In October, I received another SOS call which further confirms Shakespeare's quote, except here it is more a case of trouble suddenly erupting in paradise, where cracks appear, fast and furious in a picture perfect world.
I have noticed that troubles rarely take those who are well protected by surprise ... but for those whose lives are simply so good they never expect anything to go wrong, when things do go wrong, they are left immobilized, frozen into inaction, not really sure what has happened to shake their lives. The call to me was unexpected because it is not my friend who calls but his mother who tells me that she has never felt so alone, so helpless or so vulnerable. I am surprised because the last time I spoke with her was at her youngest son's wedding.
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| House Feng Shui Rules |
This is a matriarch who lives with her three sons in a modern Balinese-style home, complete with granite floors, infinity pools and floor-to-ceiling glass doors. It is a house that commands a sweeping view of the Singapore skyline, very posh and very YIN!! Yes, the house is silent, devoid of color and people. Everyone goes about barefoot.
The rooms are huge, more like public halls than private rooms. Theirs is a multimillion-dollar house which has appreciated in value way beyond anyone's expectations. Its value is not surprising, because it is landed property located in the most expensive of Singapore's residential suburbs.
The family members are kind, generous and god-fearing. Neither the matriarch nor her sons are snobbish in the least. They involve themselves in countless charities, and both the matriarch and her daughters-in-law are active fundraisers. Now a widow, she continues to lead an active social life so they are very much part of the glamorous Tatler crowd. The eldest son, my friend Robert, is single. A devout Buddhist, he has little interest in getting married, as a result of which some speculate he is gay. I personally have no idea whether he is or is not, but our friendship arises from our interest in Tibetan Buddhism. Also we share the same Lama.
But Robert and I rarely see each other, occasionally meeting only when our guru comes to town, which is very rarely - perhaps once a year. I gather he is not interested in feng shui as he is one of the very few people who has never attended any of my Extravaganzas even though he is on my guest list by virtue of our spiritual connection.
The second son, Alex is married to the toast of Singapore society; a beautiful and talented beauty queen, whose father is a renowned surgeon. Alex loves fast cars, drives a Ferrari, is achingly dashing and very well-groomed. By day, he runs his own private equity fund, and by night, he can be seen in the private gaming rooms of the Marina Sands casino when he is not squiring his beautiful wife to some social event.
The youngest son, Phillip is an up-and-coming dress and jewellery designer who runs his own high fashion couture business with his wife, who has been on the Tatler best-dressed list for the past three years. Together, they are part of the young power couples to watch.
Why did Mrs Lee call me? Because her eldest son, my friend Robert, sweet gentle Robert who has never spoken a harsh word in his life, has suddenly left the house after having had a fight with Alex, after slapping Alex's wife and calling her fake and superficial, and after screaming and hurling abuse at his mother. He is like a man possessed she tells me.
Because she has also just discovered that Alex is in debt, having lost several millions at the casino and his beautiful wife has left him. Because Phillip has just told her he and his wife are getting a divorce. "It's cool Mum, he tells her, she's fine with it and I have a new girlfriend..."
Bad feng shui? House too yin? Spirit harm? Jealousy? Tall poppy syndrome? Did someone do black magic on Robert? Otherwise how can he suddenly become such an angry monster? He was always so gentle and kind?
And what about Alex, gambling his fortune away, and Phillip, treating his wife and marriage with such callousness.
Mrs Lee's world has suddenly collapsed around her... There is more.., the infinity pool is leaking, and the large fountain of wealth has started to crumble. The pump that creates the waterfall has also broken down and the water has stopped flowing. The toilet in her bedroom needs to be repaired.
Suddenly she feels old, she tells me... and she has no idea what to do. Like Ella, she too asks me to fly to Singapore to check the feng shui of her house.
But I am unable to do it. October is a busy month for me with so many students coming for my Feng Shui Master Practitioners courses. But I know her house is definitely too yin, thereby attracting wandering spirits in to cause mischief. This is what happens when yin spirit formation develops. They need to bring in more color, more sounds and invite people to their home, instead of going out every night and every lunchtime, leading such busy lives, yet letting their beautiful home feel so unlived-in and unloved.
And of course, the feng shui of the house is so incredibly flawed. Each time I make a tentative comment, wanting to gently tell them how to modify the many poison arrows and blockages that I feel need to be removed, they dismiss my remarks with a smirk... they simply do not really believe in feng shui...
Once I suggested to Robert that he might want to offer incense regularly to his local spirits. He merely shrugged his shoulders and that was the end of it, even though he knows that our guru is a great believer in offering incense to the local spirit landlords of the home. Indeed, I myself had learn about the power of making incense offerings from our guru.
Now with Robert gone and with the marriage of her two other sons in a mess, what is there to be done? The family is wealthy enough to cover Alex's gambling debts, but unless they modify their feng shui and appease the local landlords of their living space, alas, I envisage more troubles coming their way. It is hard. This ends Part 2 of House Feng Shui Rules.