Kung Hay Fat Choy!! Happy New year to everyone!

Feng Shui Predictions for Ji Chou, Year of the Ox.
by EcoLita, who is the Ecodiva!

My how time flies when we’re having fun..or at least I hope you are doing the best you can in an otherwise challenging environment, both from an economic perspective and a global one.

Along with my work as a designer in green, Eco-friendly and sustainable design, I also use and practice the art and science of Feng Shui, an ancient Chinese philosophy that has been in existence for over 3000 years.

While living and working in the Washington DC area, I had the opportunity to attend a lecture at the Smithsonian in 1994 called “Feng Shui Made Easy” by William Spear. Bill became my first teacher in the learning of this powerful science and philosophy based on the five elements of Chinese medicine, Taoist philosopy and the IChing. From there I sought out the best teachers I could find on the planet and have spent the last 15 years, studying, teaching and learning everything I could about how to apply the principles and teachings to help myself and others with creating interior spaces that are auspicious, harmonious and supportive to people and their environments.

There are several schools of Feng Shui that have been translated from ancient Chinese texts into English and about a dozen are being taught in Asia, Europe, US and other parts of the world. Most people who pick up a book on Feng Shui will find themselves learning about the “Black Tantric Buddist Sect” school that was started here in the United States by Professor Lin Yun, called Black Hat school.  The schools that I use and give me the most successful results are the, Form School, Flying Star School, Compass School, Xuan Kong Da Gua and the Eight Mansions. I also work with clients on their own personal eastern astrology charts called Four Pillars of Destiny and the 9 Star Ki readings.

Like anything in life, everything is always evolving, transforming and moving, so we must work with the elements of Feng Shui the same way. There are some schools that once they find the auspicious and inauspicious locations, they never make the changes necessary to deal with the constant changing elements that exist all around us. The schools that I listed above address the seasonal affects, monthly,  yearly and sometimes daily changes that can have an impact on us. I tell my clients that nothing is ever absolute and just like the “yin/yang”, the goal is to find the balance whenever possible.

So now that we have just changed over to the Year of the Ox, I want to give you some information that may help you with creating a successful, happy and prosperous year. Like everything, we as humans have free will to choose our life path and the decisions we make will determine the outcome.

Feng Shui is about the “Potential” of possibilities, so when it’s all said and done, the ultimate decision to “do or not to do” is all yours.

My predictions are based on the teachings of my very dear Feng Shui Master/Teacher, Peter Leung from Toronto, Canada.  I have studied with Peter for many years and he is my favorite and absolutely the most knowledgeable among his peers. He teaches Feng Shui schools that other teachers do not even use.  Everything I use in my work, comes from his teachings.

This year, the Ox will be with us from February 4,2009 to February 4, 2010. The yearly hexagram from the IChing associated with this is the 20th hexagram, Xun on top of Kun, ” the wind breezing across the surface of the earth and will affect everything in it’s path. The policy from the top will affect those below. A gentle breeze will be of comfort and a hurricane could be devastating”.

This hexagram indicates a downward trend following extreme prosperity. In 2009, our government officials need to establish trust from the citizens of our country who are struggling ,by being respectful, honest, serious, just and compassionate with the people who elected them. Paying attention to their actions and promises, along with monitoring and assessing their results are of the utmost importance.  It is also important for the senior staff members and officials with backgrounds and experience to share their wisdom and knowledge which will be valuable, especially to our new
President, Barrack Obama.

The Guan Gua is about looking into, to show, exhibit and demonstrate with respect and compassion, in order to gain trust.  Last year, we lost trust in our government, our financial institutions and in our leaders’ abilities to make decisions that would be for our best interest and welfare of the people.

In 2008, the prediction was about being cautious and not lose ourselves in over indulgence, being addictive to extreme gains financially and not keeping our belief in balance is the best approach. Their was a hidden danger of corruption in business and between government and businesses.

