20 Feng Shui Tips

1. When purchasing land ensure the plot is a rectangle or square as they allow Qi to be distributed evenly. Another shape that is lucky is one that is narrow at the front and widens at the rear.

2. Do not live near factories, power plants or electrical cables.

3. Living near hospitals, respite centers and nursing homes is a constant reminder of illness.

4. Do not buy a terrace or rectangular shaped building that has a swimming pool in the west. Choose one that has a pool in the East and Southwest directions.

5. Make sure that there are no large trees or power poles opposite your front door as they block beneficial Qi entering your home.

6. Stand at your front door looking outward and observe if there are any arrows pointed at your door.

7. Do not have plants that are in poor condition as they represent death.

8. Do not place a mirror opposite your front door as you may invite other people's bad luck into your home.

9. Do not have a blank wall opposite your front door. Decorate the area with inviting furniture and objects.


10. Do not hang Bagua mirrors inside any building as they should only be used externally in extreme cases where there is Sha Qi entering your building.

11. If you have large square pillars in your home soften them by using plants and objects of art.

12. Overhead beams in a home can push down on your personal Qi. Paint them the same colour as the ceiling and cover with flowing material.

13. If you sit at a desk with your back to a window keep the blinds or curtains closed to give the impression that you have a solid wall behind you.

14. Qi will circulate through your home easily if it is neat and clutter free.

15. If the stove is the first thing that you see when you enter your home this is considered bad Feng Shui. A stove has a fire nature, which can be irritating to you. Also seeing a kitchen first may make you think of food.

16. Do not gossip or say negative things about others as these create negative energy around your home.

17. When you move into a new building burn Sandalwood incense as it will clear the environment of negative Sha.

18. When moving into a new home purchase new pillows and bed linen to create sweet dreams.

19. Be compassionate and kind to others as Heaven has eyes and sees all. You will be rewarded for all your efforts.

20. Remember to bring Feng Shui into your life not have Feng Shui be your life.

Feng Shui Home - How to Get Started with Feng Shui - Feng Shui Basics

Master the 7 Basic Steps of Feng Shui

Getting started with feng shui can be easy when you start with the feng shui basics and gradually move on to the more complex feng shui levels. To help you get started, here are some helpful feng shui steps for beginners:

1.Clear Out your Clutter, get rid of everything you do not love. Clutter Clearing is a time and energy consuming process that will feel like therapy, but it will help you "lighten up the load", so to speak. Do not skip this step, as it is an essential one in creating a harmonious, clear energy in your space.

2.Have Good Quality Air and Good Quality Light in your space - these two crucial elements are very important for good Chi, or energy.
Open the windows often, introduce air-purifying plants or use an air-purifier. Allow as much natural light as possible into your space, and consider using full-spectrum lights.

3.Define the Ba-Gua of your space by using the feng shui compass. You will find out which areas of your space are connected to specific areas of your life by looking at your Ba-Gua. For example, Southeast area is connected to the flow of abundance in your life.

4.Study the Five Elements Feng Shui Theory to help you balance all the feng shui five elements in your home, as well as strengthen specific elements in specific areas. For example, if you are working on attracting more Abundance, you will introduce the feng shui element of Wood, as well as the Water element into the Southeast area of your space.

5.Find out your Feng Shui Birth Element and create your environment to support your own personal feng shui element. For example, if your own element is Fire, you would introduce the expressions of Fire, as well as Wood element, as Wood feeds the Fire in the feng shui relationship of the five elements.

6.Find your Kua Number and position yourself so that you benefit throughout the day from your best directions. Adjust the position of your bed, your home office, dining, etc. For example, if your Kua number is 1, you would do your best to face one of the following directions: Southeast, East, South, and North.

7.Always be mindful of the state of your home and how the energy in your home influences your well-being. Make a habit of paying close attention to the so-called "triangle" that is deeply connected to your health - your bedroom, your bathroom and your kitchen. Nothing is static in the world of energy, be wise and keep your house happy.After you have mastered these seven basic steps, you can explore the deeper levels of feng shui, such as, for example, the flying star school of feng shui, and others.

