The spectacular Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics were laid on a foundation of Feng Shui principles. Everything from the date and the location of the venue to the exact time of the opening and the torch lighting ceremony were based on a combination of principles from the Form and Compass Schools of Feng Shui plus the use of Chinese Numerology.
Whether you are an Olympic fan or a fan of this year's location and some of their tactical performance decisions is less important than observing their exquisite use of Feng Shui. I usually watch the Olympics to see the Opening Ceremonies, the pageantry and to cheer on our extremely talented under sung athletes when competiting. This year I was particularly interested because they were being held in the land where the Ancient Chinese gave birth to the thought process of living in harmony with their surroundings, later called Feng Shui.
The ceremony started off with a burst of high energy pyrotechnics on 08-08-08 precisely at 8:08 pm followed by huge electronically created foot prints in the sky leading the way to the stadium – that's like leading great new energy to your front door. And, during the performance, every group of performers numbered 2008.
The number 8 is considered a very lucky number and is associated with great fortune. In this case, the good fortune energy will serve well for both the host country of the games and for their athletes winning medals. It appears to be serving both well. Beijing is filled with commerce and at last count, their athletes are doing very well in the medals arena.
Balance Created by the Dynamics of Yin and Yang Wind and Water, the literal translation for the two words Feng Shui were evident throughout the ceremony. The wind was introduced early on with the flowing movement of columns and later beautifully costumed performers gracefully floating through the air or dancing with ribbons, as if blowing in the wind. Simultaneously, harmonizing with the wind was water. Images of water poured down around the top of the National Stadium called the Bird's Nest which happens to be in the shape of a money pot. Then the ocean was projected into the stadium with whales swimming everywhere. What a lovely flow of energy was portrayed with wind and water.
The flow of energy, called Chi, was evident in all aspects of the ceremony. When there was active or aggressive movement it would be balanced by stillness or slow undulating motions in following performance.
It was more fascinating however to observe the use of Yin and Yang for balance and harmony while creating drama and holding the audience's interest. The loud intensity of the drummers was balanced with the silent dancelike movements of the Tai Chi performers. The beautiful Five Olympic Rings delicately covered with what appeared to be millions of tiny white lights, slowly rose up from the floor, stood vertically and then floated upward against a backdrop of a total darkness in the stadium.
Equally dramatic was the appearance of a huge ball that rose from the floor to nearly the top of the stadium which turned into a world globe at one point. Perched at the top of the globe singing was Sarah Brightman dressed in pure white next to the leading Chinese male singer Liu Huan dressed in black. The juxtaposition of light and dark plus female and male was stunning as was their performance.
Another very noticeable balance was apparent when the Chinese athletes entered the stadium. Their flag bearer was Yao Ming a seven foot tall basketball player and next to him was a 9 year old boy, Lin Hao. The young boy was a national hero because he not only freed himself from the collapsed ruins of his school left behind from the devastating earthquake on May 12 but went back into the rubble twice and freed two children. Picture this young boy probably all of 36 inches tall walking beside Yao . Talk about balancing tall and short or big and little – this was picture perfect.
Applying Yin and Yang Balance to Your Home
The ceremonies were quite spectacular because of the flow of energy meandering throughout. The same Yin and Yang principles can be applied very nicely to your home to provide you with health, prosperity and abundance energy by doing some of the following:
· In rooms that are too dark add more light by painting the walls a lighter color or using the upward shooting light or torchiere lamps
· In rooms that are too light, tone it down with medium value earth tone colors and softly draping curtains on the windows
· In rooms where the furniture is hard, cold and looks unwelcoming add some soft pillows and a comfy throw, especially in greens or blues
· If furniture is so soft you always want to fall asleep in a family or living room use more hard angular items such as metal, chrome and mirrors
· If there is a lot of noise pollution in your neighborhood because of traffic, play soft relaxing music in the background to balance the pollution
· If clutter is in the way of meandering energy, get rid of it
If you didn't get a chance to watch the Opening Ceremonies you might enjoy checking it out online and viewing it from a Feng Shui perspective. Even the NBC broadcast booth was Feng Shui'ed for successful broadcasting.
The key to balancing with Yin and Yang is not that you must have exactly the same amount of the light and dark or hard and soft but rather enough of each to create balance for you.
© Pat Heydlauff, all rights reserved 2008
Pat Heydlauff, president of Energy Design, uses Feng Shui design principles to eliminate chaos and stress at home and within oneself. More than a Feng Shui expert, Pat is a consultant and speaker who helps remove clutter and negativity while encouraging personal growth, improved relationships and prosperity. Her forthcoming book, "Feng Shui: So Easy a Child Can Do It," shows how small changes can lead to a big improvement in one's personal and professional success. For information on her consulting, speaking and artwork, visit:
www.Energy-by-Design.com or call: 561-799-3443.
