More commonly known as the Happy Buddha or Laughing Buddha, Hotei was a monk of the T’ang Dynasty, recognized for the sack of candy he carried and shared with small children.  He is a figure of Chinese folklore, and one of the Seven Gods of Fortune representing abundance and good health.  He is also thought to be a bodhisattva, one who has dedicated himself to the path of enlightenment like Buddha, or a Maitreya, a future Buddha-like figure who will appear on Earth, achieve enlightenment and teach the Dharma.

The true Buddha began his path to enlightenment after seeing a infirm old man begging and learned of suffering and decided to embrace asceticism. His journey of contemplation eventually brought him to a sacred fig tree where he paused in meditation.  It was there that he attained Bodhi, a perfect state of illumination. From that moment forward, he was Buddha who took to the countryside and preached for 44 years what was to become one of the primary religions of the world until his death at age 80.

Laughing Buddha statues are frequent Asian decor accent found in business and restaurants because he is the deity of contentment and prosperity. This Buddhist icon is most often seen with a sack in tow, filled with candy for children and gifts of food for the less fortunate. Much like Catholicism’s St. Nicholas, Hotai is the patron saint of children, the suffering and the downtrodden.

A laughing Buddha statue portrays a corpulent, bald man whose ample gut can be seen through his sagging robes. While Ho Tai could definitely benefit from a few stomach crunches, his ample belly is symbolic of good luck and wealth. Along with his jolly middle and pleasant smile the Ho  Tai nearly always carries bent, wooden walking stick in one hand and his bag of goodies in the other. The Happy Buddha is most often portrayed as a statue in either a reclined, standing or sitting position. The reclined position most likely originates from the “sleeping Buddha position,” one that reflects the Buddha’s last moments on Earth before he was delivered to Nirvana.

Most often, the happy Buddha Statues are displayed in the home as a talisman of plenitude. Many Ho Tai statues portray the cheerful patron holding gold ingots in his hands while sitting atop a mountain of gold coins. It’s also not unusual to see the Buddha sitting atop a Dragon throne. The Dragon is a icon of security and virility in Asian culture. Other symbolic elements often seen in sculptures and statues of the happy Buddha include a rosary necklace symbolic of prayer, a pauper’s bowl representing the laughing Buddha’s lack of worldly possessions or an oogi. The oogi is a Chinese “wish giving” fan used in the past by Chinese aristocracy as an affectation to guarantee that their wishes would be granted.

In western culture, the happy Buddha is thought of as  the fat Buddha. As a chubby, smiling man who often travels sharing candies and presents to children, Ho Tai most closely matches what Westerners think of as Jolly St. Nick. However, his offerings and blessings can be enjoyed all year. Many believe if you rub the belly of a happy Buddha you are sure to enjoy good fortune and financial success.

Happy Buddha is also considered a patron of restaurateurs and bartenders and is often seen in Chinese and Japanese restaurants. Overindulgence in food and drink are often credited to the influence of the laughing Buddha.

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Intestested in a Laughing Buddha Statue or planning to add a bit of Asian Decor to your home?  Check out the unique selection of Buddha statues and oriental furnishings at Big Buddha Statue.  Rob Mabry is one of the owners of Big Buddha Statue and the author of this and many other articles on ancient culture.

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We all learn feng shui for one reason, that is to improve our life and remedy our problems. Hence, I hope that through fengshui, you can greatly improve your health, wealth and love in your life. I genuinely hope something inside this article brings every reader the good fortune they each want. Lets us now learn how to feng shui our bedroom which is one of the most important area that you should feng shui to improve the life of yourself and your loved ones.

How To Feng Shui Your Bedroom For Health

Our health is the most important aspect of our life. They said that ‘Health is Wealth’, hence by taking good care of our health, we will be able to enjoy many good things in our life like wealth and good fortune. If there is one particular place to fengshui for health in your home, that would be your bedroom. Our bedroom is our sanctuary for rest and sleep and hence it is of utmost importance for us to feng shui our bedroom properly. Below are 3 feng shui cures and remedies to feng shui your bedroom for health.

1. Do Not Place Any Things Below Your Bed
Take note that our bed is for us to have quality sleep and rest. Never store any of your things and stuffs below the bed as this will invite bad health to those sleeping on the bed.

