Book Description
One of the great but often unmentioned causes of both happiness and misery is the quality of our environment: the kinds of walls, chairs, buildings and streets that surround us.
And yet a concern for architecture and design is too often described as frivolous, even self-indulgent. The Architecture of Happiness starts from the idea that where we are heavily influences who we can be, and it argues that it is architecture’s task to stand as an eloquent reminder of our full potential.
Whereas many architects are wary of openly discussing the word beauty, this book has at its center the large and naïve question: What is a beautiful building? It is a tour through the philosophy and psychology of architecture that aims to change the way we think about our homes, our streets and ourselves.
Customer Reviews:
Thought provoking.......2007-09-09
I had read Alain's earlier book on the Consolations of Philosophy and caught parts of the TV series concerning this book. It is a difficult book to describe but I believe thought provoking and comforting are probably best. Alain considers why we are drawn to certain styles of homes and the assumptions architects and engineers have made in constructing homes and cities. I would read sections of the book then put it aside to consider the matters he had raised. This book explained my unease in some houses and love of others. I loved it.
Buildings and aesthetics.......2007-08-15
More a description than an attempt to explain. An important topic treated in an interesting manner.
Beautiful Buildings .......2007-08-03
Architecture of Happiness is a philosophical and thought provoking book on architecture . De Botton begins by asking, "what is a beautiful building?" and through the book answers the question in inspiring ways. Beauty, he says, lies between the extremities of order and complexity. For a building to be beautiful it needs the confidence and kindness to be a little boring, but too boring and it is condemned for its tedium. "We delight in complexity to which genius has lent an appearance of simplicity." We need to feel that the simplicity a building displays is hard won.
His aim is not only to have beautiful architecture but to combine that with "the pursuit of an exuberant and affectionate family life;" architecture helping us live well.
De Botton discusses modern architecture and its folly, the idea of a global appearance and local look to architecture, architecture and theology, buildings having the power to improve us morally and spiritually.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading and contemplating De Botton's ideas on architecture and the happiness we can attain through buildings well done.
archi student.......2007-08-02
Although I would certainly agree that De Botton is a talented and captivating writer, I feel that "The Architecture of Happiness" falls well short of a serious examination of architecture and its ideals. This book is perfect for anyone who possesses a casual interest in architecture. The more serious architecture student or architecture aficionado, however, will find little valuable content in this book. Some of the conclusions that De Button reaches are not well thought out (and frankly a waste of time to consider critically) in that the book tends to focus upon superficial aspects of architecture. De Button should not be mistaken for a serious critic or architecture historian. This book is not a good read for an architecture student seeking well-researched theory or an in depth understanding of our relationship with the built environment.
Architecture of Happiness.......2007-06-26
I'll admit that I bought Alain de Botton's book, "The Architecture of Happiness" because I thought it'd look good on my coffee table. But when I took the time to open it up, I could not put the book down. Alain de Botton examines how a building or rather, any physical object impacts our mood. When I see a building like the White House, how do I feel and why? Those are the types of questions that are answered throughout this book. I didn't agree with him at first that architecture can change the way you feel, but the more I read the book and the more I took the time to pause and think about it; I found that I truly am impacted in a positive or negative way by what I see. What I also liked about the book is that the author takes the time to cover other things such as nature and urban planning, because buildings aren't the only things we see.
Whether you're in the Architecture field, or just looking to read a good book, this one is for you. I often take a while to read a book, and I will admit that I do at times find reading boring. However this book was never boring and as a result I read it in just two days. After reading this book, you'll never look at a building or any work of art in the same way.
Average customer rating:
- Feng Shui - Simplified!
- Well written and easy to understand
- Full of facts, well written
- Rave Reviews for this book
- A lot of Nonsense
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Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life : How to Use Feng Shui to Get Love, Money, Respect and Happiness
Karen Rauch Carter
Manufacturer: Fireside
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Fast Feng Shui: 9 Simple Principles for Transforming Your Life by Energizing Your Home
ASIN: 0684866048 |
Book Description
Promising health, wealth, and happiness, feng shui offers endless appeal -- at least in concept. Unfortunately, feng shui's seemingly complicated methods are often difficult to learn and apply in a meaningful way. Fortunately, Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life is written in plain and simple English for the modern Western reader. Revealing the ancient Chinese secrets that are as useful and necessary today as they have been for centuries, Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life communicates how to:
* MEET "THE ONE"
* FIND A DREAM JOB
* EARN BETTER GRADES IN SCHOOL
* ENJOY A BETTER SEX LIFE
Customer Reviews:
Feng Shui - Simplified!.......2007-07-10
This book makes feng shui easy and fun! Karen Rauch Carter uses the Black Hat style which is a very simple, but effective, form of feng shui. With this book you don't need a compass, pendulum or certified feng shui expert, in order to enjoy the benefits of this timeless art. You'll be able to start making changes to your home, and your life, immediately with the easy to follow instructions that are provided.
