WISHING POND

The pictures above show my mum at the wishing pond in front of the Perak Old Temple in Ipoh Old Town. The dragon spurting out water was blessed by a master recently. The Chinese believe that once a master dots the head and eyes of the dragon (點睛), it comes to life. So the water coming out from its mouth would have some form of 'magical' power. See my mum is getting her fair share of the blessed water from the dragon.

MAIN DOOR OF THE HOUSE

The main door of the house is considered as its mouth. It is very important as it is where Qi first enters the house. Qi here can either be positive or harmful to the occupants. If it is positive Qi then it is good to use the front door often.

Also try to make the area around the main door as attractive as possible. Perhaps some lovely pots of flowerss and a winding path leading to it. The area just outside the entrance should be kept clean and swept often. What to remember here is that the more beautiful and clean is the area outside the door the happier the Qi will be when it goes inside the house.

The area inside the door should be welcoming and free of clutter. You might not be aware of it but when the people enter a place, they bring in Qi with them. As they stand at the entrance, placing their belongings the Qi will have time to collect before being moved into the other areas of the house by them.

The door should be proportionate to the size of the house. If it is too small the occupants are more likely to engage in arguments over petty issues. If it is too large, then the finances may suffer.

FENG SHUI AND SLEEP

My mum has trouble sleeping at night. Sometimes she only manages to doze off for an hour or so and then stay awake for the rest of the night. She said that it might be because older people tend to sleep less. I am not sure about that but as far as I know, the moment I hit the sack, I just go off to visit Mr Chou 周公 (the deity in charge of the Dream Realm).

Here are some Feng Shui tips to try if you have trouble sleeping:

1. Do not have any work elements, like computer or laptop in your bedroom. The bedroom is a place where you relax and not work. We must create a space for rest, recovery and love (for the young married couple).
2. Avoid sleeping next to a window - or at least make sure it's curtained at night so that light doesn't filter in and disturb the energy around you the next morning.
3. You may also want to consider a solid headboard, placed firmly against a wall for good support. This gives you a firm anchor in sleep and beyond since sleep is where you rejuvenate and summon your energies for living.
4. Don't use loud or overpowering colours in the bedroom. If you must use them, you should also balance any cool colors (blues and greens), with warmer tones to promote relaxation and a good libido.
5. Make sure that the position you are sleeping in is one of your good directions or is in a good sector for the year.
6. Make sure you can see the door from your bed, without being directly across from it. This "command post" position will increase your feelings of security and relaxation.
7. Use light pastel colors or neutrals throughout your bedroom to create a restful environment in which you can sleep peacefully.

References:
http://www.californiapsychics.com/articles/features/545/Get_Some_Sleep.aspx
http://www.ehow.com/how_2126947_use-feng-shui-better-sleep.html?ref=fuel&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art

FRIDAY

Today is Friday. Yeah! You might say, "So what?" Everybody knows today is Friday. Arh....do you know that the day is the only day of the week named for a woman. Wow! Who's this lady? Well she is a Norse Goddess called Frigga who was believed to be the wife of Odin. Frigga was the goddess of marriage and the hearth.

In olden times, the Romans had named this day for their goddess of beauty, Venus. They called it "dies veneris". When the Germanic tribes invaded England they imposed their goddess upon the day meant to honour Venus. The day was called frigedaeg, it has been corrupted over the centuries (since the 500's) to be "Friday".

And that my friends was why Friday is called such.

Reference: http://www.indepthinfo.com/weekdays/friday.shtml

** The above pictures were taken today at a Teacher's and Staff Club Do to celebrate the birthdays of memberswhose birthdays fall on February. In the first picture, I am with Zainal who is the president of the club and Kamariah whose birthday is tomorrow is in the second picture with me.

ORIGINS OF XING FU

The reason why I started the Xing Fu blog was because of the pretty lady pictured with me above. She is Madam Lee Lai Yoong whom I have known since 1996. She dropped by to get something from me at school today.

