Practicability of Feng Shui

Practicality of Feng Shui by : Ricci Rodriguez Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of placement. It is also considered an art that hosts knowledge on how to balance worldly energies, also known as â€Å"Chi† in China. The surrounding landscape as well as the objects, layout and emotions in an environment affect this flow of energy. When a space is filled with positive energy and symbols, an individual will feel happy and motivated. Feng† and â€Å"Shui† means â€Å"wind† and â€Å"water† respectively. Wind and water are, first and foremost, natural elements (two of the five elements that comprise all of nature). Wind is the earth’s breath, and water is the invigorating lifeblood of everything that exists on our planet. Both wind and water have tremendous energy that drives Feng Shui's practices and techniques to fill life with positive energies.Feng Shui, at its very core is a means of arranging the basic elements of life—and all the t hings that an individual surrounds himself with on a daily basis— to create the optimal and harmonious flow of vital life energy, just like the flow of water and wind. Feng Shui is not only popular in China, but also in the Philippines. Teresita Ang See, a Filipino-Chinese leader and scholar, said that relations between the Philippines and China date back to pre-historic times, and many Chinese influences have long been integrated into Philippine culture.See, born and raised in the Philippines, said the impact can be seen in various aspects of Philippine life – from names of common household items and food served during festive celebrations, to business practices and even farming techniques, â€Å"Chinese influences have been embedded into the tapestry of Philippine culture so much so that some often could no longer distinguish it as Chinese, and there's no need to distinguish it as Chinese,† she added. Joy Lim, one of the most sought-after Feng Shui consultants in the Philippines, said Filipinos have become more aware of the usefulness of FengShui – the ancient Chinese practice of placement and arrangement of space to achieve harmony with the environment – and its application in their daily lives. â€Å"Maybe because they see successful Chinese businessmen practicing Feng Shui and they see there's really no harm in trying to have a better life by practicing Feng Shui,† she said. Feng Shui is no magic. It is a collection of practical, time-tested solutions based on the fundamental properties of elements that are used to change the negative aspects and introduce the positive aspects of each element to your living environment—and change your life for the better.I will base the practicality of Feng Shui on three categories: Practicability, Usefulness and Effectiveness. First is practicability, how is something practicable? By definition, something is practicable if it is capable of being done or put into practice. A lot of Feng Shui’s practices commonly involve things we usually do in our everyday life and are easy to follow. For example, merely cleaning our surrounding, such as bedrooms or workplaces and organizing our things are already practices used in Feng Shui.Most of the tips or advices given by Feng Shui are being done in our daily life anyways, so it becomes easy to apply and can be done naturally. So therefore, yes, Feng Shui is practicable. Second is usefulness. Feng Shui is useful since not only does it help improve our surroundings, but also helps improve our health and our environment’s appearance. For instance, throwing out the garbage and things we don’t really need, this itself is already a first-step to maintaining a healthy household.As for the environment’s appearance and well-being, Feng Shui helps improve it through maximizing space, resources and by â€Å"bringing life† into the room. The teachings include how to position the furniture s, how to pick colors to suit the location, which colors go with each