Feng Shui – A Way of Life for the Filipino

Excerpt from Pepper Marcelo’s article - Planet Philippines

Feng shui - whether an art or science - has showed remarkable staying power as people around the world swear by its powers. Business magnates turn to it on how their buildings or offices should be constructed. Private individuals consult feng shui experts on the right time to sign contracts or set a wedding. All this to enhance and gain the most out of one's environment, attract as much positive energy as possible, and perhaps to gain good fortune in the form of wealth or fame. And contrary to popular belief, feng shui is not only for the Chinese.

Marites Allen, who has made feng shui her life's work and credits her triumphs over early personal adversity and achieving financial and personal success to this living skill, is a living testimony to the attraction of this ancient Chinese practice to all nationalities and economic classes. In the Philippines, feng shui continues to gain adherents. Marites is a certified feng shui expert and President & CEO of "The World Of Feng Shui" boutique in Manila. She explains that feng shui is the ancient Chinese art of manipulating and arranging one's surroundings to attract positive life energy, or chi , so that it flows smoothly, unblocking any obstructions in the body and the environment. Literally meaning "wind and water", its origins date back several thousand years. Feng shui has evolved from the theory that people are affected by their surroundings."This energy comes from the wind, the water, anything we bring - you and I have our own energy," Marites explains to Planet Philippines in an interview. "Sometimes people have a rough time or a hard day, and they talk to you and you're bubbly, and suddenly you see them getting affected, because slowly you are sort of transferring this energy to them." Marites elaborates that Feng Shui is a science which balances the harmony of yin and yang . "It is an art of living in harmony with your environment. It's not too hot, or too cold, or too noisy, or too quiet. It's day and night. When you go to a house, for example, sometimes it feels claustrophobic, and sometimes you get a nice feeling. It's the balanced energy that surrounds us." What feng shui is not, Marites says, is a religion. "It is a living skill, a science that has lived for generations. If there was no truth to it, it would have faded away. The study of feng shui is like any other degree, like economics or getting a masters degree."

She has been a practitioner of feng shui for over 15 years now, applying it to herself, her business, family and friends. Being a practitioner, she says, comes from being able to perfect one's own feng shui, "because how can you teach and how can you become an expert if you haven't applied it to yourself and confirmed that it has worked for you?"

Marites says that one does not need to be a Chinese to practice feng shui. Filipinos are very adept at feng shui, she says. "We have the inherent ability to survive economically. We have that natural skill to mingle with the rest of the world. We are adored as the best workers, we work hard." She likens Filipinos to her personal favorite emblem, the bamboo. "No matter what happens, in a storm it swings back and forth. The bamboo tree is a very auspicious symbol of good fortune. Filipinos are like that. No matter what happens, we always stand up."

As an expert, she offers personalized readings, on- and off-site consultations, and courses and seminars to those who want to learn more and correctly apply feng shui to their lives. Her clientele includes banks, private companies, government agencies, property developers, even celebrities. And the practice does not only lend itself to improving one's physical environment, but personal matters as well. "Some mothers ask, 'Can you find out if my daughter's boyfriend is fit for her?' We can determine that by providing us with a person's date of birth, time of birth, and other personal details. We can run an analysis on whether one person matches well with another."

There are, however, common misconceptions and misinterpretations of what feng shui is and what it can offer. Marites recalls a woman who came to her shop, asking for advice on how to handle her family who, the visitor said, appeared to speak and pray to ghosts or apparitions. Then there was another woman who was set to migrate abroad, asking what to do with her husband's cremated remains. Some apply feng shui but expect quick, immediate results the next day.

"Those are some of the weird ones we've encountered," she says. "Feng shui is not fortune telling. I cannot tell you that if you buy the sweepstakes you'll win. How would I know? This is science. It is different."

She explains that in order to benefit from feng shui, one needs to propagate good deeds also. "It's about karma. If you have a very good karma, the cycle of giving and receiving, you have to complete the cycle. It is only when you give, can you receive. If you keep getting, and you don't do your godly duties of helping others, why do you think it's going to bless you back? You have to complete the cycle."

Her husband, who first thought she was nuts, is now a firm believer of feng shui. "He quickly changed his tune when business started to pour in," she relates in an article in Feng Shui World magazine. "Initially, it was hard for me to orientate my husband towards feng shui - he being British and thinking feng shui is nothing more than old wives' tales and superstitious nonsense. Then he got more and more contracts and now he always consults me for important business decisions."

For those wishing to learn more about feng shui and prepare themselves for the coming of the Year of the Earth OX 2009, please join the MARITES ALLEN 2009 PHILIPPINE FENG SHUI UPDATES : DARE TO DREAM on January 17, 2009 at the Rennaissance Hotel in Makati City. You may get your tickets at any of the World Of Feng Shui boutiques located at the ground floor of The Podium Mall, SM City Cebu, Mall of Asia, Serendra Piazza, The Block of SM North Edsa, WOFS New Manila and WOFS Glorietta IV.

For further inquiries please call Tel Nos. 914 7888, 412 6888, 0920 950 9390 or Text THESS 08 to SMART 2861. You may also register at all WOFS Boutiques or Ticketnet outlets.