Inside, you will find a chapter for each of the 9 sections of the Bagua. Immediate action items and a short summary are provided at the end of each chapter, which can be referred to over and over. Karen will keep you entertained though out the entire book with her quirky sense of humor! She also provides loads of examples and stories of how feng shui can improve your life. I am an antique dealer, by trade, and I own my own business. I can honestly say that after decluttering my laundry room (my prosperity area) and painting it a pretty shade of lavender, I immediately noticed and increase in sales at my shop!
Just A Tip: Make sure you read chapter 12 before you start making changes in your home, the affirmations in this chapter will make all of your actions much more effective!
Well written and easy to understand.......2007-05-20
This is probably on the top five list of good feng shui books that I've ever read. Very informative and easy to understand and follow. It's really put together nicely.
While I do think there is definately something to harmonizing the energy around you, I don't think that moving your stuff is any guaranteed way to bring a certain thing to yourself. I have a love/hate relationship to books like this. I find some really good ideas, and some I think are silly and just don't work. I know that there are other issues involved. -Like what's in a person's birth chart for example. If someone is having a difficult planetary aspect in their money house, then, no amount of moving furniture/furnishings is going to change that aspect. Although, I do think it COULD help the person deal with it better. By moving something, it could represent a shift in how one has arranged or re-arranged their thinking about the problem. So, in that way, I think it could have a beneficial side.
I found many interesting things in this book, for example, in my helpful people/travel section of my home, that's where I already have the computer (World wide web) and I just happened to have a world map there. I found a lot of other helpful information too.
This is a fun and interesting book, and it's not gonna hurt anything to give something a try afterall. Just see what works for you.
Full of facts, well written.......2007-04-12
Excellent explanations and suggestions without getting bogged down in thousands of years of history. Written in 21st century speak with humor and intelligence. The best Feng Shui book in my bookcase (I have a few) -topping Lilian Too's series. Even tells you the anecdote when the sink is in your romance corner!
Rave Reviews for this book.......2007-04-03
I LOVED this book, and I am having so much fun with this, I have completely redecorated my home, using mostly stuff I already had, and all my friends are commenting "What have you done?" "It feels different in here" and "Everything seems to flow better". I hung a cutglass windchime in my missing "family" space to energize the space as recommended, and within minutes my youngest daughter called me. Amazing! And so much FUN! Now I am waiting for my romance energy to imporove!
A lot of Nonsense.......2007-03-19
I purchase several feng shui books and this one was the easiest to understand. However, nothing happened after purchasing several hundred dollars of feng shui items. Instead it seems bad things were happening to me. I junked all the stuff. I think it's total nonsense and more like witchcraft...stay away from it.
Amazon.com
"Water represents money and signifies the flow of wealth. To activate this symbol of prosperity...." Lillian Too is the grande dame of writers on systematic Feng Shui. Hailing from Hong Kong, the Feng Shui capital of the world, Too is steeped in the theories and practices of this complex and arcane path of personal and life enhancement. In The Complete Illustrated Guide to Feng Shui, Too reveals a wealth of methods and tools to facilitate the flow of good ch'i in your life. From the size of your furniture to the direction your oven faces, from the shape of surrounding mountains to the year you were born--all of these can affect your life. Through the use of plants, colors, crystals, and mirrors, Too shows how to situate the things in your life to make the most of every situation. It is also essential that one is able to personalize Feng Shui remedies, and to this end, Too includes charts for determining how each reader, depending on birth, age, and gender, fits into the order of things. The eye-popping illustrations make the foreign familiar and make the Complete Illustrated Guide an authority you'll be turning to again and again. --Wilifred Kim
Customer Reviews:
Very poor written Feng Fui Book.......2006-02-14
I bought this book with intention of trying to reposition by house after moving to new house in Torrence, L.A. This book does not provide good tip and very confusing points that may not practical for me. A disappointed book.
