Feng Shui Blog

02/22/10 by Master Sarah McAllister | Chinese Astrology, Feng Shui Benefits & Research | No Comments »

This is an interesting little article about celebrity chef Ching-He Huang and her positive experience with Chinese Astrology and Feng Shui.  I am completing a fair few horoscopes for my clients at the moment and it is quite telling how those I warned would have a difficult time last year and who did not take my advice certainly had a difficult time. It can sometimes happen that one person in a marriage believes in the benefits of Feng Shui and Chinese Astrology and the other person doesn’t. It can be painful for the one who knows the benefits to see their partner suffer because they choose not to take on board my advice. This is why I am so passionate about educating people about the benefits of Chinese cosmology in all its formats – Feng Shui Design, Astrology, Divination, Acupuncture etc. Life force is mysterious but it is available to all who care to connect with it, either intuitively or with the help of a professional like me, or both!

Chinese Astrology Ching He Huang YOU Magazine article portrait

Here’s a link to more information on my Chinese Astrology charts.

Until next time

Sarah

02/10/10 by Master Sarah McAllister | Feng Shui Benefits & Research, Feng Shui Home Consultations | No Comments »

Becoming Fully Present in Your Feng Shui Practice

I wrote this from within the peaceful surroundings of an eco yoga retreat in Goa, allowing the heat to warm and soften my body and the wonderful chaos of India to sharpen my senses. Even on holiday my mind still turns to how I can improve my practice and my work/life balance upon return with my new perspectives. Quite often in life we know what to do but just need to create enough space and take the time to hear our own wisdom. Similarly, in our practice we need to master time and our inner space in order to be at our most effective.

Just as our bodies are always talking to us telling us what we need to do to remain in balance, so does a house or business premises. If we become seduced by the intricacies of hexagram crunching and become too much “in our heads” then we can miss out on the rich symphony of the present moment and entirely overlook subtle cues presented by the body language and phrases of the client and the language of the space and form. A classic example would be fixating on the kinship of a front door while neglecting to observe whether it opens the right way for the energy flow inwards or not. When we are properly centred it is easier to strike a balance between technique, intuition and observation.

Being in the present and centred in our Tan Tien helps us to apply our creativity with the least expenditure of energy for maximum effect. Also known as the “Minimax” principle – minimum effort, maximum result or as Grand Master Chan would say “1 move 3 results”. When centred we are more in tune with the “myriad beings” and can see more holistically than when occupying our logical mind alone. Another concept I find useful for attuning to the moment is that of “deep mental feminine beauty” – whether you are a man or a woman, this deep mind space is inwardly smiling and we seem to inhabit a starry dark blue velvety space – symbolically speaking – in each of us our imagination will work differently. Use whatever image, practice or feeling that conjures a space of tranquillity and inner knowing.

Cultivating Mindfulness
Ultimately, the body is within the mind and practices such as yoga help us to unite all aspects of our being – mind, body and spirit – sounds obvious, but how many times do we forget the simple virtues and practices! Being physically fit is so important for the cultivation of a strong mind and strong chi energy. When illness reveals itself it is like a wake-up call for us to become more present to ourselves and reassess how we are living our lives and taking care of ourselves. It is no good at all to just have a strong mind or just have a strong body – both are designed to be harmonious and work together. What is mindfulness? It is not a self-obsessed form of navel-gazing, but an ability to be comfortably in the moment and aware of your impact on others and their impact on you and also be conscious of our motivations and what mirrors other people represent for us. We can also interpret and interact with our environment and surroundings far more easily when we are balanced. The only way to be liberated from the “monkey mind” chattering away filling up our days with nonsense is to cultivate a regular meditation practice (or something equally as nourishing that works for you) and have the discipline to follow it. I am grateful to my Feng Shui practice because it always demands of me that I relax and connect with the universe much like we connect to “the source” in a meditation. My Feng Shui practice is both vocational and a career, and it both nurtures and challenges me.

The riches of being in the Present
I find it helpful to remind myself that being in the moment gifts us with quiet riches, which is why it is so aptly named “the present”! We experience spaciousness between our perceptions and our actions, rather than being stuck in “automatic drive” or a reactive mode. It is in these seemingly empty spaces that we more easily find the leverage point of a consultation; the crux of the matter.  We can help ourselves to stay in the flow of life by acting in rhythm with the Tung Sing – I love tidying my office or throwing out old clothes on a Remove or Destroy day as it frees up and organises space within and without.

