Which businesses are likely to flourish this year? In a dialogue with Tatler, feng shui expert Patrick Lim Fernandez gives his take on luck, money, and more
Centuries-old feng shui has influenced the Filipino-Chinese community in many ways. The custom enables them to achieve specific life improvements by understanding the energies that surround the world through the help of stars and their placements. In the modern world, even start-up CEOs and business tycoons learnt to forge their paths whilst leaning on the art of feng shui.
Patrick Lim Fernandez, a principal at the Yin & Yang Shop of Harmony, says he will never get tired of explaining the principles of feng shui. In a dialogue with Tatler, he discloses relevant business, wealth, and health predictions for 2022, the Year of the Water Tiger.
"So feng shui, when translated from Chinese literally means 'wind and water'," he explains. "The practise is really understanding the flows of energy around us. It is very similar to let's say, scientists, charting out light energy or sound energy. Feng shui is just targetting energy, both in the person and how it affects his or her personal luck; in a greater sense, it shows how we can live in harmony with nature and with the environment, how do we make sure that the lives we live go with the flows of Earth's energy."
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Fernandez adds that feng shui heavily depends on astronomical bodies that appear on Earth. He debunks claims that the age-old practise is a religion and a mere cult. "Some myths about it is that it's a religion or some sort of fortune-telling system. It's really none of those. Here, there is no god or deity being prayed to; it's more of like a weather forecast based on the planets and how it affects different energies here on Earth," he says.
The feng shui expert explains how inclusive the practice is. Contrary to popular belief, this system of understanding energies can be observed by people of any colour or nationality. "For me, feng shui really relates to all energies present on Earth and if you're inhabiting the Earth, if you're alive, then you are an energy and this is relevant to you," he shares. "This practice goes beyond borders, religion, race, genders, ages, and so on; going back to the definition, it's really about knowing the movement of life and how it affects all of us, it's all about living in harmony with nature."
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