other, what lighting to use, and even to incorporate plants in the room. Example of these are that Feng shui followers are encouraged to refrain from having objects on view in their homes which may disturb and unsettle their subconscious.Hence sharp angled objects, like plants with pointed leaves and the corners of square tables, are not suitable for individuals who want to create a harmonious place to live or work. Another feng shui rule that makes sense is to do with clocks and time. If you follow feng shui you’re not supposed to have a clock in your dining room. Being able to see it frequently will spoil the experience of eating and relaxing with your fellow tablemates as you keep checking to see how much time has passed. These practices make a house more livable and healthier to live in.So, in these terms, yes, Feng Shui is useful. Third and the last, effectiveness, Feng Shui can be said to be effective if it has produced the intended or expected effect. So, is it effective? A Feng Shui business consultation may enhance a company's goals, growth, wealth, and prosperity while creating a pleasant working environment that supports staff members. Again, adjustments are usually easy and cost effective. Perhaps a plant or a fountain would be added in the proper locale to increase wealth and prosperity.The location of the CEO's office, positioning of desks and/or cash registers, and the shape of the overall office or building are some factors to evaluate. And according to Ann Bingley Gallops, a Feng Shui consultant and expert, â€Å"I started my Feng Shui career because I wanted to transform other people’s lives as mine had changed over 14 years ago, thanks to Feng Shui. I’d just gotten divorced, wasn’t happy at work, and generally felt that things weren’t going so well in my life.At this critical moment I enrolled in a Feng Shui course at  New York’ s Open Center. It was the first of many synchronicities I was about to experience, thanks to Feng Shui. I made changes like, rearranging furniture, clearing clutter and changing colors and artwork. My apartment looked and felt like a completely different place: nourishing, welcoming, energized. I discovered that the power of Feng Shui is the power of Intention, with visible and physical energies to back it up. And that’s how I arrived at the point I’m at today.Basing on these experiences and many other personal stories, then yes, Feng Shui is effective. Once again, Feng Shui is an old, ancient art that can affect a person’s life whether for the better through applying it’s practices, Feng Shui not only relies its â€Å"powers† on luck, but also on scientific reasoning and common sense and finally, Feng Shui is practical because it is practicable, useful and effective. Reference: Barett, Jayme. â€Å"Feng Shui: What Is It and Where Does It Come Fro m?. †Ã‚  MindBodyGreen. MindBodyGreen, 17/03/2010.Web. 1 Oct 2012. Gallops, Ann. â€Å"How Feng Shui Changed My Life. â€Å"openspacesfengshui. Open Spaces Feng Shui, 07/10/2010. Web. 6 Oct 2012. ;http://openspacesfengshui. com/feng-shui-tips/2010/07/how-feng-shui-changed-my-life/;. Nation, . â€Å"Feng Shui grows among Chinese influences in the Philippines. †Ã‚  The Feng Shui Society. Society News, 01/10/2011. Web. 1 Oct 2012. Ruston, Sheri. â€Å"Feng Shui Will Change Your Life!. â€Å"Healthy Space. N. p. , 07/2001. Web. 6 Oct 2012. Wang, Mike. â€Å"What is Feng Shui?. †Ã‚  The Spiritual Feng Shui.Eternal Sunshine, n. d. Web. 1 Oct 2012. ;http://www. thespiritualfengshui. com/what-is-feng-shui. php;. Webber, Bridget. â€Å"The Psychology of Feng Shui: Is Feng Shui Really an Effective Remedy?. †Ã‚  green-building. Knoji, 05/25/2011. Web. 6 Oct 2012. Yap, Joey. â€Å"What Is Feng Shui – A Science or Belief?. â€Å"ezinearticles. Ezinearticle s, 04/08/2011. Web. 1 Oct 2012. . â€Å"What is Feng Shui?. †Ã‚  Indobase Feng Shui. indobase, n. d. Web. 1 Oct 2012. ;http://www. indobase. com/fengshui/what-is-feng-shui. html;.

