The Advent of Yin Day 4: Black

Black, now there is a yin word that I can say I like! What is not to like about black? Black clothing makes you look slimmer, gives you an air of authority and goes with everything! Black allows all other colors to 'pop' creating a backdrop for more vibrant yang colors to be seen against it.

Black is the color of the element of water. Water represents wisdom and reflection in it's still form, and socialization and life flow in its more active form. Adding black accents to your decor, particularly near the entrance, can symbolically bring these qualities to your environment.

Black is inclusive of everything as it is the color which absorbs all others. While white may be seen by some as the color of purity, black cannot be muddied by outside influences, rather it absorbs and assimilates. This is one of the basic teachings of Black Sect Tantric Buddhism which has incorporated the philosophy of many other traditions.

Yup, so far black is my favorite yin word.

The Advent of Yin Day 3: Cold

Ok, I admit it. I do not like this particular yin word. In the Chinese Zodiac I am a 'fire horse' so the cold and I do not get along all that well. Fire represents the south, warmth, light and of course fire so you can see how the yin qualities can be a challenge for me personally. Fire is a very yang element.

However, my goal was to look at the positive aspects of all things yin and cold is definitely yin - so here goes. The most obvious positive of the cold for me is that without it, there is no warm. What is always important to remember is that without an aspect which we consider to be negative, there is nothing to measure the positive against. Relativity is the key.

Actually, though I am not fond of being cold I do love some of the things that are a result of it. I love the beauty of a cold, snowy landscape particularly if the sun is out for a little yin/yang balance. The tiny rainbows which are everywhere make my heart sing. I love that on cold sunny winter mornings the mountains west of me turn pink for a few precious minutes. That does not happen at any other time. I love the fur coat my dog puts on as a result of the cold, she is practically teddy bear soft at this time of the year. I appreciate that the cold here in Canada keeps us relatively pest free (can you tell I'm stretching here?), and that I get a rest from the garden duties for a portion of the year.

What do you love about the cold?

The Advent of Yin Day 2: Contraction

Day two of my Advent of Yin has me thinking about the contracting quality of yin. While yang represents all things expansive in nature, yin is a more concentrated, inward energy. At this time of year we have a natural desire to hibernate, to go indoors and to reduce our social activity. Contraction can also be seen in our families as they come together for the holidays after being apart for much of the year.

For many, gathering together to celebrate with family and friends is truly the best part of December. However, over extending ourselves socially is also pretty common and to some degree goes against the natural flow of the yin nature of the season.

For some people, the constant activity at this time of the year is positive and it helps to energize the yin of the winter months. For others, the pressure to go against the natural order of things creates serious imbalances and creates undue stress at this time of the year. Paying attention is the answer.

If you find that you become stressed out at this time of the year, see if you can allow yourself the luxury of relaxation. Scale back your social commitments, reduce your compulsion to over decorate, over shop and over eat. Take the time to be alone, to meditate perhaps, or soak in a hot bath.

If you love the constant activity that has been created around this yin time, go for it! Enjoy the parties, soak up the lights, and celebrate the season.

"Winter is the time of promise because there is so little to do - or because you can now and then permit yourself the luxury of thinking so."
-Stanely Crawford

What do you think? Does the extra social activity at this time of the year invigorate or drain you?

The Advent of Yin

As we end the first week of the month we are approaching the winter solstice which falls on the 21st of December. This is the most yin time of the year.

I always find it interesting that when teaching about the qualities of yin and yang there is a subtle undercurrent of favor for all things yang. In many ways this is inevitable as we live in a Patriarchal world where masculine qualities have been favored over the feminine for thousands of years. We are a culture addicted to growth, expansion and competition over others, all yang qualities. However what must be remembered is that without the opposite of these qualities, the yang fails to exist at all. Without the dark, there can be no light.

So I think that I will start a sort of advent calendar of yin. For the next 17 days, ( I wish I would have thought of this 4 days ago for the entire 21) I will write a blog posting on the positive qualities of yin.

Here goes; Yin is dark. Anyone familiar with the yin/yang or Tai-Chi symbol recognizes that the black half of this symbol is the yin side. It is a good place to begin to explore. In general we are afraid of the dark, but could we learn to embrace the dark? These are 4 qualities that I love about the dark;

• The dark encourages us to go inward, to explore the unseen worlds of the mind. 
• Darkness asks us to be still, to suspend our constant movement and to rest.
• Darkness absorbs all color, it is inclusive. 
• The darkness allows us to view the stars and wonder about life's mysteries, to feel vastness and to see ourselves as a very small part of a larger picture. 

 "Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it"
-Terry Pratchett

Any thoughts? I would love to see you add to my list!

Chi-va Las Vegas

I took my first ever trip to Las Vegas this month and found it to be a fascinating lesson in Feng Shui.

