Shower And A Million-Dollar Idea

Copyright by Martin-James

Bathroom millionaire? Made no mistake, if everybody can do so then the economic condition in the world would certainly fare very well! The idea of million dollar in this context will very likely conjures up the thought of someone conceiving an idea so fabuluos that brings him or her a load of fortune, much like what Steve Jobs (iPod), Tony Fernandes (Air Asia) and other mega successful entrepreneurs who are so good at doing. Such pattern of thinking seems logical, considering that we can always read in the media about how those movers and shakers come up with great ideas that propel their businesses to stratospheric height and in the process amassing wealth that is just about everyone's dream.

The million-dollar idea in this context is not intended to be understood in its literal meaning. That is - it is not necessarily that ideas which are associated with monetary value, but rather with any set of ideas that can bring about any positive benefits to one's life. As most of us know the huge monetary value of a million dollar, hence its usage here to better able to describe the value of ideas that can change one's life.

Each one of us possesses such "magical" capability too. Nevertheless, we require a set of conditions through which can we then derive benefits from the incubation of these ideas. This is similar to that of a seed, which requires the proper conditions - suffcient sunlight, water, oxygen and suitable soil in order for it to flourish. So how can we prepare the conditions for us to incubate the "million-dollar" idea to benefit ourselves and others?

One way is to get a shower!

This is because it is during this time we are more relaxed - physically and mentally. We are all the more focused and alert to the present, rather than being drifted to the past and to the future. The relaxation of the mind thus enables one to better able to think clearly, hence the potential to incubate a million-dollar idea. Of course taking a shower is just one way to bring forth such ability. The idea is to just get our mind still and with no wandering thoughts, thereafter our fullest potential can just surface withhout our knowing it.

There is a lot to be said about calming our mind down. It is believed that this state can bring about peak performance and wonderful thinking from the person who practises this. Such practice of mind taming is also applied in golf. In Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game, Joseph Parent explained how employing various strategies in mind training can enable one to perform better in golf course. One lesson to be learnt in Zen Golf is to beware of trying, for the very thinking of such attempt may affect the outcome achieved. With the absence of trying, it is believed that we can easily strike a perfect shot. Think about the time when you try to throw a fist of paper into the dustbin, you can almost always tell that you can successfully throw the paper into the basket only when you throw it without the intention of it being successfully thrown into!

Such is the marvel of absence of intention. And that when one is taking a shower, for during this time one's mind is relaxed and does not have the thinking of wanting to do something. Oh yes, trying to be absent of intention is not being absent of intention, too.

Walking The Dragons

Copyright by DaveFayram

On June 14 I found myself very much brimming with the spirit of learning whilst attending a one-day seminar in Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre Plenary Hall. Wittily named "Walking the Dragons", it was a seminar that introduced the audience to the many aspects of Chinese metaphysics. Hosted by artist extraordinaire Chui Ling with feng shui expert Joey Yap as the speaker on the event, it was a day filled with much learning and fun, more so that both Joey and Chui Ling themselves are decidedly eloquent speakers. Together with close friend Yunde, this was the first time we attended Joey's seminar after about three years of reading his articles on all things metaphysical. Hence it was a meaningful occasion and a day well spent.

When we arrived the registration counter was already flooded with many people, mostly making their first date with Joey after watching his first Cantonese show on Astro. Upon registering and getting the booklet for the event, we went straight to the hall. I thought of getting a seat at the front rows but alas, it turned out they were reserved for VIPs. We proceeded to the back rows through the gangway, hoping of finding one that was near to the stage. We found the seats then at the middle section of the hall.

The seminar was delayed by about 15 minutes before it started. In the meantime Chui Ling appeared onstage and cleverly made a joke that got everyone laughing. Soon Joey came onstage and the audience was made all the more excited to learn some knowledge from this well known master. The beginning of the session saw Joey presented on landform feng shui, a feng shui topic that I have a particularly keen interest on. He talked about various forms of dragons and what effect they will have upon residents living within the vicinity of the dragon. In feng shui parlance, dragon refers to mountain. Depending on its shape and contour, this dragon was said to emit Qi that will affect people in different ways.

Central to good landform feng shui is finding a dragon that has lush greenery, or as Joey humorously put it - find one that is handsome and that has hair (greenery) and not bald! A dragon with flat and wide top was said to be able to enhance the wealth potential of residents whereas one that is elongated and has narrow top was said to enable the residents to have upward mobility. While the shape of the dragon is important, due consideration should also be given to the orientation of the dragon. In other words, the mountain should be located such that it appears to be located on the Northeast from a person's home. This is the best direction to have at this current Period of Eight (last till February 2024), after which the best direction will change. To enhance wealth potential, one needs to place a man-made water feature at the Southwest sector of one's house. This is to enable the accumulation of the Qi emitted by the dragon from Northeastern direction, thereby benefiting the residents of the house.

We had a break thereafter before returning for another round of wonderful presentation, this time on the subject of Ba Zi - the birth code of a person that if fully understood can foretell a person's future and unlock his or her hidden talent. The mastery of this knowledge is empowering in that it enables one to know what one is good at, thereby leading one into venturing into a specific path that will bring out the best in him or her. Moreover, it lets one knows when a person may undergo a period of downtown, so to speak, and thus have the awareness of laying low and not making important decision (say establishing a new business if one intends to do so) during this time. Joey also explained the characteristics that a person generally possesses depending on his or her element in Day Master.

An interesting piece sandwiched among the subjects at this session was when Joey revealed that both Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have Water as their Day Masters (which in Ba Zi usually denotes one that is good at making money). Coincidence or what? Considering that both are billionaires, surely there are a lot to say about knowing Ba Zi! People with Metal as their Day Master were said to need to exert more effort to be rich. I did not dig deep to this subject prior to this seminar. Luckily Yunde used to enlighten me on this subject on many occasions, hence I had some familiarity with it and was able to go along with Joey's presentation.

We had a lunch break then. I had at that moment many questions coming out of my mind. Yunde responded to my curiosity with what he has previously learnt. Having "sapu" most of Joey's books and read a plethora of classical texts, he is unmistakably a well-read scholar on this subject, hence I tend to view him as the "master" of our contemporaries. Comfortably he asnwered my questions with ease.

Joey presented on face reading at the remaining session of the seminar. I personally found this to be the most entertaining part as Joey's presentation evoked much laughter through his demonstration of various face features. One vivid episode was when he made a face resembling a horse to illustrate to the audience how it looked like. Admidst the laughter everyone was made all the more conscious of what a particular facial feature reveals about a person's personality. Joey also explained on the features that suggest wealth potential, honesty, intelligence, longevity and fertility. Even more astounding was that one can even spot a person likely or is currently committing adultery!