| Feng Shui Stories for the Soul An Edge Life Expo Preview: An interview with Carole J. Hyder by Tim Miejan Carole J. Hyder has accomplished international success as a consultant, speaker, teacher, author and trainer in Feng Shui, an ancient art of working with the circluation and flow of life force in the living and working environment to create balance and harmony. She has been a Feng Shui consultant since 1992, having studied with Professor Thomas Lin Yun, a master Feng Shui teacher of the Black Sect tradition, as well as Roger Green, a master in the traditional Compass school perspective. She also is founder and president of the Wind and Water School of Feng Shui, which is licensed by the Minnesota Higher Education Services Office. She has written two books -- Wind and Water: Your Personal Feng Shui Journey, and Living Feng Shui: Personal Stories, a small book that is a touch documentry of how Feng Shui affects people's lives. Carole will present "Feng Shui for the Soul: Sacred Stories" from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16, at Edge Life Expo 2003 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. She will share entertaining, informational and heart-warming stories from her years as a Feng Shui consultant and provide her audience an opportunity to learn about Feng Shui through Inspirational, real-life events. Woven with sensitivity and humor, her stories are instrumental in helping others create their own sacred space. She spoke to The EDGE by phone from her home in Minneapolis. You are speaking on the topic of "Feng Shui for the Soul: Sacred Stories." What message do you want to leave with your audience? Carole Hyder: I want them to know that some simple life-changing tools are available if people want to take advantage of them. Feng Shui is really about change. People call me because they're trying to make a change, they've been forced to make a change or they feel like something needs to be changed. Therefore, the struggle begins. Using the environment is one way to facilitate change in an easier way. There are other ways to bring about change, as well. From your experience, what one story perfectly demonstrates the concept of Feng Shui? Carole: I think the one that has hit home for people the most is the story about a man I worked with. I ran a four-part series in The EDGE about the man named Ned. Ned was completely overwhelmed by his life. He could not get a foothold on what was going on. He had a job, but he had moved to the home he was living in to get away from a really sad and unwanted divorce. He never unpacked, and he had been there about five years. He was living that way and had a know-nothing job, and all he knew was that something had better change. He didn't know what. He had read very little about Feng Shui. He was so overwhelmed that the only things we could do at first were very small things. I made many return visits to see him because he could not handle things as they were. Ned's story was not a typical one, but it certainly was the most dramatic experience. Little by little, he inched his way through his house, and things began happening in his life that were just phenomenal. I think the most amazing thing in this story, which was totally unexpected and broadsided both of us, was that once Ned got his space in order, he quit smoking. He never said to me, "I wish I could quit smoking." We never talked about it and it wasn't an issue for him. But he realized, once he got his house in order, that it wasn't appropriate to be smoking in that space. So he gave it up one day. It was a fascinating story. Within the past year, I did another follow-up with Ned. An opportunity came up for him and he decided to do a little more Feng Shui to help him make a decision about his job. Ned realized that he had a tool right at his fingertips, and he began to manipulate the chi, which is what Feng Shui does. It enhances it or disperses it. By knowing some basics in how to do it, he could be proactive. Who do you look up to as a role model or source of inspiration? Carole: My teacher, Professor Thomas Lin Yun [www.yunlintemple.org]. He's a Buddhist lama who lives in China. He embodies all of the principles of Feng Shui. He lives them. He became even more inspirational to me as I started to teach Feng Shui. I was able to see how he teaches Feng Shui and how he relates to his students -- his unending patience and availability. It has given me something to model my teaching style after. What is your purpose or reason for being here now? Carole: I really believe my purpose is about facilitating change. I think a lot of people are here for that. We're all doing it in our own little way. As I go through my days, there are times when I feel I really touch into my soul's work. It is not so much that I hold their hands through their changes, but that I open a door and they can through it if they choose. It is the opening of the door that I feel is my job. Was there a single, defining moment that caused you to devote your life toward your purpose? Carole: No, not really. When I first started studying Feng Shui, I wasn't sure there was anything substantial behind it. Nobody around here had heard of it. I didn't know if it was something I would just move through and that would be that. So I started studying a little and then people began asking: "I heard you were studying Feng Shui" or "I heard you know about Feng Shui." Sometimes I was propelled down the road faster than I wanted, because the demand was starting to come up. What daily practice that you follow has the most meaning for you? Carole: Oddly enough, a modality that I have been enamored with and have followed for years and years and years is Yoga. While it comes from the Indian tradition, it has just become a part of my life. I also have done some t'ai chi and chi gong, but Yoga has been such a part of my life that I haven't let it go. That's been a huge piece for me. When you find yourself in a negative state of mind, how do you return to balance? Carole: My way of dealing with that is that I pretty much go within. I don't necessarily need to process it with a lot of people. I usually sit with it, journal about it and think it through. I have learned over the years that the best way to get through a negative experience is to go through it -- and not around it. And it lasts a lot less time if you go through it. I pretty much embrace it. That's kind of a hard word to say about it, because I'm not too graceful with it, but that's my goal. Of all the places you have been, which one would you choose to return to daily if you could? Carole: I love to travel and I've traveled a lot and have been in many different countries, but I have to say that what Tom and I have created here at home is the place that feeds me the most. A day does not go by when I do not feel grateful for the gardens that we have, the home that we have, just the surroundings where we live. I do not take that for granted and I am really mindful about that. I've lived in places that have not been comfortable. So I am just feel really lucky that every day I do return to the place that feeds me the most. I just happens to be where I live. Why would you encourage someone who has not attended Edge Life Expo to do so? Carole: It's certainly the exposure to a vast array of people, of experiences, of classes. It's certainly an opportunity to do some networking, to talk to people. It ranks right up there with the Whole Life Expos that came through town. I think it's even better, because it's locally based. You know almost everybody. There's such a home feeling about it. From year to year, I may not see all of these people, but there they are again at the expo. It's a reconnection time. It's support time. You know, I stood at that booth last year, and I swear that everybody that I knew walked by. If I had stood there another two days, then everybody I knew would have come by. It's not only buying things. That certainly can happen, but there's an energy about being around so many like-minded people. In my work, I am seeing a lot of...I think the word I am going to use is, desperation. A lot of that is new. I saw some of that in the beginning, 12 years ago, but now, almost across the board, I am seeing a lot of people who are at the end of their rope. I'm not discouraged by that, but I think what is happening for people is that they're hitting their wall -- and they're looking for answers. I see that almost as a sign of hope, that big changes are imminent. I think Feng Shui, Reiki and t'ai chi are among the many possibilities to help ease people through some of this. Whatever form or way people need to get through this desperate time, I think there is a lot of opportunity here. I think the Edge Life Expo provides hope. You can walk through the expo and hear people say, "Wow, that could help me or this could help me or I could do that." We're here to help bring their lives into some kind of harmony. To learn more about Carole Hyder and what she offers, visit www.carolehyder.com Tickets to Carole Hyder's appearance from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16, at Edge Life Expo 2003 are available through October 15 at the Early Bird cost of $15. Advanced tickets through Nov. 13 are $17, and at the door they cost $19. For advanced tickets, go to www.uptowntix.com or call (612) 604-4466. For more details on Edge Life Expo 2003, visit www.edgenews.com/expo or call (612) 590-1609. Copyright © 2003 Tim Miejan |
||
|
|
|
