Australian Parliament House Tours

The building took seven years to build and it cost the Australian Government over a billion Aussi dollars. Inaugurated on 9 May 1988, this Period of 7 building has many troublesome feng shui features that could be causing an excess of internal politics for the country. The building covers an area of 250,000 square meters, and sits on 32 hectares of land. 

Australian Parliament House Tours

Designed by Italian architect Romaldo Giurgola of the famed New York based firm Mitchell/ Giurgola, the building sits on top of a slope overlooking the old parliament building, facing North, with a broad expanse of space in front of the main entrance, which forms a bright hall effect for the building.


MOUNTAIN & WATER 

This bright hall is good feng shui of course, but there is more. There is a mountain behind signifying support, power and authority, and it faces a lake in front, signifying money luck. The Government of Australia will not go the way of Greece for sure. Building for prosperity is an important aspect for buildings like this for they affect the feng shui of the entire country. 

Beyond the lake is a "Table Mountain" which happily stores the "Chi" - so far so good, for this kind of planning is generally considered to be an excellent formation in feng shui; where mountain meets water is where the "Chi" will gather.

DRAGON & TIGER WALLS 

The visitor to,the building will notice there are no natural mountains on either side of the building, so there is no natural Dragon and Tiger for the building; but it does seem like the builders took some kind of feng shui advice as the building design seems to simulate the "presence of these celestial creatures" via the embracing walls that stretch out on the left and on the right; basically this artificially symbolizes the Dragon and the Tiger!
 
Outside at the front of the building, there is a water feature. This has a circular design and activates for good growth luck. Unfortunately, this is a PERIOD 7 building, so the chi is tired, and the Period 7 flying stars are not helpful any more. The water can be a source of disharmony even as it brings good growth luck. People working in the building will thus have very mixed luck indeed.

TWO BOOMERANGS 

The building is in the shape of two boomerangs enclosed within a circle. This clearly demarcates two groups separated and going head-to-head against each other. The building structure and configuration creates a bow and arrow situation, sending "poison arrows" to each other and to themselves; in other words, the building encourages a hotbed of "internal politics". Anyone following Australian politics will realize just how much their building is contributing to the political problems there. 

On the other hand, having the building in an enclosed circular design, with roads going around the building itself can also signify that the wealth does not leave the site; instead, any asset wealth created accumulates and gets retained within.
 
FLAGPOLE STABBING THE BUILDING?
 
Then there is the flagpole placed on top the roof of the building with the flag flown at 81 metres high. The flagpole is 12.8m by 64.4m, about the size of half a tennis court with a weight of about 220 tonnes of stainless steel. The purpose of this design was to represent the pinnacle of the parliament house, so that it is easily recognizable as the symbol of national government, and is visible by day on the outside and by night with floodlights from inside the building.
 
In terms of feng shui design, this would look like a sharp spear waiting to fall into the center of the building, piercing into the heart! This can take a toll on the health of the people working within this building; and problems can manifest as conditions involving the internal organs or heart.
 
FACADE FULL OF HOLES 

The facade of the building was designed deliberately to imitate some of the patterns of the Old Parliament House, with white colonial-style structures. However, with a design like this, it has created a view of what we call the "Holes in the Building" syndrome, which indicates a pocket that is full of holes. Not a good sign!

As you enter from the main entrance, the entire hall is filled with columns clad in marble. This makes it look like this government needs a lot of support to hold up the house. Exposed columns are generally not encouraged in feng shui, and in this building, they do look excessive!

POISON ARROWS INSIDE

The interior of the Parliament House comes with many geometrical objects throughout the building, most of which are circular and semi-circular in design. Almost all the wall lights are semi-circle in shape, creating more poison arrows, and the interesting part of one aspect of the design are the clocks! There are 2,416 clocks used for calling members or senators to vote in this building. These geometrical designs and clocks send out shar chi daily, causing tension and aggravation throughout the building. These clocks are really everywhere to be seen!

With this short investigation, we conclude that the feng shui based on the interior design of this building is not great, and it is likely that internal problems will continue with a lot of indecisive action. However, because the landscape design has excellent feng shui, this can override many other feng shui obstacles in this building, hence helping the government attain wealth, power and authority. But now they just have to find a way out of the internal politics!

THE ECONOMY 

With all the internal politics and fighting in Parliament House, the economy in Australia is still going strong, with the currency being stronger than the US dollar and staying strong despite difficult times, mainly due to the fact that Australia is strong in the export markets with the mining industries being the main export earners, followed by agriculture, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, and the chemical and steel industries.
 
Australia is also well known as a wealthy country that is able to provide high-quality education, health services and social security for vulnerable groups. The property market is still booming with foreign investors buying properties around Australia. IMF reports list Australia as one of the fastest-growing advanced economies in the world at present. Australia's GDP is approximately US$1.23 trillion and is the 13th largest economy by nominal GDP and the 17th largest as measured by Purchasing Power Parity, representing approximately 1.7% of the world economy. Australia is also ranked the 19th largest importer and exporter in the world market.

