Boost your business with feng shui<\/p>\n
Maria Kegel, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
When business turned sour for Sam, he consulted a feng shui
\nexpert for help. He found out that there was more involved than
\nmeets the eye. Walls were knocked down and new rooms were plotted
\nout, but after the major renovation on his home was completed, it
\nwas his wife who suffered more than the business had.<\/p>\n
Things did start to look up financially, but that was after
\nthey moved residence.<\/p>\n
Sam's decision to renovate his home to better his business was
\nnot out of the ordinary, and experts in the field contend the
\nbenefits brought on by good feng shui are too many to ignore.<\/p>\n
What does good feng shui mean for someone?<\/p>\n
\"Quite simply a better life with good health, wealth and
\nfavorable prospects for the future. And if you have any
\nmisfortune or if there is a crisis, it will not have as big an
\nimpact on your life as it could,\" said Dr. Mauro Rahardjo,
\nfounder of the Feng Shui School as well as a lecturer of
\narchitectural design and the history of architecture at
\nParahyangan University, both in Bandung.<\/p>\n
\"It's been proven that people who use feng shui have better
\nluck, and in global terms, countries that apply feng shui are
\nbetter off economically. In Asia, that would include Japan,
\nKorea, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.\"<\/p>\n
But one does not have to move office or knock down walls to
\nimmediately bring good feng shui into the work area. Placing
\ncertain items in your office or rearranging the furniture can
\nalso counteract any bad influences and improve some areas of your
\nlife.<\/p>\n
The simplest way to improve feng shui is by placing a feng
\nshui object outside the building, Mauro said.<\/p>\n
\"Normally, we use two types of mirrors, a concave one or a
\nconvex one,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The concave mirror promotes prosperity in an office and is
\nplaced facing another successful establishment to attract more of
\nthe same to yours.<\/p>\n
\"But if there are threats, such as trees, a bad smell or some
\nbad objects, in front of the office, then the convex mirror
\nshould be employed.\"<\/p>\n
He pointed out that merely placing these mirrors outside one's
\nbuilding to neutralize any threats did not automatically
\nguarantee good feng shui, but simply canceled out the bad.<\/p>\n
Feng shui (moving wind and water) is the Chinese art of
\ngeomancy and it has been accepted and practiced in many parts of
\nAsia and North America.<\/p>\n
Farmers were the first to practice feng shui and it was based
\non a temperate climate's four seasons.<\/p>\n
Autumn, winter, summer and spring were then assigned
\ndirections and one of nature's elements: winter has north and
\nwater, summer south and fire, spring east and wood, autumn west
\nand metal and the center has earth.<\/p>\n
Many methods have evolved since then but the most common one
\nin practice in Indonesia is the compass, which is applicable to
\nmany places, including the office.<\/p>\n
The direction the door of the office is facing is most
\nimportant, Mauro said.<\/p>\n
You can determine the areas in your office by using the front
\ndoor as a guide and finding out where the room faces with a
\ncompass.<\/p>\n
\"Standing inside the room, looking out gives us the direction
\naccording to the compass.\"<\/p>\n
For example, if the compass reads south as you face the
\noffice's front door, then the back part of the room is the north
\nsection, the left is east, and the right is west.<\/p>\n
The building and the direction it faces can also have negative
\nand positive influences if it conflicts with the type of
\nindustry, which is also assigned an element. Political parties
\nare grouped under fire, law firms are metal, production services,
\nsuch as agriculture and forestry, are wood and media services are
\nwater.<\/p>\n
Fire conflicts with water as water extinguishes it, and wood
\nis in conflict with metal.<\/p>\n
\"So if your business deals with water, it's not good to have
\nthe office building's (front doors) facing south.\"<\/p>\n
Both the office building and the direction in which the office
\nfaces should be correct to optimize good feng shui in the
\nworkplace.<\/p>\n
The next important aspect is the location of your desk.