Superficial & Without Flow---.......2005-11-04
I have owned this book for a while and never could really get the jist of what where she was going with it. The most interesting parts of book are about the Bank Of China where they follow strong Feng Shui principles and how she became successful in positing her office. This is wonderful if you can move your doors to face your most auspicious positions and have
the clout to tell you CEO you would like to recontruct your office at his(her) expense. I have tried from other sources to position myself in the workspace and will say that my bosses thought I was insane. I think book is poorly written with too much useless information.
good book to pick up and read.......2003-02-21
i keep this one by my bed and read it when i need some inspiration. it always gives me ideas and gets my creative juices going. a good addition to your fung shui library.
Very Confusing.......2002-05-25
This book was very confusing. I have had to buy other books to understand the art of Feng Shui. Not interesting. I would not buy this book.
terrible book. Chinese calendar calculations wrong.......2000-11-09
The chinese calendar calculations are false. The book lacks depth and has too many contradictions.
Book Description
Neither art nor philosophy was kind to beauty during the twentieth century. Much modern art disdains beauty, and many philosophers deeply suspect that beauty merely paints over or distracts us from horrors. Intellectuals consigned the passions of beauty to the margins, replacing them with the anemic and rarefied alternative, "aesthetic pleasure." In Only a Promise of Happiness, Alexander Nehamas reclaims beauty from its critics. He seeks to restore its place in art, to reestablish the connections among art, beauty, and desire, and to show that the values of art, independently of their moral worth, are equally crucial to the rest of life.
Nehamas makes his case with characteristic grace, sensitivity, and philosophical depth, supporting his arguments with searching studies of art and literature, high and low, from Thomas Mann's Death in Venice and Manet's Olympia to television. Throughout, the discussion of artworks is generously illustrated.
Beauty, Nehamas concludes, may depend on appearance, but this does not make it superficial. The perception of beauty manifests a hope that life would be better if the object of beauty were part of it. This hope can shape and direct our lives for better or worse. We may discover misery in pursuit of beauty, or find that beauty offers no more than a tantalizing promise of happiness. But if beauty is always dangerous, it is also a pressing human concern that we must seek to understand, and not suppress.
Customer Reviews:
A Broken Promise.......2007-05-09
I kept on reading through this book hoping to find the message, but, except for the early implication that beauty was but a vapor in the vision of the beholder and real art was for those critics qualified to go on endlessly about the hidden meaning of the work, it was not there. Tom Wolfe nailed this in The Painted Word, and I should have been warned. I wonder if this book had an editor. If so, he or she might have noticed that while many of the paintings, especially Manet's, were repeated several times, many obscure ones critical to appreciation of the text, were left to the reader's imagination. The book was too wordy and lacked organization, which might be consistent with its message. Worse, it exuded the sniffy attitude of an academician anxious for you to know the extent of his knowledge while demeaning yours. If beauty, as the ancient philosopher once wrote, is the good so good it leads to nothing better, then we are not decived in the contemplation of it for its own sake, even if it be, as Plato described it, but the shadow of pure Beauty. Some of the art here, was, indeed, beautiful, but none of the writing, and the promise broken was that of the reviewer who implied the book was a good read.
Beauty and Ethics.......2007-03-15
With so much of today's art having been reduced to silly and trite political statements, it is refreshing to be reminded that the greatest of artists, and the greatest of thinkers, have always consider genuine art to serve the purpose of elevating the human spirit. Alexander Nehamas masterfully reminds us of the profound philosophical tradition that understands the concept and experience of beauty to be essential to moving one toward a fuller life, a life that is centered on its concern for the well-being of the other. Along with rich philosophical reflections of thinkers ranging from Plato to Mann, Nehamas leads his reader on a journey of discovery: a journey that helps one discover what Plato considered to be the one basic human instinct: the instinct to respond to beauty. After reading this text, take a look at E. Scarry's work: Beauty and the Just, or some of the essays by I. Murdoch. You will, in the end, no longer be taken-in by today's artists who pose as poets, painters, or musicians, but who in fact simply use the aesthetic medium to propagate some sort of shallow and thoughtless political agenda.
"To think of beauty as only a promise of happiness is to be willing to live with ineradicable uncertainty" (pg. 130)........2007-03-07
This book mixes the philosophy of art, ethics, and language in a very creative way. Although Nehamas covers much ground, he pursues throughout a creative discovery of the meaning of Edouard Manet's "Olympia" painting. He chases the inscrutable Olympia with the same fervor that Langdon chases Leonardo in "The Da Vinci Code" and the same intensity that Paul Harris chases the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili in "The Rule of Four." Nehamas pursues Olympia as the moral virtue of happiness against a historical background where, "For Socrates, virtue was nothing but its own pursuit. And only the promise of happiness is happiness itself" (pg. 138). Beauty, for Nehamas, is the promise.
