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Today’s Feng Shui practice is not updated with objectivity, pseudoscience. Many still believed in the rolling pineapple on Key Collection day or deposit money on Li Chun or wearing red on the 1st day of cny.
These rituals are Chinese customs or Traditions not found in authentic Feng Shui classics.
Pineapples in Chinese means “黄梨”. Why pineapple is chosen in Singapore, instead of other fruits I believed traced back to Hokkien dialect pronunciation ong-lai. Direct translation means “prosperity comes”. Hokkien is Singapore largest dialect group accounting for 40% of the population.
It is not commonly practiced in other Asian countries like Malaysia, Hongkong, China or Taiwan. However other fruits commonly used for good fortune in Asian countries are Mandarin Orange 橘子 symbolic as “大吉大利” Huge Luck and Prosperity and for it’s Golden colour symbolic to Gold. Banana “香蕉 谐音 – 招财进宝” welcoming wealth, Apple for health.
It is well and good to have these fruits if you wanted to follow Chinese rituals for celebrations or worships but it has nothing to do with feng shui principles.
Original feng shui classics make no reference to use “pineapples as bowling balls” for Shift in Day. I refer to must read feng shui books by Yang Yun-Song (杨筠松, 834–900), Jiang Da-Hong (蒋大鸿, 1616–1714), and Shen Zhu-Reng (沈竹礽, 1849–1906), I Ching etc.
The mere fact of rolling pineapples in my humble opinion does not bring you good luck but makes you feel good.
Do Not view problems solely through feng shui optics
A health case that i re-audited seeking help. This is a low-floor unit situated next to rubbish chute. The client was instructed to put a dragon figurine (琉璃 an expensive one) by his previous master, on the left hand side of the main door. This is generic green dragon fengshui position 左青龙位 to improve health and benefactor. His family health was not improved after doing that.
The issue is unsanitary rubbish station that attracts air borne bacteria, viruses, nothing to do with the door. Once the problem is identified. A strong purifier such as True HEPA-14 with formaldehyde filter was recommended to kill viruses and foul smell.
There are many versions of “water and fire conflict 水火相冲” in the kitchen. But first do bear in mind that all these theories are modern creations because those days (Jin dynasty 266–420 or earlier) the kitchen & toilet is outside the house.
Let’s use a washing machine to illustrate. Most feng shui masters will associate it as “water” element. So they say if washing machine faces the fire burner, it constitute “water” and “fire” clashes.
Have you consider a washing machine with dryer? The dryer produces heat which is fire element and the washing is water, so which element type to define washing machine cum dryer? water or fire or both? Test it out yourself and you will discover many of these are misleading informations.
Don’t jump to conclusion
Singapore latest architectural design caught my attention because “physical landform” does affect energy. Consider the design, it comes with a “hollow space” in the middle. It arouses my curiosity whether this is “bad” feng shui.
In order to determine whether this is good or bad feng shui design, we need to analyse the following:
Speed and direction of the wind, in Singapore NE / SW monsoon
Dimensions of the hollow space
Building direction & height whether it increases or decreases or deflect the air fluidity
Any blockage or openings that allows air to escape
or any others
Direction of Timber Strip
The direction of timber strip laid also considered as bad feng shui. Interesting.
I was told by my client that his previous fsm consider short end of the timber strip as “poison arrows” pointing towards the living hall. Wow great imagination! He advised my client to re-do so i was invited for a 2nd opinion. The fsm also associate right angle corners of objects such as cupboards as poison arrows, so one can’t face their own cupboards.
Decluttering works too
So often i heard clients complained about masters using scarce tactics to to make them buy expensive feng shui products, if not the house fengshui will be bad.
Authentic feng shui remedies is to transform “invisible energy into visible 化无形为有形，化虚为实” thereby solving or enhances it. Sometime the solutions can be as simple as the colour of door mat, placing of water-growing or soil-based plants, spotlight on certain areas which produces “heat energy”.
One common solution using qi men dun jia is to de-clutter a certain sector that is damage or the energy is stagnant. It reduces dust, mold for humid Singapore. Imagine this would you prefer to stay in a clean Hotel or a run-down motel. A clean house makes you feel in control, saves time in finding things therefore boost productivity.
According to University of neuroscience research shows visual cluttter competes for your attention and reduces focus on what you intend to do.
There are 5 basic tactics to solve feng shui problems. They are cover 遮, block 挡, dissolve 化, fight 制 and avoid 避. The best is to avoid or reduce activities in your Home Destiny “negative” sectors.
It is myopia to even think that by paying for an expensive item means is a powerful cure! For e.g if your window faces a pointed building, one only need to use a small cocave mirror with water or hang some plants to block the line of sight. FSM uses items that meets the criteria of I Ching 易经象意理数 appearance, meaning, symbolism, number, colour, material etc. For e.g. pink colour is use to dilute quarrelsome 3 instead of red.
fengshui is not Custom
Even with rising intellect, some still believed in pineapple rolling on key collection day (door opening ceremony) or deposit money on Li Chun or “blessing of items 开光” among other things that are unrelated with feng shui principles.
Just like any field of study, there are areas where science is unable to explain but doesn’t mean it is non-existent.
Recently i got a call from an old client of mine who mentions that her family members fall sick like dominoes. After checking found nothing. Re-checked birth profile, luck pillar came back empty. Ended up drinking coffee and small talk. Somehow our conversation drifted about his new neighbour consulted fs & shifted in 3 months ago. Out of curiousity, i went over to take a look and saw 2 ferocious rock lions facing my client’s main door which is causing the problem. It was a long corridor so i did not see it the first time.
Interestingly these objects seem innocent but do pose problems if your door or window faces it e.g. bagua mirror, door guardian 门神, sharp objects, reflective metal gates. Feng shui symbolism 意象 is difficult to explain but it does exist.
study the root of problem
Everyone knows that sitting below an overhead beam is bad feng shui.
But not many understand the science behind it. Let me try some Key steps in most Scientific Approach – Observe, Question, Hypothesis, Experiment, Analyse, Solution
Observation – Overhead beam
Question – Why people are feeling uncomfortable sitting under the beam. Is it a mental stigma or something real ?
Hypothesis – Let’s consider it as something real because perception is subjective.
Experiment – Over the 20 years of my dealings with business feng shui clients. Most employees sitting under the beam feel unwell like headache or dizziness. So it is verify as a real problem.
Solutions – Those days modern books of feng shui advice were to place bamboo flute or 6 qian long coin on both corners to resolve the issue. I tried using it. It does not work at all. That kept me thinking. Finally i came to understand where is the problem.
It is about air flow. Feng shui term it as “Yang energy” 阳气随空而窜，遇物而止.. it flows freely and when meet with obstruction it pauses and find another way..
When air flows on top of ceiling, hits the beam, it is blocked, the motion is forced to deflect following the structure.
The pressure is exterted downwards accelerated by gravity.
If someone is sitting below the overhead beam. The increased air pressue is exerted on him. Our normal heart beat rate range between 60-100 per minute. With the air pressure exerted downwards, it will increase our heartbeat. Thus over a prolonged duration one is likely to suffer from headache and loss of concentration.
By keeping an open mind, i realised the problem is not the beam but the air pressure.
Master Chan 曾
Feng Shui Master Singapore