2. Sleep At Your Tien Yi Direction
Arrange your bed so that you can sleep at your Tien Yi (Health) direction to promote good health into your life. You can easily calculate your KUA Number to find out where is your Tien Yi direction. By sleeping at your tien yi direction, you will attract good health into your life and ward off illnesses and diseases.

3. Place A Wu Luo Next To Your Bed
For enhancing good health using feng shui, you should place a brass wu luo next to your bed on the left side while you sleep. Wu Luo is known to enhance good health and promote longevity.

How To Feng Shui Your Bedroom For Relationship

Many people learn fengshui because they want to improve their relationship with their spouse, family, kids or even co-workers. The good news is, feng shui does have some effective cures and remedies to help you enhance your relationship with others. The following are 3 feng shui tips on how to feng shui your bedroom for relationship.

1. Activate Your Southwest For Good Relationship
One very effective way to enhance your relationship with others is to activate the Southwest of your bedroom. Place a mystic knot at the Southwest of your bedroom to bring good relationship with others into your life.

2. Do Not Sleep Facing The Door
The death position is when one has one’s feet directly facing the door. The corpses of dead people are placed this way with the feet directly pointed towards the door. Feng shui advises that neither the head nor the feet should be pointed directly at the door of the room as this is deemed to be very yin and is deadly for the living. It can also bring bad relationship to those who sleep with their feet facing the door.

3. DeClutter Your Bedroom For Good Relationship
For enhancing good relationship with others, decluttering your bedroom is the number one fengshui tip. Your bedroom should be free of clutter and you should ensure that your bedroom is organized and neat. By doing so, you will attract good relationship with others into your life.

How To Feng Shui Your Bedroom For Harmony

Harmony is the root to all happiness. If you have harmony with your family, harmony with outside people and even harmony with yourself, you will be on the right track to finding happiness and success. Fengshui has a lot to offer in terms of enhancing harmony in the home or outside. Below are 3 fengshui tips on how to fengshui your bedroom for harmony.

1. Do Not Sleep With Separate Mattresses
Couples should never sleep with separate mattresses in the bedroom. This includes trying to form a queen-sized bed by combining two separate single mattresses. By sleeping with separate mattresses, the couple will attract bad fengshui which will contribute to quarrels and arguments. Invest in a good queen-sized bed to share with your love partner.

2. Avoid Having Television In Your Bedroom
Nowadays, many people watch television in their bedroom. However, in terms of fengshui, this is not very good as the TV will attract disharmony for the people in the bedroom. Arguments and conflicts may arise and will disrupt the general harmony in the family. If you really cannot do without a TV in your bedroom, simply cover it with a cloth once you finished watch and is turning in to bed.

3. Avoid Having Live Plants In Your Bedroom
If you are thinking of decorating your bedroom with some live plants, stop doing so as you will attract disharmony and conflicts for those sleeping in the bedroom. The bedroom is a yin environment for rest and sleep, and by placing a yang energy live plant in the bedroom, you are disrupting the yin energy of the bedroom. In times to come, this will cause insomnia and disharmony to those sleeping in the bedroom.

How To Feng Shui Your Personal Bedroom For General Good Feng Shui

After going through all the various specific aspects that you can fengshui for your bedroom, we shall discuss on how to feng shui your personal bedroom generally. Below are 3 fengshui cures and remedies to feng shui your personal bedroom to enhance your overall health, wealth, luck and love.

1. Neutralize The Number 2 Illness Star
When the illness star occupies your personal bedroom, hang a windchime there to protect against possible illness until the star’s negative influence has passed.

2. Harmonius Sleeping Directions For Children
To ensure that your children do not squabble or become involve in competitive sibling rivalry, make sure that they sleep with their heads pointing in their nien yen direction that is harmonious and beneficial. By making your children sleep in this auspicious orientation, their chi energy will automatically blend together harmoniously.

