Our Living Environment And How It Effects Our Spirituality


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I much prefer house calls when giving Reiki treatments. I even bought a travelling table. The added insight provided by a glimpse at a persons living space makes a good deal of difference at times...

I have never taken the time to study Feng Shui, however I personally suspect that there is much useful about it, from what little I do know... At times I will recommend changes to the spaces people spend the most time in....

I suppose I should look deeper into Feng Shui.... seems would be the responsible thing...

I have noticed a difference in the energy of a place which has a tidy appearance... and clear open spaces....and as a result, the person's energy is at higher levels... a person with higher energy levels is more inclined towards spiritual exploration.( well, exploration which isn't born of desperation...)...

As a general statement addressing the topic, I would say that Yes, a person's environment plays an important part in their well being... Spirituality included...

Brother Sky,

I sure agree. Our environment and our well being go hand in hand.

Here is an interesting thing (that you too Salem will certainly resonate with.) My friend Michael, who is now doing a music/art/speaking tour from city to city, sent me an email today and said that whereever he is each day he spends some time with his BARE FEET in direct contact with Mother Earth. This, I think, is essential for anyone's attunement which includes physical, mental and spiritual. We who live so much indoors (as urban cave hermits) can forget about this. In fact, I am going out right now to stand barefooted in the yard. :smart:

namaste

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Brother Sky,

I sure agree. Our environment and our well being go hand in hand.

Here is an interesting thing (that you too Salem will certainly resonate with.) My friend Michael, who is now doing a music/art/speaking tour from city to city, sent me an email today and said that whereever he is each day he spends some time with his BARE FEET in direct contact with Mother Earth. This, I think, is essential for anyone's attunement which includes physical, mental and spiritual. We who live so much indoors (as urban cave hermits) can forget about this. In fact, I am going out right now to stand barefooted in the yard. smartass.gif

namaste

Only thing that feels better walking barefoot on a path is walking barefoot on a muddy path with it squishing between my toes during a thunderstorm. Really charges me up!

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not sure how to explain this,but i went to a meditation concerning chakras.the gentlemen leading it had 7 bowls,each representing the different chakras.to make a long story real short,it was the quietest my monkey mind has been in a very long time.it also opened up some experiences for me i was not expecting.

to say it changed some aspects of my environment would be an understatement.however,it has nothing to do with spirituality for me.

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Brother Sky,

I sure agree. Our environment and our well being go hand in hand.

Here is an interesting thing (that you too Salem will certainly resonate with.) My friend Michael, who is now doing a music/art/speaking tour from city to city, sent me an email today and said that whereever he is each day he spends some time with his BARE FEET in direct contact with Mother Earth. This, I think, is essential for anyone's attunement which includes physical, mental and spiritual. We who live so much indoors (as urban cave hermits) can forget about this. In fact, I am going out right now to stand barefooted in the yard. :smart:

namaste

I will at times lay back on the grass, to ground from the Sacral chakra... I feel a much stronger ground that way and folks don't think I'm strange ( well, any more so anyway... :wacko: ) standing around with my eyes closed....

not sure how to explain this,but i went to a meditation concerning chakras.the gentlemen leading it had 7 bowls,each representing the different chakras.to make a long story real short,it was the quietest my monkey mind has been in a very long time.it also opened up some experiences for me i was not expecting.

to say it changed some aspects of my environment would be an understatement.however,it has nothing to do with spirituality for me.

I believe you are referring to crystal ( singing ) bowls...? I have had rather profound experiences with them as well.... and there are a few rather rude side effects of playing with the chakras, huh? from gastointestinal problems to psychosis...... care is advised.....

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I believe you are referring to crystal ( singing ) bowls...? I have had rather profound experiences with them as well.... and there are a few rather rude side effects of playing with the chakras, huh? from gastointestinal problems to psychosis...... care is advised.....

Singing bowels often cause me gastrointestinal problems and psychosis as well :) singing bowls I have no problem with.

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The practice of Feng Shui (pronounced foong-shway) dates back thousands of years to ancient China. It works to tune or harmonize the individual to seasonal changes, and their environment to encourage good fortune and wealth (no doubt by creating an environment in which the individual is more likely to feel inspired and productive). In the past on the Emperor and his households were permitted to practice Feng-Shui. If anyone else was caught doing it they'd get the death penalty.