Acknowledge the positive impact you have on people
Clients and friends have often remarked that when I am at my work I exude a tranquillity that also makes them feel good. The practice of Feng Shui has far reaching effects and nurtures not only my own seeds of happiness but also the positive seeds within others too. We are doing a wonderful job helping people to connect with energy and nature so we need to look after ourselves each day in order to be able to fully utilise the gifts Grand Master Chan has helped develop and facilitate within us. Using acupuncture, chi kung and yoga restores my balance and nourishes the seeds of calm, clarity, perspective and fresh awareness so that I can be a real resource to my clients. Acknowledging ourselves positively connects us to our passion and this helps us dwell in the present moment.

We are worth waiting for…
If we take too much work on for fear of enquirers going to another consultant or the attitude of “make hay while the sun shines” for fear of a drought in the flow of consultations then we just burn out emotionally and drag ourselves from one consultation to the next. This is very dangerous because it means that we will not be able to protect ourselves from the negativity of the client or the negativity in the building occupied by a client. Their suffering will just strengthen our own rather than us having a little buffer of positivity – plenty for ourselves and running over to help others. Our only options in this situation will be to close down our awareness and the consultation becomes flat, lacks vitality and is not very successful or we get exhausted easily and our sense of personal boundary is disturbed – neither are desirable outcomes and your present reality is full of pain so you distract yourself from it with posturing or busyness or eating sugar rich foods for an instant boost…its just a lose-lose situation.

It is better to tell people you have a waiting list than bend over backwards to accommodate them – believe me, after hard earned experience, this is true – if they won’t wait then they weren’t right for you in the first place. Don’t be tempted to buy in to the Western mindset of speedy service, because Feng Shui operates in a non-linear world, so we must honour the ebb and flow in our own lives before carrying out work on behalf of others. If this means we aren’t available for 6 weeks then so be it.

Physician Heal Thyself
We are doctors of space and time and need to be gentle with ourselves first and foremost and not berate ourselves if we stray from the path now and then or allow stress to accumulate to an unmanageable point that we burn out. It is always a learning curve and we discover more about our strengths and weaknesses in the process. We teach best what we most need to learn and I had a period of burn out just recently, where I felt easily harassed by my clients and had a mountain of reports and date selections to finish off over Christmas (!), so I pushed hard to finish the absolutely necessary work then took myself away to a nurturing space and switched off the blackberry and decided to freefall for at least a week and not do anything or think of anything much at all. I then committed to 10 days of yoga practice, deepening my existing yoga awareness and reconnecting to my body in a wholesome way. Our life can fly by in a state of “doing” or a time-rich sense of living fully – we just have to exercise a positive choice every day.

Here are a few tips if you have lost connection with the present and feel stressed by your Feng Shui work. They are also useful if you are experiencing blocks and stressed by not having enough work. The underlying principle is to let go of anything that muddies or hampers your chi:

Let go of the need to convince clients of your worth
In the past I have done freebies for the “what if this comes good?” scenario, but ultimately it has never worked to my advantage. The clients have always been somehow resistant or not taken the information I provided on board and the end result is a diluted form of Feng Shui. When people happily pay what you are worth they take notice and put into action what you request of them and experience positive results. When people are just playing about with Feng Shui and comparing practitioners to each other before selecting one, it confuses the chi. I don’t interview several dentists or doctors when I need some help, and even if I did, I wouldn’t ask them to do work for free so I can see whether I like what they do or not!! It’s OK to spend an hour at a meeting showing someone your portfolio if it doesn’t take too much time or energy, but don’t go around performing consultation work for free, unless it is a compassionate case and pro bono. The only time it is worth doing this is when you are a fresh graduate or very qualified yet practically inexperienced and need to build up your portfolio, otherwise, stick to your guns and go for gold!

