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A few weeks ago, I wrote a case study of Feng Shui of the famous Soo Kee Restaurant in Jalan Imbi. 'Where's the Beef' wasn't just fun to write (if anything it provided a great excuse to visit Soo Kee more than once!) but also garnered a tremendous response from the public. Feng Shui and good food in one location it would seem, really gets people's attention. I decided to write about real-life examples, not just because it makes for more interesting reading, but because it helps the public understand how a typical Feng Shui consultation is done.
Why should the public know about our 'trade secrets' as it were? I've always maintained that for Feng Shui as a practice to thrive and grow in the 21st Century and new millennium, it needs to be practical, scientific (to the extent it is a metaphysical science) and in tune with modern thinking and demands. And that means, getting rid of all the mystique and mystery and telling people what it is really all about.
Also, as the interest in Feng Shui grows, so increases the amount of information about Feng Shui available to the public. It's often very hard for people who are interested in getting the 'Feng Shui Advantage' to know what is real and what is not, with all the information clutter. By sharing practical, behind the scenes information about Feng Shui, and how audits are done, I hope to help with the information clutter so that people are able to distinguish for themselves, what's real classical and what's New Age and alternative.
So this week, I'm going to take you behind the scenes of an apartment audit. This audit took place at a new high rise development in Damansara Perdana.
Driving there
The first step of any audit, apartment or landed property, begins on the journey to the client's place. Usually, a practitioner will observe the land formations from about 5km from the client's property and sometimes, may circle the area more than once, to get a varied perspective and vantage point.
As I neared the client's property, I observed that the road curved around various hills and noted the shapes of the hills and mountains. I also noted the contours (whether the land tilts up, or curves down) of the road as we drove to the apartment, as roads are considered virtual water in Feng Shui. Once we parked in the car park of the building, I took some time before meeting the client, to observe the immediate land formations while my assistant took some photographs of the key land formations and the building for reference.
Immediate Exterior
The key feature in the area obviously is the superb Huge Door Mountain right in front of the property. Whether or not the client will be able to make use of this Huge Door Mountain will depend on the unit's location but the presence of the mountain in front of the property is a positive feature. The land formations in the area are generally quite good, with mountains on the left and right, to function as the right and left embrace.
There was a small set back in the form of a slight windgap on the right hand side but as it is quite a small wind gap, it's not a major problem. The problem posed by the windgap is also easily tempered with the correct and appropriate usage of water. It's worth remembering that it is not easy to find a place that is totally flawless - even Imperial Palaces in China, built at the height of the Qing and Ming Dynasties, have flaws. The key, as I always say, is to minimise the unfixable flaws, manage the fixable flaws, and maximise the good points.
In short, the big picture Feng Shui set-up is overall a good one and the building is located in an area with positive Qi. The next question would naturally be: is the building and the client's unit successfully tapping into the positive Qi in the area, and the formations?
Once the immediate external landforms have been evaluated, we moved on to the Main Door of the apartment block itself. After checking the Main Door to the apartment block and getting a reading of the facing of the building, it was time to look inside the apartment.
Interior Layout
With the direction of the apartment block, the Flying Star chart of the apartment is obtained. This is then super-imposed onto the individual unit itself.
As we made our way to the unit, one of the important things to observe is the entrance to the unit itself. This is because the elevator functions as a 'Qi mouth', carrying Qi from the lower floors, up to the unit. This particular unit that I was visiting was the first unit on the floor, closest to the lift. The lift lobby was also spacious and broad, functioning as a mini-Bright Hall (or Ming Tang) for the floor.
I met the client at the unit and after explaining to him the external situation, we proceeded into the unit. On the way in, I noticed a Money Toad on the stoop next to the door. The client was most curious to know more about the toad. His wife it seems is a Feng Shui enthusiast. I told him that if he liked a gold toad next to his front door, it was fine but if he decided to lose the toad, it would also be fine as it doesn't do anything for the Feng Shui of his property.
The first thing I checked was the Unit's Door for obstructions that could affect the flow of Qi into the duplex unit. I gave the client some suggestions for modifications that would help with the internal Bright Hall inside the unit, which is slightly affected by the location of the staircase in the duplex. This would help improve the quality of the Bright Hall inside his apartment unit. Having the spacious lift lobby is a positive for the floor as a whole, but you want to also have a spacious Bright Hall within your apartment, otherwise, the Qi that's collecting outside the unit, isn't going to benefit you.
After checking the door, we went over to the balcony to take a look. Now, most people when they buy an apartment are interested in the view. Yes, the view is important but from a Feng Shui context, beautiful is not always good. A fantastic view of the skyline is nice, but it might not be giving you any Feng Shui benefits, and instead, sending Sha Qi your way.
The client's balcony opens to 2 layers of mountains in the distance, in the Geng direction, with a Moth Mountain formation in the far distance. The mountains are at just the right height to function as Table Mountains. Below, a tennis court is visible, which acts as a secondary Bright Hall to collect the Qi. Both left and right embrace are visible although I noted some sharp environmental features on the right embrace, which I informed the client, would pose some challenges during certain years.
The client had installed his own water feature. The water feature was a little small and positioned in the wrong area so I advised him to move it to the appropriate sector and to make it a little bigger. We then moved onto the kitchen, where I suggested he make a small change to his stove, in order to align it in the right direction, in accordance with the Flying Star chart and Eight Mansions chart of his apartment. We then went upstairs, where I checked the bedrooms and suggested he change some of the bed positioning, to better attune it with the personal Gua of the occupants. I also made a note of the best room to be used as a study, by the client.
So, contrary to popular misconception, a Feng Shui consult doesn't have to be a long-winded affair, or one that involves plenty of shopping for trinkets and then figuring out what to do with them when you haven't got a convenient nook in your South West corner for a pair of marble Mandarin Ducks. It's really just as straightforward as checking the landform, making sure the area is receiving good Qi and then tapping into that Qi!
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