Feng means Wind.

Shui means Water.

The principle is that the tides which move the water also move the air and move us. (all of which we know to be influenced by the moon). These two elements are viewed in Feng-Shui as the carriers and movers of Ch'i (life force energy).

"We live immersed in air, whose changing tides are the winds. Gentle breezes bring contentment while strong winds disperse life enhancing ch'i.

The changing nature of flowing water not only symbolizes the theory behind feng-shui, but is actually one of the agents that carry life-giving ch'i." Stephen Skinner in Feng Shui, The Traditional Oriental Way to Enchance Your Life.

Ch'i loosely means 'Cosmic breath' or 'Life Force' or sometimes 'Dragon's Breath'. It can be thought of as "The breath of life."

More Terms

Sheng Ch'i - Benign Cosmic Breath,

Sha Ch'i - Depleted or stagnant Cosmic Breath

It gets complicated as he starts to get into Earth Ch'i, Weather Ch'i and Heaven Ch'i so maybe we'll get into that later.

For Symbolism purposes it's also important to understand that Chinese dragons are creatures of water, not fire, and live in rivers and clouds as part of the Ch'i and governing the movements more like gods than monsters.

Five is an important number in Feng Shui. There are 5 elements, 5 types of weather governed by the 5 elements, 5 types of mountain indicating the stength of influence of the 5 elements in the particular range.

There are four directions governed by four celestial beasts. And of course we know there are four seasons.

(South, Phoenix East, Green Dragon West, White Tiger North, Dark Warrior (Tortoise)) It is particularly significant in considering this that the compass and map are the other way around in Chinese Tradition. South is up.

North - dark - cold - Water - Winter, Maximum Yin.

South - Light, warm, Fire, Summer - Maximum Yang.

East - Spring - sunrise, green dragon, Wood.

West - Autumn - white tiger, Metal.

Compass centre - Earth, balancing point for the four.

DUALITY (Yin and Yang)

Many natural dualities — e.g. dark and light, female and male, low and high, cold and hot — are viewed in Chinese thought as manifestations of yin and yang (respectively).

Yin yang are complementary opposites within a greater whole. Everything has both yin and yang aspects, although yin or yang elements may manifest more strongly in different objects or at different times. Yin yang constantly interacts, never existing in absolute stasis. The concept of yin and yang is often symbolized by various forms of the Taijitu symbol, for which it is probably best known in western cultures.

There is a perception (especially in the West) that yin and yang correspond to good and evil. However, Taoist philosophy generally discounts good/bad distinctions as superficial labels, preferring to focus on the idea of balance.

In Taoist philosophy, yin and yang arise together from an initial quiescence or emptiness (wuji, sometimes symbolized by an empty circle), and continue moving in tandem until quiescence is reached again. For instance, dropping a stone in a calm pool of water will simultaneously raise waves and lower troughs between them, and this alternation of high and low points in the water will radiate outward until the movement dissipates and the pool is calm once more. Yin–yang, thus, are always opposite and equal qualities. Further, whenever one quality reaches its peak it will naturally begin to transform into the opposite quality: grain that reaches its full height in summer (fully yang) will produce seeds and die back in winter (fully yin) in an endless cycle.

It is impossible to talk about yin or yang without some reference to the opposite, since yin–yang are bound together as parts of a mutual whole. A race with only men or only women would disappear in a single generation; but men and women together create new generations that allow the race they mutually create (and mutually come from) to survive. The interaction of the two gives birth to things.[3] Yin and yang transform each other: like an undertow in the ocean, every advance is complemented by a retreat, and every rise transforms into a fall. Thus, a seed will sprout from the earth and grow upwards towards the sky – an intrinsically yang movement. Then when it reaches its full potential height it will fall.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang

In a way I can see this as matching nicely with the Wiccan/Pagan philosophy of honouring the masculine and feminine duality in deity.

Take the Yin Yang symbol, in which there is a balance of Yin/Yang in all things, a little light in the dark and a little dark in the light. Surround it by the five elements as though marking the five points of a pentagram. As you look at it concider the yin/yang categorizations and the symbolisms associated with each the elements at the five points and you have begun to construct a mental Feng-Shui compass.