Accept you cannot be all things to all people
Some clients like to think of themselves as “armchair practitioners” and want you to explain things in the terminology of “pop Feng Shui” and will ask you questions about East/West life groups or whatever – make it very clear in your initial dealings with them that you do not explain yourself unnecessarily and that your advice is based on years of study and that your role is to fix their problem not provide private tuition in Feng Shui or perform a comparison between styles. If you make this clear at the outset, you should be able to attract only the clients who respect your terms. When clients ask me too many questions I inform them about my next Module A introduction course and suggest they attend.

Don’t explain yourself too much
When you first start out, you want to explain to people in no uncertain terms how good Chue Feng Shui is and why it works etc. We can fall over ourselves awkwardly explaining to clients about the merits of Feng Shui – resist at all costs! Over explaining puts the brakes on the energy flow. We Chue style people have a tendency to get too “in our heads” if we aren’t careful and this blocks the benevolent intentions that we hold for our clients. Think of the interaction with clients as a process similar to lovemaking! You don’t want to be talking and explaining too much throughout! You want to be dancing with the energy and allowing life to bubble through into the situation.

Allow some freedom in your consultation style
I used to worry about having overlooked some aspects of a property but then I realised that I was in the moment and would see what needed to be seen. If we are too dogmatic in our approach, then our chi is too rigid. Of course we need to follow some basic lines of enquiry but we should also allow ourselves space within the consultation to just ponder or simply sit in silence in a house and listen to what it is telling us. We also don’t need to pre-judge within ourselves what our discoveries will look like and how they will happen. We might need only 45 minutes at a property or 4-5 hours. Our insights may come quickly or take some time. This is the beauty of our work – we are tracing the energy each time we engage with a property or project – so it will invariably be different each time.

Honour yourself
Energy responds to clarity and confidence – never underestimate how radiant you are and how you can positively start changing a client even by an email or telephone conversation. Many a time people book in with me and already start seeing activity where there was a blockage even before I arrive on site and sometimes the visit itself sparks new activity, causing quite a lot of consternation for the client! If this sounds arrogant to you then I suggest you meditate on your significant responsibility as a Feng Shui consultant. I find it humbling rather than self-aggrandising that my work in connecting to the source can influence another being or enterprise so powerfully.  Honour your ability to connect compassionately to people.

Perceive and observe nature
Feng Shui has always been about nature for me and we can’t truly master our skills if we never connect to the natural world. Long walks on your own or sitting and observing the “baseline harmony” in a forest or woodland, all the time being mindful of your breathing are good ways to connect to natural energy. If your world is just interiors, computer screens and driving around in a car how can you call yourself a Feng Shui expert?
I hope the above thoughts are useful for some of you.

Master Sarah McAllister

11/30/09 by Master Sarah McAllister | Feng Shui Benefits & Research, Feng Shui History & Lineage | No Comments »

Here’s the link to an interview with the Feng Shui Society UK Magazine…x

http://www.fengshuisociety.org.uk/newsletter/index.php?issue=5&article=Feng_Shui_Assortments-ref44

11/04/09 by Master Sarah McAllister | Feng Shui History & Lineage, Feng Shui Urban Planning | No Comments »

A quick note to let you know that I am thrilled to announce I passed my Masters in Feng Shui City Planning exam, taken in July earlier this year. Grand Master Chan Kun Wah personally sets and marks the exam, so this is a real honour bestowed within a traditional lineage, not just a self-appointed title. Only 5 of us dared to take the exam, and we have only just received the results. Not everyone passed. I am absolutely delighted because I know Feng Shui can make such a difference to the quality of life and society and now I feel even more qualified to call up every urban planner in the world and tell them so!!  Any connections into the world of council planning decision making would be hugely appreciated – anywhere in the world….not just the UK.

All the best

Master McAllister

09/13/09 by Master Sarah McAllister | Feng Shui Benefits & Research | 2 Comments »

Being so close to my subject, sometimes I need to step back and see things from a beginner’s perspective and understand that it is not at all obvious how to fully benefit from Feng Shui expertise. Clients come to me from many different sources and while I do try my best to ascertain how much they understand about Feng Shui, inevitably, I am focussing more on solving the property problems than coaching them through the process.

Some people are recommended by friends or happy clients and they don’t know an awful lot about Feng Shui. Others have just found us online and might have read a few confusing books on the subject. Some clients are already engaging with and benefiting from energy aware disciplines such as yoga or acupuncture and want to take the next step to optimise their space and align better with the time-sensitive aspect of Feng Shui.