Well, we saw the effects of that unfold with the Bernie Madoff scandal, greed from the sub-prime mortgage loans and lack of accountability from big business and government.

2009 is the year of “change”, with a new President for the United States and a newer generation of world leaders emerging that will have to face and deal with a possible worldwide recession. It will require all the world’s leaders to come together and deal with the crisis we are now experiencing, or we may plunge into a devastating depression worse than the 1930’s.  Based on Peter Leung’s predictions of the world wide stock markets, they should reach bottom by September or October of 2009.

Since “Ji Chou” is “yin earth over yin earth”, this will be a good year for infrastructure projects and other social projects that will create jobs for the construction industry and their suppliers.  This will also be a good year to invest in agricultural commodities, farm equipment and food commodities.

Financially, 2009 will be good for those people born in year of the Rat, Ox, Snake and Rooster and for those born in Jia or Ji years.  This might also be a good year to buy a house.  People born in year of the Horse, Sheep, and Dog may have challenges with money loss or moving could be a possibility this year.  If your parents are still alive, pay close attention to them.

The Four pillars of Destiny is a form of Chinese astrology that is used in Chinese medicine and is similar to the western astrology charts, but with more depth and detail.  When putting these birth charts together, we look at a person’s hour, day, month and year to give us the four columns or what we call the four pillars.  Each pillar has one of the 12 Chinese animals associated with it and one of the five elements of either earth, water, wood, fire or metal.

People born during the hours of Rat, Ox, Snake or Rooster will have the strong potential for great success in their careers or studies and there is also the possibility of having a baby.  For those individuals born during the hours of Horse, Sheep and Dog, it may be a tough year for career and academic
pursuits, so taking a trip this year if you can is suggested.

Beyond these predictions, there are other areas that we look at that deal with the Flying Star Feng Shui school, specifically addressing a person’s residence and business.  Because Feng Shui is about the movement of “chi” or energy, each year we have certain directions that we look at for auspicious or inauspicious energy and how we deal with those areas.

This is specialized for each individuals residence or business. As an example, the southeast sector of your home or business is the most auspicious location for finances in 2009.   You can enhance the opportunities and potential with placing a citrine crystal in this location.

As a consultant, I work with corporations, small businesses, and residences to enhance the beneficial areas and reduce the impact of the inauspicious areas, to create that balance and harmony. I am available and happy to consult with anyone who has a desire to tap into the powerful potential and
opportunities that the Art and Science of Feng Shui offers.

You can reach me by email at ecodiva@live.com for questions and inquiries.  I hope this information has been insightful, beneficial and I wish you all a most auspicious and joyous 2009…this will be a great year!

Tonight, no matter where you are on the planet, you are being asked to turn your lights out, turn off the TV, the computer, the gas grill, sit in the dark and contemplate all the good stuff you are doing for one hour to help the planet…and the point is???

I will admit that I am a huge advocate and supporter of any idea, cause, purpose or activity that will positively affect our own Mother Earth, GAIA as she would like to be called. However, this activity tonight has me wondering if we, humans have lost our minds. Do we believe for one moment that turning off all electrical devices, with the exception of battery powered vibrators is going to make a long term, lasting impact on our planet?

I personally do not believe it is going to do a darn thing except keep us in the dark for an hour, increase the population of the planet in 9 months, burn some of the ugly candles laying around the house and put a huge surge on the power grid when we all turn our stuff back on at 9:30pm.

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for doing what it takes to bring awareness to the masses that we are trashing our planet at an astounding rate, melting our polar icecaps at the speed of sound, depleting our natural resources in record time, however, I do not believe the planet needs saving, I think the human race does.

If you really think about it, Mother Earth, Gaia has done a fairly decent job of doing what she needs to do to stay around, for billions of years I might add, which is a heck of a lot longer than we have existed on this planet. Whenever Gaia doesn’t like something or she is tired of it, she just simply gets rid of it. She creates, ice ages, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamies, tornadoes, you name it she does it. Sometimes, we humans, are in the path when it happens and sometimes we escape by the skin of our teeth, so to speak.