Digital Fortress Chapter 34

Susan sat alone in Node 3, waiting for her tracer. Hale had decided to step outside and get some air-a decision for which she was grateful. Oddly, however, the solitude in Node 3 provided little asylum. Susan found herself struggling with the new connection between Tankado and Hale. â€Å"Who will guard the guards?† she said to herself. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes. The words kept circling in her head. Susan forced them from her mind. Her thoughts turned to David, hoping he was all right. She still found it hard to believe he was in Spain. The sooner they found the pass-keys and ended this, the better. Susan had lost track of how long she'd been sitting there waiting for her tracer. Two hours? Three? She gazed out at the deserted Crypto floor and wished her terminal would beep. There was only silence. The late-summer sun had set. Overhead, the automatic fluorescents had kicked on. Susan sensed time was running out. She looked down at her tracer and frowned. â€Å"Come on,† she grumbled. â€Å"You've had plenty of time.† She palmed her mouse and clicked her way into her tracer's status window. â€Å"How long have you been running, anyway?† Susan opened the tracer's status window-a digital clock much like the one on TRANSLTR; it displayed the hours and minutes her tracer had been running. Susan gazed at the monitor expecting to see a readout of hours and minutes. But she saw something else entirely. What she saw stopped the blood in her veins. TRACER ABORTED â€Å"Tracer aborted!† she choked aloud. â€Å"Why?† In a sudden panic, Susan scrolled wildly through the data, searching the programming for any commands that might have told the tracer to abort. But her search went in vain. It appeared her tracer had stopped all by itself. Susan knew this could mean only one thing-her tracer had developed a bug. Susan considered â€Å"bugs† the most maddening asset of computer programming. Because computers followed a scrupulously precise order of operations, the most minuscule programming errors often had crippling effects. Simple syntactical errors-such as a programmer mistakenly inserting a comma instead of a period-could bring entire systems to their knees. Susan had always thought the term â€Å"bug† had an amusing origin: It came from the world's first computer-the Mark 1-a room-size maze of electromechanical circuits built in 1944 in a lab at Harvard University. The computer developed a glitch one day, and no one was able to locate the cause. After hours of searching, a lab assistant finally spotted the problem. It seemed a moth had landed on one of the computer's circuit boards and shorted it out. From that moment on, computer glitches were referred to as bugs. â€Å"I don't have time for this,† Susan cursed. Finding a bug in a program was a process that could take days. Thousands of lines of programming needed to be searched to find a tiny error-it was like inspecting an encyclopedia for a single typo. Susan knew she had only one choice-to send her tracer again. She also knew the tracer was almost guaranteed to hit the same bug and abort all over again. Debugging the tracer would take time, time she and the commander didn't have. But as Susan stared at her tracer, wondering what error she'd made, she realized something didn't make sense. She had used this exact same tracer last month with no problems at all. Why would it develop a glitch all of a sudden? As she puzzled, a comment Strathmore made earlier echoed in her mind. Susan, I tried to send the tracer myself, but the data it returned was nonsensical. Susan heard the words again. The data it returned†¦ She cocked her head. Was it possible? The data it returned? If Strathmore had received data back from the tracer, then it obviously was working. His data was nonsensical, Susan assumed, because he had entered the wrong search strings-but nonetheless, the tracer was working. Susan immediately realized that there was one other possible explanation for why her tracer aborted. Internal programming flaws were not the only reasons programs glitched; sometimes there were external forces-power surges, dust particles on circuit boards, faulty cabling. Because the hardware in Node 3 was so well tuned, she hadn't even considered it. Susan stood and strode quickly across Node 3 to a large bookshelf of technical manuals. She grabbed a spiral binder marked SYS-OP and thumbed through. She found what she was looking for, carried the manual back to her terminal, and typed a few commands. Then she waited while the computer raced through a list of commands executed in the past three hours. She hoped the search would turn up some sort of external interrupt-an abort command generated by a faulty power supply or defective chip. Moments later Susan's terminal beeped. Her pulse quickened. She held her breath and studied the screen. ERROR CODE 22 Susan felt a surge of hope. It was good news. The fact that the inquiry had found an error code meant her tracer was fine. The trace had apparently aborted due to an external anomaly that was unlikely to repeat itself. Error code 22. Susan racked her memory trying to remember what code 22 stood for. Hardware failures were so rare in Node 3 that she couldn't remember the numerical codings. Susan flipped through the SYS-OP manual, scanning the list of error codes. 19: CORRUPT HARD PARTITION 20: DC SPIKE 21: MEDIA FAILURE When she reached number 22, she stopped and stared a long moment. Baffled, she double-checked her monitor. ERROR CODE 22 Susan frowned and returned to the SYS-OP manual. What she saw made no sense. The explanation simply read: 22: MANUAL ABORT