She has known for a long time that I am passionate about Feng Shui and kept asking me about certain things pertaining to Feng Shui. She would ask about when were good days to carry out activities like moving house or wedding dinners, which sector of the house to avoid each year and so on. Finally, I decided to create a blog to keep Lai Yoong and her daughter, Sue Lyn updated about Feng Shui, astrology and other matters to do with Chinese culture. I told her that she could also give the web address to her friends as well. Initially, there were not many visitors to the blog but as I kept posting more articles, the readership grew. Instead of only Lai Yoong and Sue Lyn, I had more people writing in to request that I do articles about other aspects of Feng Shui and Chinese culture.

I named the blog Xing Fu or happiness in Chinese because this was a quality that I, along with everybody, am in pursuit of. Furthermore, I can write about things that make me happy since the theme is about happiness. S0 I can consider Lai Yoong my muse as she is my inspiration for writing.

And yes, it is also because of Lai Yoong that I will be giving a talk titled, "Feng Shui for the wellbeing of the family" on the 9th of March at the Lumut MCA branch office. Do come if you happen to be living around this area. You are most welcome.

FENG SHUI AND SMOKING

We all know that smoking is bad for our health, right? Well, it seems that Chinese Astrology has an explanation for why some people get cancer because of it and some people are not harmed at all. Please read the article below:

Smoking versus Chinese Astrology

It seems that smoking and Chinese Astrology do not mix.
However, if we take a closer look, there is a relationship between them. From the Chinese Astrology point of view, there is an explanation why some smokers get cancers and why some long term smokers do not get any sickness at all.
Why do some long term smokers not easily get any sickness despite medical research showing that smoking is hazardous to health?
Cigarettes contain over 4,000 ingredients other than tobacco and cigarette smoke contains 69 carcinogens.

To name a few:
Nicotine - a fast-acting drug that makes smokers crave cigarettes
Carbon monoxide - a poisonous gas that reduces oxygen in the blood stream causing breathing problems
Tar - a sticky black residue made up of thousands of chemicals that stays in the smoker’s lungs and causes cancer.

To explain why some smokers get cancers easily, especially respiratory system cancers (Lung, Nose, throat and so on), we need to look at the basic principles of the Chinese Astrology.
The basic principles of the Chinese Astrology are the Yin, Yang and Five elements theory.
The Yin, Yang is the relationship of any substance or phenomenon. Yin is negative and Yang is positive. For example, there are Male (Yang) versus Female (Yin), Day (Yang) versus night (Yin), Bright (Yang) versus Dark (Yin) and so on.
Five elements are characteristic of matters. There are five different groups: Earth, Metal, Water, Wood and Fire.
There is the enhance cycle and the conquer cycle.
Enhance cycle increases the strength of a particular element.
Conquer cycle reduces or weakens the strength of a particular element.
In Chinese astrology, metal element represents the metal part of our body, the Lungs, Throat and the respiratory system.
Cigarette is made of tobacco leaf. It is the wood element. When smoking a cigarette is lit and burnt. Wood enhances fire and fire conquers metal. (Metal melts under high temperature)
Fire burns the respiratory systems (metal).
Each person was born with a particular element. It can be strong or weak wood, strong or weak water, strong or weak metal, strong or weak earth, strong or weak fire.
If a person was born with weak metal, then fire can conquer metal. This person if he smokes will easily get cancer.
On the other hand, if a person was born with strong metal, then smoking will not do too much harm to his respiratory system.
So for a person with weak metal, smoking will kill him.

Written by Edgar Yung
Source: http://fengshuidirectory.com.au/index.php/Article-Topics/Smoking-versus-Chinese-Astrology.html

FORTHRIGHT AND FRANK

This young man smokes like a chimney
Acting as an undercover agent in "Time between dog and wolf"
Holds black belts in three different disciplines of martial arts
Acting as a playboy in "My Girl"

As Gong-gil, the clown who captured the king's heart

Wah! Such and enchanting smile. Try as I might, I would never be able to look so enchanting.

Can't imagine the girlish boy here is really the effort of a good actor and a very good make-up artist

He smokes, he swears and gains weight easily and has never hidden these facts from the media or his fans. And he possesses 1st degree in both Hapkido and Taekyon, and 3rd degree in Taekwondo. If you had watched the movie, "The King and the Clown", you'd be surprised that the actor who portrays the clown, Gong-gil is a far cry from the effeminate and helpless male.

