Transform Your Life

One of my new favorite books I am reading is titled Transform Your Life, A Blissful Journey. Written by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, the essence of the book focuses on attaining Inner Peace. Gyatso writes: All living beings have the same basic wish to be happy and avoid suffering, but very few people understand the real causes of happiness and suffering. We generally believe that eternal conditions such as food, friends, cars and money are the real causes of happiness, and as a result we devote nearly all of our time and energy to acquiring these, superficially it seems that these things can make us happy, but if we look more deeply we shall see that they also bring us a lot of suffering and problems.

In recent years our understanding and control of the external world have increased considerably, and as a result we have witnessed remarkable material progress; but there has not been a corresponding increase in human happiness.  There is no less suffering in the world today and there are no fewer problems.  Indeed, it could be said that there are now more problems and greater unhappiness than ever before.

Happiness and suffering are states of mind and so their causes cannot be found outside the mind.  The real source of happiness is inner peace.

If our mind is peaceful, we shall be happy all the time, regardless of external conditions, but if it is disturbed or troubled in any way, we shall never be happy, no matter how good our external conditions may be.  External conditions can only make us happy if our mind is peaceful.  If we want lasting happiness we need to develop and maintain a special experience of inner peace.  The only way to do this is by training our mind through spiritual practice – gradually reducing and eliminating our negative, disturbed sates of mind and replacing them with positive and peaceful states.  Eventually, through continuing to improve our inner peace we shall experience permanent inner peace or nirvana.  Once we have attained Nirvana, we shall be happy throughout our life. 

Let Feng Shui Spark Your Love Life!

If you feel like you've been lacking in the love department lately, a healthy dose of Feng Shui may be the remedy that improves your relationship or attracts a new one! Using feng shui correctly, you can create a home environment that encourages the flow of positive energy and romance, while discouraging the flow of negative and destructive energy. "When your home has good feng shui," says certified Feng Shui practitioner Karen Michela Parziale. "You are more likely to find happiness and fulfillment in romance, work, finances, family, and creativity and live a balanced and healthy life."

The most important place to start is the bedroom. The bedroom should only be for sleeping and lovemaking, and should not be an extension of the living room or a place for the dog to get cozy.  The bedroom should reflect two-ness to emphasize the idea of intimacy with another person even if you aren't in a relationship. The bedroom should be located in the western part of your home to promote romance, pleasure and contentment.  Balance is the key to reflect both female and male energy.

Parziale provides practical ways to identify and correct feng shui "problems" and improve the energy flow of a space. Follow these tips to turn your home into a romantic getaway!

• Place your bed against the wall, but not in between two doors. The bed should have no clutter underneath so that positive energy can flow around it.
• Achieve a balanced love life by creating symmetry around the bed. Place two identical night tables and lamps on either side.
• Remove all clutter from the room. Clutter shows that life is too chaotic and reflects that other things are getting in the way of nurturing a healthy relationship with your partner.
• To attract a partner, get rid of any pictures of single men or women in your home. To attract more passion to your relationship, you need to enhance the fire aspect of your home. Burn bright lights and candles, particularly red, purple or magenta ones.
• Keep no more than four decorative pillows on the bed. This enhances romance energy and also provides space for someone to join you.
• Anything related to death should not be in your bedroom, including wilting fresh flowers or dried floral arrangements and potpourri.
• Single women, use colors of peach, pink or red, and fresh or pictures of peonies or roses. (But don't go too frilly and scare away your man!) For those in a relationship, keep those peonies out of the bedroom because having them there encourages infidelity.

Feng Shui Home Improvement Tips
Using the Principles of Feng Shui
THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN LIFESTYLES, MARCH 2006

Feng Shui has been dubbed "acupuncture for your house." In recent years, it has grown in popularity in the West and around the world. Corporate businesses and thousands of homeowners and apartment dwellers have designed spaces according to Feng Shui principles, and it has been rumored that the British Royal Family has consulted with Feng Shui experts at times. Naysayers cannot fathom how shifting the placement of furniture can change your luck, or why repositioning a mirror can improve your wealth. However, proponents of Feng Shui, like Certified Feng Shui practitioner Karen Michela Parziale, who has been studying and practicing energy work for years, say that the ancient Chinese practice can give the home and your life the makeover it needs.

According to Parziale, Feng Shui can bring warmth, harmony and well being to your home. By using it correctly, you can create a home environment that promotes the flow of positive energy, while discouraging the flow of negative and destructive energy.

Feng Shui is the Chinese system of living harmoniously with the natural elements and forces of earth. At its core is a regard to chi (pronounced "chee"). "Chi is invisible energy that runs through all things - animate and inanimate. In order to live well and prosper, Feng Shui practitioners believe you need a healthy flow of this force in and around your home," says Parziale. "Chi is energy, and when it is absent, life can be 'blocked' and filled with obstacles."

Where positive (good) chi gathers, life can be filled with opportunities and luck. Therefore, you must assess how the chi is running through your home space and correct anything that prevents the adequate flow of the energy. Feng Shui is the art of creating living and working spaces that are comfortable, supportive, attractive and harmonious with their environments. The main goal of Feng Shui is based on the premise that people lead healthier, happier and more prosperous lives when their interior space is in balance.

There are two types of chi: positive/good chi and negative chi. The goals in Feng Shui are to deflect/diffuse the negative and enhance the good chi. For example, in the bedroom, place your bed against the wall, but not in between two doors and never exposed to a window. The bed should have no clutter underneath so that positive energy can flow around it.

Love is very powerful. If you do not have a favorable attachment to objects in your room, remove them from your space. Only fill your home with things you love and have good energy attached to them.

Create good energy in all areas of the home. For example, a dining room cramped with stuff and clutter can possibly create a feeling of pressure in family relationships and inhibit good digestion. Too much heavy and dark furniture - especially when squeezed into very small space - also generates a heavy dark feeling and blocks the flow of energy.

Fix everything in the home that is broken, chipped and not working.

De-Clutter the home. Clutter prevents the flow of good chi, symbolizing stagnant, choked energy. To let the good chi in, keep your home orderly.