Students in local schools are gearing up for important national exams coming up in the next few months, while those attending International Schools have just finished the summer holidays, so it’s time to hit the books. While everyone believes their child is a genius, can some knowledge of feng shui bring that genius to the fore, allowing him or her to shine in class and in exams? Why, sure it can!

Tapping Personalized Study Orientations

The easiest way to make use of feng shui to help your child study better is to use the compass Kua formula. According to feng shui, each person has four lucky and four unlucky directions. Of the lucky directions, one is dedicated to personal achievement – and this is the direction your child should tap if striving to achieve top grades in their studies. This direction is called Fu Wei. Tapping into one’s Fu Wei direction can be done as easily at home, in the classroom or at college.

Once your child knows his or her personal Fu Wei direction, all you need is to get a compass so that he or she can always sit facing that direction, and sleep with head pointed to that direction. Successfully tapping the Fu Wei will ensure your child feels energized and highly motivated. It will also help him or her attract the attention of a teacher or mentor, and this can greatly help ease the path to success when it comes to doing well in school.

When to Tap the Fu Wei

The most important use of the Fu Wei direction is to try and let your child sleep with his or her head pointed towards this direction. He /she should also sit facing this direction when sitting at his/her regular work desk. An added bonus of course would be if this direction can also be tapped when sitting for an exam, attending class or attending interviews. IF the Fu Wei cannot be tapped, then try and make sure that the direction that gets tapped is one of your child’s other 3 lucky directions (and not an unlucky one).

Balance the Yin & Yang

The feng shui of your children’s bedroom will affect them more than you think. Always ensure you have a good balance of yin and yang. Growing kids need yang energy to thrive, but too much of it and you end up with a hyperactive youngster that is hard to control. Always try to balance out the yang with the yin. For your child’s bedroom or study room, pick a wall colour that is neutral such as white, cream or a pastel shade. You can add elements of bold yang like a bright cheery painting, but avoid overly bright colours for whole walls. Ample windows are important in a child’s bedroom to allow natural sunlight to flood in – children need natural sunlight to grow and it also pulls in the sheng chi from the outdoors inwards into the room.

Invest in a Personal Crystal

Quartz crystals are powerful study luck energizers. Get one for your child – let them pick their own crystal, it should feel good to them as it has to resonate with their personal energy – then cleanse the crystal in rock salt water for 7 days and 7 nights. Let your child hold the crystal in the left hand while studying or revising, and in the exam, tell them to carry the crystal in their pocket. Teach them to charge up their crystal in pure sunlight on days that are bright and sunny. The crystal can also be re-energized with flowing spring water in a waterfall… so if there is a natural waterfall near you, or next time you go hiking or on holiday where you meet up with a waterfall, hold the crystal under the flowing water for a while to charge it up.

Wear the Education & Exam Luck Amulet

In Chinese culture, wearing gold jewellery is believed to bring lots of good luck, and when the piece of jewellery is fashioned into an auspicious symbol, the luck is multiplied. The perfect gift for a young person studying, about to enter big school, or going off to college or university is the Education and Exam amulet, which features the 4 implements required for successful study – these 4 implements, the scroll, chess set, musical instrument and brush represent everything you need for scholastic success. Let your child wear one as a pendant for excellent study luck.

Activate the Education Corner

Following Eight Aspirations feng shui, the education corner lies in the Northeast. Get a compass, stand in the middle of the room, and find the Northeast area of your child’s study room or bedroom. Activate this corner with a Dragon Carp to bring scholarly luck to anyone pursuing their studies.

Take Note of Annual Updates

Do not let your child sit facing the Tai Sui, or with their back to the Three Killings, as this is sure to affect their ability to concentrate on their studies. Yearly afflictions overrule personalized Kua directions, so please take note of this.

Abacus & Brush Magic

The abacus and brush together will help enhance education luck for anyone pursuing their studies. The brush symbolizes creativity while the abacus symbolizes intelligent quantitative thought. Get these as an amulet hanging or keychain for your child to hang off their schoolbag.

