Chi Solutions

Turn Me Loose……

sam — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:05:08 +0000

I’ve been studying Chinese metaphysics for a few years now, and each time I complete a level, I look to the next. I do this because I am inspired by the Masters who gently guide me to my greatest potential. However, I sometimes wonder if they ever think about what they have created within me…? Mine is a life that has been touched by many: I can truly say that ‘noble people’ have always appeared when I have needed them. From spiritual guidance when I was young, the embrace of families for whom I was their nanny, and for my husband (surely the noblest of all): I have been blessed. Now, as I study a subject I knew nothing about 5 years ago, I once again have wise counsel to whisper in my ear, and yes… rap my knuckles now and then to keep me on track! I recently achieved my Higher Diploma in feng shui, with Master Joseph Yu from the Feng Shui Research Centre (FSRC), and I understand fully that my knowledge is a gift to be shared. I have Masters who stand beside me as I learn the ropes, and yet deep down, I know it’s time to head out on my own. I must walk my own path now, while remaining true to those noble people who have inspired so much within me. One particular ‘noble person’ was someone very dear to my heart who was lost at sea, and his name was Scott. He saw something in me that I did not know was there, and I realise now that his was the first glimmer of belief that my Masters have in me now. He was a man of few words, and a man of his word, and he ‘saw’ me. He knew I had to run free, he knew I had to do things my way (the little rebel that I am) and as I received this recent certification, he came to mind for I knew it was time to fly… I do not know if the world is quite ready for me, but I do know one thing… it’s time to turn me loose….

I’ve been waiting for you…..

sam — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 18:00:57 +0000

Was it Enrique Iglesias who uttered these sensuous words to me…? Alas no, it was my my man Steve, from Thrive Physiotherapy! When I got the look from beneath that steely brow as he typed notes on his tablet about my knee re-injury, I had to laugh as he quoted my exact sentence: verbatim. You see Steve and I have been working on my knee since a bad injury over a year ago, and while I was doing everything he asked, I had not addressed the underlying problem. So how does this link to feng shui you may ask, well, let me enlighten you. Steve and I work in industries where people come to us for help: they have something we need to ‘fix’. We both have specific training and are well accredited in our respective careers. Our most common trait though…? We wait for you to ask for that help. When you contact me, you will have questions about a particular area in your life. You may be experiencing some upheaval or some pain, but their will be a desire to improve something. I often speak with clients a few times before we commence work with feng shui, as they have no idea the depth of what I’m going to see in their life. Having a rather sharp mind, I listen carefully to what you say. I’m already running possibilities in my head as we chat, but I file it away until you ask: as that is my training. I am not to push you, I am not to sell you on ‘me’: I am to offer my expertise and will be there for you, when you are ready. I never dreamed I would be back at square one with my knee, but really, what did I expect? I know more than anyone that if you don’t address the cause of the problem, the problem will find a way to surface: it’s just a matter of time. If you have issues with finances. If you have issues with health. If you have issues with relationships: they will not fix themselves. When we work together, I will find the root of the problem and apply the appropriate ‘medication’. If you are debating on how I can help you, then make that call…… I will be waiting for you…..

When the student is ready…

sam — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:13:49 +0000

The Master will appear… This was said to me a few years ago as I began my journey into Chinese Metaphysics, and at the time I thought it was a cute way of saying “you’re in my classroom now, so sit up straight and pay attention”. Well Ok, actually I knew it was bigger than that, but I had no idea of it’s depth. I study with one Master who guides me with the utmost patience through this intricate education, and also, her Master, who offers gracious teaching for those willing to learn. Their approach has nothing to do with their titles, and everything to do with how their wisdom may shape my growth. It seems that when I was ready to learn… they were ready to teach me… As I began to work with qi, I would often see that knowing smile that once you let qi enter your life, you will work with it on many levels: it will become the centre of everything you do. How true that has become… A few weeks ago I saw an ad in the paper for a Tai Chi demonstration.. and for once it was on a day and time that I could attend. You see I have often thought of taking up this art, but somehow, ‘something’ always prevented me from attending that beginners class: daughter’s basketball game, son’s driving lessons.. you name it, we had it. But then this day was different. I walked in to Kee’s Tae Kwon Do here in Vernon, found a seat, studied the people beside me and waited… In walked Sifu Howard Ketola.. now I did not recognize this ‘Sifu’ designation, but I did recognize that glimmer in his eye. I have seen it before in my dear mentor, Master Teresa Hwang. In the movies when two people’s eyes meet, the music builds and you know it’s important… well that is how I felt. I knew that my ‘Master’ had appeared: I knew that I was to be his student, for it was my time to learn. So why do I bring this up now? With every breath I inhale, I realise how much I know about Feng Shui, and yet as I exhale, I realise how much I have to learn. I willingly accept that as Sifu Howard teaches me how to move qi in my own body, and how to breathe both in and out, I can accomplish everything I set my mind to. I want you to take a moment and look around you. What is it you want to achieve? What is it you want to learn? Who is standing beside you with that glimmer in their eye? I assure you they are nearby: all you have to do is breathe… For when you are ready to learn, your Master will appear…

