One of the big premises of Feng Shui is that we are deeply impacted by our surroundings.
Most people I talk to won’t argue with that. Since the earliest times we have sought environments with certain qualities, mostly to survive. Some of these qualities are safety, comfort, the right weather to grow food and familiarity. We also appreciate surroundings that inspire us mentally and intellectually.
If we are so connected with our environment, then how are we impacted by the times in which we live? We watch the news and we get depressed. If that is the case, I wonder where does “my environment” start, and where does it end? On a bigger scale, someone might say it ends where our planet ends. Or where our Milky Way ends. Some might say, “Nah, it ends at the border of my country.” What about on a smaller scale? Is the boundary of my environment at my front door? Is it at the edges of my bed? Or is it the space right after I exhale?
The sense of hopelessness can sink in when we realize how much of this world simply seems beyond our reach. In those moments I encourage you (and myself) to bring your attention back to what is within your reach. These things include our attitude, our home, our daily activities and the conversations we have.
In China, the moon gate is a common landscape feature that symbolizes the threshold between the inner and outer, the public and private. It is a portal through which family members come home to celebrate each other. In a way, as humans we are all moon gates: we exist between Heaven and Earth; our essence consists of physical body (matter) and energy; we are constantly juggling between the conscious and subconscious realms.
In Chinese cosmology The Three Treasures consist of Jing, Qi and Shen. If a human being were a candle, Jing would be the candle itself (the wax and the wick), one’s essence. This includes our deep patterning, what we have inherited from our ancestors as well as what we have collected from our life experiences post-birth. Jing is our tendency to manifest. Qi is the flame, Jing in action. Jing is the life force we use to fuel our daily activities. Shen is the light that fills the room when the candle is burning. It is our Spirit, our vibrancy, and our luminosity. The darker the room, the brighter it burns.
When we put it this way, there is quite a lot that is within our reach. Even the most stubborn belief systems can be worked with and released. Focusing on The Three Treasures we not only help ourselves to feel better, but this benefits the whole–the light you bring to this world will not go unnoticed. It will change someone’s life. And the ripple goes on…
Do you want to activate your own moon gate? It takes a strong and balanced physical foundation for our moon gate to get activated. Here are three practices you can incorporate in your daily life and home design:
Your front door - The Ming Tang (“Bright Palace”)
The entrance to your home is considered the “mouth of Chi (Qi). It swallows anything and everything you give it, including all the energies and interactions and daily frustrations you bring to the door when you come home after a long day. When we start treating our front door as what it truly is, a portal between the inner and outer, we can start bringing more awareness to how we enter our home space. The front door is also giving people who pass by a sense of what kind of life is being lived inside.
Here are two approaches to strengthen your Ming Tang
Physical:
No clutter.
Good lighting – lamps on both sides of the door.
The door itself is clean and well-maintained, opens and closes easily. Make sure the doorbell works!
Provide a sense of wonder. A good Ming Tang does not show itself all at once. A meandering pathway that leads up to the door, a water fountain, plants and a beautiful welcome mat give the eyes a place to land, slow down the rushing energy and gather all the good Qi to bring home with you.
A power symbol (talisman) at the door, symbolizing protection and a boundary. If you have a full glass front door, and the surrounding elements are not providing much protection, hang a curtain or shades to cover the window. This will strengthen the door, which will attract more powerful Qi into your home.
A compass reading combined with our birth information can tell us how to further enhance the front entrance by using different colors, shapes and elements. The common belief that each front door has to be painted red is not true. Give a little bit of attention to your front door and you’ll feel the shift in your entire house. And life!
Entering visualization
I invite you to pause a few moments every time you approach your front door, especially after a stressful day. Close your eyes, and visualize stepping under a giant golden waterfall. See this waterfall rinsing away any tension, or unwanted thoughts and feelings that were caused by the interactions you had earlier that day. There are many “hitchhikers” we bring home with us, energetically speaking, so let all of them go.
This practice only takes a moment, but will make a difference in how your home feels.
“Holding Up the Sky”
Your front door is a moon gate. So are you! The following Qigong exercise called “Holding Up the Sky” will help you align your entire being with your surroundings, with heaven and earth. It only takes a few breaths and can be practiced anytime you like throughout your day. Inhale as you bring your hands palms up in front of you, then exhale as you invert your hands and push above you, continuing the exhale as your hands circle out and down.
Brent J. Wexler teaches Qigong and can be reached at brentjwexler@gmail.com for private and group classes.
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