Michael Richard Murphy

Ok, so it’s been a very, very long time since I’ve written here. As usual, there is lots of stuff going on. It’s all subjects for other posts however.

I attended a seminar today on Feng Shui in the workplace. May is Asian American History Month (I think) so the company sponsored this seminar at lunch. I had some free time and I’m sometimes interested in stuff like this so I dropped in.

The seminar was taught by a local Feng Shui Master named Louisa Ong-Lee who put on a very captivating presentation. She trained under a well known Feng Shui Master in Singapore for many years and now she consults here as well as speaks and writes on topics related to Feng Shui.

For those of you that aren’t familiar, Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of position and placement of objects to create positive energy. For those of you that are familiar, I apologize, those are my own words to describe it. The idea is that placing certain objects in certain locations can result in a more harmonious environment which in turn can attract health, wealth, happiness, etc. The brochure says that although this is an art, a lot of it is based on mathematical and scientific calculations. I don’t know if it is or is not, we only had an hour so we focused more on the whats than the whys.

The idea that simply placing certain objects in certain locations facing in certain directions can bring health, wealth, and happiness would certainly be enticing. Afterall, who doesn’t want those things? Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s that simple. It never is.

I mentioned in a previous post that I’ve been thinking a lot about happiness lately. What it really is, meaning, how does it feel to be happy? Where it comes from, meaning, does it come from having things, from other people, from personal achievement, etc. This is pretty on topic because by practicing Feng Shui you can supposedly attract positive energy and repel negative energy. If that’s true and your life becomes filled with positive energy, then it stands to reason that all other aspects of your life will improve.

Your new positive energy will probably result in a better mood, which you will probably bring to your workplace, which will probably be noticed by your boss, which will probably enhance your career, which will probably enhance your bottom line, which will probably reduce any possible financial stressed in your life, which will put you in a better mood…

I guess my question, and the ultimate point of this article is if the expectation that placing certain objects in certain locations will bring positive energy to your life and mood, is it necessary to actually do it? Just like the recipients of a placebo often times report their symptoms relieved, could simply making a conscious decision to practice Feng Shui and the expectation of the results be enough to bring about those results without actually doing anything more? Maybe the decision by that person to learn and practice Feng Shui is more important than the actual act of placing the objects. Maybe that’s the commitment necessary to make positive changes.

As an example of what I mean, a recent combination of busy-ness and laziness has kept me from getting as much exercise as I need and like. I know I feel better and less stressed when I’m getting that exercise so I decided to make a conscious decision to make time for it. Even though I’ve only found time to run once since making the decision (give me a break, I said it was a recent decision), I’ve actually felt better since making the decision.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking Feng Shui. People can use all the help they can get when it comes to health, wealth, and happiness. I just think it can’t be as easy as having an aquarium in a certain corner of your house. A martial-artist friend of mine used to have a t-shirt that said something like Discipline…if it came in a can, everyone would have it. Or something like that. What the attribute is really isn’t important. The point is, if it’s worth having, you need to work for it. So whether you practice Feng Shui or not, make a conscious decision to put yourself in surroundings that lift you up and improve your mood. You’ll be glad you did.

I apologize for the off-topic posts lately. I’ll be making two or three major announcements before the month is over that will bring the focus of this site back to technology.