Edgar Degas His Life and Work

The Aeneid From An Analytical Approach - 1272 Words

The Aeneid by Virgil There are many different ways of looking at the Aeneid from an analytical approach. Many readers will tend to focus on the relationship of Aeneas and Dido and some will focus on Dido herself while others, like myself, will focus on Aeneas s blind ambition which is driven by the Gods desire to have him found a new Trojan empire in Rome. His obedience and loyalty was towards achieving what the Gods said was his future fate. Aeneas himself has some godlike qualities and was honored by the people of Troy. His father however, did not give him the same respect that the people of Troy did. Early on in the Aeneid, when the city of Troy fell, Aeneas was challenged with rounding up what was left of the Trojan people and leaving the city to find a new home to settle. His journey takes him too many places and through many obstacles before finally reaching a city that accepted them. Aeneas was not without fault and cared deeply for his people and eventually fell in love. That love proved t o be a distraction and once again Aeneas was off to find their new home. Aeneas eventually makes his way to Rome and becomes their king and fulfills his blind ambitious destiny the Gods lead him to believe. Who is Aeneas? Aeneas is a member of the Dardanian branch of the Trojan royal house but lived on Mount Ida instead of in Troy itself (Sage, Evan T). He was actually the son of the Goddess Athena who provided him with certain godlike abilities and protection that aShow MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeare s Hamlet - Moral Idealism1159 Words   |  5 PagesMoral idealism,as characterized by German idealist Immanuel Kant, is a philosophical approach to life that is driven by a desired focus on what is â€Å"right† and governs morality by a set of universal rights or duties, which tend to avoid compromises and deals with absolutes. An individual that adopts such an ideology, while in search of revenge for a crime committed against family, may cross into the realm of the divine and seek retribution beyond the worldly human capabilities as performed by the

Prohibition And Its Effects On The United States - 1661 Words

When personal choice is withdrawn from individuals and prohibition is implemented to control natural human behavior, the hypocrisy that many preach the United States as being a free society and a nation of tolerance seems to deteriorate when politicians see any opportunity to capitalize on the masses without regard. Yet even after alcohol prohibition and fighting an endless war on drugs, history still repeats itself over and over again while the taxpayer is left with the bill. Responsible and recreational drug users feed the black market without any other option due to prohibition. And with an unlimited and unregulated supply from cartels to satisfy the consumer, there is no question why Al Capone came to light at the end of alcohol†¦show more content†¦Even today, manslaughter may give you less time behind bars than being convicted in the drug trade. And with Congress in 1986 implementing a five year minimum for anyone found with an equivalent of a few sugar packets worth o f crack cocaine (Pupovac), there was little to no remorse for any drug use at the time including marijuana. Additionally when looking at the case of Alva Mae â€Å"Granny† Groves in 1994, a 72 year old woman who was convicted of conspiring to trade crack cocaine for food stamps. The punishment was nothing short of harsh. She had no prior criminal background yet was sentenced to 24 years due to the sentencing system at that time. She wrote the following in a letter before she died while incarcerated; â€Å"The only money I received came from SSI (Supplementary Security Income) and what money I could earn selling eggs from my laying hens (I had about 100 chickens), I also cleaned houses when I was able, and sold candy bars and soft drinks to the kids coming from school in the afternoons.† She also requested a pardon at the end of her life in order to die closer to her family, but due to the unethical laws at the time she was denied (Pupovac). Next when looking at other sentencing systems around the world, the United States is ranked the highest in marijuana arrests exponentiall y. In 2014 alone, there were over 700,000 marijuana-related arrests in the United States yet

How does Shakespeare use the arras device for particular effect Essay Example For Students