My Day What…?

sam — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:07:14 +0000

Are you having a good day? Me too… Great, but that’s not what we’re going to talk about here: I’m actually interested in your ‘Daymaster’. No I don’t mean ‘who’s your master?’, we’re not talking genies in a bottle here (although I do fantasize about finding a golden lamp). Your Daymaster is what we work with when studying your Four Pillars of Destiny: more affectionately known as ’4P’. So what is 4P? Well come with me and let’s take a look… Basically 4P breaks down into 4 pillars (columns) about you: time, day, month and year of your birth. These columns have two distinct areas: Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch, and each one has intricate meaning. Now each column has great significance over various areas of your life: it’s like a book all about you. Every book needs a table of contents (index) where you go to look up specifics of the book. Well your Daymaster is exactly that: it’s your personal index. If I want to enjoy the story and get the full impact, I need to know the key character and I need to know if this character is ‘strong’ or ‘weak’. You see your Daymaster is you, the other pillars are your supporting cast and most importantly how you relate to them. Now let’s jump to real time and think of this like chapters in the story: will the Daymaster prevail alone, or will she need support from the other characters? Does she have what it takes to overcome the villainous character that creeps in the shadows… Oooh I do love a good mystery… let’s read on! Recognizing which ‘chapter’ of your life you are in is crucial as we all know timing is everything: understanding your Daymaster is even more so. We are not all cut out to be CEO of a company: some of us are better suited to support roles, and others as team players… however we don’t always see ourselves as we really are. Now I’m not one to burst any-one’s bubble, but wouldn’t it be easier if we could play the role we were meant to? Why support when you’re supposed to lead? Why lead when it clearly isn’t your strength? Understand your strengths and you can set yourself up for success. Understand your Daymaster and you can write your own story….

Without you… I am lost

sam — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 04:56:56 +0000

In Feng Shui, every practitioner’s aim is always the same: seek the good qi…. support the good qi… share the good qi. It’s my job to evaluate your space, your home or your business and focus on the good. It is way easier to find fault, but really, where does that get a person? By the time I get a phone call, things are usually off balance, but that’s OK because by reaching out to me, there has already been a subconscious level of understanding: you know things could be better. And that is what we want for everyone, for things to be better. For many people life can take a turn for the worse very quickly, and we all think it won’t happen to us, but you know what? Don’t fall for that: we can always safeguard our own situation and strive to improve that of others around us. To work with Feng Shui is to understand the importance of giving. A successful practitioner will always put the needs of others in the forefront, for we are taught to give of ourselves and help those in need: that is how we are to use our gift. I am fortunate to have mentors that give freely of their time and money, so this was an easy life lesson to emulate. My husband and I have always given of ourselves, in different ways, at different times of our lives. There are times when we have had money to give, and times when we have given of ourselves. The key is to give. When I do talks on Feng Shui, the fees all go to charity: it’s a great way for me to give back. I cannot touch everyones life with my skills, but I can hold out my hand, and show them I care. At this time of year there are so many that need you and I to reach out to them…. so many that are lost without you…..