Modern art, as in modern Anglican philosophy, has placed "beauty" in a relegated, unimportant position. Instead, aesthetics, and objectivity, have become the marks of modern art criticism and modern philosophy (and science). Nehamas wants to restore beauty without giving transcendent features to it. He begins by posing 2 alternatives: Plato or Schopenhauer. Without agreeing with Plato all the way through the argument for the Forms and Pythagorean style objectivity, Nehamas does see in Plato an articulated expression of the power of beauty. In Plato's "Phaedrus" Nehamas sees the homosexual words of Plotinus as a muse on beauty. Nehamas connects the sexual nature of the philosophical ascent towards the form to arete (Greek word for moral virtue; but Nehamas sees the word fitting a context where the "older man was expected to provide him with the motivation and knowledge necessary for success and distinction in life" pg. 6). But Schopenhauer wants to "exclude passion and desire from the serious," according to Nehamas, who quotes Schopenhauer saying, "All amorousness is rooted in the sexual impulse alone" (pg. 8). Schopenhauer is following Kant's notion of the beautiful as what is known through contemplation or art that produces "a satisfaction without any interest" (pg. 3). And although the word aesthetics is from the Greek word "aesthesis," which means "perception," Kant's notion of a satisfaction without interest seems to separate the perceptual experience from aesthetics.
Nehamas sides with Plato against Kant and Schopenhauer. "Beauty...is part of the everyday world of purpose and desire, history and contingency, subjectivity and incompleteness" (pg. 35). As for progress in the arts, new art is not somehow closer to Truth than other art, according to Nehamas who almost likens period changes in art to Kuhnian science paradigm shifts: "No theoretical proof...will do: the only way to show that new and better art is possible is to create a work that some, at least, among its audience will at some time accept as new and better art" (pg. 40). Unlike Kant who denies interest as part of the mark of beauty, Nehamas invokes Plato again, "Our reaction to beautiful things is the urge to make them our own, which is why Plato called eros the desire to possess beauty" (pg. 55). "Beauty points to the future, and we pursue it without knowing what it will yield, and that makes it as difficult to say why we love someone as it is to say why someone else is our friend. My reasons for finding you beautiful include characteristics I feel you have not yet disclosed, features that may take me in directions I can't now foresee. Beauty inspires desires without letting me known what they are for, and a readiness to refashion what I already desire without telling me what will replace it.
When I say...that what I want is you, not anything from you, I am putting myself in your hands, assuring us both that I will be happy no matter what happens to me, if it is due to you. It is an overwhelming feeling, that sweeping sense that all will be well - and it is often wrong. Stendhal was right: beauty is only a promise of happiness" (pg. 63). We do not know what beauty will yield because beauty is "the emblem of what we lack" which "so frightened Schopenhauer instead of calming him" (pg. 76).
As far as agreement on art is concerned, "Aesthetic judgment must move away from a dogmatism that detects a difference in quality in ever divergence in taste without, at the same time, falling into a relativism that refuses to make any judgment at all" (pg. 84). Nehamas begins this difficult task by making distinctions between the value of morality, aesthetics, beauty, and style; "while the values of morality are the emblems of our commonalities, the values of aesthetics are the badges of our particularities" (pg. 86). "Universal aesthetic agreement would mark the end of aesthetics. Distinctions always denotes a necessity and, sometimes, a value" (Ibid). Thus good aesthetics carries varying styles along for the ride (Nietzsche says "To `give style' to one's character - a great and rare art!"). But since universality is the end of aesthetics, descriptions, and interpretations "depends in each case on how well we and our audience know a work of art and our purposes on that particular occasion" (pg. 123). Again, as far as interpretation is concerned, "there are no unexplained explainers" (pg. 124).
Nehamas has already written on Plato (in "The Art of Living") and Nietzsche (in Nietzsche: Life as Literature). Richard Rorty thinks that Nehamas is trying to bring Plato and Nietzsche's conception of beauty together in "Only a Promise of Happiness."
Book Description
This highly accessible, practical book shows readers how to direct and make use of the natural flow of energy in a garden, patio, balcony, or backyard. Full-color photographs, illustrations, charts, and call-outs make enigmatic principles easy to understand and apply.
