“Always throw split salt
over your left shoulder, keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for luck and fall in love whenever you can.”
– Unknown
Eighteen years ago Feng Shui opened my eyes to a world of energy that lies below our awareness yet has the power to impact our environment, our relationships, our attitude and our future. It also produces miracles when nurtured. How do I know? Barbara’s story tells it best.
Barbara had fallen in love with a craftsman style home here in Portland and wanted to get started right away on aligning the energy with her lifestyle. Before the sale was finalized she requested a Feng Shui consultation. I gave her ideas about her home’s design but before I left we stepped into the backyard. I saw the entangled Ch’i from the previous owner’s neglect: the dark, overgrown vegetation; broken, rotting fence and the presence of hungry ghosts.
Aware of how it looked she wasn’t aware of what it meant and when I shared this, her eyes got very big. Instead of reacting Barbara dug in (literally for ten months) to do what she needed to create the paradise she envisioned. Once she moved she asked me to return to perform space blessings. I brought my ceremonial bowl, rituals, mantras, prayers and she supplied the high proof liquor, the rice, the special powders and the intention to bless her property. Together we made what we call in BTB Feng Shui “sacred food” to feed the “hungry ghosts” because Barbara was determined to start on the right foot.
We walked the property, chanted blessings and offered sacred food all the while asking the spirits to be well fed and leave, or stay and be helpful friends. Pretty uneventful until we stepped into the backyard where I tripped on “air”, the bowl flipped out of my hands and the rice went flying. A trickster hungry ghost had no intention of leaving. Fortunately we retrieved most of the rice, I got my composure back and we persevered. It nearly happened a second time. This was definitely a tenacious spirit. After we completed the ceremonies, I suggested that Barbara perform this same one over the next two days to strengthen the work we had done.
Before I continue I believe it’s important to share a synchronous moment prior to my arrival. As I was driving to Barbara’s home a crow flew alongside my car at my head height for a good distance. After I left the consultation, I consulted the I-Ching and shared with Barbara what I had received: Hexagram 27, what Willhelm Baynes calls“The Corners of the Mouth” (Toltec I-Ching calls it “Trusting Intuition”)
The Judgement explained:
The corners of the mouth.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
Pay heed to the providing of nourishment.
And to what a man seeks
To fill his own mouth with.
Crows are shape shifters, their presence helped us shape shift the land. Barbara replied. “There was a really big energy shift right after I finished the last ceremony yesterday and in the morning crows were in in my front yard eating the rice! I got the sense they were taking it to another dimension, helping to shift and transform the energies.”
Over the months Barbara and her husband nourished the land with blessing ceremonies, cleared gnarly areas, removed invasive species, installed a new fence, met with the neighbors and planted their dream garden. Throughout they resolved to keep their hearts in the right place, be good stewards and be a positive influence for the neighborhood.
And it worked!
Ten months later here are a few of what Barbara calls her “miracles”and what Feng Shui would call “good fortune”. “We felt a huge shift once we put the plants in the area where the blueberries are. We met the owner of the apartments and it turns out we have a lot in common and he’s very much on board for cleaning up. During the time we were out of town, he removed the trees along the fence line and cleared out the brambly mess. He thought he might put up a storage shed but also mentioned selling the property. He told us it was his health that has kept him working on it. Another miracle: is before we moved here I wished that a yoga studio would be walking distance from my house. A new yoga studio opened nearby! And so far, I’ve liked every teacher. And it’s a few minutes walk from my house!”
I never underestimate the power of Nature to communicate and that all we need to do is open our hearts to Ch’i and listen with my eyes to discover miracles.
Happy Summer Solstice! May summer hold miracles for you.
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