There’s an old Chinese folk saying that I like.
It says there are 5 key things that influence our success in life: fate, luck, Feng Shui, karma and education. I like it because it reminds me to be well rounded in my approach when I’m trying to make a change in my life.
It points to the significant influence that Feng Shui can have on our life, at the same time pointing out that Feng Shui is not the only influence. It’s important to remember this when you’re engaging Feng Shui with the intention to improve your life.
Your living environment may not alway be the source of your problem. Whether it’s the source or not, you will benefit the most when you take a well rounded approach to resolving the challenges in your life by also addressing the other influences.
How to work with the 5 key things that influence your success
1. Fate, change your destiny
Have you ever had an astrology reading? It will tell you how the time and place of your birth influences your life. You can use astrology to help you understand your destiny. I like the way that Feng Shui expert Steven Post explains this in his book, The Modern Book of Feng Shui, “Astrology is like a weather report. Knowing it will rain you can bring an umbrella. If it will be windy, you can wear a windbreaker.” The knowledge you receive through astrology can change your destiny.
I like to use astrology to help me navigate through life. Every year around my birthday I have an astrology reading. The perspective I get from it is refreshing and it always amazes me how accurate it is with painting a picture of what I’m going through. I like that it helps me understand the bigger picture of why I’m feeling the way I’m feeling. If you haven’t had an astrology reading before, try it. I highly recommend my astrologer Olivia Woodford at Liv By Design Astrology.
2. Good luck
I think we all inherently know what luck is but it can be hard to define. To pin down a clear definition I checked the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “A force that brings good fortune or adversity. Events or circumstances that operate for or against an individual.” In other words the ups and down of your life. You can work to control your luck by attending to your fate, Feng Shui and karma. In doing so you can transform back luck into good luck and change your success in life.
3. Feng Shui and good fortune
Our environment influences us and we influence our environment, whether we pay attention to it or not. Following this ancient tradition, we can make Feng Shui changes to the space to enhance the lives of the occupants. Good Feng Shui has the potential to bring good luck, good fortune, adjust your karma and your destiny. Read this case study to learn more about how Feng Shui can influence our life.
4. Karma, accumulation of good deeds
I like the way Deepak Chopra describes the law of karma or cause and effect in his book, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, ”Every action generates a force of energy that returns to us in like kind…what we sow is what we reap. And when we choose actions that bring happiness and success to others, the fruit of our karma is happiness and success.”
He suggests, as many of my spiritual teachers also do, that there is a seed of learning in every situation that you encounter. When a challenge comes your way you can ask, “What is the universe trying to teach me in this situation?” With learning, you can transform any situation into a positive experience. You can work to turn around a challenge for a positive outcome. This practice of engaging challenge as a seed of learning has always been very helpful to me.
5. Education, the pursuit of knowledge, all different kinds
You will benefit most from your Feng Shui solutions if you also seek knowledge and attend to the mundane level of your concerns. For example, if you’re starting your own business, you can apply Feng Shui to create a strong foundation of success for your business. But it’s crucial to your success, that you also have the skills of your profession and the knowledge of how to start a successful business.
Here’s another example; if you feel like your money is going down the drain or rolling away down the hill, this actually could be showing up somewhere in your house or property in how the chi is flowing. The ‘wealth and prosperity area’ of your house could be located in the bathroom, encouraging your money to go down the drain. Or, your house may be on a slope, encouraging your wealth to roll away down the hill.
Don’t worry, these things can be remedied with Feng Shui solutions but you will still need to practice being smart with your money. Your financial problems may require more knowledge in this area of your life.