I am again doing another post on Lee Jun-Ki after reading an article about him from the Asian Fanatics site. Unlike many pop stars who would only show off their best sides and are sort of trained by their management to say things that give people the impression that they are the perfect boyfriends that girls could take home to meet their parents, it was apparent that he spoke his own mind.

In the interview, Jun-Ki was very honest about who he was, faults and all. Besides admitting to swearing, he also said that he was the type of person who didn't talk much and was not very friendly. And he also said that he used to look down on people lower in status than he was but had changed a lot after becoming an actor.

It is refreshing to have an Asian actor in the teenage idol category who doesn't worry too much about losing fans by projecting a wrong image and really letting his fans know how he really is instead of giving them a false impression of him.

He mentioned that his managers wanted him to act in romantic idol dramas that would draw in the female fans (and cash) but he said that he didn't want to. He preferred to take on roles that he enjoyed; roles that he could not miss out on.

In one of my recent posts, I mentioned that he was conscripted into the army and had to enlist by the end of 2009. Well, I later found out that he had asked to be enlisted and was not called up. He said that since he had to go, it was better to be sooner than later.

I really enjoyed watching him act and have watched quite a number of his dramas and movies. He will act in one more drama before joining the army. Then, for two years, I and the rest of his fans would wait patiently for this young actor to do his duty for his country. I believe. No, I am certain that when he completes his national service, he would have grown further as a human being and an actor. I am waiting to watch more award winning performances from him. By that time, he would have matured and grown too much to take on sissy looking roles that he did for Wang Il Namja and My Girl. He did mention that he would like to take on the role of a romantic hero after his discharge from the army since, he'd be 30 by then but I have an inkling that he'd take on more challenging and diverse roles.

FOOTWEAR AND FENG SHUI

What do you think of the new blog template with the foot of a lady? Looks sexy, eh?

Well, according to Feng Shui beliefs, shoes, sandals, boots or slippers should not be left lying outside the main door of the house. The Qi (energy) rides with the wind and collects all the smells and negative Qi from the discarded footwear and carries them into the house causing illness. So, go and look for a shoe cabinet and keep your footwear in it.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

My friend, Eric Ting, tells me that he likes to visit the Xing Fu blog because he does not know what I would be writing about each time. To him, the wide variety of subjects that I blog about is very interesting. He says he doesn't really know what to expect and to him that is the charm of this blog. Wow! That is a nice compliment.

The man standing in the middle of the photograph above is my former student, Hanafiah. He is now working as a lecturer in a college in Kuala Lumpur after getting his degree in engineering. He came to give a motivation talk for the Orientation Week in my school.

After his talk, he took the time to look up the teachers who taught him when he studied in my school way back in 2001. Pictured above with him and him is Cikgu Ishak. Both of us were the teachers in charge of our school basketball team. Hanafiah was a school player for the game.

As a teacher, one of my happiest moments is when I hear that a student of mine has done well for himself or herself. My colleagues share the same thought. The question that most of the teachers posed to Hanafiah was this, "When will we be getting an invitation card to your wedding?"

GARDEN THEMED SHOPLOT?

Check out the photographs of this corner shoplot that is located at Seri Manjung. The premise has not been used for a long time and plants have been thriving there for years. It reminds me of the fairy tale, "Sleeping Beauty", when the princess pricked her finger and fell into a deep sleep and all the people in the palace as well, the good fairy protected the castle by making plants grow around it.

MORE INFORMATION ON CUPPING

There are three kinds of bekam. The three are dry cupping, wet cupping and aggressive cupping. There is no blood burst or blood flowing in the dry method. But in the other two types of bekam, the infected or diseased blood is drained out.

All three types involve transparent plastic cups or bio magnetic cups being attached to the skin of an affected area of the body.The diameter of these cups varies from 2 centimeters for facial cupping to 5.8 centimeters for back or belly cupping. The person administering the cups on the body is generally called a tukang, which is translated by the doctor as a "therapist".

Standards of administering the "cupping" vary within these three methods of practice and depend on the therapists' training and knowledge of the human anatomy.The "suction effect" of the cups on the skin can be induced either by using a vacuum pump or by burning alcohol or eucalyptus oil in the cups. Once the cups are attached, they are left in position on the affected area of the body for between five and 20 minutes.

