Stories from my Feng Shui journey - Security Unlimited

Ali - Security Unlimited.

During the mid nineties, it was common for small businesses to incorporate offices into warehouses because that was a cheap way of housing a work space.

I did just that at a warehouse facility called Trademart Singapore located at 60 Martin Road. My rent was $600 a month for a 600 sq feet space. I airconditioned the whole space and there it served me some of my best years in business.

This was a twin tower, fifteen floors each, mine was on floor 13.. My unit faced the Singapore River and the Feng Shui was simply fantastic and I was in the company of the biggest international brands who had their storage there. My neighbour was Prada.

There's a dedicated team of six security officers, three in two teams, most in their 50s and 60s. Friendly and firm at the same time, they kept the order within the premises and in my years there, no serious accidents.

The night team starts patrolling on three-hourly sessions from dinner time. They will check in if there were people working and ensure all were secured if the units were locked up for the day.

I used to work late, sometimes past midnight because it was peaceful and this warehouse was not your normal industrial building, only storage for dry merchandises.

There was this officer, I believe to be in his 50s called Ali who checked on the block of my unit. He was friendly, 1.6 meteres there and about, slightly hunched with a ready smile. I will leave my door open when I worked alone at night so that I knew who's coming and going as we were tucked in the last unit of a long corridor about a hundred meters from the front of the building.

Ali knew I work late and he dropped in often, knocked on my door so as not to alarm me, telling me not to work too late and be on his way.

One night at around 10pm, as I was working on my desk, I head a jangling of metal keys and steady footsteps outside. I presumed it must be Ali but this time, before reaching me, he sounded as if he was turning back. I got up, went out of the door. The corridor, lit intermittently with pale flourescent lights way up in the ceiling, was empty and silent. I packed up and left.

Two nights later, also at around 10pm, as if anticipating to hear the same footsteps and jangling of keys, it happened again. This time, I decided to stay put. Sure enough, Ali appeared at the door. But oddly, he did not knock, stopped at the door and simply give me an assuring look. He looked his normal self but I could see he was a happier person. I asked him how he was. He did not speak, returned a courteous smile, turned around and walked away.

The day after, I passed by the security post and during the small chat, asked how was Ali. His colleague casted me a sad look.

Ali passed away two weeks ago, working till his last day.

The buildings were demolished and in its place today is a premium residential developement. I am not sure if Ali is still walking the grounds.

Stories from my Feng Shui Journey - A cappella

A cappella from the Back Seat.

Among some of the common occupational hazards Feng Shui consultants face is that we will never know what we are visiting. Once we commit to a job, we turn up.

In 1999, I was operating three retail shops besides doubling up in my consultations for clients. It was a busy period and I do not choose (as it is the case today) my clients. This is my story of a mysterious client, a strange encounter and a song I will never forget.

I took a land line call from a Mr Tan who wanted me to visit his home. It's an apartment in Geylang, he said. We spoke and he mentioned vaguely that he was experiencing some bad 'experineces' and also believed that there are some people who wanted to cause him harm. I know this is going to be a tough job but I could not leave a man who sounded desperate without finding out if I could be of any help. The appointed time is 1pm in the afternoon.

Geylang in Singapore is made up of a two-way stretch of houses, retail shops, restaurants, boutique hotels, several lanes of brothels, handful of temples, a mosque, a church or two and home to various clan associations. Geyalng's got it all, rich past, colourful present and a great future, perhaps more as I was about to find out.

I arrived at the address at 12.30pm in the bright cloudless day. A seven storey building, it had a coffee shop on the ground floor. As I looked up towards the top floor unit I was bound for, I noticed that the top floor was cast in a dark pall while the rest of the units were brightly visible. The lift was tucked away from the coffee place which oddly is not well patronised for a place with good footfall. Alone in the lift, I pressed for the 7th floor. On the 4th level, the lift stopped and opened up to a dark narrow corridor. No one was there. I continued the lift ride up. It opened up at level 7, it was a dark narrow corridor that led to the apartment unit to the left.

