Inspirational Words of the Day7

The Way of Destiny - Part 2

 “When things are going our way, we go with the flow.”

“When things are not going our way, we take it easy.”

These are the simple rules to live by. Yes, the rules are simple but why make things complicated?  If life is to be like water, we would all be flowing in a sea of change, whether we like it or not. Water is always flowing even if it seems calm on the surface. We should learn to adapt by being flexible like water. In time of change, resistance is futile and the best we can do is to channel our effort towards it and by doing so, we can move in the path of least resistance.

We have the resource that is in our head to think of ways to manage change. The resource within us can empower us to face change with courage and not be deterred by it. This is important for the sake of progress because when we embrace change, we pick up new skills and knowledge that contribute to our success. Our survival depends on our ability to adapt to change but we can only be truly successful if we thrive at what we do despite our preconceived notion and dogmas. This is where our habits and character can be our stumbling blocks to change.

To change our destiny, we need to change our character, our ability and desire. These are three factors that are interwoven into our psyche and mindset. It was postulated that whatever the mind perceives and believes, it can achieve. However, for our thoughts to become a reality, it takes more than just wishful thinking and determination. We need to use our ability and feed our desire to be the person of our dream even though we are the embodiment of our own character. It is an uphill task and go against the flow of nature when we try to change our destiny.

Destiny cuts across four dimensions in the realms of human endeavours – the physical, mental, emotion and spiritual. Each of the three factors involve all or some of these dimensions where time and space exist. Everything in life is time and space. We cannot manage time, but we can manage the activities within a timeframe and space. This is where our mindset is a playground of hopes, dreams, desires, and aspirations. When we change our focus, we change our thoughts to produce an outcome. Our mind is the centre of life force known as Qi. Where our thoughts go, Qi follows. To flow with Qi, we need to be like water. Being flexible and adaptable to change, we are not bound by conventions, dogmas, or self-limiting beliefs.

When the truth is revealed to us in the form of change, we should accept it unconditionally and face it with resourceful courage. The resources that nature has equipped us with in the form of our physique, mind, emotion, and spirituality are for us to tapped into for embracing change courageously. Only then can we hope to change our destiny for the better.

Find out what you are made of at www.bazidestiny.yolasite.com

The Way of Destiny - Part 1

 

Looking back at my life, I often wondered what it would have been if only I knew then what I know now. I wish I could say I have been there and done that for most of the important matters in my life. A track record of a person’s journey through time is nothing but experiences. We use our past experiences to navigate the unfamiliar territory when change forces us to adapt. The past can be comforting when the future makes us uncomfortable. We try to find some semblance of certainty in the unknown even though in our heart and mind, there is fear and reservation.

This is where our mind is the resource we can tap into for courage. Change is nothing to fear as it pushes us to adapt and change our ways of thinking. Our mind is an anchor that ground us to the present even though time is a function of change. By remaining flexible and not be weigh down by our dogmas and preconceived notions, we can always be like water and go with the flow.

Water shapes its course according to the nature of the terrains over which it flows. About seventy percent of our planet is ocean. And water is one of the elements of nature. It is the most influential element that exerts it energy over the inhabitants of earth. We need water to survive and its pre-eminence in our lives is unquestionable. It is a resource that we cannot do without.

Our mind can be fluid like water. Even though our thoughts and thinking are shaped by our past experiences which become our habits, we can still break through the shackles of emotional fixation by assimilating the quality of water. This is an element that is constantly moving just like the constancy of change. When we let our mind to go with the flow of our habits, it will be difficult for us to accept change unconditionally. But if we make a conscious effort to open our mind to change and learn to mind our thoughts, we can question everything that comes into our head. This is when epiphany and enlightenment have a chance to reveal itself. And when the truth comes to the surface, we should accept it unconditionally like fresh water rejuvenating us.

We can be resourceful like water if we train our mind to be flexible in using our skills, knowledge and experiences. Despite our fear of uncertainty and the unknown, we have the resourceful courage within us to effect change instead of waiting for change to happen. Change is constant and water is the companion of change. No matter what the terrain is, water will always flow through to its destination.

If you are looking for a life changing event in your life, you should look at www.bazidestiny.yolasite.com.my.

Chinese Astrology & Feng Shui – Water Tiger Grand Duke Year 2022

 

Come 4th February 2022, the Chinese will usher in the solar New Year of the Water Tiger. It heralds the arrival of Li Chun or spring in the Chinese solar calendar.

This is when the energy of the earthly stars will circulate in a property within a defined pattern according to Flying Stars Feng Shui which is a system of Chinese Metaphysics.
These stars fly to all the nine sectors of a property and bring luck, good and bad, to the occupants.

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Star 8 brings financial and career success and it occupies the northeast of a property.