A Buddha in your hand…….

sam — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:44:58 +0000

Buddha… the word alone brings peace and a sense of calm. As I sit here preparing for a series of informative talks, I look to my little Buddha, and realise he holds the key. We don’t always know where inspiration will come from, nor friendship, nor a helping hand, but if you look closely: it is there. I will be talking at a local coffee shop called Bean Scene, upstairs in ‘Narnia’ here in Vernon. Now I have played with these talks before, greatly encourage by Phil, the gracious owner of Bean Scene, who warned me “do you realise what you’ve started?”. Um, no. I had no idea how interested people would be, how enthralled they were with the subject that I love: it was inspirational. In previous talks, I wanted to hear what people were thinking. So with baited breath, I had passed my ‘talking Buddha’ around the table and encouraged everyone to hold him and share what they knew about feng shui. Well, we could have spent the whole 2 hours there, it was wonderful to hear the concepts, and you know what? They were good. There was no “red sheet under the bed.” No “toilets are evil”, or even the classic “my front door should be red right?” It was great. As I watched everyone gather up my little Buddha and lovingly caress him in their hands, I watched their faces, and their faces glowed. These were faces of people who genuinely cared, who genuinely wanted to know about feng shui. These were my kind of people. My Buddha sits beside me at my desk, the person who gave it to me was lost at sea, but his smile remains with me in everything I do. He would have loved Narnia, and I’m glad a piece of him was with me on those nights, and will be again. As for my talking Buddha… hold him…..listen carefully…… and maybe he’ll tell you a secret…..

A Brush with Pink Blush…..

sam — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 23:49:25 +0000

If you know me personally, you understand and happily accept my lack of prowess with a makeup brush. My fire horse personality wants to run free, and spending time in front of a mirror has always seemed like a waste of my time. Well, into my world stepped a wonderful new friend ‘Shelley’ and my view of how the world see’s me has forever changed. As I sat in Shelley’s office, trying so hard to use the right finger to apply ‘just a dab’ of this or that, I really had my eyes opened: literally. In my profession, I look deep ‘into’ people: not just at what’s on the surface. As I studied myself in the mirror, I began to focus on all the things I ‘thought’ I wanted to change. All the things that were ‘wrong’ with me. But wait a minute these were the laugh lines of watching my daughter at play and telling yet another hilarious story. These wrinkles were my intent gaze as I cautiously watched over my son’s further education choices. And those tiny lines by my mouth, well they were the creases of my biggest smile ever as I walked down the aisle to my beloved husband. And yet for some reason I wanted to cover these up….. Now why would I do that? My face is who I am…. My face has a story to tell… I pondered this, and smiled up at Shelley and knew I was in good hands. I knew she was there to enhance what I have: not cover it up. She knows me well as I am not one to fuss. Don’t give me a regimen that requires multiple steps… I just won’t do it. Give me changes that I can make, and I will make them. After all, this is what I do with my own clients. Whatever I see in your home, whatever I see in your life, whatever I see in your face: I’m not going to cover it up. I’m going to enhance the good features you already have. Feng shui is all about learning to live in balance and harmony within your space and to be accepting of the good things in your life. I had so much fun shopping with Shelley, and now have some wonderful additions to my makeup drawer. And next time you see me you will notice my sparkling blue eyes, my laughing smile and my rosy cheeks…. and boy do I have stories to tell….

A-’Tension’ Ladies….. are you at 0?

sam — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 01:55:39 +0000

So there I was, pedalling away on my spin bike at 6.15am, wondering what on earth possessed me to get up so early when my vision cleared so quickly I almost fell off the bike! Now I need to back track just a tad here. You see in my line of work, I am involved in situations where people are sometimes at their wits end. They’ve tried ‘everything’, they’ve talked to ‘everyone’, but now they’re talking to me so their search is over. We allow ourselves to get caught up in so many fast paced daily activities and deadlines, that we sometimes forget to simply ‘be’. I have to work out, it’s how I deal with the information that overloads my senses on a daily basis. When I work with you, I take on your world, and sometimes that world is heavy. Activity is how I de-stress. Ahh, and there we have it… As I was peddling away, my gaze fell upon a sign I have read a million times, and yet never really read at all. I actually laughed out loud and I’m sure my fellow ‘gymers’ at Kal Fitness thought I’d lost it. Actually I found it: ‘Please return tension to 0′. No explanation needed and that is the sheer beauty of it. How many times do I tell people to relax and de-stress their life… Every day! It’s such a simple statement, and yet in our daily lives, we constantly overcomplicate things. Why do we do that? So listen up, if I can clear my head and keep my tension at ’0′, so can you. Whatever it is you need to do: do it. When you are thinking clearly, and enjoying the life you have with your loved ones near: you can excel. You will make informed decisions based on clearly secured facts, because your tension level will be at ’0′. Now as I left the gym, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud again, as another sign caught my eye. So I went looking for the place to return my extra ‘weight’: the girl at the desk just didn’t understand me….. and I thought she was there to help..

