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Australian Giftguide
Magazine: Jan- March 2001 Fabulous Feng Shui and how it can drive profits
Pat Lawson Black gets
caught up in the art of Feng Shui- talking to a giftware wholesaler and a Feng
Shui practitioner about how the creation of
“good ch’i” can have a positive effect on the bottom line in
retail. The Feng Shui
Practitioner
Jodi
Brunner is a Feng Shui Practitioner and organiser of the Feng Shui Network. She
conducts workshops and classes in the art from her base at Melbourne and also
travels interstate to spread the word.
“There
might be times when a shop is doing really well and then other times when sales
fall off. This may happen on a monthly or a yearly basis.
“Sometimes
we find that, according to the Chinese calendar, certain negative influences
come in through the front door which can negate any good energy. I had an
example recently, of a client who had two stores, both in large retail shopping
complexes. One was doing well but, the other, sales were down to the point where
my client was considering closing it altogether.
“I
put water in the correct position to help bring in business and also changed the
merchandise displays at the entrance where there were two straight rows of
clothing racks on either side of the door. I advised the client to use curved L
shaped racks, like a J, so that they wrapped around the doors instead of being
straight rows on either side. Curved shapes are always better than straight
lines in Feng Shui. The solution, in this case, encouraged more traffic into the
interior of the shop.
“Another
case I recall was a bookshop where the owner was having a few problems,
including difficulties with decision making. I used them as a case study for
Channel Nine’s Small Business Show. In the window of the shop I placed a
special coin and a salt cure in a glass container.
“After
the show went to air, I had people ringing from all around Australia, asking me
what was in the jar. I had to explain that it was a specific cure based on many
things, including the age of the shop and the chart of the owner. The bookshop
really turned around after that.
“I
conduct Feng Shui tours of Melbourne’s Chinatown district. There’s one
particular shop in Little Bourke Street that remained vacant for five years. No
one in the Chinese community would rent it because it is below ground level. The
environment below ground level is too yin, as opposed to yang. The Chinese
believe a yin environment is more suited to houses of the dead than those of the
living. A Western developer eventually took it over but we still don’t see a
great amount of traffic going in and out.
“The
developers had a Feng Shui master give them some advice and I could see what he
had suggested. They installed black bamboo- one of the most sacred bamboos which
represents longevity. Because bamboo, or any plant, is like a pump that filters
energy up to the tops of its leaves, it helped to remove some of the yin
Ch’ifrom below the ground up through the leaves and dispersed it. However, the
plants died after a while and were not replaced. I also noticed that they’d
installed frames at street level and hung red banners because red, the colour of
fire, is the most yang colour and stimulates activity.
“The
banners would flap in the breeze and catch people’s attention which also
seemed to work for a while, until they were vandalised and weren’t replaced.
The yang energy needs to be continually stimulated to survive and it requires
constant vigilance.
“When
I undertake a new job I like to have scale plans of the shop and, if these are
not available, I draw them up. If the shop is in a complex, I need to have a
plan of the whole complex as well, to show where the shop is in relation to the
overall site, then I need to know the age of the building. As soon as the roof
goes on a building, it encloses the space so that heaven and earth no longer
have contact.
“In
Feng Shui we work not only on a space but also on time. It’s about being in
the right place at the right time. Feng Shui time cycles go back 180 years.
Every 20 years it changes and we’re governed then by a new set of numbers.
It’s quite mathematical and all based on the solar calendar.
“We
draw up a chart based on the age of the building and the direction in which the
front door faces and then a very detailed looking chart is drawn up from that.
It basically has a combination of three numbers in each of the eight quarters or
wedges of the building- as per compass directions.
“We
then look at the entrance and make sure that good positive energy is coming
through, based on the three numbers. It’s quite important to look at the
direction of the flow of traffic and movement at the front door- whether it be
people or vehicles. It may be a road or a river which creates a fundamental
energy.
“We
also make sure that there are no blockages at the front door. A power pole or a
tree outside the entrance is very bad Feng Shui. Sometimes we have to remove
them if possible. We may even change the angle of the door to create a different
flow and to be in alignment with the owner or manager’s date of birth.
“As
this is a system of divination, we can also determine from the chart any other
influences which might affect the business. For instance there might be an
argumentative energy that needs to be cured or the staff might be undermining
the boss. We can fix those things by balancing up the five cycles. To give the
owner or manager more empowerment and make the staff feel more content, we might
have to use a combination of the five cycles to create a focus in a certain
area.
“One
more common cure we often use is a chiming clock, or the sound of metal which
can come from music playing, that will alleviate the tension.
“There
can be indications of legal problems or theft, incorrect business decisions even
bad buying decisions and we’re able to help those problems.
“Good
Feng Shui can often involve moving the fittings. If the energy is a certain area
is not good we might rearrange the shop to accommodate that.
“Lighting
is also important and I use it in terms of the five elements. If fire is needed
in a certain area, then I would put more light there- or sometimes a certain
number of lights outside the front door will help to stimulate the right energy.
“Feng
Shui originated from an agrarian society. If you have water in your environment
then you are able to grow crops and can feed the family. Therefore water is a
precious commodity. Cities that are located near a good source of water will
become prosperous. Hence we always put water on the Water Star 7, because number
7 represents the current age, between 1984 and 2004, and that stimulates wealth
income.
“If
this is the location where the cash register is, it’s even better. We may also
move the register to that spot. Again, we’ll often put water there as well, to
stimulate the prosperity star. It is important that the register doesn’t
directly face the door. It should be off to one side. If it is lined up with the
front door, profits can flow away.
“I
can also do Ch’i dowsing to determine where the heaviest flow of traffic is
and paint on the ground a pattern to encourage the flow of Ch’i into certain
areas. Sometimes I find it essential to use a dowsing rod inside a shop. We use
this system to encourage people to go into a certain area of the premises.”
Next
October, Jodi plans to undertake site inspections as part of a Feng Shui
training tour with her Sifu, Master Joseph Yu from Canada.
“We’ll
go to retail and residential property to take a practical look at what can be
done to improve the Feng Shui of these places. Even those who are not keen to do
the entire five-day course may be interested in joining us on those informative
site inspections.”
Jodi
also runs introductory Feng Shui workshops and seminars throughout the year in
preparation for the advanced classes. Having studied the discipline of Feng Shui
for six years, Jodi is available to look at retail premises in Victoria and
interstate. Contact Jodi Brunner on ph (03) 9662 1011. If subscribers to Australian Gift Guide are interested in learning more about Feng Shui, they can check Jodi’s web site, www.fengshuinetwork.net, where she has posted lots of information about Feng Shui, earth energies and the environment. Jodi Brunner holds a Master of Feng Shui with Master Joseph Yu, Feng Shui Research Center, Canada. She is primarily a Feng Shui practitioner and trainer, also an accredited speaking member of the National Speakers Association of Australia and the founder of the FENG SHUI network. Contact Jodi at www.fengshuimaster.com.au for more info. Ó Copyright Jodi Brunner 2003 All Rights Reserved |