"Ba-Gua"

Definition: Ba-Gua is one of the main tools used to analyze the feng shui of any given space.

Translated from Chinese, it literally means "8 areas". The 8 directions used in the Feng Shui Ba Gua are the following: North, Northeast, East, Southeast, South, Southwest, West, and Northwest. Each direction has an Element, Color, and Life Area associated with it. Below is the summary of the eight feng shui guas.

North (compass reading from 337.5 to 22.5) Element: Water Color(s): Blue and Black Life Area: Career/Path in Life.

Northeast (compass reading from 22.5 to 67.5) Element: Earth Color(s): Beige, Light Yelow, and Sandy/Earthy Life Area: Spiritual Growth/Self-Cultivation.

East (compass reading from 67.5 to 112.5) Element: Wood Color(s): Brown and Green Life Area: Health & Family.

Southeast (compass reading from 112.5 to 157.5)Element: Wood Color(s): Brown and GreenLife Area: Prosperity & Abundance.

South (compass reading from 157.5 to 202.5) Element: Fire Color(s): Red, Orange, Purple, and Bright Yellow Life Area: Fame & Reputation.

Southwest (compass reading from 202.5 to 247.5) Element: Earth Color(s): Beige, Light Yelow, and Sandy/Earthy Life Area: Love & Marriage.

West (compass reading from 247.5 to 292.5)Element: Metal Color(s): White and Gray Life Area: Creativity/Children.

Northwest (compass reading from 292.2 to 337.5) Element: Metal Color(s): White and Gray Life Area: Helpful People/Blessings. Simply stated, Ba Gua is the energy map of any given space that gives you guidance on creating the most harmonious energy flow in your space.

Ingredients of happy relationships

I have been discussing the importance of thinking through a couple of issues. First and foremost is asking a set of key parameters that determine the value of a relationship to you, and secondly, asking the right questions to assess your relationship. In this article, I am going to discuss the little things that you ignore and think are not important that will make your relationships work.
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Communication: Communication is key. Learn to talk about everything under the sun and never assume you know. You could be wrong. Many people have failed in this area and ended up depressed, lost, and lonely. Believe me; it always helps to talk about something than bottling it up inside of you. Lack of communication will cause you to make wrong conclusions about people and you will never even get a chance to know who you are. When you hear a rumor, don’t act on it immediately. Find the facts first, before you take any action. Explaining your thoughts, motives, and plans is very vital. Don’t use guesswork; it’s unwise. We have ears to hear, eyes too see, hands to make signs, books to read, etc., to be able to get a message across. (Related article: Communication for couples)

Sacrifice: Sacrifice in a relationship is the key to reaping good results eventually. It works in everything else in life and it will work in a relationship too. You have to learn to sacrifice certain things in your life for the sake of your partner and for the sake of the relationship to work. If you don’t learn to sacrifice, you will think there is nothing wrong with you, but only with the other person. You cannot spend your life changing partners or looking for the perfect one. None of us is perfect but we can work at becoming better people as we appreciate one another. (Related article: How to rebuild trust in a relationship?)

Give: Life if about giving and not taking! Learn to start giving and you will soon see the results. Don’t wait until it’s Christmas or until you get that job and earn a lot of bucks. Out of the little that you have, give. When you fail to give now when you have little, it will not be possible to give when you have plenty. It’s the thought and the value of that gift that counts. Believe me; if it’s from you heart it will be of value to the other person and they will cherish it. The question is,
when your partner is speaking. Watch their expressions and learn to know their gestures too so that you are able to read their actions easily. Know what angers them or makes them smile or laugh. Get involved in the little details of their lives too. Yes, even knowing the type of lipstick she uses and the aftershave that he likes. Know the birth dates and anniversaries too. Knowing the little
“Would you like to die all by yourself without a loved one to hold your hand? How would you feel when you get sick and there is nobody to come visit you in the hospital? If you invest in good, you will receive good back. (Related article: Tips for insecure men)Time: Time is a very valuable asset. Time lost is never gained. If you will spend time wisely, you will never regret it.