There are 5 common misconceptions about Feng Shui consultations:

i. The consultant will focus on the interiors and maybe move a few pot plants and mirrors around. It is OK to think like this, and I can well understand how this preconception became widespread, because many journalists write about Feng Shui from their own limited perspective, so they can’t offer anything particularly in-depth. Many books published are about “Pop” Feng Shui and quick fixes. So, when people see me wandering up and down the streets surrounding their property, they are surprised to learn that approx. 60 % influence is from outside and that removing or screening ugly features from certain areas of your garden, will have a really positive effect. Apartment dwellers can benefit from different Feng Shui techniques, as they have no exterior space to play with, but even with apartments, we also notice and respond to exterior influences.

ii. The consultant carries with them a magic wand and does all the changes for you on the day itself
I prepare my clients to understand that the consultation is very much a two-way process. There are a few changes I might make on the day, but most of it will fall to the client and this is where some people give up as they don’t really truly value what I have told them. This has nothing to do with my delivery, as I take care to explain my reasonings in sufficient detail and why one single fence in the back garden will help to resolve financial difficulties, even though it sounds incredible. At the time of consultation, the client will nod sagely and agree (out of politeness perhaps) and I look forward to hearing about their progress.
Then a few weeks pass and I discover some clients don’t want to do what I proposed as they can’t see it working. Well, here’s the thing, if you don’t take the advice you paid for, how on earth can your life change positively? It is madness to keep doing the same thing and expect to get different results.

iii. Feng Shui is restricted to space
Actually, Feng Shui is also very much to do with timing. If we make physical changes to our space on a day full of disharmony, then we risk establishing that energy into our lives. Whereas when we make these changes on an auspicious day, we are welcoming and galvanising good energy into our lives.

iv. The cures work overnight, or the consultant isn’t any good…
In the grand scheme of things, we are tiny ants when compared to universal chi patterns, so it is folly to expect changes to happen overnight. (I can hear NLP practitioners screaming that I hold self-limiting beliefs…). Sometimes positive change is achieved very quickly, but more often than not a full cycle of the moon is required for the Earth energy to change and sometimes up to 6 months is required because the cure is very subtle, but long lasting. The quick changes can be shortlived and tend (in general) to involve our Human Chi (intention) which some practitioners rely upon exclusively, then claim all the credit! You were ripe for change and they just helped you along!
v. Only positive things happen after a consultation
Actually, sometimes a situation has to get worse before it gets better, so that the poison can be revealed. A rotten situation needs to be lanced just like a boil. If a relationship is rotten and you are trying to salvage it, then it is a blessing in disguise if the Feng Shui changes bring matters to a head. It can be upsetting of course, and it is my least favourite of situations with clients and friends, and happily it very rarely happens, but it can happen and actually accelerates positive change by revealing a situation for what it truly is in the cold light of day.

People don’t know they need Feng Shui skill
Many people are too busy in life to keep updating themselves with my service offers, so they would not necessarily think of calling me in when their niece gets married or when planning a holiday…Isn’t Feng Shui simply to do with houses?
We can choose auspicious dates for key events like marriage or opening a business and can even advise on the best time and location to go on a holiday. We can use the Ba Zi Horoscope to advise on the best type of career for you, the best times for finding true love as opposed to a lover, and insights into your health, supportive foods and colours.

We can even provide philosophical guidance on life situations via I Ching readings, which encourage new ways of thinking about any problems you might be experiencing.
So, you see Feng Shui really is a vast subject, currently massively misunderstood by the vast majority of people (even in the Far East…).
I hope you find all my various resources like the blog and newsletters of interest and of educational value. I try to strike a balance between offering information of worth and introducing my valuable services to you.

Everyone needs Feng Shui – they just don’t know it….yet….!
All the best, Sarah

08/18/09 by Master Sarah McAllister | Feng Shui for Health, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

With all the worry about air-borne viruses and swine flu, not to mention the ever present challenges presented by pollution and asthma, Nikken have announced a special offer until end of August of 20% discount on their Airpower 5 hybrid airfilters/ionisers (non ozone), to encourage more people to benefit. See one of the latest Airpower 5 Testimonial attached.

