One of the things I immediately loved when I first encountered the Tibetan Black Hat Sect Feng Shui was how deeply mystical it is. I loved its profound understanding of energy’s impact on us. And I loved it’s recognition of how we can direct energy, both physically, in the form of physical adjustments to the environment, and subtly, in the form of ritual and intent. As a shamanic practitioner and healer, I was accustomed to working in the subtle realms to effect physical change. Mantra meditation, begun in high school, had given me a still mind with a great ability to focus. Both of these spiritual traditions taught the use of ritual in their practice, and so Feng Shui became for me a natural extension of what I already knew.
Unlike other schools of Feng Shui, this intuitive school mixes traditional Feng Shui with Tibetan Tantric Buddhism and Tibetan Bon (shamanism). It also has a living master. Along with knowledge and training in this tradition, the stronger your own spiritual practices are and the stronger your own intuition is, the better practitioner you will be. I believe these things combine to make this school of Feng Shui incredibly powerful.
For the above mentioned reasons, you often encounter many things in this school of Feng Shui that aren’t found in other schools. One tradition unique to this school is the "9 Red Envelope Ritual", where nine new red envelopes with a monetary amount in each are offered to the practitioner when sacred information is exchanged. This is in addition to any fees charged for consulting or teaching. The monetary amount in each envelope is determined by what you value in your heart of hearts, so that if you truly value a dollar, then one dollar is placed in each envelope.
This practice or ritual protects the teacher for revealing sacred knowledge, and it also ensures the effectiveness of the knowledge as it is passed on to the student. It forms a direct line of chi between the person offering the envelopes and the living master himself, thus making the adjustments and cures far stronger than they would be without that link. Master Lin Yun believes so strongly in this ritual that if someone honestly does not have the money to put in the red envelopes to give to him, he will give them his own money to use in the ritual.
Our western minds have no category for this kind of reality. On a cultural whole, we don’t have much knowledge or experience with the power of a spiritual lineage. We have even less understanding around psychic protection or sacred knowledge. And we tend to automatically make everything about money! When we first encounter this tradition, it can feel a bit strange.
If we have unhealed money issues, poverty consciousness, or victim "somebody’s out to take something from me" mentality, then that is what is going to come up when we encounter this ritual. As with everything else in life, what you see "out there" is a reflection of your own inner state. Feng Shui is about powerful healing and change, so what is important is not that old limiting beliefs come up, but what we do with them instead. If we cultivate the knowledge that what we give returns to us manyfold, that we live in a world of limitless resources, and that we ourselves are enriched when someone else is prosperous, then we experience the deep transforming power of the "9 Red Envelope Ritual" in every area of our life.
I’ve spoken to many practitioners about this ritual. I love to hear other people’s perspectives. One friend, who practices the Chinese compass school of Feng Shui, said that his linear mind really could not adjust to this more mystical approach. He said he couldn’t imagine having to go to a bank manager and ask for red envelopes. He felt that that would never work for him or his clients. Another friend said that, for her, it’s one of the best parts of the consultation. She said it is an absolute thrill to do the "9 Red Envelope Ritual" with a room full of mortgage loan officers! She loves bringing God and Mystery into corporate America. Both of these very successful full-time practitioners have found the perfect school of Feng Shui for themselves and have attracted the perfect clients.
I would love to continue this discussion and to hear from other people about their experiences with this particular Feng Shui ritual, as well as any of the other rituals that you’ve encountered. In next month’s Forum, I will also happily write about my trip to Maui and the advanced practitioner training.
And so, until next month, many blessings and much happiness. To participate in the Feng Shui Forum, please fax me at 713-861-9243, e-mail me at joani@wt.net, or call me at 713-861-0903 with your questions or contributions. I look forward to hearing from you soon!.
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