3. A Window Behind Your Bed Makes You Short-Tempered
A window behind the bed makes the sleeping person very vulnerable to yin spirit formations. This disturbs the sleep and will make the person very short-tempered and grumpy. Whenever possible, angle your bed so that the bed head is against a wall rather than under a window.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/feng-shui-articles/12-amazing-tips-on-how-to-feng-shui-your-bedroom-1288373.html

This year, the 5 Yellow Star is located in the SouthWest sector and the 2 Black Star is located in the NorthEast sector. For houses with doors located in the NorthEast sector, the residents need to be extra good care with their health. Houses with doors located in the SouthWest sector, the residents need to be careful and cautious in whatever they do. The 5 Yellow Star and 2 Black Star often affect the financial status and family harmony of the family. It is not advisable to have any ground breaking activities in these 2 sectors, especially when these 2 sectors’ yearly stars are overlapping with the monthly 5 Yellow Star and 2 Black Star.

Another important thing to take note is in 2010, both the Wu Ji Sha and Hong Luo fall in the NorthEast sector. Combining with the presence of 2 Black Star, it is advisable to avoid renovation and gound breaking in this sector in 2010 as the unfavorable effects include misfortune such as fire accident and other kinds of accident. Beside houses with doors in these 2 sectors, other unfavorable external forms in these sectors that can also trigger the effects include:

• Road Junctions
• Rivers Joining Together
• Electrical Towers
• Buildings With Pointed Roof
• Buildings With Sharp Corners Pointing Towards The House
• Mountains With The Rocks Revealing
• Huge Red Objects
• Large Obvious Irregular Shape Objects Or Landform

The size and distance of these external forms is an important factor to consider. The bigger and nearer these external forms are to the houses, the stronger the effects.

Driven by the strong interest in Metaphysics, Ray is consistently exploring into different fields of Metaphysics. These fields include Feng Shui of different schools, BaZi (also known as 4 Pillars), I-Ching (also known as Book of Changes), Qi Men Dun Jia, etc. Ray is also the webmaster of Feng Shui portal, FengShuiCorner.com (http://www.fengshuicorner.com) and Master-360.com (http://www.master-360.com). He is also committed to create online tools and resources to enhance people’s learning and application of these ancient arts.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/feng-shui-articles/the-2010-yearly-star-chart-1703901.html

With origins dating back to the third century B.C. during the Han Dynasty in China, feng shui was historically practiced with a compass-style instrument that read the stars and determined the North-South orientations of Chinese cities. Feng shui was viewed as a tool to ensure the health, wealth and prosperity of the imperial dynasties, and is still used today as an element of traditional architecture in China. The purpose of feng shui in modern culture is to create human environments that harness good qi: the literal translation of qi is “life force energy,” a state that can swing between positive and negative energies according to the structure of your home and its interaction with your surrounding environment.

In addition to the placement of objects and furniture within your home, there are products and simple techniques that will help you create balance in your home.

Wind chimes are an instrumental component of feng shui, however they must be strategically placed. The sound of a wind chime is believed to activate or enliven the Chi or “energy” in an area, and the melodic sound of a wind chime will subtly alter your own mood, which in turn will enhance the energy and peace of your environment. Choose wind chimes that correspond to the size of your space—choose a smaller chime for offices and bedrooms and large wind chimes for open outdoor spaces. Use wind chimes made from a material that corresponds to each area’s element. For example, a southeastern room corresponds to the element wood, so you would want to use a wooden wind chime in that room. Gongs are an alternative to wind chimes that also evoke scintillating sound and counteract negative Chi.

Arbors and trellises can be used to inspire balance in the gardens and recreational areas outside your home. Climbing vines can be trained around the lattices of a trellis, which blends nature with the structures in your backyard so the two elements live in harmony together. Arbors are also an excellent way to create a reflective retreat outside your home—a place where you can sit peacefully with a good book or contemplate the events of the day. Alternately, garden fountains are a wonderful way to bring the soothing sound of nature indoors. Consider a small indoor fountain for placement on a dining table or dresser to maximize the flow of life energy and activate positive Chi indoors.

Tips for practicing feng shui in your home:

1. Fill your rooms with natural light. Use light-colored or sheer curtains and open the windows often for fresh air that will energize each room.
2. Study the five elements of feng shui: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, and learn how to use each material and its colors appropriately in various rooms of your home to balance the energy in your environment.
3. Be mindful of your bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. The placement of objects in these three key areas is inherently connected to your health and well-being.
4. Keep doorways and doorsteps free of shoes and clutter so good Chi may travel freely throughout your home.
5. Decorate with the color red sparingly, as it represents the element of fire and could bring undue stress to your home, and accent each room with live plants to feel the yang chi of joy in every indoor space.