We have been distributors of the Japanese Nikken products for about 6 years because in addition to my Feng Shui work, I have inevitably encountered environments that are beautiful and healthy but also ones that are a clutter nightmare and unhealthy, requiring a little technological help in addition to the Feng Shui.

While Feng Shui works primarily with the environmental energies of a space, the Nikken products are working hard for you in the background to provide ‘passive support’ i.e. the lazy man’s healthcare!  Just place an air filter next to your desk and you can improve the quality of air and reduce internal pollution.  Simply use a special sleep system and you cocoon yourself in immune system enhancing technologies… Very clever! So clever in fact that some of the world’s top athletes unreservedly endorse Nikken products.

Want to have a product experience? Call us on 0800 458 7267 and ask for details on the next free “Wellness Preview” event in West Hampstead London. In the meantime, you can discover more at the following website http://www.nikkenwellbeing.co.uk

07/21/09 by Master Sarah McAllister | Dowsing and Geopathic Stress, Eco Feng Shui | 1 Comment »

I have been using dowsing in my Feng Shui practice for more than 10 years and had a great encounter the other day when I came across a young lad from the water board nearby my home, using old coat hangers to dowse for water pipes. He looked a little taken aback when I approached him saying “Hey, thats the type of work I do!” and we got talking and he revealed how the water board officially banned “divining” as it is also known, but that the “old boys” who taught him his job still preferred to use their rods over their electronic detectors! It really made me smile!
I teach the basics of dowsing on my Introduction Courses and I use it to find underground water (particularly useful in areas like Victoria and Pimlico in London) and negative earth energy lines that cause geopathic stress. Do read this great article I just stumbled upon in my National Trust Magazine Summer edition – apparently dowsing has been used by civil engineers to find underground power lines in the military fields of Saudi Arabia.

Dowsing Article web

06/17/09 by Master Sarah McAllister | Feng Shui Business Consultations, Feng Shui Home Consultations, Feng Shui Property Selection | No Comments »

1. Feng Shui Tips for House Hunting…
As the economy shows the first tender shoots of recovery the housing market has started to move again. So, how do you find a good property that will support you rather than work against you?

FORM – it is essential for your house to have good ‘form’ or good bones! Whether you are looking for a mansion with grounds or a small terraced house, in Feng Shui terms you want to have a nice high wall/fence/trees/slope at the rear of the property for protection and a nice open view towards the front which represents your future energy. In general, you should avoid properties with gardens sloping away at the back and high at the front – though there are exceptions but you’d need me or one of my consultants to verify this type of “Site Empty, Facing Full” form.

THE GOOD, THE BAD and THE UGLY! -You might have fallen in love with the property but overlooked the fact that it is surrounded by ugly buildings or features such as run-down garages, gardens full of junk, nearby pylons, unattractive tower blocks etc. Feng Shui is 60% about the exterior, and it is well worth paying a little more in order to be in a nicer area. However, if you are thorough in your search you can find areas of beauty and good form even within cheaper housing zones.

General Feng Shui scenarios to avoid:

Homes opposite T-junctions (can cause financial difficulty and health problems)

Homes on steeply sloping streets (harder to receive opportunities and not good for relationship balance between male and female)

Homes with ‘Sha or Poison chi’ – the corner of another house or large building pointing directly towards the front door or the back of the home

ORIENTATION – If you stand at the approximate centre of the property with a compass, align the compass to the magnetic North and find that the line running from back to front of property is not squarely within a direction then in general I would say avoid it or call one of us in to help you with our Property Selection Service. You see, many homes or office buildings falling between directions such as N/NE or S/SW or E/NE etc. can be difficult to fix.  I am not referring to subcardinal directions.
Subcardinal properties (such as NW back SE front)  can be OK and we can professionally guide you on this with the Property Selection Service, but as a general rule the cardinal directions N, S, E, W are preferred because the buildings are aligned to purer directional energies, which means stronger energy to support you and your family or your business.
 

Feng Shui Lo Pan compass

TAKING YOUR COMPASS READING – at beginner level it is best to stand in the approx centre of the property and see where the back is and the front will usually be directly opposite. Apartments are a little more complicated in terms of back and front. To be on the safe side, go outside of the property at the back and the front, and then a few metres away from the property to ensure that your compass needle reading is not being influenced by any steel or electromagnetic activity within the house (as can sometimes happen). 