Customer Reviews:
Beginners Take Care.......2000-10-11
Gill Hale has done a nice job of introducing Feng Shui concepts, but I feel this book is perilously lacking in depth. OK for those who want to dabble because it's trendy, but not much else. Photos are good; basic design advice is sound. BUT as a Feng Shui landscape design consultant with several years experience I have grave reservations about anyone relying on this book for serious Feng Shui. Hale's grasp of many FS concepts seems superficial at best, and possibly harmful if not well understood when applied. For serious readers I strongly suggest instead Lillian Too's 'Complete Illustrated Guide to Feng Shui for Gardens', very readable, lots of good photos & diagrams.
excellence in photography and headings to find info.......2000-04-19
I really like the color photos. She is very clear and informative as well as encouraging.It made me feel like staying home just to garden!
Tangible philosophy.......2000-04-12
I have had a necklace for years with the I Ching symbols, but I never knew their meanings. In this 228 page beautiful book, feng shui is explained beautifully and simply. For the first time I understand the elements and their relationship with energy, astrology and healing. Simply the best book I have read for novices like me who have admired the tranquillity and peace of oriental gardens but were unable to capture the techniques required to plan such a simple yet complex space.
Amazon.com
Lenedra Carroll, the mother and manager of singer/songwriter Jewel, offers a memoir that speaks to her spiritual theories on creating abundance. The Architecture of All Abundance, her "rag to riches" life story, starts out when the author is a young girl growing up poor in a small Alaskan village and winds up with Carroll becoming a successful CEO of a global entertainment enterprise. More than a memoir, this is more accurately an inspirational book on how you too can build a fulfilling life that includes plenty of spirit and prosperity. Carroll emphasizes the timeless truths of spiritual abundance--ones that readers have probably heard before: listen to your soul's voice, ask the right questions, make time for stillness, own the fear instead of avoiding it, remember that generosity generates prosperity. Yet, like any effective teacher, Carroll has the ability to package these nuggets of wisdom with just the right anecdote or just the right phrasing so that it finally sinks in. It's not uncommon to find provocative passages such as, "We can all realize that while the fear is real, it is also true that what we fear is like a mirage rising off the heat of a projected or past pain." Although her structure of alternating poetry, personal stories, and spiritual advice makes the book slightly disjointed, Carroll's eloquence as a narrator ties it together. --Gail Hudson
Book Description
The Architecture of All Abundance is a combination of memoir and spiritual guidebook from the mother of singer-songwriter Jewel. Navigating the shark-infested waters of the entertainment industry, recovering from life-threatening illness, and rebounding from business failure, Lenedra Carroll has pioneered innovative principles for building success in the material world. Engaging stories deftly portray alternative ways to attain prosperity, love, good health, and a sense of purpose while living ethically and in harmony with others. Practical exercises make the seven principles clear and accessible for every reader. “Searing insights, white hot with spiritual truth, fly out of each chapter. ” — Neale Donald Walsch “I was captivated by the music of Lenedra Carroll’s prose. Her style of writing is that of a true storyteller.” — Jane Goodall
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful and inspiring!.......2005-08-22
The Architecture of All Abundance is one of the most beautiful books I have read in a long time! It left me feeling tremendously inspired on a personal level and motivated me to get more connected again to my spiritual side. The book also gave me hope regarding the corporate world. Lenedra Carroll is doing such positive work for the world, and I believe her company is a real leader in terms of the spiritual focus it holds in its day-to-day operations. To me, this book should be a "must read" for anyone in a leadership position, and it is a "must read" for anyone seeking inspiration in their personal life. The book is beautifully written, and all the personal stories and examples included in the book help to make Ms Carroll's practices seem possible for anyone to apply to their lives.
Jewel's Mom.......2003-02-10
I'm sure that the author meant well by writing this book; her tone is very serious and sincere. But it is over-written and heavy-handed. If it had been penned by anyone other than a celebrity's mother, it would not have been published. It does not warrant reading and certainly does not warrant buying.
No Sharks.......2002-12-03
A wonderful book. Packed full of inspirational stories and solid, experiential advice. Lenedra Carroll beautifully communicates her reality in this life and bridging her visions into the music industry. Her practical wisdom is timeless and fascinating when applied to the music industry and inspirational because of her abundant results. Beautifully communicating the talk while successfully walking the walk.
A lyrical, engaging, and wise journey.......2002-07-11
Beautifully written, evocative, and so full of simple but heretofor elusive (for most of us) truths that you'll want to re-read every page 2 or 3 times to let the wisdom and import sink in and be absorbed.
I read this book last October, and again this month, and it lost nothing in the repetition. It actually became more valued as well as validating.
Ms. Carroll has some advantages over most of us in that she has long familiarity with, surety of, and accessibility to her inner guidance system (perhaps universal guidance system is more appropriate?). She also had the sense and early discernment to ask questions that revealed the nature of things, and a number of magical experiences that motivated her to seek more generative paradigm of the world. The structures she's created (for creating a successful life in the material world) are impressive and really define "beyond win-win".