More later!

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Okay. NOW it gets a bit more involved.

There are block shaped symbols formed of three lines. Some lines are broken in two. Some lines are straight and unbroken. The unbroken lines are Yang. The broken lines are Yin.

There are 8 Trigrams placed at 8 compass points.

Ch'ien - (NW) Immobility and strength, correspondences include metal, jade, roundness, a horse, the head, the heavenly sphere, the father, a prince, red. Influences Helpful People.

Chen - (E) Motion, correspondences include a dragon, the feet, the eldest son, thunder, development, high roads, decision, vehemence, bamboo, rushes, dark yellow. Influence Family.

K'un - (SW) Docility, correspondences include cows, the belly, the mother, Mother Earth, cloth, cauldrons, parsimony, large carges, figures, a multitude, a handle, Black. Influences Marraige.

Sun - (SE) Penetration, correspondences include fowl, the thighs, the eldest daughter, wood, wind, length, height, a backwards and forwards motion, bald-headedness, a broad forehead, white. Influences Wealth.

Ken - (NE) Stoppage, correspondences include a dog, the hands, the youngest son, paths and roads, small rocks, gates, fruits and cucumbers, porters or eunuchs, finger rings, rats, and birds with large bills. Influences Knowledge

Tui - (W) Pleasure, correspondences include sheep, the mouth, the youngest daughter, spiritual mediums, the tongue, and a concubine. Influences Children

K'an - (N) Peril, correspondences include pig, the ears, the middle son, channels and streams, hidden things, a bow, a wheel, anxiety, pain in th ears, high spirits, a drooping head, thieves, strong trees, and blood-red. Influences Career

Li - (S) Beauty, correspondences include brightness, a pheasant (the bird of the South in the Later Heaven sequence), eyes, the middle daughter, the sun, lightning, helmets, spears and swords, dryness, crabs, mussels. Influences Fame

This is the 'Later Heaven Sequence' which is utilized in Feng Shui for the living. It was created specifically for houses and gardens.

The 'Earlier Heaven Sequence' is used for tombs and grave sites and represents the ideal heavenly order. In it the Ch'ien, Heaven/Father Trigram is located in the South and is directly opposite the Earth/Mother Trigram in the North. And the Fire (East) and Water (West) Trigrams are directly opposite eachother.

Cycling Elements for Production and Destruction.

(production)

Wood

Water-----Fire

Metal-----Earth

(destruction)

Wood

Metal-----Earth

Fire------Water

(again - these fit nicely on a pentagram)

If one element is over-represented in an area of the household the destruction pattern can be utilized. Naturally to increase an element the production cycle is used.

Stay tuned later for the Ten Heavenly Stems, Twelve Earthly Branches, 24 Compass Directions...

You end up with something that looks like this:

compfengshuismall3.jpg

Which becomes a guide to interacting with a complex cosmology and symbology.

I actually got into this when I was researching comparative cosmologies and symbols in relation to colours and elemental associations in world cultures.

Edited by Tsukino_Rei
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The Lo Shu

Draw a square of boxes, three by three.

Number the boxes thusly;

492

357

816

Now, starting with the number 1 connect all the numbers in sequence. Imagine the numbers in fluid motion following the pattern you create. The symbol which you end up with is the ancient square of Saturn or Earth in Western Occult Tradition, based on Hebrew magical tradition. The Lo Shu in Chinese tradition coincides with the eight trigrams of the Pa Kua Later Heaven Sequence, the number 9 placement being aligned with the south and the number 1 with the north. In Feng Shui the Lo Shu is used to add measurements of Time to the Compass readings.

"Time is divided into Eras of 60 years, consisting of three cycles of 20 years. During each ccyes the order of numbers differs from the original Lo Shu..... The numbers change in the Lo Shu in a logical manner from Era to Era. If you connect up the nine chambers in numeric order, you get a diagram which shows the order in which the numbers move from Era to Era".

Since this book was written we have moved into a new era. So the sequence has shifted forward from the diagram shown above.

