The Spiritual Feng Shui newsletter Issue No.7 July 2007 Improve Concentration via Meditation How to Let Your Career Work for You? Also: Feng Shui Tip Inspirational Quotes ........................................................................................... Page2 Dear Friend, Welcome to The Spiritual Feng Shui newsletter for July 2007; it is good to have your company once again! This month we look at a practice which can add a new dimention of your Feng Shui life - meditation. We show you how to get what you want out of your career - recognitions and financial rewards. We also have Feng Shui tip and inspirational quotes, as usual. May peace and harmony reign for you in July. 0x Feature Article: Meditate on These Things, I Will! - Not just doing nothing 0x Q&A: Can You Tell Me How to Get to Easy Street? - Getting what you want from the work you do 0x Feng Shui Tip - See the Light 0x Inspirational Quotes Enjoy! Mike Z. Wang Author of The Spiritual Feng Shui Thespiritualfengshui.com Unit 616, 220 Lake Promenade, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, m8w1a9 ........................................................................................... Page3 Feature Article: Meditate on These Things, I Will! You know the feeling. Your mind wanders repeatedly, preventing you from finishing your work in the allotted time. The outside world just looks so bright and shiny! You know you have to get things done, but... ... ... If you find yourself thinking 'Yeah, I'll get to it...', start something and then start something else, and never finish anything (!), meditation will be a great technique for you! If your mind wanders too often, your job could be in jeopardy. Concentration is a big problem for many people, so you're hardly alone. But what can you do about it? Many people fail to understand that concentration is a key element of meditation. If you find yourself having difficult focusing - especially if it's affecting your job or school work - meditation is the answer. It trains your mind to focus in a way that little else can. So, how does it work? There are many different meditation techniques, and the good news is that all of them will improve your ability to concentrate! But some of the techniques are especially effective when it comes to developing concentration skills. The first thing you need to do is to make sure your body is not tense. If it is, you will find it hard to concentrate your mind. If it is, try this simple exercise to relax your body: Close your eyes and become aware of your feet. Feel your toes - are they relaxed? Are they a little bit curled up? Are they pressing against your shoes? If they are, relax them. Become aware of the arches and tops of your feet. Go through the same process to make sure they are relaxed. Move up to your ankles and lower legs, and keep going through every part of your body, slowly! Enjoy the relaxation. When you get to your torso, move down your arms and then back up to your shoulders and neck. Obviously, you need to keep some muscles rigid to keep you upright. If you lie on your back, we know what will happen with all this relaxing! Just be aware of unnecessary tension, and let it melt away. Now that you are sitting and relaxed, bring your attention to your breath. Feel the air come in on each inhale, and go out, as your body relaxes, on each exhale. Try to sit outside yourself a little, to help you notice when your mind is wandering. When it does, just give it a gentle tug back to the task at hand. You are breathing in, and then out. While this sounds very simple, give it a shot before you decide it's too easy to do any good! Remember, the simplest answer is usually the best one. You may find that it helps to set a timer before you begin, so that you are not constantly looking at the clock with one eye, and focusing on the time instead of your breath! There are also other techniques that you can use, all of which add different dimensions to your meditation. In Transcendental Meditation, you are given a mantra to chant. You start the same way, by relaxing your body. Set a timer if you wish. Place something in front of you that you can focus your sight on for a while - perhaps a painting, or a lit candle. This gives you a single focus for your concentration efforts. You may find this easier than closing your eyes, as you can become distracted by the inner pictures in your mind. Choose something you like to look at and you find relaxing or peaceful - not your pile of dirty washing, and not your in-tray either! Take a deep breath, don't worry at all about what you sound like, and begin to chant your mantra. The important thing is the practice, not the details of it, so if you want, you can hum or sing a tone rather than words. Many people use the symbol Om. You could even sing a prayer, if you find this helps you concentrate and relax. Focused Meditation is a great way to meditate - it has two real benefits. Not only will it help your mind to concentrate, but you will begin to create the reality of what you're focusing on. In this type of meditation, you direct your thoughts toward something specific. You could pick anything... but keep in mind: some things will be more useful than others! The best choice is to focus on an affirmation. For example, the affirmation 'Abundance is my natural state of being.' is probably a more productive concentration tool than focusing your mind on the curves of your rubbish bin! After a period of time, you could either find yourself