With an export of US$48.6 billion to China in 2010 and the recent boom in China demand for Australian commodities, and with lucrative opportunities in iron ore exports for the mining industry, Australia is most definitely in the run to outpace most other advanced economies in 2011.
 

While Australian leadership suffers from internal in-fighting - and this is clearly predicted looking at the feng shui of its Parliamentary House - nevertheless, wealth and prosperity of the country has not been compromised. But stamping out the backstabbing could make life a lot smoother when it comes to Australian politics. To find out more, you can check out Australian Parliament House Tours.
 

Chinese Restaurant London Chinatown

l am staring intently at a giant mural in a shabby backstreet in London's Chinatown. It looks like thousands of little squares assembled at random on a massive wall... but wait a minute... I can see a shape emerging. It is the image of a huge bowl of rice against a mottled background of yellow and brown. This is the award-winning "Rice Bowl" mural designed by a Hong Kong architect and designer Wing Kei Wong. 

Measuring 8m by 5m, it is made up of 1888 photographs of Chinatown, its residents and visitors donated by the public. It is such a clever idea to use the photographs as mosaic for the mural. Wong explained that she called it "1888" because it is an auspicious number in Chinese numerology. The triple eight denotes prosperity and good fortune and the number 'one' sounds like 'everyday' in Cantonese, and together it means "good fortune everyday" for the people in Chinatown. Looking at the bowl of rice reminds me it is lunch time.

Chinese Restaurant London Chinatown

There is a plethora of restaurants in Chinatown to choose from, seventy-eight to be precise. Whenever nostalgia grips me, I make a beeline for Chinatown to seek out some oriental nosh and to savor the Asian ambiance so redolent of my home country in Malaysia. The bustling shops and Chinese supermarkets at Gerrard Street sell everything Asian.

There are stores selling Chinese cakes, pastries and all my favorite snacks. It is like strolling through a street in Hong Kong or any eastern city with Chinese songs blaring in the air and some signboards in Chinese character. It is in a world of its own yet just a stone's throw away are Trafalgar Square, Westminster and Piccadilly and everything quintessentially English.

With so many restaurants to choose from, one has to be selective and careful not to choose the touristy ones that serve Anglo-Cantonese food to cater for the local British patrons. But to be fair, in recent years the Chinese cuisine here has improved as more and more restaurants are opened. My favorite is Imperial China in Lisle Street which runs parallel to Gerrard Street. It is the only restaurant in Chinatown that has its own courtyard set away from the street. 

The restaurant is accessed through a gateway and an ornamental bridge over a koi pond. The courtyard gives way to a large open seating area inside the restaurant where the meals are served.
 
In the summer, tables are set right by the koi pond. It enjoys great Feng Shui with positive chi circulating freely inside the enclave and away from the vortex of energy from the heavy traffic on the street, not to mention free from the pollution of exhaust fumes of cars.
 
The dim sum is one of the best in Chinatown and the service is friendly and efficient. It is more upmarket than the other restaurants and the dinner menu is above par and authentic. I grade Chinese restaurants from the tea they serve and from the hot sour soup, where the hotness and sourness is tricky to master. It passes the litmus test here with more than the ubiquitous low grade jasmine tea so beloved by all Chinese restaurants. They have my favorite chrysanthemum tea, so fragrant and refreshing to wash down the scrumptious dim sum dishes. 

The "char slew soh" or baked pastry parcel stuffed with barbecue pork is heavenly, and so are the cuttlefish cakes eaten with a piquant vinegar and chilli dip. Next to be served is the dessert of mini egg tarts, the pastry case and custard filling so delicate that it melts in your mouth. Yummy yum to the highest order! I could eat a dozen of those tiny tarts but I restrain myself and must walk off this lunch binge.
 
Strolling through Chinatown is such a buzz with so much vibrant energy. Gone are the days when Chinatown was a dingy place with second-rate restaurants dishing out mediocre food with terrible service. Today, London Chinatown is a popular tourist attraction and has been given a major facelift. Gerrard Street, the heart of Chinatown is pedestrianised, and all the grubby shops have been replaced with clean outlets with thought given to merchandise display.
 
New restaurants serving, great food have sprung up and services in all the outlets are noticeably more courteous and friendly. Even the notorious Wong Kei Restaurant dubbed the rude food of London', famous for its highhanded waiters, are now served by polite staff. As students in the 1970s, we used to patronize this restaurant because the food was cheap and the portions generous. It was worth the insulting and abrasive service. Another interesting change is that more and more Chinese from mainland China have set up business here. It is no longer the preserve of the Chinese from Hong Kong.
 