Mother Earth is constantly eliminating species and creating new ones everyday and we humans are not above the elimination process. Look what happen to all of those humans that came before us..gone. Were they misbehaving like naughty children and Mother Earth was just ticked off at them or did they bring about their own demise? What really happen to all those dinosaurs, did the ice age really take them out or were they creating some sort of ”tipping point” on the planet and Mother Earth said, “That’s enough guys, you’re out of here!”

Whatever the issues were, Gaia took care of it, because she knows what to do to keep this planet moving forward and evolving. Sometimes transformation is necessary for survival on a grander scale. I believe there is a ”Universal Intelligence”, called it whatever you like and everyday we are given signs and warnings that tell us we need to ”Shape up or it will ship us out” and not by space craft, but by extinction.

Yes, we do need to pay attention to how we live our lives by not polluting our air, our water, our soil and by conserving our natural resources. We do need to reduce our ”Carbon Footprint”, use less oil, increase our alternative energy sources as means for fueling our homes, businesses and vehicles. 

When we start living co-creatively with other animals and species on the planet, they won’t need saving, because we won’t be destroying them and their habitats. When we let nature do what she does best, by keeping the balance, then we won’t need to stick our noses in and try to take over. Have you noticed that humans are the only species alive that is always trying to “save” something? Why is that, when we supposedly have the highest level of intelligence of any species…or do we?

One thing I do know, is that this is the best time in the history of the planet to be alive. We have some unprecedented challenges before us, regarding the state of our planet and we have the ”opportunity” to transform and create a better world. We have resources, creativity and ingenuity to make it happen. If we put our focus on finding the solutions, which is why the problems show up in the first place, then we will succeed. It will take all of us, each day, consciously doing what we can to move forward and make a difference that benefits the entire human race. When we make a difference and save the human race, then the planet automatically wins, we are not separate from the whole, we are all connected.

As we sit tonight in our dark spaces for one hour, take the time to decide how you are going to positively impact Mother Earth each hour of everyday…don’t you think “now” would be a good time to start? If we all do it, then we can celebrate our planet with the lights on.

I think this discussion has been in existence ever since the “artificial” christmas tree came on the scene…”is it better to buy a real cut tree or should I buy a fake one”?

Now that we are in an era of counting our “carbon footprint”, wanting to be more “eco-conscious”, the  debate or should I say topic of discussion is even louder. I personally love the smell and feel of a real tree and I think most of us do too. However, a real tree has been planted, watered and fertilized for many years as it grows. Once it is ready to be harvested, they cut it down, spray it with a chemical to keep it fresh while it is being transported, sometimes across the nation and then be sold, watered some more and eventually thrown away or hopefully taken to a place that will shred it and turn it into mulch. This process doesn’t sound very eco-friendly to me, except that the tree farms are constantly replanting trees as they harvest mature ones which obviously keeps them in business.

Our next choice is purchasing an artificial tree, made from plastic, made in China, put into a box, shipped across the ocean, trucked to a store, sold to the consumer to keep and hopefully reuse for at least 10 plus years, if the owners take good care of it. The fake tree doesn’t require water and sometimes comes with it’s own lights already attached. Now they are using LED lights on the pre-ligthed trees, which makes them much more energy efficient. Of cousre, you do not get the “live tree” scent, unless you buy some in a can.

Our last option to note is purchasing a live tree which still has the root ball attached and can be planted outside after the holiday festivities are over and if it survives, you will then have a wonderful, permanent addition to your outdoor landscape. Of course, if you live in the desert southwest where Saguaro cactus is the norm, then you are out of luck. You could always ship it to a relative in the north country, but then there is that nasty carbon footprint of shipping something again. It can also be an issue if you live in a highrise condo and you do not have a yard to add more landscaping items, unless the local city park doesn’t mind you planting it on their turf.