with an intimate knowledge of your trash can, or with a real power to being abundant. Your mind creates your reality, which means that you are the boss of your life - and meditation can help you be a great boss! Your mind is like a muscle, and all of these practices are great exercises for it! You do need to focus as much as you can - just going through the motion of sitting without doing anything or speaking won't do you any good, if your mind is flitting around like a butterfly. Don't lose heart, because it's a skill that you must develop over time, and every time you do it, you will get a little better! We know that sometimes your mind is like a butterfly, and sometimes like a rebellious little two-year-old! Below are some examples of the things you can try to keep yourself focused: 1. Remind yourself of the blissful experiences of just being here and now will make your life easier and more peaceful. 2. Make promises to your mind that you will indeed attend to its worries when you have finished the meditation, but tell it that your concentration practice is also important to you. Don't expect your mind to ever stop wandering entirely, but you can definitely train yourself to maintain focus for longer periods of time. While we have given you the bare bones, you can learn more and fully benefit from it by downloading the free meditation e-book at http://www.thespiritualfengshui.com/freebooks/downloadmeditation.php. It will also teach you a broad range of techniques to improve every aspect of your life! ........................................................................................... Page 4 Q&A: Can you tell me how to get to Easy Street? How can I get what I want out of my career? How can Feng Shui help my mental and physical sweat at work be recognized? It's a fair question. Just like everything in the world, your career needs to take a little, and give a little! This is one of the basic principles of Feng Shui, in the form of the Yin and Yang concept. It applies to your career just as much as it does anything else. If you want recognition at work, the best place to start is in your career success Gua at home. It is located at north side of your rooms. Water is the ruling element for this Gua - you may remember that flowing water is a symbol for wealth. It has to go out to come in! The best colors to use in this area, for things like paint, furnishings, and accessories, are blue, purple and black, and also silvery or metallic colors. Where you can, go for items with wavy or undulating shapes, to symbolize the flow of wealth. Avoid earthy, or green or brown tones. If the sort of recognition you want is monetary (the all-important bottom line!), you should look at enhancements like real water features, with moving water to place in the north part of any room. The flow of water is like the flow of wealth - which will include coming towards you! In the same vein, you could look at placing an aquarium in this area, as long as the water is filtered, or pumped from the bottom to the top, to prevent it from stagnating. Goldfish is the premium choice in the aquarium, but any sort of fish or animals will bring energy and life to this sector. Your Feng Shui enhancements will also help you achieve fluent communication, Next time you discuss things or even whine to your boss, (s)he will not pass on your thoughts, and make a great listener! If you are looking for some new challenges at work, and want your recognition in the form of some increased responsibilities and opportunities, try some of these simple enhancements. Place photos of yourself in your office, your career success Gua, and your work area at home. Display articles about companies you'd like to work for, or their advertising material or logo - perhaps this would go better in your work space at home, than at your current office! Hang wind chimes outside your front door, to help bring in career opportunities for you. Always remember, you will find it much easier to move forward in a career which is suited to you, than one that you are simply doing to pass the time, or because you have being doing it all the time. Don't look at basketball as a career if you are only 5 foot tall! And perhaps as you get older, you might want to update your dream of running away to join the circus! Once you set up solid foundation and work plan, Feng Shui can help advance your career. ........................................................................................... Page 5 Feng Shui Tip: See the Light Light is a very important aspect of The Spiritual Feng Shui, and it needs to be well balanced in each room of your home in order to maintain positive Chi flow. Look for the shadows in a room as well as the light. For example, too much ambient light in your bedroom may interrupt your sleep. Pay attention to the corners and edges as much as the areas where you need light for reading and conversation. If a corner is dim, you can brighten it with a standing lamp or wall sconce. A corner shelf with a pillar candle will offer a more subtle light effect. ........................................................................................... Page 6 Inspirational Quotes: Inhale, and God approaches you. Hold the inhalation, and God remains with you. Exhale, and you approach God. Hold the exhalation, and surrender to God. ~ Krishnamacharya Well done is better than well said. ~ Benjamin Franklin We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another. ~ Luciano de Crescenzo