\nDo not sit with your back to the door, but instead position your
\ndesk so that you have a good vantage point of people coming and
\ngoing out of the office.<\/p>\n
\"The point is to have control over the door,\" he said, adding
\nthat one should not be seated facing the front of the door, but
\ninstead off to the side.<\/p>\n
In addition, the further away you sit from the door the
\nbetter, with the optimal area being the back righthand corner of
\na room if you are inside the room facing the door.<\/p>\n
Because each individual also has a personal element, according
\nto your year of birth on the Chinese astrological calendar, the
\ncolor that falls into that group will be the most beneficial for
\ntheir office.<\/p>\n
Water elements are governed by blue and black, fire by red,
\npink, maroon and a scarlet violet, metal by white, deep yellow
\nand gray, earth by yellow and brown, cream and beige, wood is
\nruled by green and light blue.<\/p>\n
There are no bad or good colors, simply ones that harmonize or
\nconflict with your particular element, and elements should not be
\nin conflict with each other, he said.<\/p>\n
For example, a wood person would benefit from colors from the
\nwood, water or fire groups.<\/p>\n
Likewise, when placing objects in the room, which falls under
\nthe pyramid method of feng shui, which is in wide practice in
\nNorth America, they should not conflict with the elements of the
\ndirections.<\/p>\n
For example, do not put an aquarium in the south section of
\nthe office. Flowers and plants should be placed in the north,
\neast or south part of the office.<\/p>\n
\"Flowers fall under wood, so don't put flowers in the west,
\nbecause wood conflicts with metal,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A television, stereo or other form of electronics are better
\nplaced in the west, north or the center of the room, but never in
\nthe south.<\/p>\n
The same protection principle as the mirrors can also be
\napplied to the areas that govern certain aspects of your life.<\/p>\n
As wealth matters the most in business, placing an object that
\nenhances affluence in the back righthand corner of a room will
\nbenefit this aspect of your life. The right side is determined by
\nfacing the front door again, and this location is not affected by
\nthe room's directions or elements of the person or industry.<\/p>\n
The wealth-enhancing object should be luminous, give off
\nsound, have some sort of movement and form of life. Small
\nfountains or aquariums are good choices.<\/p>\n
If you are looking for an office, it's important to pay
\nattention to the area outside a potential workplace as much as
\nthe room's or building's interior, he said.<\/p>\n
\"It is useless to have good feng shui inside the office when
\nthe outside is not really good. We start talking about feng shui
\neven before we enter the building,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Garbage and foul smells can sabotage good feng shui. It is
\nalso important to watch for \"obstacles\", such as police stations,
\nhouses of worship and funeral parlors, which affect buildings
\nthat possess good feng shui.<\/p>\n
Street layout has a significant bearing on feng shui as well.<\/p>\n
It is good feng shui if a building is encircled by streets or
\non a curved road. But the opposite holds true if the house is at
\nthe end of a T-junction or in the fork of a road where it faces
\noncoming traffic.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that the street which the Jakarta Design Center
\nin Slipi area, West Jakarta, is on was advantageous, but that its
\nfeng shui turned for the worse when the flyover was built next to
\nit.<\/p>\n
\"Business was good (there) but as soon as that flyover went
\nup, everything got worse.\"<\/p>\n
The color of the exterior of the building is important as
\nwell. Although the only hard and fast rule on which color should
\nbe chosen is to select one in harmony with a person's element,
\nsome bright colors are more suitable for certain offices, he
\nsaid, adding that a person should follow their intuition when
\nchoosing a color.<\/p>\n
Even landscape plays a part, with negative influences coming
\nfrom big trees that block the view from the front door. That also
\napplies to lampposts or sharp objects, such as the pointed roof
\nof a building across the street, especially if an angle points to
\nthe front door.<\/p>\n
\"If you see any dead trees in the vicinity, that isn't a good
\nsign either,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Table courtesy of Dr. Mauro Rahardjo<\/p>\n
Year of birth, Chinese Astrology sign, Element, Best direction
\nfor men, Best direction for women:<\/p>\n
17\/02\/69 to 05\/02\/70, Chicken, Earth, East, Northwest;
\n30\/01\/68 to 16\/02\/69, Monkey, Earth, Northwest, South;
\n09\/02\/67 to 29\/01\/68, Goat, Fire, Southwest, North;
\n21\/01\/66 to 08\/02\/67, Horse, Fire, Northeast, West;
\n02\/02\/65 to 20\/01\/66, Snake, Wood, West, Northeast;
\n13\/02\/64 to 01\/02\/65, Dragon, Wood, North, Southwest;
\n25\/01\/63 to 12\/02\/64, Rabbit, Water, South, West;
\n05\/02\/62 to 24\/01\/63, Tiger, Water, Northwest, East;
\n15\/02\/61 to 04\/02\/62, Ox, Metal, Southeast, Southeast;
\n28\/01\/60 to 14\/02\/61, Rat, Metal, East, Northwest;
\n08\/02\/59 to 27\/01\/60, Pig, Earth, Northwest, South;
\n18\/02\/58 to 07\/02\/59, Dog, Earth, Southwest, North;
\n31\/01\/57 to 17\/02\/58, Chicken, Fire, Northeast, West;
\n12\/01\/56 to 30\/01\/57, Monkey, Fire, West, Northeast;
\n24\/01\/55 to 11\/01\/56, Goat, Wood, North, Southwest;
\n03\/02\/54 to 23\/01\/55, Horse, Wood, South, West.<\/p>",
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