star Course. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Aiyoo, Please see below:- Unfortunately, there is not much one can do that is not so obvious. However, under the Five Elements concept, Fire element can be used to neutralise metal. Here, e.g. a red packet with $2 can be hung below the lighting. But this can be quite obvious as it can be seen. Alternatively, if you have a PC monitor, you can alternatively place this on it or on your desk. One should not clutter the table unncessarily especially, if the motive is for `Feng Shui'. But if you do have some interesting or some other decor that you really, really like, by all means. Warmest Regards, Cecil In the past, we use to broadcast as a backup to another site. But more often, one by one of these sites eventually closed down or become absorbed by others e.g. Yahoo.com. In my personal opinion, sites like Yahoo.com nowadays, has nothing else to `absorb' and like they say..the bigger you are the harder you fall. Perhaps, the site may not close down so soon...yet Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Benjamin, Please see below:- http://www.geomancy.net/fs/cecilcompass.htm 2. The above analysis of the door direction using an ordinary compass will help or assist one to determine compass direction of the main entrance door. This info is required as an input for generating the Flying Star Chart and/or the Eight House Chart. 3. For the Flying Star Chart, accuracy must be in the range of + or - 15 degrees in order to get the correct orientation e.g. North 1, or North 2 or North 3?. 4. With the above information, then a chart such as the Flying Star Chart can be drawn and items placed within one of the 9x9 grid or a pie chart of 8 sectors under the Flying Star Chart can help you analyse or diagnose the sector. 5. I am not sure, if I got your question correctly as we do not need to identify the position of each time. But rather need to follow the above points as mentioned under Para 2, 3 and 4. For placement of fountains etc... there are many considerations and it depends on your level of `participation' or `non-participation' in Feng Shui. For example, what kind of tools you want to apply in Feng Shui. It ranges from the use of one's instincts to the use and application of Shapes and Form Feng Shui particularly, concepts on `clear space' and `solid backing'. Other concepts, can be applied e.g. Flying Star to diagnose the sector to see if water position is/are suitable. Therefore, it depends on what tools you want to apply in Feng Shui. It is not for me to `sell' FS concepts or applications. It is more for the individual to see what sort of tools he/she wants or do not want to use. Basically, if one simply wants to use one's instincts or sixth sense, I always ask this question: What is your purpose of placing a water position? If one uses instincts, and found a particular water position lovely or interesting, by all means go and buy it and place it in your home. But if one's ( MOTIVE ) is that I read a book or two and it seems that WATER = Wealth, then, one may still need to use instincts if one does not want to use any other further FS concepts or theories. Treat it as any other decor items. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, Please see below:- Usually, without much analysis in Feng Shui, as you have mentioned, it would be preferred not to use red carpeting in a room especially in the bedroom. 1. Red is considered th most yang colour and bedroom should usually have more yin (rest) than yang (activity). 2. Depending on the sector, or compass directions, it would not be too ideal to have red at the South side or sector as it represents the `fire' element. 3. It should preferably not good to use a blue colour for the bedsheet as there would be an extreme contrast of red and blue where both can easily clash. Perhaps, you can try to use a lighter shade of blue or grey. Thank you. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Rebecca, Usually, we should take the shape of crystals based on various shapes that we like and thus wear them. Overall, there are so many different shapes and designs and it is quite difficult to place them into specific categories. The shapes you mentioned, heart, star are usually worn symbollically as a decor linked perhaps to `romance' or love. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Slides showing what happens if we `trust' men to raise their children single-handedly...erh... *Joke*

Dear Rochelle, In a very recent message in this forum under this same conference, a user has asked for advise on this issue. If your apartment is small, there is usually a constraint in correcting a spiral staircase. If you have a sketch, I would be happy to take a look at it. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Belen, Thank you for your encouraging words on this site. I always try continue to respond to questions as possible in an objective view or provide users with a based view or cite other practises available. Hopefully, it can act as a catalyst for anyone reading the messages to - form their own opinion afterwards. Please see below:- Regarding your first question i..e can we consider artifical plants as wood element? In my opinion, it is still best to use real plants (if possible). But based on well held views of artificial plants, there is no problem in considering them as being `wood element' as symbolism in Feng Shui is a powerful tool and I feel that many good FS practitioners will agree with this. As to your second question, I would prefer to place as you had mentioned `artificial' plants or flowers especially in the bedroom than real plants or flowers (if given the choice). As for the toilet, a picture may get damp especially if the toilet is constantly wet... so a commonsense approach need be taken on this issue. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Elaine, Sorry to learn about your plight. Since, Feng Shui is quite a wide topic and problem resolution involves many holistic approach (usually, a good FS practitioner) can diagnose it onsite; but if you want to; Please sent a private email to: Robert Lee at robert-lee@3dmail.com to provide you with the necessary reports to help you D.I.Y.; to identify problem areas in your home. Here, if you have an ordinary compass, you can input the variables and my customized reports would help you to immediately identify the problem areas. Most of all, since we am unable to help you onsite; you can use all the avialble `Paid' tools free of charge. For your home, please also stand at the main entrance looking out of the main entrance, and each window to look out for any possible threats. Please provide Robert with i.e. No. of persons in the home so that he can give you free paid credits for the relevant amount of reports. If you have already an account at www.geomancy-online.com, privately email the account name that was created so that he can credit it to the account. Warmest Regards, Cecil Lee cc. Robert Lee