Star 4 brings love, romance and relationship. It can also help you to do well in your literary pursuits, study and other academic endeavours. It occupies the southeast of a property.

Star 6 confers authority, influence and power. It occupies the northwest.

Star 9 brings creativity, happy events and joyous occasions. It occupies the south sector of a property.

Star 1 brings nobility, wisdom and recognition. It occupies the north sector.

Star 2 flies into the southwest sector of the house and bring illness.

Star 3 brings arguments, disputes and legal problem. It flies into the east sector of a property.

Star 7 brings robbery and fraud. It flies into the west sector.

Apart from these stars, the year is also governed by the energy associated with one of the animal signs in the Chinese Zodiac. In 2022, it is the Tiger which represents the Grand Duke Jupiter of the year. The Chinese calls it the Tai Sui of the year and it governs the northeast 3 Sector. To be precise, its compass direction is 52.6º to 67.5º.

The dreaded star 5 makes it appearance at the centre of a property this year. It can cause misfortune, accidents and ill health for occupants in this sector.

There are also the year’s afflictions in the form of the Year Breaker and Three Killings which govern the southwest 3 sector (232.6º to 247.5º) and mostly the north sector (337.6º to 22.5º) respectively.

The negative effects of the above mentioned stars and afflictions are triggered by any physical disturbance such as renovation works in these sectors of the house. One should not undertake any renovation that involves knocking down the wall, digging the ground or any home improvement work in the above sectors to avoid bad luck.

You should take up a full reading of your birth chart to know your luck for this year and the future. This article only shows you one of the basic applications of the amazing vast fields of Chinese Metaphysics known as Feng Shui.

For more of Feng Shui tips and other Chinese Astrological articles, please visit http://www.bazidestiny.yolasite.com

Sleep - The Power of Trinity

Sleep is a major component of our lives. With enough sleep, we wake up feeling rejuvenated and ready to conquer the world. Every day, millions of people in the world have to struggle with some sleep disorder when they go to bed at night. But this doesn’t have to be the case if we learn the right philosophy of sleep which will affect our quality of life and longevity. After all, the quality of sleep determines the state of our health and well-being.

How does this philosophy come about?

In my years of study in Chinese metaphysics, I have discovered the correlation between the mind and body when it comes to the flow of energy known as Qi or life force. This life force exists in the universe and can be activated by man through the process known as the trinity – heaven (BaZi), earth (Fengshui) and man (luck pillars). In the concept of trinity and power, man is a conscious being that possess the power of thoughts which flow from the mind - the control center of Qi.

And Qi flows where the mind goes.

To activate the power of trinity, man needs to harness the mind so that Qi can flow smoothly and easily especially when the body is at rest.  Sleep takes place only when the mind is free from anxiety and stress. This is where the mind works in mysterious ways to get into a state of sleep. The harder one consciously try to fall asleep, the harder it is getting to sleep. This leads to a phenomenon known as stressed induced anxiety which makes it virtually impossible to fall asleep.

In order to get into a state of rest, the mind and body needs be synchronized through the trinity of relaxation of the body, relaxation of the mind and the channeling of the Qi. This involves a process known as the power of three as follows:-

1)            Know that trying harder to sleep is not helpful at all

2)            Get into a comfortable position in bed

3)            Clear your mind of any unwanted thoughts

Power of 1) is to realize that sleep is a phenomenon that cannot be controlled through conscious effort as the mind is always anxious when you are struggling to sleep. As such, you need to learn to let sleep comes naturally. Be at peace with this fact and embrace it.

Power of 2), find a relax position in bed that your body is accustomed to and this is where you are like water. This is because water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows. And Qi will flow accordingly.

Power of 3), your mind is a playground of thoughts. You can either clear your mind or skip/skim over the thoughts in your head. Try clearing the thoughts by thinking nothing and not letting any worries enter the mind. If you fail to do so, at least skip over whatever thoughts that comes in and skim over them. This means your thoughts will just glide over the surface of the mind just like water running down the surface of the roof when raining. There is no retention.

You need to harness the power of the body and mind by practicing the above three habits as a process. Do it consistently so that it becomes a natural part of the sleep process. As you get more and more experienced with this process, sleep will come naturally as part of the power of trinity.

Apart from the mind, we also need to feed the body with healthy foods that are rich in nutrients. As we grow older, the production of melatonin decreases. This sleep hormone can be boosted by eating healthy foods as your daily meals. There are a variety of foods in the market that caters to restful sleeps such as fruits, seeds, nuts, oats and milk. My personal favorites are muesli cereals which contains a mix of blueberry, cranberry, roasted almonds, cashew nuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, rolled oats, wheats etc. These add to the tasty flavors of whole grain cereals when you pour in milk. If you are lactose intolerance, you can always go with soymilk. It makes up a healthy meal at breakfast, lunch or dinner. At bedtime, you can also supplement your diet with magnesium which is the most powerful muscle relaxants of all minerals. Take it in the form of capsule of 350 -500 mg about 2 hours before going to bed.