A Pink Mammogram with Chi…

sam — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 22:11:20 +0000

So there I was, stripped down to my undies ready to bare all for my yearly checkup when my Mum’s voice rang clearly through my head. “Have you got your best undies on.. you never know who might see them.” Really Mum, I don’t make a habit of flashing my undies, but I’m sure glad I subconsciously listened the other day.. As a woman over 29… you get the picture.. I diligently go for mammograms every year. I mean who wouldn’t want to spend time being squished and flattened by a 2 tonne machine that has a questionable bedside manner? So, making polite conversation as you do, my profession came up, and all of sudden, the eyes were on me. Now I’m pretty comfortable talking to a group, whether it’s 5 people or 75, I’m kinda cool with it.. However I usually have clothes on when I talk, so this was a first. Standing there, trying not to breathe as the machine did it’s work, and yet asked for my opinion on the colour of the walls was quite an art of multi-tasking let me tell you. Now nurse Laura was wonderful, but no sooner had the machine quit whirring and squishing and she had me down the corridors of the hospital to meet the other nurses and compare paint chips… It was like a buzz went through the department…. she’s here…. ask her… she’ll know….. But you know what, I loved it. Any time I can meet new people who are interested in what I do: I’m in. Life is just too short and knowledge is a gift to be generated and shared. So if I can make someone smile by simply giving my opinion and encouraging their own thirst for knowledge, then my work is done. I’ve always believed that if you can do one thing with your day, it should be to make others smile: it may be their only ray of sunshine that day. The nurses that work so hard to keep us healthy deserve all the sunshine they can absorb, so I am happy to have been that golden ray the other day… You rock ladies! And being such a good daughter, I did listen… and yes, I had my good undies on…

My daughter’s voice… is golden

sam — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 02:21:01 +0000

My daughter Spencer is a constant source of amazement, happiness and laughter. You see, Spencer views the world through a wondrous bubble and her cup as brimming over: it’s not half full, and it’s never empty. When I began my studies in Feng Shui, she would often come to browse through my books: she said they made sense to her (maybe I have competition…?) One day she asked how I was doing, and I sighed and replied it was tough, but I was getting there. She said “That’s great Mum, I never thought you’d actually finish those books”. Well, once I’d stopped laughing, I realized there was more than one compliment in there. You see, Spencer see’s things, she inherently understands, and she lovingly holds your hand as she skips you down her path. Friends often regale me with funny stories of Spencer’s comments, and she is a welcomed guest to many homes. Recently a neighbour asked Spencer to take care of her garden while she would be away. When Spencer dropped off her ‘bill’ today, tucked inside was a hand written note: full of humour, full of caring, full of ‘Spencer’. She had taken a mundane job, and turned it into something unique. She wasn’t just watering the flowers, she was tending the garden. She wasn’t just retrieving the mail, she was keeping the hearth warm. I laughed. I grew quiet. I actually cried. How could I ever have known what a wondrous gift this daughter would be? Did I realise what a joy she would be to the world? I try so hard in my career to accomplish what Spencer did in this simple note. I am fortunate to have world class Masters who guide me through my studies, but if I can learn anything from anyone, it’s this lesson from Spencer: take a normal every day job, and put your heart and soul into it. Embrace life with a skip in your step, and a smile in your heart, and maybe you’ll get a letter from Smiley Inc too…..

Claudia’s note: I want to tell you that you needn’t worry about your flowers and plants, they’re in great condition! The tomatoe plant in the smallest flower bed (by the pots) is ready to eat! They should taste good! I just love those beautiful multicoloured daisies, especially that red and yellow daisy. At the end of the driveway their’s a beautiful white rose! Oh and I hope you have lots of time on your hands, ’cause you have lots of mail! Remember, It’s in the white cupboard. So, in conclusion, I hope you are happy with your garden! Spencer, of Smiley Inc