Because Both Your YIN And YANG Should Be As Strong As The Core

Some friends who have been following my episodes (thank you very much!), have paid very close attention to my hands. I thought it was because I have beautiful hands, but it turns out that the attention was totally and just on the Lotus collections, on my hands. Oh well. So much so that if I left my Lotus Heaven and Earth jadeite rings to charge at that mega Lotus crystal incense pot, they would question where are my Lotus Rings.

Likewise for my 108 agarwood beads. Sometime I leave it to charge on a crystal or the Lotus Imperial White Inkstone.

So don't worry when you don't see them with me, they are just somewhere, recharging.

It is actually pretty important to charge and recharge these 2 Lotus collections -- your Lotus Rings, and your 108 agarwood beads. Once in a while, at least. Because they both share a common characteristic, which makes them very charge-worthy.

Let's start with something that we are more familiar with. Here's what we know about the Lotus Heaven and Earth jadeite ring:

The first Lotus Heaven and Earth jadeite ring was created by Master Yun Long Zi in 2006. In the very same year that the first Lotus gallery was founded. Also by Master Yun.

Who owned the first Lotus Heaven and Earth jadeite ring? Master Yun himself of course. It's a classy one. Dark jadeite cabochon on dark nephrite earth ring. 18k yellow gold. He is still wearing this very first Lotus Ring now.

There was only one type, or one generation, of Lotus Heaven and Earth jadeite ring back then. This whole favorite of all times started with this first generation, the Meeting of Heaven and Earth. Simply put, heavenly jadeite cabochon (the top piece), combines with the earthly jade ring (the bottom round ring). What's lacking? Human will. So it will be heaven, earth and human's willpower to accommodate and combine the forces of heaven and earth. That's why you must put on your Lotus Heaven and Earth jadeite ring.

We also know the evolution of the Lotus Ring. The latest generation, the 3rd generation, was created in 2012. And we all know what it is: the Lotus Double Dragon jadeite ring.

And we know the top jadeite piece, the jadeite cabochon, is the main determinant of power and price. Simply because it is not a random piece of jadeite from random parts. It is harvested from the core, or center, of a raw jadeite boulder. It is the oldest portion. It is where the rest of the jadeite expands from, leverages on, and grows. Some people have cast their doubts on this fact with their superficial knowledge. Yes, it would be impossible for most jadeite dealers to determine where their jadeite pieces should be carved from; most of them just buy from middlemen and charge you a premium. But for anyone who has the slightest understanding about how the Lotus works, you would know that we start from the very source. We dictate where any piece of jadeite should be carved from. And our jadeite cabochons that are used for the Lotus Heaven and Earth jadeite rings are only harvested from the core of the jadeite boulder.

So what about your Lotus 108 agarwood beads? Is it because the string of beads also has 3 generations?

We have talked much about the power of the 108 agarwood beads in many episodes, and the mountains of articles. Please go take a look and revise -- I spent a great deal of time to understand and so divulge the secrets of 108 beads, I bet it is going to worth your time. And so there is this very point about your Lotus 108 agarwood beads: the beads are also harvested from the "core".

For agarwood, I don't exactly mean the center portion when I am talking about the "core". I am actually talking about the densest part of the raw agarwood. The resin content is so dense that it turns out to be like a chuck of stone. That's the core.

So this is the ironic issue: when agarwood is good, aged, and has denser resin content with less fiber, it actually gets softer. Earth agarwood 土沉 belongs to this category. But it comes to a stage when the resin is so, so, so dense that the part of agarwood becomes stone-like. Sometimes, when it is so serious and intense, when it is so aged, this stone-like agarwood sinks, and it becomes sinking agarwood 水沉.

Regardless, at every category of raw agarwood, be it the Daojia 倒架 or the sinking, the core -- the densest portion -- is harvested to be carved as beads.

And I am not talking about just one bead. I am talking about all 108 of them. Every single of the 108 beads comes from the core of its rare source. You can even say that a string of Lotus 108 agarwood beads is the accumulation of the best parts of a range of different raw agarwood. Their best parts, are chosen for the making of 108 beads. Your Lotus 108 agarwood beads is the elite consortium. 

So while your Lotus Heaven and Earth jadeite ring is one piece chosen from one core, your Lotus 108 agarwood beads is 108 pieces chosen from 108 cores...

Question: Lotus Ring, or 108 agarwood beads?

Answer: both. Because both your yin and yang should be as strong as the core.

-- Kan Ying Loong, Executive Director

RECAP ON TALK 2: For 2017, Agarwood Is THE Necessity

THANK YOU for your continuous support, great to see old and new faces for the second session of our Annual Fengshui talk. Sorry that it went on longer than what I expected, we really had so much ground (literally so, sectors of our house and office) to cover...

You know I came prepared with my notes, to make sure I don't jump to conclusions, to make sure the points are clear, to make sure the suggestions on the remedies are well delivered. And over the days when I was sorting out the sequence, the keypoints, at every turn, at every balance of yin and yang, at every strategizing for the most efficient solution, I came to the same conclusion: agarwood.