If you would like to know more about the power of trinity, you can read my latest book “Mind Your Qi (with Feng Shui), Find Your Luck (with Ba Zi) which gives insights into all things Chinese Metaphysics and pave the way for a leaving the life you want. Please visit my website at http://www.bazidestiny.yolasite.com.

The Philosophy of Death

 

When we die, where do we go? Does the soul leaves the body and rises towards the light?

Energy is a form of Qi or life force and it flows within all living things. In Chinese Astrology and the other art of metaphysics such as Feng Shui, Qi is the life force that create us human beings. According to science, energy cannot be destroyed but it can be transformed.

When we die, the energy takes another form and once it leaves the body, the Qi of the dead can influence the descendants through the location and facing direction of the burial plot.  With the help of a Feng Shui master, the dead can be a source of beneficial Qi for the living. In other words, our ancestors are a force to be reckon with if the Qi of their burial grounds are harnessed according to the landform.

From another perspectives other than metaphysics, we can also look at energy as transformative from a philosophical angle. People sees death as an escape from a cruel world and the suffering of the physical, mental and emotional kind. This is why some people take their own lives with the aim of ending their suffering. But does death brings closure?

There are some people who can communicate with the dead and feel or see spirits. Their bodies can act as vessels for energy to come in and go out. They act as mediums to channel energy through their bodies and make contacts with ghosts or spirits. How people cross over to the afterlife, whether peaceful or restless, depends on their state of mind on the verge of death. If there is still unfinished business in this world, there will be restless spirits that traverse the physical world. It is believed that unless these restless spirits can cross over to the spiritual world through closure of some sort, there will be haunting and supernatural occurrence.

If we look at this subject from other perspectives, the world of materialism that we live in is also a breeding ground of greed and money is the root of it all. Money, for all its corrupt forces, can also transcend the realm of materialism to reach the height of benevolence. People who steal, cheat or launder money due to greed is blinded by emotion and if they were to die now, none of the ill-gotten gain can be carried to the grave. Even if any of the wealth is honestly acquired, the wealthy people cannot take it with them when they die.

So, how can we transform money into a higher form of value that we can benefit from when we die?

Just like energy which is transformative, money is tangible but its value is transcendence and is reflective of our morals. Based on sound financial management, we should use money with prudence and learn to diversify our investment. We should not put all the eggs in one basket. In the same token, we should not hold all our money in this materialistic world but transform it into moralistic value through acts of kindness which can be beneficial for the living and the dead. Towards this end, we can carry our wealth to a heavenly universe.

To put it philosophically, we should do more acts of kindness as it is an investment that can make us rich spiritually by the time we reach the end of our lives. If we believe in God, this is our investment in heaven. Our soul rises towards the light and become enlightened beings! In the end, only kindness matters and death provides a way out of this existential life if we choose to live wisely.

For a reading of your birth chart based on the Four Pillars of Destiny, please visit my website at http://www.bazidestiny.yolasite.com

Property Investment 101A - A View to a Kill

For a property investor, the wide range of property in the market can present both opportunities and risks in the pursuit of assets acquisition. There is a smorgasbord of landed and high-rise residential property to choose from in terms of price, design, build-up and location to suit one's life-styles and budget. Selecting the right property depends on many factors which interplay to make it challenging for a novice investor. A good location that comes with good amenities and accessibility is a good place to start.

The decision of which property to invest hinges upon the aforementioned factors which can also be coloured by one's emotion. As much as one try to be objective and practical, the sweet-talking salespersons or real estate agents and enticing decor of the show units can pull wool over our eyes. We can easily overlook the fine prints in the glossy brochures or the subtle defects in the ready units. Developers tend to embellish their sales publication with hyped-up value and benefits to attract potential buyers.

Be this as it may, one should always be mindful of the tricks of the trade employed be seasoned sales agents who act in the interest of the developers or sellers. Some agents can be quite economical with the truth and gives unverified information to close the sale. It is therefore prudent to check and verify information with reliable sources. One can also do research and compare data with other sources such as the internet and the community at large. Your friends, family members and relatives can also be a source of reference.