How does Shakespeare use the arras device for particular effect? Essay Throughout his plays Shakespeare weaves the arras device skilfully into his plots shaping the characters involved, the genre, and the outcome of the tale. The arras technique was frequently used during Elizabethan times for dramatic effect and to emphasising the theatrical theme; it is still commonly practiced to this day. The literal definition for an arras is a wall-hanging, however, the purpose is concealment, meaning that an arras can take many forms both physical and metaphorical. Shakespeare uses the device to develop characterisation and to exaggerate comedy, betrayal and dramatic irony. The use of the arras for different effect is used in all the Shakespearean plays I have studied. The traditional form of an arras was a wall hanging or tapestry hiding an individual from the other characters. This barrier would permit a person to hide from another, allowing the person hiding to listen, concealed, to what the other person was saying or doing. Shakespeare uses this method in Cymbeline, when Iachimo is unwittingly taken into Imogens chamber To the trunk again, and shut the spring of it. Iachimo hides in the trunk, because he wants his presence to be secret, he knows the trunk will be taken to Imogens room so manages to pass by her guards and maids unseen. When Imogens maid enters her rooms she immediately asks Whos there? my woman Helen? This method is repeatedly applied in The Merry Wives of Windsor, when Falstaff hides from mistress Page and when he is carried out of Mistress Fords house in a laundry basket covered in dirty washing, unknown by Mr Ford, who is angrily searching for him. Once again this character hides in a moving arras, and passes right under the person they are hiding froms nose. Shakespeare can use this form of the physical arras to display and enhance humour and tragedy and in all of the plays I have studied this technique has occurred. However, the play that is the most dependent on the arras shaping the genre is The Merry Wives of Windsor, where the comedy solely relies on the humour being formed when Falstaff tries unsuccessfully to use the arras device. Falstaff believes he is tricking the two mistresses Ford and Page playing them both, this is shown when he is trying to woo Mistress Ford I love thee; none but thee, but suddenly Mistress Page appears and he is forced to hide. Hidden behind a wall hanging he believes that Mistress Page has no idea of his presence, when ironically the whole situation has been previously planned by the two women Mistress Page, remember your cue. This means that when Falstaffs confidence shines through it is comical for the audience who, through dramatic irony know what he does not; that in fact he is the one being played. To add further humour to his arrogance the director could have made him poorly hidden with his round stomach giving him away. Shakespeare continues this theme of comedy when Falstaff has to be hidden once again, but this time from Ford who knows not of the trickery devised by the two wives. Falstaff has to allow himself to be buried underneath a dirty pile of washing in a laundry and later dumped into a muddy brook, when trying to escape Fords resentful search. Humour is displayed when Falstaff tries to use the two different arrases but finds difficulty with his large size; Hes too big to go in there. A physical arras, whos purpose is to achieve trickery, is also used four times in Much to do about nothing. The first two arrases are of the same style and are intended to have the same effect; to be overheard. It first occurs when Don Pedro, Leonato and Claudio manage to trick Benedict into believing that Beatrice loves him. This trap is carefully schemed and rehearsed by the two characters. The scene begins in the orchard with Benedicks monologue where the audience is told of his complaints of love. He wonders if he will ever marry May I be so converted and see with these eyes? I cannot tell; I think not and how till all graces be in one woman, one woman shall not come in my grace. However, the audience has been previously been informed of his friends plan and here dramatic irony occurs. The trickery starts with Don Pedro asking See you where Benedick hath hid himself? talking of the arras Benedick thinks he is well hidden behind, a box hedge, and this is obviously not intended to be over heard. However, he goes on to say you told me of Many times a playwright EssayA style of the arras devise that is used a lot less frequently in Shakespeare plays, but still causes great dramatic effect is a metaphoric arras, shown in Hamlet Much to do about nothing and in Cymbeline. A metaphorical arras devise arises into the plot of Hamlet helping to further sculpture the genre and end result. The arras that Hamlet seems to shelter behind in some parts of the play is madness that causes confusion amongst the other characters and amongst the audience. At the beginning of the play the audience is made to assume that madness is an act covering Hamlets real intentions, but as the play continues the madness seems to merge into the character of Hamlet, leaving the audience puzzled about if his actions are actually intended. The bewilderment cause by the arras shows the layering and entwining of different tales that makes this play even more complex. Another metaphorical arras devised to create tragedy is shown near the end of Much To Do About Nothing, when a small number of characters, including Hero, fake Heros own death. However, this devise is shown clearly to be intentional and this was succeed by Heros disappearance from public. This arras allowed Heros innocence to be proven without any further embarrassment for her and for Claudios love guilt to be revealed For this I owe you: here comes other reckonings here it seems as though Claudio takes full blame for the death of Hero causing his actions to be filled with guilt. The arras devise can also be the foundation of the audiences feelings towards certain characters, the audiences feelings about a certain character can be shaped by the use of the arras and this is shown in Shakespeares play Cymbeline. Spectators views towards Iachimo are affected by his unwanted, unknown presence and how venerable Imogen is lying completely oblivious in her bed. He seems to take advantage of her defencelessness by using the arras of sleep to be somewhat controlling and creepy which could easily unnerve the audience. Although this form of arras is not literal and is not an object which conceals him, it is in some ways even more affective in portraying the true characteristics of Iachimo. Viewers of the play, I believe, would feel uneasy about Iachimos next actions after his comment Our Tarquin thus did softly press the rushes, ere he wakend the chastity he wounded. This would be because Iachimo seems to take pride in comparing himself to Tarquin a well known story in Elizabethan times. From the tiny glimpse of Shakespearean plays I have studied I have seen continuous occurrences of the arras devise, where it has been used in many different ways to cause many different effects. In all the arrases that occurred the purpose accomplished, while highlighting and exaggerating dramatic effect. The devise plays a very important part in all the plays, and I do truly believe that the arras devise greatly affects the outcome of the play.