The wet cupping procedure usually lasts 20 to 40 minutes and in some chronic cases much longer due to the number of acupuncture pricks and incisions being made and the time allowed for blood to flow out.The blood flooding into the cups is widely believed to be "bad", "dirty" or "infected" blood.

The darker or browner the blood, the longer it is allowed to flow out until the therapist can detect fresh red blood entering the cup. Ascertaining when fresh blood is entering the cup before becoming mixed in with the brown blood can be a tricky task.

Once the bright red blood can be seen, the cups are removed and the bruised skin wiped dry with an antiseptic such as Betadine.The visible reddish or blue-black marks take about two weeks to fade.

Bekam is usually performed on patients every two weeks, so the marks normally remain as long as the therapy continues.The three are dry cupping, wet cupping and aggressive cupping. There is no blood burst or blood flowing in the dry method. But in the other two types of bekam, the infected or diseased blood is drained out.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/10/22/the-good-and-bad-things-about-039bekam039.html

CUPPING

The person with a square patch of the hair on his head shaved is my friend, Haji Hasnin. What happened to him? Certainly, he did not do this because it is fashionable or it is in style. He had actually gone for a traditional Malay treatment called Bekam or cupping.

A couple of my Malay friends tell me that cupping (hijama, bekam) therapy is a unique, safe and effective alternative medicine for the treatment of many diseases by cleaning the blood and promoting blood circulation.

Picture of someone undergoing Bekam

PICTURE SOURCE: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/10/22/the-good-and-bad-things-about-039bekam039.html

SPECTACLES

I had to replace the frame of my glasses as I had accidentally sat on it causing irreparable damage. The optical shop that I got them made was having a sale and the optician gave me a 50 percent discount for it as I am a regular customer. What to do? I have to have a lot of pairs of glasses made as I am both long and short-sighted.

THANKFUL FOR EACH YEAR

My friend, Kamariah, will be celebrating her birthday on the 28th of February. Haji Hasnin and I decided to give her an early birthday treat at Secret Recipe since I will be back in Ipoh (as usual). Besides, we were certain that her family members would want to celebrate this special day with her.
We tease her that she has grown a year older, more wrinkles, grey hair and all but in actuality each year that we are able to celebrate our birthday is a blessing from Heaven. We should be thankful and grateful for it. Besides, my friend looks as beautiful and as youthful as when I first got to know her 13 years ago.

ARGGHHHH .... SO HARD TO EDIT VIDEOS

As the Media teacher of my school, one of my duties is to make sure that there will be educational DVDs and CDs for teaching and learning. Previously, I only needed to make sure that the library have a stock of them from the Ministry of Education or purchased from shops. This year the school administration has decided that we needed to come up with Videos of our own besides photographs. So now all the major events like Sports, Cross Country Run, Speech Day, Results Day will be videotaped. Taking the video is easy but editing the material is very, very difficult and tiresome. For your information, I am just beginning to learn how to do the editing. Lessons started last week.

I think I am rather slow in mastering the technique. I understand the procedure but when it comes to doing the editing, I end up with choppy work that is not smooth. That is why I decided to take a break and visited You Tube to watch some of the edited videos there. Click to view the clips from "Iljimae", "Wang Il Namja", "Virgin Snow", "My Girl" and "The Time Between Dog and Wolf" in which Lee Jun-Ki stars. I am embarassed to say that the videos are done by young fans of the actor. This old fan of his is still struggling to learn the basics. So shameful!

WAH! CAN SING AND DANCE TOO.

He can dance!

He can sing!Performing the song Paboo Sarang (Foolish Love) during his fan meeting in 2006.

The song "One Word" in this MV is sung by Jun Ki.

Wow! I only thought that Lee Jun-Ki is good at acting, martial arts and acrobatics. After viewing the video clips above, I can safely say he can sing and dance pretty well too. Too bad that he has been conscripted to join the army at the end of 2009. That means there will be two years without seeing him acting in any new dramas or movies. Boo Hoo Hoo.