Now that we have covered some of the pitfalls and hazards in property investment and selection, we should take calculated risks and weigh the options we have in an enlightened manner. This article will focus on high-rise serviced apartments which are flooding the property market in my home country of Malaysia. This is because many property developers over here are building high-rise residential units to cater to the life-style living aspiration of the people who looks for convenience, accessibility and security. Most of these high-rise developments come with a myriad of facilities and living comfort. These so-called lifestyle themed development can come with a hefty price tag in the form of maintenance fee, quit rent and assessment fee. For the investor, the objective is to get good rental yield and capital growth in the years to come. A good rental yield for high-rise serviced apartment should preferably be 5-6%. This will make it worth your time and effort in finding and selecting a good property to invest which can be quite a hassle. Otherwise, you are better off holding cash in the form of fixed deposit or placing your money in bonds or unit trusts which are more liquid when you need the money.

An investor needs to pay for the upkeep of the property. As such, any expense such as maintenance fee and cost of repairs will cut into the rental incomes derived from tenanting the unit. For high-rise residential units such as serviced apartments which sit on commercial land, the quit rent, assessment fee and utility bills are charged at higher rates than residential property. The rental incomes are also taxable. Interests from mortgage loan taken to finance the property is the other major expense that will reduce the rental incomes unless an investor choose to pay the property by cash. However, the investor who prefer to borrow for want of gearing can use the rental incomes to defray the monthly loan instalments payable to the banks. The interests charged by the banks can also be offset against the rental incomes before tax is charged under the law. For cash purchase, the investor has stronger negotiating power and is in a stronger financial position to hold on to the property compared to a purchase via bank loan which can be risky when interest is going up.

Finding tenants to rent out the units in a high-rise serviced apartments can be fast or slow depending on the density of such development within the locality. A heavy density development creates more competition for tenants compared with the one with lower density. This holds true for rental yield as well.

Property investment is also a good hedge against inflation as it offers capital gain over a period of time. Depending on location and type of property (leasehold or freehold), the capital appreciation can be 5-10% per year. Over a period of 5 - 10 years, a property can appreciate at such rates if the property cycle is expansionary. A property can also remain stable or unchanged in terms of capital growth compared with other properties in the same locality. This is due to saturation or property glut in the market. If an investor is not careful, a property investment can result in negative capital growth owing to contraction and troughs in the economic cycles. Timing is therefore important in property investment. In addition, if you buy a property in a location with plans for development of MRT/LRT stations or transportation links to other major roads and highways, you can expect capital appreciation in the future.

When deciding what type of property to invest, high-rise residential units earn better rental yields compared with landed property which offers a lower rental yield of 2-3%. This can be attributed to the lifestyle convenience provided by high-rise serviced apartments which provide facilities such as swimming pools, gymnasium, sports and recreational activities, 24-hours security, etc. High-rise serviced apartments with facilities tend to attract younger families who look for such lifestyle conveniences. On the other hand, landed property has higher capital growth simply because it sits on its own titled land which is getting scarce with the growing population. It can offer capital growth of 5-10% per year especially freehold and those in prime location. High-rise residential units with strata titles usually do not offer the same capital growth. Do bear in mind that any capital gain obtained from disposal of the property may attract capital gain tax.

In the end, the return on investment (ROI) from rental incomes and/or capital gain should give justification for the investment in the first place.

All the various points elucidated above offer a macro view of property investment in the context of high-rise residential development. Let's take a micro view of property investment in terms of quality and workmanship.

If you are looking to invest in a high-rise serviced apartments or serviced offices (SOHO/SOFO), you need to keep your eyes open as the devil is in the details. For ready units in a new development or sub-sale, you need to inspect the unit for any leaking in the ceiling or water seepage through the window. If the ceiling has water marks, it indicates that water is leaking from the unit above. This leaking problem can pose to be a challenge to solve as it needs the cooperation of the resident who is staying in the unit above and the management corporation of the property.

Water can seep through the window between the frame and cement or between the glass and frame during heavy rain. This is especially problematic for units on the higher floors. The rubber seals and silicone used in the construction of the window and frame can crack and melt under the heat of the sun. Through the ravages of time, you can see water marks appearing on the wall adjacent to and underneath the window.

The residents in the unit above can be a nuisance to the residents in the unit below if noise is a major issue.

A developer with good track record does matter in property investment.

On a positive side, high-rise serviced apartments can offer panoramic view especially for upper floor residents. A view to die for some may say. These units also come at a higher price.

From the perspective of Feng Shui, the view from the balcony should be overlooking a landscape of lakes or rivers, preferably in the southwest, east, southeast or north. The common areas within the property such as walkways and corridors should be brightly lit. Any property which is subject to windy condition is also not auspicious as the life force known as Qi is unsettling in such an area.

A view to a kill in property investment is a doubled-edged sword. You can make a "killing" after viewing a property or be "killed" financially by your decision, right or wrong.

For a reading of your birth chart based on the Four Pillars of Destiny and Feng Shui consultation, please visit my website at www.bazidestiny.yolasite.com