The Lo Shu gained special significance during the Sung Dynasty when Feng Shui developed gained a great deal of comprehensiveness in methodology in which various schools of thought on cosmological associations and influences were drawn together into a single system. It is in this school of thought that the Pa Kua, the eight Trigrams, the Heavenly Stems, the Earthly Branches, and the Constellations gain significant influence.

More later. My brain is melting.

Edited by Tsukino_Rei
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~ How about making it a bit more simple... That's just making me blind :dntknw:

I personally find that deeply cleaning Spring & Autumn { when you feel that energy, grab it & scrub! :yahoo: } works.

I've always been a 'mover'. Not to another house! Once I park myself I'm put.

As the sun moves I feel my 'things' need to move also & tho' it may at times be difficult I get it done.

{ Right now I need to get our 100 lb. fish tank moved 6'. No one is happy, I'm trying to be quiet, but it really does need to move... I've waited 2 yrs. NOW?!}

Yes. Your environment affects your spirituality unless you are at a place where your physicality doesn't matter...

Edited by Qryos
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Do you believe the places and people around you effect how you are spiritually?

Short answer is Yes of course it does.

It may be clutter that weighs heavy upon a person or another person in their lives, bills, pollution, the town attitude where one lives, the color of the walls, etc... anything from ones environment (life) and intrude upon ones well being and effects our spirituality.

I live in two worlds that are very different from each other, I have a renovated commercial building built in 1891, with a 4000 sq ft apartment on the top floor and a bar, restaurant and art studio on the ground floor (and plans for a winery in the basement) it is artsy, decorated, painted and different from everything around it. The small rural town is 90% white southern Baptist and not very supportive to say the least, yet they like the tourist $ and are mostly content to leave religious tracks in the mailbox and benches outside.

I also live in a college town in a 130 year old farm house that we are still rehabbing, where some of the floors are still "soft" and there is no insulation, here I work at beating back the overgrowth to discover all the great things those who came before me have planted and placed. I have very old fruit trees and newly planted vineyards, a newly dug lake from a very old spring, and buildings bursting with things people left behind.

I love both places but they each give me vastly different things, the farm town is multi cultured, open and free, but the commercial place let me truly turn it into a huge art piece and it finance's the "new" farm. I have had to learn to be myself in both environments and that was a struggle. Each place recharges me and my spirituality in a different way and I am happy they are only an hour apart because I enjoy being able to leave one for the other when I need to.

So many times in my life I have had to conform to my environment and the people around me, to have the freedoms I do now has taken hard work, a vision, and some great peoples help along the way. I have had everything but my life taken from me before and I will never go back to being the person I was when I allowed others views to dictate my behavior or beliefs; even if I lost it all again I would simply pick myself back up and focus on a new goal.

Just as we dictate how others are allowed to treat us, we are ultimately in charge of our own environment, if we do not like how it is then it is up to us to change it, and change it we can, but it takes much more than sitting around wishing or praying, it takes getting up and doing.

I am messy and often have a cluttered space around me (especially in my bedrooms) but that is not a bother to me, when it becomes one I will fix the situation :)

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~ How about making it a bit more simple... That's just making me blind :dntknw:

I agree that it seems quite overwhelmingly involved at first glance. But once one understands the historical development of the ideology one can extract and separate ideas which developed out of aesthetic theory, folk beliefs, and cosmology and then compare these various elements to other belief systems to find similarities, compare development in the various cultures, and make an informed decision about which elements might be relevent to oneself.

It's also interesting to consider that over time these intricate and organized systems were developed from individuals intuiting and recording what was beneficial to themselves, comparing the data and finding similarities, and then tracing those similarities to other commonalities such as date and time of birth, season, etc. Just as modern aboriginal tribes have been found to wrap pharmaceutical science in mythologies and ancient human civilizations such as Sumeria has been found to have recorded intricate medical procedures and pharmaceutical remedies on the same stones and tablets as good luck charms, talismans, and astrologies. Feng Shui has developed in much the same way and may well be found to have elements which are supported or proven by physics or psychology at some points. Science and religion were not always enemies. Think of how early books were written with intensely beautiful and colourful designs. In some cultures the first letter of a page would be a work of art. In other cultures every letter was concidered a work of art. Think of the caligraphies developed. An idea would be carefully formed, every word of a sentence and then a paragraph carefully constructed in the minds eye to perfectly express the idea because any idea worth expressing in such a permanent way was worthy of full contemplation and then to put to paper with beauty and art in such a way that the art itself would add meaning to the text. Going a bit further, in the Chinese language every stroke of the brush held a meaning and the order of the strokes would alter that meaning so that even a single word contained a sentence of connotations. Religion is the creativity and beauty surrounding Eureka. It is the intuited realities of the universe translated into the language of the psyche.