More than a self-help book.......2002-03-29
I'm not generally one for books of this nature (I usually enjoy fiction over nonfiction), but this book was fascinatingly plain. It dealt with everything I knew was familiar, yet was written in such a way that I was able to see 'everyday' as extraordinary. Knowing something of the content of the book before I bought it, I was afraid it would be too hokey and corny. I was also afraid it would be a book someone wrote to ride on the coattails of her daughter's (Jewel) success. It was nothing of the sort. Once I read this book, I saw where the source of inspiration in Jewel's music and poetry came from. Her mother, Lenedra, is a powerhouse of wisdom and gentleness. Not to mention eloquence! This book was very, very well written. The words are intelligent, coherent, and thoughtful.
Lenedra's prose is delightful. She offers her wisdom through insights and observations, never once taking up any pretention that she knows every solution to every problem. It's not a 'how-to' book to a successful, balanced, and happy life. On every page she emphasizes the answers, along with problems, are all there within our grasp, and offers her insights on how to see and follow through with the solution to our woes.
Her advice is simple, loving, nurturing and very wise, and she brings a unique and fresh approach to age old adages. Every story she shares, every notion she brings up, it's all stuff we've already heard, but really registered. The difference is you can feel from her words that she lived and learned the lessons firsthand, and that alone makes for a more engaging read. I also love that she never asserts solutions are beyond our own grasp, that answers are blessed only by aloof deities. Her words are powerful yet gentle, and place emphasis on the beauty of human courage. This book centers around human goodness, not humanity's failings.
This book is a nice, thick read. I've taken a good long time to read through it, reading only a few pages here and there, but the book keeps drawing me back to read more. This is one of those books you keep going back to, and I can see myself returning to it again and again during my lifetime. Each time your return to the pages of this book, you'll find yourself forming new insigts and opinions of your own on the subject matter. It's one of those books that will never grow old, because the subject matter regards a lifetime's worth of experiences.
Truly refreshing. This is a much needed book, emphasizing the stillness and quiet of life to find solutions, which is a ready welcome into our hectic modern day society.
Book Description
Simons, a feng shui master and astrologer, teaches readers how to feng shui their homes in a clear, step-by-step fashion and gives personalized advice based on readers' dates of birth. Simons presents not only the popular eight-point method but also divining techniques and other authentic Chinese methods that make analysis more complete. Illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
An ok book to have on Feng Shui.......2005-07-30
Feng Shui Step by Step is a book of some 200 or more pages...most of which are informative and useful. The book is a good size so you don't get that small print overpacked info feeling when reading. The author invests ample explanation clear and understandable about the basics. It doesn't have a lot of boring introduction but gets straight to it without skipping essentials. The introduction actually has a handy "Personal Data" sheet in which you can write down all your relavent information for organize and clear reference. While it gives the read a taste of what is to come with the "personal data" sheet..what good does it do there so early in the book?. It Better off as a tearout if itis going to situated right at the start or it could be within or after all the necessary information.
The first 85 pages including the intro proves the reader with a sturdy foundation. There are drawings for visual reference througout the book. "The Five Elements" chapter goes through each element in detail via the subheading: Your Season of Birth, Mental and Physical States, Occupations, Shapes and Colors, Weather, Flower, Directions in Space, and Parts of the Home. In this chapter also you learn about the cycles. There are "Excerices" after each chapter.
The next chapter "The Nine Stars" is where the reader is introduced to finding their Kua number or Birth Star. The author maintains consistancy with what has been introduced in prior pages. Each Birth Star is dealt with in detail via subheadings. His subheading approach is very helpful as it provides a clean and organized view for the reader. Also in this chapter you learn about your doorway directions and how to harmonize. The following chapter after these is for harmonizing the situation for two people.
The next parts of the book "Diagnostic Methods" involves staking out your space. The author has been up to now basically following Compass School. He is better off staying with this as it is by far the most useful, clear, and accurate method in the book. Using this method we learn about applying colors to balance areas. The other two methods are "The Eight Point Method" and "The Stick Figure Method". As a very basic beginners excercise the stick figure approach is cute and interesting since it correlates with health/the body with areas your space. I can see how that works..but thats as far as it goes.
The Eight Point is none other that a watered down Black Hat Ba-gua. Whats even worse is that the author suggests "reassigning" the eight points to take up more space if it doesn't fit your floorplan as it should. This is fraught for problems, unprofessional, and regresses. Not to mention that this "Eight Point Method" has NO HEALTH section...how great is that!?. Black Hat often puts Health as center of the trigram ..however that works. The stick figure methods also uses the eight points..not recommeded.
