The Advent of Yin Day 12: Balance

Balance, balance, balance. As feng shui practitioners my colleagues and I are constantly espousing the benefits of balance. Balance is a yin word.

A true, pure balance is basically static. It implies that things on both sides of an equation are in some way equal and the same. There is no movement. Life, as we all know is not like that. Life is always changing and moving and without an inequality or imbalance nothing would happen.

So when we talk about achieving balance it is important to remember that we are talking about a sort of organic balance. A flow. Things tip one way a little too far and then we must draw them back toward the center. This is a much more accurate picture of the kind of balance that a feng shui practitioner is trying to achieve. Balance is difficult.

The Advent of Yin Day 9: Defeat

We love winners! "To the victors go the spoils" the saying goes and humans take this to heart. But what might come of defeat?

I am not one of those people who thinks that competition is bad. Competition is a natural reality and Feng Shui philosophy, based on the I Ching, recommends that we work within the natural order, rather than against it. We must naturally compete for resources and mates as just a few examples.

Though we all have a natural desire to be the winner in these competitions, what happens when we are defeated? We suffer. Our ego's are damaged, our self esteem takes a temporary dive and perhaps we back away from trying again. However, if we have been taught resilience and have an understanding that all situations bring us the opportunity for growth we end up winners in the long run.

The I Ching, or Book of Changes, teaches that all things fluctuate and that when things seem most bleak change is usually right around the corner. The gift in the yin of defeat is that when we are the victor some time down the road, the spoils are all the sweeter.