We are not in this world forever. So if you can do good today, do it. The person may never be there tomorrow, even if you cried your eyes out at their grave; it won’t bring them back. So use every opportunity you get, so that you will have memories stored up in you. Give time to get to know your partner, be there for them when they need you and they will be there for you too. Never get too busy for the little things in life otherwise you will find them gone. Never take life for granted and learn to strike a balance. I have met men who in their quest for money and power have neglected their spouses and eventually lost them to other men. They become bitter and blame the woman. If you neglect your partner, they may become vulnerable to any man who would come along and give them the time that you don’t. (Related article: Tips to fix a broken relationship)

Attention: Be attentive intimate details makes the relationship exciting and it gives both of you enormous joy in knowing about each other. So you are both kept busy and there is no loophole for an enemy to destroy your bond. (Related article: Bedroom tips for couples)

Trust: For a solid foundation, trust must be established. Once trust is established you will begin to open up to each other. Once this is in place you will be able to love without fear. It takes a while to build trust but it only takes a second to destroy it.

Honesty and Sincerity: Be sincere to your partner and tell the truth. If you have kids, tell it; been married before, say it; you have a health problem, mention it. Avoid hiding things that may or will eventually come out and cause an explosion and destroy the relationship for good. When you partner trusts you with a secret that they have never told anyone else, then do not ever use it to manipulate them or use it as a weapon to inflict pain on them the day you have a fight. Being trusted is a privilege, not a right. Remember that happiness for both of you is of prime importance. Be careful what you say especially the promises that you make. We are tried and judged by our words

Build: For a relationship to grow it needs to be nurtured. You have to build each other up and learn from one another. Understand the strengths and weakness and build on them. Accept their shortcomings and help them see their potential in life. If your personalities don’t match and you are not satisfied, please walk out ASAP before any serious involvement happens. We all learn from one another. We are here today and able to communicate because somebody took time to help build us.

Breaking up: When the relationship is not worth pursuing, it is always wise to end it in a polite way. Learn to talk about it and come to a conclusion. Give it a thought before you do, just in case there is still hope to save it. The important thing is not to make enemies but to walk away feeling free and having a clear conscience knowing that you made the right decision.

No man is an island! Two is better than one. When two brains come together to make a decision the results are remarkable. Moreover when you are down, your partner will lift you up and give you the strength to go on. When you win in your relationship you will succeed even in bringing up good, responsible children who will make healthy relationships and contribute to the world at large.

Adults face challenges while cowards use excuses to deal with challenges. Don’t use the telephone or SMS text or email to break up unless you are a coward and uncertain of what you are doing. Face to face is always better. After all, you spent all those intimate moments looking into each other’s eyes; it is best to show the same courtesy when ending the relationship. Tell them why you can’t go on. Be able to live with that decision and ensure it’s the right one. If not, you may realize too late that you made a big mistake. In other cases it’s a simple and straightforward thing to do like when you find your partner in bed with another person or when you have an abusive relationship.

I believe it’s always good to be able to meet your ex later on in life and be able to say with a smile, “Hello, how are things going for you?” If you ever have to go through a heart break, remember you will always heal, no matter how deep the pain or wound you will heal. There is someone out there for you and it’s not the end of the world!

When trust is lost, take these steps to find it again

We've all done things we've been ashamed of, but the most humbling part is getting caught. Can we ever regain lost respect? Will we ever win back the graces of those we've disappointed, abandoned, or wronged?

The answer is maybe.

There are two elements to trust. One is being trusting--having the ability to trust others. The other is being trustworthy--measuring up to others' belief in you. If you wrong someone who has trust issues, you verify that what the person believes is true. You reinforce the person's outlook on relationships and make the person even more wary. But if you harm someone who has given you his trust, the damage can be even worse. The person will not only have lost his faith in you, but also his ability to trust in the future.