Laura Wasserman is a freelance writer located in Oakland, CA. In addition to freelancing for Outdora, Laura writes editorials about the neighborhoods of Oakland as an Oakland Community Examiner at Examiner.com.

http://www.outdora.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/feng-shui-articles/transform-your-personal-space-with-feng-shui-1671227.html

In Feng Shui energy talk, the Water element signified by the color black or dark blue is at its zenith. The Water element is also known as the winter element since it is so prevalent during this time.  Its direction is north.  This is a yin element and the number associated with it is the number one (1).  Objects that represent water include aquariums and fountains.  Animals belonging to this element are the rat and the boar.

The winter months push us humans together.  We occupy the same space as before, just a little more closely than before.  Our interior space becomes even more ‘energy’ important as we are challenged to share that space and energy.
This is an opportune time to critically survey the space that the family will share.  Make certain that all the Feng Shui 101 basics have been accomplished.  Clean and polish that space! (A complete and thorough housecleaning and straightening with ruthless editing of items is absolutely necessary if energy is to flow in an auspicious manner)

This month the five elements are in the following configuration:
Fire is weakest energy (Extreme Yang energy)
Water is the strongest energy (Extreme Yin energy)
Metal is a waning/weak energy (Yin energy)
Wood energy is born (Yang energy)
Earth energy is strong (Yin energy)

The emotional elements of the water element, which is very strong right now, is that of willpower, magnetism, sensitivity, wisdom, persuasiveness and the ability to focus the mind.  It assists in consolidation, revelation and knowledge and its archetype is the philosopher.  The associated planet is Mercury.
 
If water is your nourishing element and you do not have a good balance in your Feng Shui assessment, bring water elements into your environment.   Since the water element is VERY strong right now, don’t overdo a good thing!  Add a fishbowl, aquarium, irregular shaped glass coffee table, artwork whose predominate color is dark blue or black.  If you have TOO much water, then balance your environment with the energies that will stabilize and balance the water energy.  Fire elements: candles, red triangular shaped object, reds, pinks, oranges in fabrics/ tablecloths, light up that fireplace!

The fire energy and element are at their weakest now, so using Fire energy suggestions are an excellent thing to include in your environment.  You are bringing in and balancing what nature is taking away, thus creating a more harmonious and flowing energy pattern.

Another energy that will soak up some of that water energy is the Wood element.   To add wood to your environment bring in a live plant or two (Some of my plants come inside this time of year) Polish up a forgotten wood piece in the attic or basement, use striped fabric or fabric with a floral design.  Wood sculptures, wooden frames on pictures/photos or use wood colors. The archetype for wood is the pioneer (makes sense, doesn’t it!) The associated planet is Jupiter.

Another element that will help to balance all that water is the earth element. Get out your pottery, concrete/brick type of ornaments, if you have brass objects use them to balance the water element. Ceramic tile, ceramic drawer pulls, carved stone sculptures and fabric in earth tones will work wonders in balancing the water energy.  The archetype for the earth element is the peacemaker.  The associate planet is Saturn.

I personally have a close association with the water element.  I have worked diligently to bring my environment into balance.  Powerful water has been an issue here at my old historic home.  There is no basement ….In the 1800’s,( my house dates back to 1804) land was settled where water and animal life were plentiful.  I have spent 26 years here.  The gardens and surrounding shrubs and trees have been added to balance all the water that exists here.  In my seasonal table articles I reference that the dining room in is the North, a water element direction, so a large wood table and wood chairs were selected for that space. The brick floor was selected, a large stone fireplace was selected. Wood built-in bookcases were selected. Wood corner cabinets and side tables were selected in order to balance the extreme and powerful force of the water element. The color, green, associated with wood was selected as a wall color. On the exterior, an additional garden was added with wood arbor, gate and fencing. Stone walkways meander through the space.