The Grapes Of Wrath (Ap Us History Paper) Essays - U.S. Route 66

The Grapes Of Wrath (Ap Us History Paper) The Grapes of Wrath The Grapes of Wrath is an eye-opening novel which deals with the struggle for survival of a migrant family of farmers in the western United States. The book opens with a narrative chapter describing Oklahoma, and the overall setting. It sets the mood of an area which has been ravished by harsh weather. The sun flared down on the growing corn day after day until a line of brown spread along the edge of each green bayonet. The surface of the earth crusted, a thin hard crust, and as the sky became pale, so the earth became pale, pink in the red country, and white in the gray country. (Steinbeck pg.3) Steinbeck, in a detailed fashion described the area in great detail. Not only was the area stricken by a drought and extreme temperatures, but to add to the difficulties, the families of the area were bombarded by high winds and dust storms which barraged their houses, crops, and moral. The idea was made clear, quite early, that the farming plains of Oklahoma were a cruel and difficult plac e for a family to make a successful living. The reader is first introduced to a character by the name of Tom Joad, a man who has been released early from the penitentiary on parole after serving four years of his seven year sentence. Tom, once released, begins the trip back home to his family on their forty acre farming estate. Tom, through the aid of a helpful truck driver, is given a ride to the general area of his house. It is interesting to see how Tom manages to hitch a ride with the truck driver, who under normal circumstances, would not have given any rides to hitch hikers, simply due to a sticker on his cab which reads No Riders. Tom however, through cunning reasoning skills, is able to get what he needs. Can you give me a lift mister, said Tom. Didn't you see the No Riders sticker on the wind shield?,the driver proclaimed. Sure, I seen it. But sometimes a guy will be a good guy even if some rich b&%#@rd makes him carry a sticker.(Steinbeck 11) Technically, if the driver refused, he would not be a good guy , and if he took the hitch-hiker, he would be a good guy, and would prove that he was not one whom a rich boss could kick around. Through his actions in the opening scenes, we learn a little bit about Tom Joad, and what he is like as a person. Once Tom is dropped off, he meets up with an old minister named Jim Casey. The reader momentarily learns of Jim's inner struggle before he joins Tom in accompanying him back to his house. Meanwhile, the Joad's (tenant farmers) were being evicted from their house by the owner of the land, and were making plans for a trip to move in with Uncle Tom. Upon the arrival of Tom and Jim, they are quick to discover, through the knowledge of Muley, an old friend of Tom, that his family has already left, but were unable to reach him to let him know what was happening to them. Tom and Jim eventually catch up to the family at Uncle Tom's cabin and are greeted with open arms. Soon after their arrival, the family is once again forced to leave. After purchasing a truck, the family heads for California in the search of a home and work, but not without a struggle with Grandpa who does not wish to leave. The family is forced to drug him to bring him along, only for him to later die along the way of a massive stroke. Casey decides to come along with the family while still struggling with his internal conflict. As the trip lengthens, the family meets up with the Mr. and Mrs. Wilson one night along the side of the road. The two families befriend each other and continue the trip west together. Both families continue to travel west together until they are separated when Mrs. Wilson becomes fatally ill, which forces the Wilsons to stay behind. The struggle of the Joad's