Let's take a look at trust lost and trust found. Imagine that you've done something so bad that you've lost the faith someone had in you. The breach could be a lie, an undercut, or a betrayal. Here's what could help you regain--over time--the trust you lost.

* Fess up. If you're caught, you're caught. Another lie will only dig you in deeper and make the situation worse.

* Apologize. Let the person know how truly sorry you are for what you did. Ask for their forgiveness, knowing that it may be withheld while the wound is fresh.

* Explain why you did it, if you can. Maybe you gave up a confidence to get a laugh or used it to put you in a position of someone with insider information. Try to lay out your position so the other person can see where you were coming from. If they can understand your reasoning, they're more likely to put it behind them.

* Remind the person that this lapse in character isn't you. You've been loyal and supportive in the past. It was an aberration. If this isn't the case, you're in big trouble. A person with a reputation of untrustworthiness may as well pack up their bags and leave to start anew. The chances of regaining trust when you're habitually lax in good judgment are slim ... as they should be. You need some real character work that we won't get into now.

* Offer to remedy the situation if you can. That might mean going back and retracting what you said to the people you said it to or writing a letter of apology and setting the matter straight. You might not be able to undo the breach of trust, but at least you may undo the harm it caused to the injured party. If you have to fall on your sword, do it.

* If you're getting nowhere with the person you wronged, ask for a mediator. See if someone outside the situation can soothe matters and suggest ways to rebuild the relationship. Like any professional counseling, it might not always work, but it will help you both view the situation with new eyes.

* Agree on your goals. You may agree that you'll put aside this conflict and work together to get the job done. You may decide that the relationship is more important than the event and move ahead cautiously, taking it a day at a time.

* Decide on consequences. If the other person can have some retribution, he may feel that the scales have been balanced. You could offer an apology at a group meeting or retract your statement via e-mail. Help the other person save face, even if you have to redden your own.

* Know that you'll be living under heavy scrutiny for awhile. You'll have to walk the line and possibly bear retaliatory remarks or attacks, at least for awhile. Hopefully, your new meritorious behavior will shorten this period.

* Go out of your way to show that you've reformed. Your attempts at winning the other person's good graces may be rejected at first, but you're likely to win him over with sincerity.

* Analyze why you did what you did, and learn from the experience so it will never happen again.

* Forgive yourself when you've done all you can to right the situation.
If you feel that, ultimately, the relationship is irretrievably broken, leave. You've done all you can do. Start anew, and put the experience behind you.

We all do things we're ashamed of. Many times, the shame comes from being unmasked for what we've done. Admit, atone, address, and advance. With time and good behavior, you can regain lost trust.

Love Fades Away Without a Shared Vision

If you want to be fully successful it's important to know how to choose the right girl (or boy) to marry. Here I present you one tip about.

You must be aware of one thing: "relationships that has been built on any other thing that is not a common vision of life or a shared vision of life won't last or will be tasteless and you will get tired of it soon". It goes beyond love only. Love has intensity but a shared vision has duration (this lasts all your life). If you want to enjoy the relationship and save many problems, like infidelity, it's necesary to have it present.

There has been many cases you've heard of in which the husband leaves his wife when he gets more money (better businesses, more "success") and replaces her for a younger and prettier woman. What went wrong? It wouldn't have happened if she had shared with him a common vision about their lifes. He ever wanted to be successful, but when young needed a woman by his side too. He ever knew she wasn't the indicated, who could understood him fully, but he didn't want to remain alone the rest of his life. (Well, he could have waited some years more).
What attracted her to him was his incipient success (probably money), she ever knew it but never went far beyond to understand his lonely soul. Disloyalty starts then. As there's no spark between them, they want to find seasonal affaires.

So far you can't deny it: it's important to share a vision when you get married. If your husband is an entrepreneur businessman never fight against their beliefs like many people could do. If you don't understand him fully, my advice is "search for common guy".

Many marriages or relationships are successful because they both share a common vision. No matter if it's not an "ambitious" vision, what matters is aiming for the same things in life. Living the rest of your days with a person who goes through the same experiences is just priceless.