Avoid Open Bookshelves

Bookshelves that are not concealed by cabinet doors can sometimes send out secret poison arrows to whoever is working in the room. Avoid this type of bookshelves in your child’s study room. It is much better to have cabinet doors to conceal the bookshelves. If you cannot, then try to have the edges of the books flush with the edge of the shelves so there is no “sharp edge”, or let your child sit so they do not have their back to such open shelves.

TEACH YOUR CHILD TO STUDY RIGHT

While feng shui can help remove some of the study and exam hurdles that every student is bound to face, remember that it cannot magically turn your child into a straight “A” student. Use of feng shui should be complemented by hard work as well as smart work. Teach your child how to study right so the hours of work put in do not get wasted. How? Here are some simple but effective ways:

1. The Input-Output Method – Avoid reading and re-reading everything to prep for a test. Ask your child to make notes while studying. When you re-write what you have read, and reorganize the knowledge such that it makes most sense to you, you trigger your retentive powers, but more importantly, your understanding of the knowledge. Once that knowledge clicks in your head, reproducing it in the exam hall becomes so much easier.
2. Use Colour Coding – The mind works best when you combine use of the different senses – and colour is an important aspect in this. Get your child a set of different highlighters for them to highlight different passages that they read. Use different colours for different themes. For example, use yellow for keywords, pink for symbolism, blue for characterization and so on. The mind recalls colour coded information much better than plain black and white test, so make use of colours!
3. Make Mind Maps – Another great way to organize information in the head is to make mind maps. These are diagrams used to structure, visualize and classify ideas and information. Everyone organizes information in a different way, so let your child work out what works best for him or her; but show him or her some common mind-mapping techniques first, then let him/her figure out the best way. Check out Tuny Buzan’s books on Mind Mapping.
4. Limit Social Networking Sites – While Facebook and mySpace may be fun summertime activities, keeping your child social and sane when it’s more difficult to meet up with school friends, during term time it can become every parent’s nightmare! Make a deal with your child, and only allow computer chat during certain hours in the day, or only after homework has been completed. Someone has to lay down some law, so make your child’s life easy by being prepared to play bad cop once in a while.

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It’s that time of year when College students are headed back to campus. For those being away from home for the first time, it can feel daunting. For others, an exciting adventure awaits. Apart from settling into dorm life, making new friends and coping with homesickness, how to ensure you survive and positively thrive in a College setting? Can feng shui help? Of course!

Feng shui is ensuring the energies that surround you work for you and not against you. Feng shui is not complicated and it shouldn’t be made out to be. It is like anything else – learn the basics and check off your checklist feng shui to dos, while avoiding feng shui taboos.

For College students, here are the most important:

1. GET YOURSELF A GOOD BOOK BAG

The best way to start off a new school year is to get yourself a new book bag! Make sure your new bag is of good quality – something that evokes sturdiness, strength, durability. College life is fun, but there will be tough moments when you need resilience and staying power. There will be an adjustment period when you acclimatize to a bigger workload, new learning style and self-discipline. A sturdy book bag to get you on the right track is a good place to start.

2. CLIP ON AN EDUCATION AMULET

Never dismiss the power of symbolism. That’s why each year we design activators for different kinds of luck. Study luck is the most important for the young person, and our scholastic enhancers feature all the symbols of good education luck, together with lucky Dakini symbol for luck in exams and learning. Clip onto your bookbag at the start of the year.

3. PICK YOUR DORM ROOM WISELY

If you have a choice of dorm room, pick one with a bed where your head can be pointed towards your FU WEI direction. Each person has four auspicious directions they can tap. For the student, the best direction is your Fu Wei, which brings Personal Development luck. Pick a room and bed that allows your head to point this way. Sleeping the right way is SO important for the student. It allows you to get a good night’s sleep and ensures the knowledge you learn during the day has the best chance to sink in as you sleep at night.