The remainder of the book addresses spacial and placement issues decently via several chapters. Its not heavy on the cures approach but deals with it sparingly or generally..e.g "Lighting and Mirrors". It also deals with case scenarios (which are given according throughout the book as well) with more than one person living in a space. Each persons' "Personal Data" and their doorway are taken into account. The end of the book deals with a case scenario in "Making a New Home and Alterations"..which is good for those especially in the position to do so. Also miscellaneous adjunct information is offered. In the back Appendices...are charts and visuals that basically repeat the info given earlier but in a more comprehensive; full circle way.
This is is good to have around in terms of its sturdy information and consistancy throughout the book. It doesn't seem to loose itself much..expect for the "Methods" section. Its good on how to understand and apply the elements and directions to your space. The author is more focused on the color interior design, however, he does offer other decorating guidelines in the opening chapters.
Advanced folks would already know much of what this books has to say..so its a good one for advanced beginners to the novice. It will keep them very busy for starters!.
When you need hand holding.......2004-04-13
I can't begin to tell you how many books I own or have borrowed regarding Feng Shui... I kept getting confused with each book. However - Raphael's step by step approach made it really simple and basic. I have donated all the other books but refuse to let my friends borrow the Step by Step one -they can buy it for themselves!
just an opinion.......2003-12-28
My first language is Spanish. Even when I can read, write and speak English, sometimes I rather to read books in Spanish to avoid to run to the dictionary when I don't have very clear an idea.
I checked out the price of this book for the edition in Spanish and it is TOO EXPENSIVE ($48.80). Comparing to the English version ($14.70). I know the author and/or the editorial house have to pay to a translator and expenses for printing and advertisement, and bla, bla, bla, but 3 times the price of the English version + another $4.70 is TOO MUCH!!! Now just wondering who sets the price on the books
My introduction to Feng Shui.......2003-11-07
Excellent book for a beginner. Very clear instructions on how to set up a room or a whole house. I recommend this book as a starter course. If you don't want to buy more than one, make it this one.
My first introduction to the concepts of Feng Shui.......2001-02-22
I don't really have a strong basis for comparison, but I believe this is a fairly good book about Feng Shui. It provides worksheets and a good deal of information specific to the reader. After reading it, I have a good idea of what I need to do to make my living space more, well, livable. It was interesting to see too that several things suggested in the book were already present in my home.
My only concerns with the book are in that it may be too simplified. One of the methods for diagnosing your space is to use a "stick figure" with the head in the doorway and the body extended across the living space. The book doesn't really make it clear if you are supposed to use a basic outline of your space or if it should include the walls present in your home. The examples help a little bit, but a lot of the diagnosing methods are up to the interpretation of the reader.
Other than that, I believe it is a good introduction to Feng Shui. It certainly piqued my curiousity and I will strive to learn more on the subject.
Book Description
The Power of Vastu Living introduces a wonderfully accessible, room-by-room approach for organizing and decorating homes, apartments, and work spaces according to the timeless healing principles of vastu -- the sister science of yoga and ayurveda. Kathleen Cox's breakthrough system, Vastu Living, delivers all the practical tools you need to incorporate the organic, soothing properties of ancient vastu design into an increasingly overcrowded, hyper-stressed, and e-saturated world. Now you can
create a home for your soul...
restore well-being to your work space...
celebrate your identity...
design your vastu blueprints...
...in every conceivable environment, from the kitchen, living room, home office, and bedroom to the company office, reception area -- and even the dreaded cubicle.
Elevate modern life through the 5,000-year-old healing properties of vastu. Enhance your inner peace, rediscover your sense of mind-and-body harmony, and always, always make room for the soul.
Customer Reviews:
fake vastu.......2007-08-09
This is a beautifully designed book but it has little to do with authentic Vaastu or Vastu. The author has good intentions but is following coffee table books that are replete with errors about the science of vastu and the science and technology of vaastu. The true definition of these two words is unknown by the author. Unfortunately this is not the only author who has marketed this topic but does not understand the authentic science. It is being reduced to incense, mirrors, moving furniture etc. Authentic Vastu is far more than the smoke and mirrors presented in this text. I know that this bastardization of truth was not intended, but the author simply does not know what she does not know.
vastu lover.......2004-11-05
awesome book! even our cousin loved this book and so i passed it on to him. now i gotta get a new one for us! its very descriptive.. and also a good deal for the price. it works nicely for yoga lovers!