How to Be a Good Mother

There's already a lot to cover when learning how to be the best parent you can be. But there are certain challenges a mother faces as a parent that are distinct from those of being a father. Here's how to overcome them and raise your child(ren) well.

Steps

Be patient. Being a mother is a little challenging sometimes, especially if you have a daughter. But keep your cool and try to stay patient. Your' daughter snuck into your room and put on your makeup? Explain to her the practical reasons why she shouldn't do this, such as hygiene, clogging pores, etc. Then tell her why you don't like her doing it- she'll muck up her skin at this young age, this is your makeup, etc. Try this approach to other problems. Stay calm, explain the practical reasons not to do something, and then why YOU don't want them to do something.

Take an interest in your child's interests. If your son likes cars, maybe buy him a model car he can make. Ask questions, like what is your favourite type of car, which model is that car, etc. If your daughter is interested in animals, buy her something like a magazine for animals, and tell her some interesting sites and books she can look at. Ask her what her favourite animal is, info about animals, etc. Make an effort.

Don't be tight about money. Okay, so blowing money day after day isn't the best thing to do, but don't automatically say no to everything your kid asks for. If you always say no and follow this with a lecture about saving money, you will be known as the "Tight Parent", the one who never buys anything. Buy something small every now and then. Even offering to purchase some candy or chips at the petrol station can make a difference. Every now and then buy something big that you are sure your kid wants. For example, an i-pod, or a bike. And be generous at birthdays.

This can include taking a special day to go out to dinner, see a movie, and choose a nice gift or receive nice gifts from parents.

Make sure you are an approachable person to talk to. Try your hardest to always be understanding and a good listener. Knowing that they can go to their mum for friendship advice, information on sex and puberty, homework help, or just a hug goes a long way for kids. Not having someone they can talk to can cause kids to retire into a shell, so make sure you talk to them about how they feel regularly.

Be supportive, and never laugh at your kids hobbies, interests or friends. So, your son doesn't want to study medicine and become a doctor? Don't get angry, this is your childs' life and they can make some of their own decisions. Understand that it's okay if your child thinks differently from you. Don't get mad because they have a different opinion to you, or your son wants to become an engineer and not a doctor. Don't laugh at them, or their friends. Who cares if you daughter listens to heavy metal music and wears too much eyeliner? She's still your daughter. And so what if your son is friends with a guy who speaks in a funny accent or who has a different skin color? You might not do what your kids do, but that is their decision, not yours. You have a big impact on their lives already-you choose what school they go to, when they eat dinner, the amount of pocket money they get for doing chores. Don't over do it.

Be able to admit that something you did may have been wrong and don't be afraid to apologize. It might be hard, but it's better for everyone if you just admit to your mistakes and apologize. It saves everyone the trouble of being mad that you're being stubborn and teaches your kids that it's okay to make mistakes, as well as the importance of an apology. Simply calm yourself, evaluate the situation, determine what you did wrong and why. Then apologize and explain how or why you acted the way you did. A good way to start off may be: "I would like to apologize for how I acted earlier, and I realize that I was wrong," then transition into the rest.

Tips

Help your child with their homework. Not only will you know what they're doing in school, but your child will probably start coming to you for help by themselves.
Spend quality time with your child. Play ball with your son or do a craft project with your daughter. And make sure you have fun.

Take your child out to museums, the theatre, classical music concerts, and other cultural events. While they may not like it at the time, they will most likely be grateful when they are older that they have a more well-rounded background.

Always be supportive and accepting.

Always try to be fair.

Don't use the phrase, "I carried you for 9 months!" in an argument. Your kids will most likely not understand what you actually had to go through, and it won't be really effective.

A few other observations from another perspective:

Parents need to teach their children how to be successful adults. Don't routinely do things for your children that they can learn to do for themselves.

Life is a great teacher. Don't be too quick to rescue your child from the results of their own actions if the consequences are not overly severe.

Your child is an individual deserving of respect, not an extension or a reflection of you.

Love them unconditionally; don't force them to be who you think they should be in order to earn your love.