So what to do, which way to go and is there a right or wrong choice? Each option has its positives and challenges. It truly depends on what each of us believes to be the right choice for our own circumstances. Over the years I have had cut trees and have planted live trees and now I own an artifical tree with LED lights already attached and I personally believe this is the best long term option for me, especially with the new environment I live in which is high desert and need to be very conservative with water.

So when you decide, let us know your thoughts and share your ideas for what you believe is the best Christmas tree choice for you!

Happy Holidays from EcoLita…who is the Ecodiva!

Well it is that time of year when millions of people sit down, write and send out greeting cards. They send them to relatives, friends, business associates, companies and clients they work with and sometimes include long, drawn out dissertations of all their escapades from the last eleven months, for inquiring minds who might want to know…or not!

So when the holidays are finished for another year, we put away the ornaments, lights, trees and packages and then we look at all those cards and wonder, what to do?

If you are a maniac recycler like me, you will try your darnest to recycle the little buggers. However, if they have metallic, foil or any glittery stuff on them, they are not recyclable. That also goes for wrapping paper with the above ingredients mentioned and if the cards and paper are bright colors; those cannot be thrown into the recycling bin either.

So what to do…? Well, I have a suggestion, just incase you haven’t purchased your greeting cards yet and you are ready to jump in the car and head to the closest big box store..make sure you purchase cards made from recycled paper and that they are also recyclable. This is important, so that the people you mail them to can recycle them…of course, they may not think about recycling them, so suggest it when you send them the card…as a way to get green for the holidays.

However, if this message has caught you in the middle of writing your cards and they are not recyclable, then you can do one of two things…send them out and never ever do it again or take them to a school, nursing home or scrapebook club that can use them in crafts and projects. Even art departments at colleges and Universities will gladly take these cards and use them for art projects. If your local stores do not carry cards made from recycled paper you can always go online and order them.

Here are a few websites that I came across which carry wonderful selections of holiday greeting cards made from recycled paper and are easily recycled after the holiday season is complete. They are: www.doodlegreetings.com; www.cardsdirect.com; www.greenfieldpaper.com; and www.greenprinter.com

So start a new tradition, by going green and recycling with your holiday cards and send the very best for the planet!

I’m someone who happens to believe in synchronicity. It’s wonderful when it happens and it happens quite often, although most people dismiss it and don’t give themselves credit for playing a part in it. They downplay it and say it was a coincidence. However, I know someone who appreciates these events as much as I do. In fact, it happened to her today.

My friend, who I’ll call Dana, told me about a synchronicity event which started last week and culminated at today’s walk to Arizona’s Capitol building to raise awareness about hunger and homelessness in Arizona. It began like this: Dana and her husband, John, were doing their weekly outreach work and met a homeless man who said he was ready to get off the streets. To let Dana and John know just how serious he was, he told them that his son was coming home from Iraq and his daughter was having a baby. “They need me,” he said. This man asked them if they knew of a woman named “Esther” and told them she worked for a particular social services agency. The name didn’t sound familiar to either Dana or John (they know a lot of people), but they said they would let her know if they happened to meet her.

Fast-forward to Monday, November 17. While Dana and Joe were at this morning’s event at the Capitol, they met a woman named “Estelle” from that social services agency mentioned by the homeless man from last week. Thinking this man may have been mistaken about the woman’s name, Dana asked Estelle if she knew of him or if she knew of a woman named Esther. Estelle did, in fact, know of a woman named Esther who worked at this same agency. After a few more introductions, Dana eventually met Esther and told her about the homeless man who said he was ready for a better life. Come to find out, Esther had been trying to convince him to get off the street for a long time. Finally, the message Esther had been wanting to hear from this man had been delivered by a compassionate stranger.

When you think about it — it’s pretty amazing. Several events had to transpire over the course of a few days and the right people had to show up at just the perfect time for this message from a homeless man, full of hope and renewed purpose, to reach the one person he knew that could help him. What you have here is another beautiful example of synchronicity. Or, as I prefer to call it, a miracle. Namaste.