If there were to be one most important thing to remember from our second session, to take home and to really get it done, it will be the Lotus agarwood.

We talked about how disastrous the impact of the crisis would be in 2017 (丁酉), because of the partners in crime -- the flying stars Five-Yellow 五黄 and Two-Black 二黑. We talked about how you can defend and minimize the damage with the bronze annual fengshui solutions, and the raw pu'er tea hulu. But in light of the fear and havoc -- you see, I don't really do this, I don't do the fear tactic, it has always been our philosophy and practice to find the golden opportunity in even the darkest cloud -- defense is really not enough.

For 2017, we need our Lotus agarwood to absorb the imminent negative energies and disasters, and to convert them into goodness and opportunities.

In one of my general expositions on agarwood, I spent some length expounding on this specific agarwood power. A bit long, but worth the read:

If you place one piece of authentic and aged agarwood in a second-hand fridge, or a closed compartment in which there is a strong pungent smell, eventually, the fridge or the closed compartment will smell only of the fragrance of the agarwood.

The agarwood has absorbed the pungency and released its own fragrance.

The border of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127AD, China) was infringed by the Khitan forces (Liao Dynasty). One of the most famous battles that advanced the Khitan forces was to do with this particular Heavenly Gate Formation (天门阵 tianmen zhen) deployed by the Liao empire. When a Song soldier enters this formation, he loses his sensibilities, or commonly this would be regarded as jinxed or cursed, and he starts attacking his comrades, mistaking them for enemies.

From the perspective of Feng Shui, this Heavenly Gate Formation activated the illness and disaster stars, causing people who are in it to go haywire and meet with disastrous mishaps.

The solution was to equip every single soldier with a piece of Dragon-taming wood (降龙木 xianglong mu) – the name given to agarwood by the tribe guarding this sacred and precious wood. The powers of it intense and strong, even if there were evils as strong as the dragon, they would be tamed. With a piece of agarwood, the Heavenly Gate Formation was broken.

Imagine this: we would not be able to Feng Shui every place you go to, hence the importance of having your personal agarwood piece so that you can wear it to wherever you are.

This particular strength of agarwood has to do with its formation. Agarwood comes from agarwood trees – a form of heartwood belonging to the Aquilaria species. This rare and endangered species is only present in less than 7% of the forests in the world. And in the forests that agarwood trees are present, only 7% of the trees are agarwood trees.

Agarwood is not the fruit or seed of agarwood trees; it is the healed and crystalized scab.

In the wild forests, when an agarwood tree is injured – lightning, brushed by animals etc., fungus infection takes place on the wound. When the virus and fungus attack the agarwood tree, the tree secretes its inner healing resin for combat and healing. The resin counters the virus and eventually crystalizes with the fungus and surrounding energies to form the scab, healing the wound. The fungus is negated of its bad energies, and come together to form part of the healing power. The scab is agarwood, and only this part of the agarwood trees will turn darker and give off the fragrance of agarwood.

Not all agarwood trees would produce agarwood. The chances of the wood being injured in the various above-mentioned methods, then infection by the virus and fungus – the possibility of agarwood trees producing agarwood is yet another 7%.

Imagine this: there are 100 trees in a forest. Only 7 of them are agarwood trees, and 7% of these 7 trees have the chance to produce agarwood.

This is where agarwood from Lotus on Water are from, the wild forests – these 7% of 7 out of 100 trees. Many realize the power and value of agarwood now, and attempt to produce agarwood in quantities through artificial forestry – inject the tree with virus and force the agarwood trees to secrete resin before its time. Without sufficient time to absorb the energies of heaven and earth, it is difficult for agarwood to have adequate Feng Shui powers to prosper a person.

With the scab, the agarwood tree is healed. Hence it is also considered the scented-wood of rejuvenation and rebirth.

The legend of phoenix is similar across many cultures. When a phoenix matures, at its peak, the phoenix builds itself a nest of agarwood, and burns itself to ashes. In the ashes of agarwood, a new phoenix is born. This symbolizes the rejuvenation and rebirth power of agarwood. When we meet with negative energies, bad experiences, wrong vibrations, they are converted; and sometimes in our darker hours, the agarwood serve as the agent of rebirth, bringing us out of the valley into the light.

Emperor Qian Long is one of the most prosperous and longest-reigned emperors of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912AD, China). He was so blessed that he travelled numerous times out of the imperial palace to the southern lands of China for visits and relaxation – not as the emperor, but dressed like a civilian. During his travels, whenever he left the imperial palace, he brought along 2 items: 1. A piece of white jade pendant that bears his symbol, in the case that he needs to reveal who he is; 2. agarwood essence. He believed that the scent kept him safe. And in the case that he loses his consciousness for any reason, his followers were told to let Qian Long bit on the agarwood so that “he would be brought back to life.” The fortunate thing is, Qian Long with all these earthly treasures around him, never had to chance to verify the rebirth power of the agarwood. He was safe in all his adventures outside the imperial palace.