Are you getting a true picture of how much water I have had to balance?  If you could have seen the geyser shooting out of the fire pit, perhaps you’d begin to understand the power of water.

 From time to time the water finds a tiny crack or crevice that wasn’t recently caulked and finds a way to let me know that the willful, persuasive force of the North is still present. I stand in awe and appreciation of the Water element and its energy!! 

Elyssa Baxter is a Feng Shui Expert and Master Gardener. Combining her knowledge and talents, Elyssa provides Feng Shui Assessments and consultations to individuals for themselves, their homes and their gardens, as well as to businesses. Feng Shui is the movement of energy which she designs for the client using color, placement, simplicity of style, balance and harmony to positively affect the recipients. She also consults for events, such as weddings using the couple’s Feng Shui Assessments. What a great way to start a life together!

Visit Elyssa at http://www.theempressfengshui.com to learn practical everyday Feng Shui tips for every season, the Holidays, Home and Hearth, Garden and Self.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/feng-shui-articles/using-feng-shui-to-balance-the-effect-of-winter-1630725.html

“Mountains govern matters related to human relationships and longevity while water affects one’s financial health and growth,” said the fengshui master.

Advised homebuyers to look for properties with these features to enjoy their benefits.

Importance should be placed on the environment, building and personal aspects when buying a property.

Good feng shui is understated, zen-like and clean,urged housebuyers to avoid certain locations which were “unfriendly high tension wires were not just bad for feng shui, but bad for health, too.
One should also avoid places at top of hills, that faces mountains and at lower parts of valleys,

Feng shui has been around for a long time, but I’ve always been a bit of a sceptic. I mean, how can you change your life by moving furniture around? Or improve your fortune by purchasing ornaments for the house?

Feng shui is a serious profession. If you look back to ancient times in China, the emperor was the only one allowed to receive the benefits of feng shui. The practice was not attainable by common people.

Feng shui espouses that there is a strong link between humanity and nature and that the way in which one interacts with his surroundings has a significant influence on his life and fortune – the ideal result being to attain a measure of balance and harmony with nature. Achieving such a balance in one’s own home is thus of great importance. In Feng Shui For Harmony In The Home, the author makes use of her architectural background to provide a comprehensive analysis of the various factors involved in ensuring the presence of such harmony in one’s abode, from the positioning of the house right down to the very decorations used within.

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Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/feng-shui-articles/learning-feng-shui-for-your-house-1604835.html

The Productive and Destructive Cycle of Elements

Productive Cycle

The feng shui elements –  water, wood, fire, earth and metal – can be arranged in a cycle where each element is used to create the next in the cycle. By using the correct locations, objects and directions, feng shui takes account of the elemental relationships and can use one element to assist or boost the another, bring greater energy for the life area they’re placed in.

The productive cycle is as follows:
Water > produces > wood > makes > fire > produces > earth > creates > metal > makes > water and so on.

Example:
Out of all the feng shui elements, water is the strongest representative of your wealth energy, which is located in the southeast area of your home or space. Water related items should feature in your wealth area to energize it and attract more of it. In the productive cycle, metal is the elements that makes water and so metal objects can also be placed in the area to boost the wealth area. Water is the main element and so be sure it isn’t   overpowered too much by the metal.

Destructive Cycle

In the same way, if a destructive relationship of feng shui elements exists in the same location, this can bring about negative results which will harm your good intentions for the area. Most of the time, people unknowingly already have conflicting elements in the wrong locations which is why their wealth, career or any other area of life is suffering.

The destructive cycle is as follows:
Wood > devours > earth > destroys > water > extinguishes > fire > consumes > metal > demolishes > wood and so on.

Example:
As mentioned above your wealth corners main element is water. Earth destroys water in the destructive cycle shown above and so having any objects related to earth would devastate the positive effects of your water element, therefore your wealth. Things like ceramic pots, pictures of land or globes etc and will need to be removed before good wealth energy can flow freely into your life, unrestricted by the earth element.