The first thing that hit me was this rancid and repulsive atmosphere. Besides the obvious incense that was emiting from the unit, it was dark and damp. There was no door at the entrance. Just an old altar with burning candles, joss sticks and some religious looking idols. I stepped in, called out for Mr Tan. Went into the unit, walk past the altar and it opened up to partitions of rooms. No light, not a sound, no sign of life and definitely no Mr Tan. At this point, I had enough and decided I had to leave. Heart pounding and blood rushing to my head, I made it back to the ground floor to catch my breath and some fresh air.

I decided to at least have the courtesy to call Mr Tan to prove my presence and apologise to him that I couldn't find him, hoping he would be forgiving, whatever the reasons.

I called the land line number which he gave me after our conversation. The line was dead. I called Singtel, our main telephone provider. The operator told me this number had not been in use for five years or longer.

It had been an unpleasant start to the day but I wouldn't allow this to stop me from the rest of my work for the day. With some level of drag and tiredness, I finished my meetings and fulfilled the work for the day. It must have been 7pm as I remembered it was sunset and since I was in the vicinity, I thought I might as well go somewhere quiet and peaceful for some respite.

There is a short stretch of the Sungei Khatib reaervior in the Yishun area where anglers go for fishing and lovers congregate for some private moments. I parked my car at the end of the stretch away from the thin crowd and stopped to wind down for the day before I head for dinner.

It thought it must have been ten minutes or so before I realised I had dozed off in my car with the window wound down for a light breeze. It was then when I heard a soft humming that sounded like a female singing a Chinese tune which was not clearly audible. As it got dark, I couldn't see anything when I peered out of the window but the singing seemed to be getting louder. Once again, I decided I had to leave. I looked at the time, it was already 10pm. Bewildered, I had a quick dinner at the nearby coffe shop and headed for home.

Coming down from Sembawang Road, I was heading home for Redhill which will bring me past Thomson Road. The road seemed unusually quiet but I dismissed it as a working weekday. As I turn the bend towards Adam Road, I passed by the old Caldecott site which was (now exhumed) an old cemetery and a very well known haunted house along the main road.

I was and still am tuned to the English radio stations whenever and wherever I drive. As I drove past that stretch, my car stereo switched by itself to a Chinese station. Slowly but surely, the singing on the radio turned soft but the song continued its tune ! It was coming from my back seat, A cappella, a female clear melodious voice belting out a familiar Chinese tune. Heart pounding, I peered into my rear mirror. Nothing. The singing continued. I drove on. Just as I reached the Japanaese Association building towards the brighter part of Adam Road, the radio came alive and switched itself to The Stylistics' 'You make me feel brand new'.

Heart in my mouth by now, I arrived home. Staying alone at that time, I took a hot bath and tried to sleep. Thankfully, nothing happended that night. However, I developed a fever for the next two days. I decided to visit the temple for advice and was told to go to the two places which I had been. With some simple prayers and a sincere plea, things went back to normal after a few days.

Was it due to my hectic schedules that played tricks on my mind ? Who was that Mr Tan ? What led me to the mysterious apartment ? Who was singing to me ?

I cannot be sure. For my Chinese readers, the song that was sung must be one you know - in English, it can be loosely translated as "I am awaiting your return at home". In Chinese, 我等着你回来。

5 Positive Daily Feng Shui Routines in Difficult Times.

Quarantined, stay-home-orders, leave-of-absence, movement-controlled-orders all point to the current situations we are all facing. While some adapt better than the rest, the best thing we could make out of this restriction and isolation is to stay healthy, get better organised, do more, become more effective, stay connected, learn something and reach out to others.

In more ways than one, what makes us stronger and wiser is linked largely on how one handles the flow of the pandemic in the way the Five Elements exist.

The Yin and Yang of the Five Elements are attached to the way we can manage and make the best off the face of a crisis like this.

1. You must have before you give. Even before thinking of giving, think about what you will and can receive. One must take care of oneself before you take care of others. That points to the Yin and Yang of the Resource stars.