HU HU HU! HASNIN, I'M PRETTIER

I'm doing this post specially for my friend, Haji Hasnin who said that Lee Jun-Ki is prettier than I am. No doubt he looked exquisitely beautiful as the clown, Gong-gil, in the movie "The King and the Clown" but I think credit has to go to the image consultant and the stylists who managed to turn a talented actor into a stunning oriental beauty. Lend me these beauty experts and I too can end up looking like Lee Hyori.

Look! I managed to get photos of Jun-Ki when he was a child and teenager. Also, there are his latest photos without the long hair and make-up. From his childhood pictures, it is obvious that he has not had any plastic surgery done on his face and he is looking more like himself in the latest movies and advertisements. He does not look pretty but handsome.

So, Hasnin, I am prettier than Lee Jun-Ki after all. Hu Hu Hu!

Source of childhood photo: www.pinoyexchange.com

WHAT? HE'S PRETTIER THAN I AM!

I lent Haji Hasnin the DVD of the Korean drama "King and the Clown" 왕의 남자 which catapulted Lee Jun-ki who acted as the clown, Gong-gil, to fame. When he returned the DVD to me after watching it, Haji Hasnin told me that it was heavy stuff and that he fell asleep during some scenes. For your information, he likes the martial arts stuff with lots of action and not dramatic movies.
He also made a most interesting comment about the actor who played Gong-gil the clown or court jester. My dear friend was of the opinion that Gong-gil was more beautiful than I am. Well! I did not attack him for the remark but agreed with him totally and wholehearteldy as I along with many females would pale in comparison to Jun-Ki's exquisite features, flawless fair complexion and slender frame.
Watch the fanmade MV of the movie to see if you agree with Haji Hasnin and me. Besides his stunning looks, I was also awed by Lee Jun-Ki's acting ability. Actually, I had initially thought that he was maybe an effeminate male and the director cast him because he was such but after watching him in other movies and dramas, let me tell you that he is really a very good actor who can portray a number of different roles. The director of the movie selected Jun-Ki on grounds of his previous acting roles and also because the young man was both athletic and holds two black belts in Taekwondo. The director did mention over and over again in interviews that Jun-Ki was the ONE for the role.

FENG SHUI AND ESSENTIAL OILS

Essential oil: lavendar
Ylang Ylang flower

There are some schools of Feng Shui that include the use of Essential Oils to cure a number of situations. Here are examples of some types of oils and their supposed effect on us:

1. Bergamot – Helps fight depression and sadness by invoking feelings of optimism and well-being.
2. Chamomile – Brings about peaceful feelings. Chamomile also relaxes and soothes.
3. Jasmine – Use this essential oil if you and your mate have been getting into frequent arguments.
4. Peppermint – Brings about mental clarity and helps to relieve stress.
5. Sandalwood – Soothes and calms the emotions and mind.
6. Ylang-ylang – Helps to relieve insomnia, depression and anger.
7. Eucalyptus – Improves mental clarity and helps to relieve any frustration you may be presently experiencing in your life .

Reference: http://feng-shui.lovetoknow.com/Free_Feng_Shui_Tips_and_Cures

FENG SHUI ACTIVATORS

Some feng shui consultants advice people to tie or tape a Chinese coin with a red ribbon or string to the telephone for good luck. They claim that by doing this, the person would get good news. Let me pose this question to you, "Do you think that by doing so, the person would keep getting good news from that particular phone?" Believe me, even if the whole phone was taped with the coin and red ribbon, the calls that they receive would be the same: some are good and some bad. If after they tied the stuff and suddenly they receive good news, then it is most probably coincidental.

CLEARING CLUTTER AT WORKPLACE

My school has been selected by the educational department to take part in the Excellent School Award Competition and all the teachers, staff and students are working extra hard to spruce up our school and make everything in tip top condition.

One thing I insisted they do was to clear the clutter around the counter area and also the wall cupboard behind it. This would help to get rid of any negative Qi and liven up the atmosphere of the place. The students, library teacher and library assistant were all busy clearing, cleaning and rearranging the place the whole afternoon. They have more clutter to clear in the following days ahead but I am sure that we have taken a step in the right direction by getting rid of the clutter.