Elemental Properties

For your reference, note the following relationships each element has with colors, locations (according to the bagua map) and objects in your home:

Wood – Green shades – East – Paper, Plants, Furniture, Pictures of Wood etc
Water – Blue or Black shades – North – Fountains, Aquariums, Pictures of Water etc
Fire – Red shades – South – Bright lights, Fireplaces, Candles, Pictures of Fire
Metal – Metallic colors, Gold, Silver, White – West – Coins, Jewelry, Wind chimes, Pictures of Metal etc
Earth – Brown shades – Center – Pots, Flowers, Ceramics, Globes, Pictures of Earth etc

Knowledge of the feng shui elements and their cycles help you too utilize the energy you need, and can balance out the destructive energy you don’t. Balance is the always the key when using the elements, they can even be used to correct any existing elemental and location problem you have in your home.

Sometimes, structural things like fireplaces can’t simply be moved. They’d naturally represent fire and if they’re in the wrong location for that particular element, you can use water based objects to destroy the fires negative effects and again, balance out the energy. A firm understanding of the feng shui elements and how they work will be key to help you benefit from all the great things that feng shui can bring you and your family. Wealth, health and happiness can soon be all yours when you combine all of your feng shui knowledge to build a life-time of well being and good fortune!

Lin Mai is a feng shui enthusiast and author. Visit Way to Feng Shui to start using feng shui elements to bring you all you desire!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/feng-shui-articles/feng-shui-elements-the-battle-for-balance-1586322.html

In fact, in Hong Kong, feng shui practices are heavily enforced through the very building and construction of a business and it’s premises, to the day to day runnings of business in the workplace, office and meeting rooms. From billionaire Asian business tycoons to the Bank of China to small family owned stores, business feng shui practices are implemented to help acquire greater wealth, fortune, health and happiness. So maybe it’s time that you put some sound business feng shui into action in your workplace to help you get that raise, bring in more customers, increase your profits or just work better.

Take a look at these business feng shui tips to help point you in the right direction towards greater luck energy in your work life.

• Make sure that you always sit with a solid wall behind you to represent support and strength in your life.  You should sit so that you’re in full view of the rooms main entrance and windows for optimal business feng shui placement.
• Office furniture, desks, tables or shelves should all have rounded corners, or even better be round in shape.  Straight edged or sharp corners will cut chi and destroy the flow through your space, ultimately creating “sha chi” or negative chi.
• The same principles can be applied to plants in your business feng shui space, make sure that they are softer edged plants and don’t have sharp or spike-like leaves, commonly known as poison arrows.
• Don’t place empty boxes, or even an empty vase near the main door.  As new chi enters the office, it will be sucked into the empty spaces leaving nothing left for the rest of the environment. The idea is to attract sheng chi (good energy) and keep it circulating freely in your environment for maximum benefit.
• Using the Bagua map (find one on my website), determine your area or wealth of future wealth area and place items like the fax machine, telephone and computers in this area to attract more business.
• If you’re a shop owner, place the till register or even the petty cash container in the wealth area.  Your order books should also be placed here, along with 3 ancient gold Chinese coins held together with red strong or ribbon stuck on top of them to attract more money to the business.
• Keep your desk surface clean and clutter free as it is symbolic of your state of mind, tidy desk is a tidy mind, working better will result.  The same can be said for the workplace or office in general, clutter is enemy number one not only in business but everywhere. Clear the clutter first to avoid any blockages of energy flow in the area.
• Use mirrors help to create more light which represents the water element, and the space will become more soothing.  Southeast, East and North are the best feng shui places for mirrors according to the bagua map.
• Placing a mirrors next to your cash register or order book will symbolically double what’s reflected, so your profit and orders will increase, or even your wage packet!
• Be careful not to reflect the main entrance to your space in any mirrors as it will act as a way for the energy to leave you, having the reverse effect which is probably worse than having the mirror there at all. Be weary of what’s reflected in all your mirrors and be sure the reflections are only of positive symbols and objects, so that you receive more of them.

Follow these quick business feng shui tips to allow you, your office, company or workplace to benefit from greater balanced energy and help attract to you more of what you want whether that’s a clearer work focus, more profits or greater wealth luck!

Lin Mai is a feng shui enthusiast and author. Visit Way to Feng Shui to start using business feng shui to make your business attract money like a magnet!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/feng-shui-articles/business-feng-shui-tips-to-help-you-increase-profits-wealth-luck-and-prosperity-1563289.html