FEELING? – some people say the house chooses you! What are your first impressions upon walking in? Do you get an immediate sense of being at home? If so, then it is very likely that the home has something to teach you, even if you then subsequently discover there are some Feng Shui problems. No house is perfect from a Feng Shui perspective, but some are far better and less problematic than others.
 
BUSINESS PREMISES – depending  on the type of business you run, in general, you should make sure that the front door is easy to see and access. Sounds obvious if you rely upon passing trade, but it is amazing to hear about people signing leases on the basis of price alone and without consideration for common sense. If people find it hard to see the door (for instance, an upstairs restaurant) then how do you expect to catch the passing trade or passing ‘chi’?
 
Business premises are subject to different types of Feng Shui assessment, so if you are serious about running a successful business then I would urge you to invest in our Property Selection Services at the very outset, so that we help you get your business off to a flying start!
 
I hope the above gives you an idea of what to look for, but there are hundreds more considerations and I can only give you the basics because it takes years of experience to assess what is important as each property is totally unique and each property occupant resonates differently with the property. So, if you want to be absolutely sure your new home will definitely be your dream home, then take advantage of our expertise and use our Property Selection services.  CONTACT USto find out how we can help you avoid Feng Shui disaster when selecting your new home, office or commercial space.

05/04/09 by Master Sarah McAllister | Feng Shui History & Lineage | No Comments »

Sometimes China gets a bad press, what with the Tibet issue and some controversy over the build of the Olympic stadium. I recently returned to China in October 2008 on an incredible Feng Shui study tour with my teacher Grand Master Chan Kun Wah, and was reminded once again how unusual the land formations are there and how the land can sometimes be so overpowering that it is no wonder that Feng Shui was developed there. This time I was in the Hunan province which is rarely visited by tourists, so we were quite a novelty! We saw stunning national parks and ancient villages, and even found time to look at a few gravesites. The topographical Form was similar to Yunnan and Guangxi which I had visited in 2001, but different enough to offer more Feng Shui learning experiences and different chi qualities.

Happily, Feng Shui is a “universal” system of energy management. I now emphasise in my talks and lectures that Feng Shui originates from ancient China, because it is more accurate than simply saying it is Chinese. The practice of Feng Shui in China is experiencing a return these last few years having previously been outlawed under Chairman Mao for years. Many practitioners are found in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, because they had to flee mainland China.

The Feng Shui Language might be of Chinese origin, but in fact, you ask any ordinary Chinese person about Feng Shui and it is as mysterious to them as it is to your average European. Some teachers of other styles of Feng Shui teach accelerated methods, which need no knowledge of Chinese or Cantonese – people sign up for these courses with enthusiasm only to discover that their understanding will never reach the depths available to you if you take the trouble to learn the source language. Why? Because the Feng Shui language has characters that are not included in ordinary Chinese language – it is in a realm of its own and to truly understand the deeper significance of the teachings and increase your skill you need to know the ‘Feng Shui alphabet’! This is why Chue style practitioners learn the characters, and also because this helps us access their unique energy and resonance.

Some of the Feng Shui principles can be traced back to India and Buddha, but most of the development of Feng Shui originated in China. So yes, it is Chinese, but it has its own language  – a language of nature, cosmology, mathematics and harmonics. It is universally applicable and I love nothing more than finding a new climate and understanding how Feng Shui theory plays itself out – from Lanzarote to Frankfurt, London to Hong Kong, Sweden, South Africa, Iran, Russia and Austria we take our cues from nature and seek to harmoniously combine the human with the environment.

Sarah

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Sarah McAllister is owner and founder of Feng Shui Agency Ltd, a UK based Feng Shui consultancy and training company with an international client portfolio and associate Feng Shui architects, Feng Shui Urban Planners and Interior Designers. She is widely regarded as an industry expert and is a sought after lecturer and consultant. She publishes a monthly electronic “Chi-mail!” with industry news, practical Feng Shui insight and advice and great promotions for subscribers. To receive your copy sign up here http://www.fengshuiagency.com/newsletter

05/04/09 by Master Sarah McAllister | Feng Shui Business Consultations | No Comments »