Vegas is a city built in the middle of no-where, on land that grows nothing. It is hot, dry and desolate, hardly the sort of location that an ancient Feng Shui master would have recommended for a home or business.

However, Grandmaster Professor Lin Yun used places like Las Vegas and Dubai to illustrate the power that man has, using Feng Shui, to harness the chi from deep within the earth and draw it to the surface to create lively environments. Three types of enhancements are particularly evident in Vegas.

Light: Vegas is a city where the lights never go out! Light is controlled in Vegas to a science. External light sources are removed from Casinos so that patrons have no sense of time, and the strip is lit like a Christmas festival so that people can party into the wee hours of the morning. Light is a powerful Feng Shui enhancer. Imagine how different the strip would be if the lights went out at midnight!

Water:

There is water everywhere in Vegas, an incredible contrast to the desert which surrounds it. In the residential areas the City of Las Vegas is offering cash subsidies for those willing to remove their grass to conserve water. On the strip though, water is used to draw people like a magnet. Thousands of people gather every day to watch the famous fountains at the Bellagio Hotel. There are fountains and lagoons at nearly every hotel. If there is water, there is life and Vegas is a lively as it gets.

Sound: Vegas is loud - really loud! Sound is used to create atmosphere matching the theme of each hotel, to convince customers to visit this bar vs. that bar, and to keep you stimulated for your entire visit. Sound is nearly inescapable in Vegas. This is not the sort of sound that most of us would choose for our home, you can certainly see how important it is to bring life to the strip.

Though Vegas is a particularly surreal environment which would overstimulate most of us if we stayed for any length of time (3 days is the average stay, and likely as long as most of us could stand), it is an excellent lesson in the use of Feng Shui for environmental transformation. The addition of light, sound or water in your own environment is a powerful way to bring Feng Shui into your home, uplifting your chi and creating movement in your life.

Joyful, Bountiful Tui

Tui is expressed beautifully in this painting by Lester Ancheta.

Tui, or Lake, is the trigram or symbol of the I Ching which expresses the energy of this time of the year. As we head into fall and the time of harvest, the efforts of the spring planting and summer heat begin to bear fruit. This is evidenced in the natural physical world as well as in our inner realities.

If we have worked hard to plant seeds of the highest quality in our gardens and our lives throughout the year, our efforts have been paying off with an abundance of fruits, vegetables and beautiful flowers. The bounty of fall brings us great joy, and an abundant harvest allows us to share that joy with others.

In contrast, if the seeds that we have planted were of low quality, if our gardens were not tended regularly, and if our thoughts and actions were less than expressions of our highest nature, these too will bring forth fruit of a different nature.

In our homes, Tui represents creativity and children. The bountiful product of our minds and our bodies. It is a metal gua in five element theory, supported by earth, reduced by water and melted with fire. The use of images and materials which reflect these elements can help to create balance in Tui areas. The colors of metal; gray, silver, and gold all work well in metal areas and bringing earth tones and materials into these areas is also helpful. Limiting fire, fiery colors and images will keep our metal from being destroyed.

Perhaps the most important element in all Feng Shui cures is the element of intent. Our strong intention to plant seeds which we know will bear the type of fruit that we want to see manifest in our lives is of utmost importance. Seeds of kindness, of honesty and of love will create a ripple effect in the Lake of our lives which we can enjoy the bountiful harvest of.

H.H. Grandmaster Professor Lin Yun

Professor receives the honor of the White Hat in Calgary, 2009

The BTB Feng Shui community is in mourning this week over the loss of the beloved Grandmaster, Professor Lin Yun. 'Professor' as he is commonly referred to, changed the history of Feng Shui forever with his revolutionary, modernized theories about the workings of Ch'i in the person and the environment.

BTB stands for Black Hat Sect Tantric Buddhist (Feng Shui). While the entire explanation of the name is not the intention of this post, two words are important today. Black as a color is the inclusion of all colors. It represents a deep, oceanic wisdom unsullied by outside influences. Tantra is a word with many connotations and definitions, most of which are inaccurate and misunderstood. The Sanskrit root of the word means 'loom, or warp' as in the weaving of a fabric into a consistent whole. These two words are important in understanding Professor's lineage and teachings.

They are also important words in understanding Professor himself, his impact on his students and the current versions and schools of Feng Shui in the world. Professor wove many cultures and ideas together, incorporating modern thinking, science and ideals into his world view. He taught his students to see Feng Shui as the Tao, a living and ever changing path. A wisdom which has forever altered thinking in this field of study.

Professor also wove together people from all over the world. His students come from many countries and have taken his teachings across the globe, sometimes modifying them into their own unique schools. He encouraged his students, many of them teachers in their own right, to be seekers of knowledge and understanding first and foremost.

He created a community; a tantric web of like-minded individuals all looking to improve their lives and the lives of others. It is a community which I feel honored to be a part of. I am forever changed and deeply grateful.