IMHO :P

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Wouldn't peoples personal preferences for specific colors affect the effect each color has on an individual or is the scheme built upon the slight variances in the electro-magnetic range regardless of the persons likes and dislikes?

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I agree that it seems quite overwhelmingly involved at first glance. But once one understands the historical development of the ideology one can extract and separate ideas which developed out of aesthetic theory, folk beliefs, and cosmology and then compare these various elements to other belief systems to find similarities, compare development in the various cultures, and make an informed decision about which elements might be relevent to oneself.

It's also interesting to consider that over time these intricate and organized systems were developed from individuals intuiting and recording what was beneficial to themselves, comparing the data and finding similarities, and then tracing those similarities to other commonalities such as date and time of birth, season, etc. Just as modern aboriginal tribes have been found to wrap pharmaceutical science in mythologies and ancient human civilizations such as Sumeria has been found to have recorded intricate medical procedures and pharmaceutical remedies on the same stones and tablets as good luck charms, talismans, and astrologies. Feng Shui has developed in much the same way and may well be found to have elements which are supported or proven by physics or psychology at some points. Science and religion were not always enemies. Think of how early books were written with intensely beautiful and colourful designs. In some cultures the first letter of a page would be a work of art. In other cultures every letter was concidered a work of art. Think of the caligraphies developed. An idea would be carefully formed, every word of a sentence and then a paragraph carefully constructed in the minds eye to perfectly express the idea because any idea worth expressing in such a permanent way was worthy of full contemplation and then to put to paper with beauty and art in such a way that the art itself would add meaning to the text. Going a bit further, in the Chinese language every stroke of the brush held a meaning and the order of the strokes would alter that meaning so that even a single word contained a sentence of connotations. Religion is the creativity and beauty surrounding Eureka. It is the intuited realities of the universe translated into the language of the psyche.

IMHO :P

Tsukino, thank you so much for this wonderful information. You seem to not only just transfer facts about it but have also synthesized and processed it yourself and presented here in a very living way.

One of the things that really stands out to me is that at one period in history ONLY the Emporer was allowed to practice it and if others tried it, they could be horizontalized.

Now, why would the Emporer be afraid of the people practicing this?

Well, to me the answer is obvious. Because those in totalitarian power DO NOT WANT THE PEOPLE TO BECOME EMPOWERED. Sound familiar? They feel that their own power as Emporer is THREATENED whenever the people become empowered. The Emporer FEARS that his power-over could become diminished OR even irrelevant. In other words, when the people become energetically empowered, the Emporer could be out of a job.

Which gives much great credence to the incredible power of this beautiful and very scientific art.

So, the next time you go to your doctor and see that beautiful fish aquarium in the waiting room, feel loved. Your doctor actually does care about your health and getting you well.

namaste

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Wouldn't peoples personal preferences for specific colors affect the effect each color has on an individual or is the scheme built upon the slight variances in the electro-magnetic range regardless of the persons likes and dislikes?

Or how much are our personal preferences influenced by electro-chemical processes which are influenced by our environments? The short answer is I don't know. =o)

I can ponder though! I do ponder that our bodies have a chemical response to light spectrums, so much so that we produce vitamins form sun-light. Given that colours are produced by the reflection of various spectrums of light that leads me to ponder what yet unproven physiological responses might be involved.

Also Feng-Shui moves beyond colour schemes to incorporations of features which can symbolize the elements. Candles for fire, or a volanic stone. Floating candles in a bowl of water to incorporate the element of water. A water fountain. A picture of the ocean or a lake. Wind chimes or windmills to represent air. These things can work to center the mind in an awareness of nature and of the constant interaction of elements in our environments.

Edited by Tsukino_Rei
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