Yin Resource stars relate to information and intelligence you receive.

In our world of social media and interconnectivity, the danger of an information overload is even more dangerous than the threat of the virus itself.

Read enough, get it from official and reliable sources, do not speculate and avoid spreading fake news.

The Yang Resource stars are the physical support you are getting. This is evident from the state of health you are currently in.

Eat well, rest enough and exercise regularly.

2. In times like these, personal responsibility takes priority.

The Yin and Yang of oneself belongs to the categories of the Friend Star and the Rob Wealth Star.

Friend Star's influence come from your inner circles, your family, loved ones and friends. In the face of social distancing and lockdowns, it is inevitable that physical contacts become impossible.

However, one can still stay connected with technology through video calls, video confrencing and mobile chats. Do these often so that you do not feel isolated while stimulating your mind to current exchanges and conversations.

The Rob Wealth Stars are those associated with your social and professional circles. How do businessmen, entrepreneurs, restaurant owners, cafe operators and retailers do when their shops are ordered to shut ? Work towards bringing in the business online and feel like you are an effective influencer.

After all, the Rob Wealth Stars, when effectively mobilised, form your followers and fans base.

Be yourself, be sincere and be at your best.

3. It is in times when others are having it tough and desperate that you have to give it all.

Of the five elements, the output stars are differentiated by the Eating God and the Hurting Officer.

Frontline workers, essential service providers, transport operators, food and beverage suppliers and medical professionals keep our lives going. That is how the output stars are being put into the best use during the worst of times.

In kind or any other forms, what we produce and offer that benefit and touch the lives of others form the best of what we give.

Those with positive Eating God stars tend to operate behind the public glare but without their contributions, all that is required to function will grind to a halt.

The necessary equipment, the fund raising efforts, the public support, the emotional rally, government lobbies and the optimistic outlook are classic examples of the Eating God at work.

The Hurting Officer types are the battle-geared offensives who take the enemy (the Virus) head on.

They are fearless and self-sacrificing for the sake of others. These form the ambulance teams, the medics, the nurses, the doctors, the psychologists, the therapists and all those who form the human chain take care of the sick and fallen.

Do you have what it takes ? People with these two stars do not sit around idling and wondering what to do next.

If you have one of these two stars as your profile, let your giving inclinations come alive.

Reach out and offer your helping hand.

4. Be it a sense of duty or obligation, it must come with the activation of your Authority stars. When the Direct Officer in you gets to work, the systematic approach takes control. In an orderly and controlled fashion, we need the sequence and logic of this authority to set out approaches towards an answer to a problem.

People with high levels of Direct Officer Stars make full use of law and order to instil calm and a sense of structure in society. Predictable and conservative, these people remain cautiously optimistic that any situations will come under control if we follow a set of rules.

The high-octane solution provider belongs to the Seven Killings Star (7K). They have no time to skirt around protocols and crunch data. This group of people gets stright to the point of finding a straighforward answer to the problem. The scientists and biologists will not care for any political interefernces if they can find the vaccine for the virus.

The Authority Stars come with clout, power and high sense of fulfillment which can be motivated in the right directions and for the correct reasons.

Use your influence and reach out in positive ways.

5. Resources are great in good times and most needed during turbulent times like this. There is Direct and Indirect Resources. Take it that we need to receive if we want to give.

Direct Resources Stars are the evident help and support we receive. Government grants, abundance of supplies, outright human and financial capital are examples of Deirect Resources.

Then there are resources which we wish we have more to drive our causes. We need efforts to ask for that donations. Indirect Resources also include the intangibles such as emotional capital to drive a campaign.

In sequence, if one has the ability and the ability to influence and to rally a group or a majority to come together and provide something in commen for others, it will turn into one of the two Resource Stars.

Do you already have some resources to spare ? Financial or a concerted effort that you can bring others together to contribute to a bigger cause ?

Give if you can. Share if you have. We are in this together. What comes next is another day.