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A Chinese New Year Celebration
February 15, 2003

Gong Xi Fa Cai! ~ Kung Hee Fat Choy!
~ Happy Chinese New Year!
 ~  Graphic, courtesy of chinasprout.com

I have quietly visited the AFSI forum often and studied along with other online students since my husband and I studied Advanced Feng Shui taught by Master Larry Sang and his instructors at the Institute back in 2001.  Our attendance at this year's American Society of Feng Shui's New Year Celebration at the Pacific Palms Resort last Saturday, February 15, 2003, reconnected us back with the American Feng Shui Institute (AFSI)  family.

Although we received the open invitation by e-mail from the American Society of Feng Shui, we tend to be shy rabbits who require a bit of coaxing to venture out of our comfort zone. [Thank you, Sophia Tang Shaul, for personally inviting us to party with you and Chris.]

And party we did! When we rabbits get out of our burrow, watch out!

Two Hares in Moonlight 
by Cho Tai Eok 

It was a fabulous night of celebration and gaiety that we are still savoring and shall long remember. Master Sang, also known affectionately by his students as Sifu, which means "honored,  respected, and beloved teacher, " and his wife Salina  were the party's host and hostess. 

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We were graciously welcomed by Salina at the door and warmly greeted by Sifu as we entered the elegant and grand ballroom.  Both are looking better than ever with healthy glows on their faces and a new and very smart-looking hairdo for Salina. They and the AFSI staff and instructors made each of their guests -- about 250 of us -- feel like royalty all night.

The entrance was decorated with towers of golden balloons and red drapes.  The tables glowed with softly lit centerpieces.  The guests themselves who ornamented the room, as each was dressed to the nines. T'was a veritable fashion show!

Sifu looked dignified, glowing, and festive in his scarlet Chinese outfit (with a beautiful smile on his face all night), while our Chris looked utterly handsome in his deep blue suit. 

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And the cheong sams gorgeously worn by P.K. (Pamela Kaye) Odle, Sophia, Lorraine Wilcox, Theresa, Akiko and others in their Chinese finery were so very easy on the eyes. Such lovely peach blossoms!

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We were superbly entertained by the lively master and witty mistress of ceremonies (Betty); spry lion dancers; awesome martial artists; brilliant folk Chinese and fiery flamenco dancers; a professional live band; a singing doctor; and songbirds, including our own multi-talented Sophia who stunned us with her vocal prowess!

An emperor's feast of roast pork, beef, jelly fish, soup, shrimp dumplings, chicken, fish, broccoli and mushrooms, scallops, noodles, and almond float with tea awaited us. Every dish, beautifully presented and scrumptiously delicious. We shared our table with the most congenial of company.

Akiko Shimizu (sitting above in red)  who teaches AFSI Feng Shui classes in Japanese and is working on the Japanese translation of Master Sang's  THE PRINCIPLES OF FENG SHUI and her students, as well as a charming couple who drovedown from Fresno in central California, Eric and Michelle (below).

And then we danced away the night under the soft glow of chandeliers to live dance music! This was quite the "party hearty" crowd and the dance floor was abuzz. Salina and Sifu are masters at cutting the rug (dancing)!

If all of this was not enough, we were generously gifted with beautiful lacquer chopsticks, scrolls of this year's animal horoscopes, and glittering boxes filled with iridescent excelsior and a red glowing light and chocolates.

And last but not least, we were gifted with traditional li see --  red envelopes -- with raffle tickets, melon seeds, and (real) Chinese and chocolate coins. The prizes were gaily wrapped and formed two mountains (more than waist high). The grand prizes were TWO iron board readings by Sifu.

Alas, it was not fated for us to win a reading, even if we had our fingers crossed tightly. The Kun that I am was destined to win a beautiful candle to warm my earth soul. One of the readings was won by my husband's professional colleague (they are both professors at the local university), who was expressed great surprise to see us dancing up a storm. IWhen we told him what the Iron Board Reading was and its value, he was even more shocked! Lucky, lucky Frank!

Sorry this is long, but it was such an event-filled evening. I know this celebration is physically too far away for many of you, but I wanted to bring some of its wonder and magic to you with these words.  This is written with our German friend, Sebastian Aschitsch in mind, who studied with us at Monterey Park and was especially missed.

AFSI students, if possible, schedule your next visit to California around this special event, as it is an experience you will always remember. I only wish I could convey to you  the emotions we felt as we said goodbye to Sifu and our Feng Shui friends: our hearts were made sweeter and we were so grateful to be in the company of those who are breaths of sheng qi.

We shall return. And we hope to see more of you there in February 2004, when Cycle 8 begins!

Loving thanks to Sifu, Salina, our teachers on the forum, Sophia, the American Feng Shui Institute and the American Society of Feng Shui, as well as you, fellow journeyers along the Feng Shui path. I have enjoyed the company. It is not a lonely path at all.

Good fortune in 2003 to all of you who have made these precious teachings a part of your life.

With Aloha,
Lei
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For those who are new to Feng Shui, here's some background info:

>>  What is Feng Shui?

* "A master is an honorary term used to describe someone very proficient. However, today, I think it is used too freely. Master Sang never says to call him Master. He just says to call him "Larry." But everyone still calls him Master Sang since when you know him, you realize he is a master." ~ Chris Shaul

"It would be a rare privilege, if any of us had the opportunity to meet the other four Feng Shui masters that are at Master Sang's level. They are rather reclusive and all live in Asia. Of course, they have no need or desire to advertise. In fact you must know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone to even have a chance of meeting them." ~ PK Odle

It is Master Sang's desire to:

• To correct mistakes committed in various Feng Shui books on the market and to prevent people from being victimized.
  
• To help people discern real professional Feng Shui practitioners from impostors, and to set Feng Shui apart from superstition, mysticism, and religion.
  
• To apply the fundamentals of Feng Shui to initiate interest and research in the ancient natural science.
  
• To utilize Feng Shui correctly such that it benefits all mankind. ~ AFSI