Money Bags and Feng Shui

Do you ever receive e-mails such as the one below? We used to have the "chain letter," which warmed of dire results if we didn't resend to a number of people. I liked this e-mail because it promised a positive outcome. But alas, I did not send it on.

But the content is interesting -- the number of Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in the month of July this year. Below is the complete content of the e-mail:

THIS IS THE ONLY TIME WE WILL SEE AND LIVE THIS  EVENT Calendar for July 2012 July Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 This  year, July has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5  Sundays. This happens once every 823 years. This is called money bags. So, forward this to your friends and money will arrive within 4 days. Based on Chinese Feng Shui. The one who does not forward.....will be with without money. Which brings up the question of Feng Shui. Have you ever looked into it? A few years ago I bought some books on the subject, specifically on home decoration, because I was in a phase of wanting to create a minimalist existence. In doing so, I thought I might as well try to bring some good luck into the mix as well!  I'm still working on paring down, getting rid of things I don't use, things that clutter my house and my life. It's an on-going process and something extremely difficult for a pack-rat like me. So what exactly is Feng Shui? The following is just a small sampling from about.com and you can read much more with a google search.

This is a simple question that can be difficult to answer. Feng Shui is an ancient art and science developed over 3,000 years ago in China. It is a complex body of knowledge that reveals how to balance the energies of any given space to assure the health and good fortune for people inhabiting it.

Feng means wind and shui means water. In Chinese culture wind and water are associated with good health, thus good feng shui came to mean good fortune, while bad feng shui means bad luck, or misfortune.

Feng Shui is based on the Taoist vision and understanding of nature, particularly on the idea that the land is alive and filled with Chi, or energy.

The ancient Chinese believed that the land's energy could either make or break the kingdom, so to speak. The theories of yin and yang, as well as the five feng shui elements, are some of the basic aspects of a feng shui analysis that come from Taoism.

This is from another Web site:

Feng shui uses many things of the five elements- water, wood, fire, earth, and metal to synchronize and harmonize areas around you for maximum benefits. The Spiritual Feng Shui however is not only furniture placement and interior decoration but knowing your universe and surroundings better to get positive changes from within. As one can never build a home on a cemetery, so is foundation of positive changes need complete eradication of negative elements from your heart and soul that soars your own ability to energies and vitalize your surroundings. Feng Shui decorating tips only aid in bringing these changes, but true transformation should come from deep within.

Well, maybe it's a lot of hocus-pocus, akin to furtune-telling and horoscopes. But it's interesting, and fun, don't you think? But quite difficult for the Western-mind to understand or accept.

But it never hurts to downsize one's surroundings and simplify one's life!