4. PACK BRIGHT COLOURS

When you’re living away from home, you will have to do your own laundry. For most young people, this may be a first, so collate a wardrobe that’s low maintenance – machine washable and dryer friendly.

Equally important – don’t pack just dull clothes. Blacks, greys and navy blues are suitably studious, but too much of such colours could get you down, particularly for those schooling in climates that get cold and dreary in the autumn and winter months.

Introduce a pop of bright colour – a scarf, a top, your school bag. Bright colours do so much for your mood and will help you stand out in a crowd; useful at College when getting noticed has its benefits.

5. DON’T CUT YOUR HAIR TOO SHORT!

Hair that is too short is unlucky. Many guys before the start of a new term have their hair cut short, so their haircut “lasts” a long time, before they have to make their next appointment to the hairdressers. Or parents arrange for enough hair to be taken off, so their kids don’t end up looking like mops by the next holiday. BUT cutting your hair too short cuts away your good luck!

Your hair is your crowning glory, so don’t let your hairdresser take off too much. If you find overly long hair too hot, at least leave enough as a fringe. Having enough hair gives you a certain charm, but more importantly, brings you good luck.

6. PEN AND PAPER

Don’t neglect a good set of stationary. Pens and plenty of writing paper. When you’re trying to retain knowledge, there is nothing better than making notes the old-fashioned way. Writing by hand influences your cognitive process in a way that slows you down – allowing your brain more time to think and soak up what you’re learning – much more so than typing on a keyboard.

It helps improve your understanding and helps you to remember new knowledge better. For students, handing in neatly-typed-up assignments is great, and will be well appreciated by your Professors, but don’t substitute handwriting completely. Handwritten notes at the research and planning stage are a hugely important part of the learning process.

7. HAVE DIFFERENT GROUPS

Once you find your clique of friends, it is easy to become so comfortable it seems senseless to put effort into developing more diverse groups and connections. But for a healthy College life, you need both close friends, and friends that are not so close. There’s great value in mixing with different influences that bring new stimulus your way.

Have dorm mates, study mates, sports gang. Be diverse in your social choices. And don’t neglect becoming acquainted with teachers and professors. When you find a way to connect with them on a level, it helps prepare you for the real world where you will be required to converse with people of all ages and experience. It will make you more mature, and this maturity will come across in your work, giving you an advantage over your peers.

8. DON’T GIVE UP EXTRA-CURRICULARS

Just because you are trying to focus on your studies does not mean you should give up on your passions and pet loves. The workload at College may be more demanding, but having other activities balance out your days actually makes you more productive. Once you leave College, you have even less time to indulge in music, drama, sports, debate; don’t waste the varied opportunities that College life provides.

The post 8 Ways for The College Student to Improve Your Feng Shui appeared first on WOFS.com.

It’s that time of the year again when our children are busy with preparations for their final exams. Here in Malaysia, children throughout the country will be crunching text books to prepare for the state high-school SPM exams (UK ‘O’ Levels) so this is the perfect time to energise their education sectors to give them a helping hand.

1. Activate the Sector of Education

Every room has an “education corner” which can be activated to attract greater knowledge and wisdom. This is the NORTHEAST sector of the room; so do make sure this sector of your child’s room is kept free of clutter and junk! Remove stacks of old text books that are no longer used, and throw out boxes of old toys that they have out-grown. Keep the room as tidy and well-lit as possible. Elevate all text books and repair all torn book covers; never let your child stand or sit on top of their school books!

2. Orientate their study desk to face their Sheng Chi or Fu Wei Direction

Work out your child’s Kua number and arrange their study desk to ensure they are revising and studying while facing their good directions. The Sheng Chi direction brings success in school, while the Fu Wei direction brings personal growth and development. If your child is lucky enough to have a choice between the two directions, then choose the Fu Wei direction, as this will develop their intellect and interpersonal skills at the same time.

