Our Honolulu
Letting nature be your guide
By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist
Trudy Nishihara, owner of the Realty Group in Kahala Mall, proudly showed me around the store to explain what a difference Feng Shui (pronounced Fung Shway) has made in her life.
"We had to move this file cabinet because Clarence (Lau) said we needed metal over here," she said. "He said my office needed a window but a picture of a garden did it. We moved desks around because people have to face certain ways.
"He even told us where to sit at our conference table. We paid him $600 but I have to admit that we've done very well since we took his advice."
Ernest Hirata, a geotechnical engineer, testifies: "Since implementing most of his advice, my staff has undergone major changes in their attitudes and work habits. We feel that his work has greatly helped our staff and business."
Attorney Scott Brower said the rewards of Lau's assistance "have far exceeded the cost."
Understand that this is not an endorsement of Clarence Lau and his booming Feng Shui practice in Our Honolulu since he fled Hong Kong. But I confess to being curious about how he does it, not to mention finding out what the heck Feng Shui really is.
As nearly a I can make out, it's an ancient Chinese art of positioning your house or office and the furniture in them to be in harmony with natural forces instead of fighting with them. This allegedly makes personal relationships run more smoothly, increases efficiency and leads to bigger profits.
For example, Lau doesn't recommend buying a house on a dead end street because "this dwelling is the recipient of poison arrow qi (energy) rushing up the street into the occupant's front door."
On a square lot, put your house exactly in the middle so qi will circulate freely and nourish the family. On a rectangular lot, the house should be toward the front so that qi can accumulate in the big back yard. You won't be able to hang on to your money if the house is in the back.
To begin his consultation of my office, Lau wanted to know the year and date I was born so he could line up my astrological sign with natural forces.
"Each individual has a different pattern of frequency," he explained.
It turns out I'm a Boar with lots of water energy that comes from the north so I need heat. My office should have warm reds and oranges and incandescent lamps instead of fluorescent light. While writing, I should sit facing south for maximum inspiration.
He's right about my being a warm-weather person. I don't like bitter cold winters like some people.
Lau said there are two systems of Feng Shui in China, the form school and the compass school. He uses a compass and a mathematical formula to give advice. Students of the form school consult the environment around them. That's how a Feng Shui master picked the location of the Manoa Chinese Cemetery.
Reach Bob Krauss at 525-8073.