Almost as good as a personal consulting.......2002-12-04
I took a 7 week long (2hours a week) workshop with the author and read this book during the workshop and after. The book is almost like having Kathy inside your home to figure out how to make Vastu work for you! It's amazing the changes that have occured within my roommate and my sense of ease now that my house is vastu perfected :) I even began to bring it into the workplace and the changes were amazing. Before I left my job I took my meditation belongings home and the energy around me and throughout my small workplace immediately became less friendly. If you feel like you're looking for something and you're constantly running away from your apartment read this book! It will help you recognize exactly how to make your home a sanctuary for yourself, animals, family, and even roommates! Not to mention guests.
Best Book on Vastu!!!.......2002-11-18
I practice yoga--seriously. I just heard about vastu and bought this book after someone told me it was the best book to read on this ancient science. I enjoyed it immensely and found it so logical to follow and understand. I've started to re-organize much of my apartment. Already, it looks so much nicer and really does make me feel much more comfortable and calm. I highly recommend this book to everyone--especially people who do yoga--the two go together for sure.
Who knew if could be so simple to change your life?.......2002-08-02
Who knew you could change your life so much by simply moving your bed or computer? I couldn't recommend a better book to learn how to improve your health, your job, even your romantic life. Forget all those male/female books that try getting you to color your hair or spend crazy amounts of time at coffee shops. This book lets you know the most significant changes come from within.
Average customer rating:
- What a great blast from the past...
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Security is a Thumb and a Blanket (Peanuts)
Charles M. Schulz
Manufacturer: Cider Mill Press
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Happiness is a Warm Puppy (Peanuts)
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Home is On Top of a Dog House (Peanuts)
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I Need All The Friends I Can Get (Peanuts)
ASIN: 1933662093 |
Book Description
Happiness is Classic Peanuts!
These collector’s editions perfectly recreate the original look and feel of the best-loved Peanuts books—their paper, their ink, even their lamination. And of course, the heartwarming content that charmed the world, sold millions, and launched the career of Charles M. Schulz remains untouched. On every spread there’s a tiny tidbit of wisdom from one of the gang, along with one of Schulz’s irresistible drawings. It’s a trip down memory lane that every Peanuts fan will cherish.
Customer Reviews:
What a great blast from the past..........2007-06-27
Never have we known Schultz to be so prescient as he is in this book from the 1960's. As we yearn for a simpler time when security does not mean taking off your shoes in airports, Schultz gives us simple, cogent heart warming snapshots of life from a simpler time as a reminder of what may yet come.
Book Description
Crystals are things of light, beauty, and power—and this superb user’s and collector’s guide covers more than 100 varieties, all with sparkling color photographs (including enlarged details) and a concise profile of their visual characteristics, healing properties, and practical applications. There’s also invaluable information on identification and care of each type of crystal, along with notes on similar-looking stones and keywords that indicate its main function at a glance. Find out about such key topics as Ayurveda, Feng Shui, amulets, birthstones, wands and pendulums, and using the crystal to connect with auras and chakras.
Customer Reviews:
Very useful information........2007-05-08
This tiny book you could drop into a pocket or purse has brilliant color photos, metaphysical properties, magickal properties, chemical composition of the stone, and in most occasions it also has the moh's hardness scale of the stone.
All of this is wonderful information that is often difficult to find especially the chemical composition, and the Moh's hardness scale rating.
I give this book four stars instead of five because.
1. this book is not as complete as "The Crystal Bible" Judy Hall, and deffinately NOT as comprehensive as "Love Is In The Earth: A Kaleidoscope Of Crystals" A. Melody.
2. the information about the crystals is organized badly. The information of the crystals is organized according to the color of the crystal INSTEAD of alphabetically which it should be.
Even with it's faults; I AM recommending this volume. I will be taking this book with me when I go to crystal shows.
This book has faults; but still very useful, and certainly more portable than the other two books I recommended above.
Aloha
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- The Data Warehouse Toolkit: Practical Techniques for Building Dimensional Data Warehouses
- The English Room
- The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, the West, and the Future of the Holy City
- The Harvard Five in New Canaan: Midcentury Modern Houses by Marcel Breuer, Landis Gores, John Johansen, Philip Johnson, Eliot Noyes, and Others
- The New Eighteenth-Century Style: Rediscovering a French Décor
- The Portland Cement Association's Guide to Concrete Homebuilding Systems
- The Simple Solution to Rubik's Cube
- Then We Came to the End: A Novel
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