3. A Crystal Obelisk engraved with Wisdom Mantra improves concentration

Natural quartz crystals help improve concentration and retention memory when they are kept near the aura of the body. You can improve your child’s attention span towards their studies by placing a Crystal Point that has been energized by the Wisdom Mantra of Manjushri. Best is to place it next to your child while they are studying. If it is permitted at school, ask your child to take the crystal to school with them and place it on the desk while in class. Then place the crystal nearby when revising for exams.

4. Activate your child’s personal “Scholastic Brilliance” Star

Every child has a hidden Scholastic Brilliance Star that can be activated to help your child reach his or her highest potential. This depends on their self-element according to their Paht chee. If you know your child’s self-element, check the table below and place the Lohan of Scholastic Brilliance in this sector to activate it:

5. Light Candles every morning

A simple yet potent ritual for increasing one’s wisdom and knowledge is to light candles every morning and offer it to millions of Buddhas. This simple method not only improves the quality of one’s analytical mind, it also helps to remove harmful influences at school. Children who are victims of bullying, or mixing with unsuitable friends can really transform their luck just by lighting candles and offering them to the Buddhas every morning along with this short invocation:

May this vessel become as vast as the entire billionfold universe!
May its wick grow as large as Sumeru, the king of mountains!
May the oil within become as vast as the great ocean at the edge of the world!
And may a billion such lamps appear before each and every buddha!
Their light banishing the darkness of ignorance everywhere,
From the very peak of existence down to the lowest hell, may they reveal all the realms of buddhas and bodhisattvas throughout the ten directions!
OM VAJRA ALOKE AH HUNG
This wondrous and amazing light, burning brightly,
I offer to the thousand buddhas of this fortunate age,
The Triple Gems and the Gurus, yidams, dākinīs and dharmapālas
May all beings, in all lives, see the perfect buddha’s realms
And remain inseparable from Amitabha!
TADYATHA PANCHA DRIYA AVA BODHANAYE SVAHA

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Thus, it’s no surprise that among these deities, there are some who assist in the area of education, since the Chinese place so much emphasis on a good education, as they believe it is the key to great success. Here are two deities who can help the students in your home towards achieving their dreams of academic success:

The Laughing Buddha

This wonderfully jolly deity is one of the most beloved of Buddha images. He can be seen in Chinese homes and restaurants throughout the world. Though the Laughing Buddha is sometimes known as the Buddha of Wealth, he is also widely recognized as the Buddha of Happiness. Legend has it that nothing makes him happier than taking mankind’s worries, problems and unhappiness and transforming them into happiness! A good place to put this Buddha is in the living room, preferably facing the front door. He may also be placed on the study desk to take away pressure and stress, as well as to assist the student towards fulfilling academic goals.

Dong-Pin Lu

The deity Dong-Pin Lu is one of the Eight Immortals. The Eight Immortals are superior beings of Taoist legend, widely regarded as symbols of longevity and good fortune by Taoists. They are frequently depicted on Chinese porcelain vases, urns and plates, with each immortal symbolizing their own special good fortune attributes.

Dong-Pin Lu is the third immortal, a reclusive scholar who is regarded as the patron saint of the sick. As with each of the immortals, Dong-Pin Lu has his own special symbols, or objects. He carries a sword on his back, and wields a fly swat in his right hand. He uses the former to overcome evil spirits, slicing through sufferings caused by bad chi; and the latter is used to cure illnesses. Dong-Pin Lu is said to have learned much of his magic craft from the chief of the immortals, Chung-Li Chuan.

When he is displayed in the home, this immortal protects against illness caused by evil spirits and bad chi, as well as bestowing good scholar luck on the occupants of the home. Place an image of Dong-Pin Lu in the northwest corner of your home. It can be a statuette made of earth-element materials such as ceramic, clay or terracotta, or made of metal-element material such as brass.

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