Chinatown will not be worth its salt if a Feng Shui master had not been consulted in its make-over. It has been carefully planned to capture the essence of positive energy. It is guarded by three prominent iron gates facing east, west and north with Dragon motifs engraved in each of them. The southern part of the street is occupied by a row of shops. The west gate protects it from the bustling Wardour Street, the east gate faces a big building block to combat the 'shar chi' or 'poison arrow' while the north gate faces Shaftesbury Avenue with its heavy traffic. 

To combat the fast and furious energy from this avenue, two stone Kirins are installed to deflect the force. On the eastern end of Gerrard Street, a lovely Pavilion is erected in the square and this is where on Vesak Day, Buddhas birthday, the religious occasion is celebrated with a venerable ceremony featuring a giant Buddha statue worshiped by hundreds of devotees. Beautiful Chinese lanterns with auspicious calligraphy are festooned above the street to usher good fortune in and to liven up the place. During Chinese New Year, Moon Cake Festival and Wesak Day, and indeed for a spot of 'yum cha' or dim sum lunch and dinner, London Chinatown is an enthralling place to visit. To find out more, you can check out Chinese Restaurant London Chinatown.

Feng Shui Fish Aquarium

An aquarium is one of the BEST and EASIEST ways to activate Prosperity Luck in the home. Raising fish is such excellent feng shui! Not only do the Water, and the wiggly movement of swimming fish create healthy and vibrant energy for activating prosperity, the act of feeding and caring for these fishes create the cosmic cause-for abundance and never-ending supply of food to enter your life! The more fish you can afford to keep, the more abundant the results will be. Read these easy steps for creating a really powerful water feature that will invite excellent good fortune into your home!

Feng Shui Fish Aquarium

What You Need To Know About Creating An Aquarium With Good Feng Shui

You can be as creative as you wish, but here are some of the basic considerations in creating a well-balanced aquarium that will bring very auspicious good luck!

1. Select a good sized aquarium that is enough to grab your attention when you enter the room, but will not overpower the size of your house or apartment. If you live in a large mansion then of course a larger tank would be more appropriate.
 
2. An abundant fish aquarium should always have the following:
 
a. At least 3,6, 8, 9 or hundreds of fishes (see below for types of fish to raise) to bring abundance and prosperity luck.
 
b. Green, leafy plants to symbolize WOOD and GROWTH energy.

c. A pair of DRAGONS to create YANG ENERGY for the Patriarch and Matriarch. 9 Dragons are also very suitable if you have sufficient space.
 
d. Pebbles and stones to create EARTH energy for harmonious relationships. Use auspicious stones etched with good luck affirmations or mantras if you can - they are even more effective as they will energize the water with special blessings!
 
e. Lights to bring in the element of FIRE for Recognition 

f. A very powerful water filter to keep the water clean
 
g. A decent pump (for the size of your tank) to keep the water well oxygenated.
 
3. There is nothing more inauspicious than having fish die on you regularly! So please keep your tank water healthy and clean, and ensure that there is sufficient oxygen for all your fishes to stay thriving and happy. Feed them regularly but be careful not to cloud the water through over-feeding. Seek assistance from your pet shop on how to maintain adequate PH levels of your water.

WHAT KIND OF FISH SHOULD I HAVE IN MY AQUARIUM?
 
GUPPIES AND CARP FOR ABUNDANCE 

Golden Carp and Rainbow guppies invite plenty of abundance if you can raise them in large numbers! The tricky thing about raising carp is that you will need a fairly large aquarium or pond for them to thrive - because they can get quite large! For smaller aquariums you can easily raise hundreds of guppies inside a medium-sized tank! Guppies are excellent because their rainbow-colours symbolise all the 7 treasures - gold, silver, lapis lazuli, etc! Place plenty of plant life inside to create an environment suitable for them to breed. When your fish multiply on their own it brings excellent growth in careers and business.
 
AROWANAS OR GOLDFISH FOR PROSPERITY
 
Another name for Arowana is "Dragon fish" and they are terrifically effective for activating wealth. Their power comes from their long silky silvery bodies that emulate waving swords when they swim and turn around your aquarium. To raise Arowanas you must have the space for a fairly long horizontal aquarium to give them sufficient space to swim and turn.

Arowanas are best kept in odd numbers, and you should keep at least 5 in a single aquarium and train them to eat dried food pellets. Avoid feeding any of your fish LIVE food as this is very bad feng shui! If you don't have enough space for a lengthy aquarium in your home, an equally effective alternative is to raise Goldfish. The optimum number of goldfish to keep is 8 gold + 1 black goldfish. Goldfish can thrive very well in vertical aquariums (that are space-saving) and they are very happy swimming up and down! To find out more, you can check out Feng Shui Fish Aquarium.