And what's more for 2017, is that the set of annual wealth stars (Eight-White 八白 and Nine-Purple 九紫) fall into wood-based palaces -- you would know what I mean if you were here for the second session, not going to expand here. In short, it means the 2017 annual wealth luck can be better lured and invoked by wood-based earthly treasures.

When you have your scented-wood collections (agarwood and sandalwood) in the respective sectors that we talked about, the annual wealth energy comes to you faster and more intensely. When you are wearing your agarwood and sandalwood Lotus collections, you draw the annual wealth energy coming from these sectors to you.

Which would mean that your Lotus agarwood is really multi-tasking in various crucial arenas for you in 2017: it absorbs the disastrous obstacles, and converts them into wealth opportunities by invoking the wood-based annual wealth luck.

This is 一白遮三丑 (one white covers three ugliness) -- when you enhance one area of auspiciousness, three sectors of bad energies are suppressed.

In the previous episodes, we shared a prized collection: the Purple Qinan with Golden Threads 紫气金丝奇. Exploding resin lines, strong and empowering fragrance...2 pieces, one dragon, the other is phoenix. This is the crown jewel. It would be of great fortune to own a piece of this Purple Qinan for a game-changing 2017.

Of course, other Lotus agarwood selections are viable as well. Many blessed clients have already seized their earth-agarwood pendants, near-sinking and full-sinking agarwood series, and enjoying the prosperity from wearing them. To have yourself a piece of Lotus agarwood for 2017 is definitely better than to hold out for nothing!

And if you are already enjoying the power of your Lotus agarwood, congratulations, you made the excellent choice. I have a recommendation for you: up your game, up the power of your agarwood by complimenting it with a Lotus sandalwood --

The foundation of Feng Shui is yin-yang (plus and minus, light and darkness). Our aim is to achieve a balance of yin-yang for you (personal luck aspect), and where you stay and work (spatial Feng Shui aspect) at every level, as much as possible. Agarwood and sandalwood – the king and the queen – form a part of this yin-yang equation. Together, they form a circle; separate, they have their own purposes in enhancing specific areas of your luck.

We certainly need all the boost we can get for 2017.

Huat on.

-- Kan Ying Loong, Executive Director

9 October 2016 Is Chong Yang Festival -- Step 1: Agarwood

Chong Yang festival 重阳节 is coming! Surely, this is not a festival as well-known as Mid-Autumn or Winter Solstice, but it is no less significant than its counterparts, especially in terms of Chinese culture and fengshui.

What you need to know first is that Chong Yang is an extremely auspicious occasion. And there are mainly 3 things that you can do to prosper in this season. The 1st thing to do, have yourself a piece of Lotus agarwood.

If you haven't own your agarwood, if you are on your way to own your agarwood, this would be a good chance. The good season to get it. Remember: what you do -- agarwood in this instance, where you do it -- put it on in the Lotus galleries, and WHEN you do it matters.

Chong Yang means "double yang" (重 is double or a repeat, and 阳 is yang), because this very important day occurs on the 9th of the ninth lunar month 九月初九. Fengshui, and practically the entirety of Chinese culture, originates from "The Book of Changes" (《易经》). From the Book, nine fengshui numbers were derived, number 1 to 9. Each number has its responsibility, element (and hence color), and is a manifestation of either of yin or yang. "9" in the Book means ultimate yang. And on the 9th of the ninth lunar month, the yang doubles.

And to tap on the bursting of yang energy, agarwood.

We spoke about this many times. We all need a good balance of yin and yang. Our jadeite is yin. Our scented-wood collections is yang. Of which, sandalwood, queen of scented-wood is yin, and agarwood, king of scented-wood is yang.

When you have your portion of necessary yang energy -- your agarwood, the power of your Lotus jadeite increases too. The yin rises to match the yang. When one gear meets a bigger one, it moves, and together they can move a force bigger than both of them combined.

So the intensity of the yang energy you are getting really depends on the grade and form of your agarwood. For those of you have the 108 agarwood beads, congratulations, that's the ultimate-ultimate-ultimate yang power. With agarwood, you get a great dose of direct wealth, benefactors, radiant health, and the power to convert obstacles into opportunities. Once again, the extent of these benefits is related to the type of agarwood you are getting.

Then there's the earth agarwood series. Many great pieces were chosen before the 10th anniversary celebration -- but there are still worthy pieces. Very limited now. There has been no new pieces of agarwood since I am back with the Lotus in 2011. I can't begin to explain how difficult it is to harvest aged and natural agarwood that meets the standards and requirement of the Lotus. So my advice is for you to really speak to your Lotus advisor, and see which Lotus agarwood is good for you.

And you got to do it fast.

Huat double! Huat more!

-- Kan Ying Loong, Executive Director