What Knots

My minister recently completed a three-week trip to Bangladesh and India where he and a group of other clergymen visited various sites and spoke with members of the predominant faiths in that part of the world, one of which is Buddhism. I’m not going to delve into Buddhism. You can Google it for yourself, but I did want to touch on something he mentioned in last Sunday’s sermon, which was titled “Untying the Knots.”

When most folks think of Buddha, the picture that comes to mind is the laughing Buddha like the photo at the left. I have been looking for one of these jolly fellows for my apartment as part of the feng shui I’ve been working on. Having Buddha face the main entrance to your dwelling helps revitalize dead or negative chi (energy), relieves tension and summons fortune and riches. Rubbing the Buddha’s belly is supposed to bring good luck.

Call my crazy, but I’m very open to positive energy, good fortune and riches and less tension.

Here’s a different image of Buddha the minister used in his sermon last Sunday. Take a close look at the hands. Without an explanation I might have thought it was some sort of far eastern gang sign. However, the pundit who took their group to the site of Buddha’s first sermon explained this is the position one’s hands would be in to untie a knot.

The good reverend went on to say "the way of Buddha is about untying the knots in our lives." In our western world, we often use the expression that we’re “tied up in knots” over something.

Included in our bulletins Sunday morning was a small gift from his trip – a piece of red thread a little over three feet long with a knot tied near the middle. We were invited to put the thread on our wrist as a reminder of our faith. He also told us the Dalai Lama distributes red threads at his public audiences.

As I wrapped the thread around my wrist, I thought about all the knots I’ve had to untie over the past year. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know what I’m talking about. If not, I can sum it up in one word: divorce.

But I also started thinking of the red thread in terms of writing. When we craft a story, our characters have something they want (a goal), a reason for wanting it (motivation) and a great big knot in the red thread of their lives that keeps them from that goal (conflict).

As writers, we want to have good GMC in the story, but we also want a satisfying resolution to the story. In other words, we want that knot completely untied so our hero and heroine can live happily ever after. I'd even like to take the red thread and tie my characters together with a nice, neat bow. How we untie the knot depends on our skill as a writer and also the circumstances of the plot. But until the thread is un-knotted, the story isn’t complete and we can’t type “The End.”

With regard to the synopsis and three chapters requested by the Harlequin editor at the RWA conference week before last, I haven’t begun working on that yet. I’m still a little fuzzy from the anesthesia from my foot surgery last week, and I do not want to send off anything that could be classified as “writing under the influence.” Aliens don't need to show up in chapter fourteen.

But with regard to the other parts of my life, the untying is a work in progress. My fabulous fellow Playfriends and the Mavens have been an invaluable part of this process. My family has been behind me one hundred percent. And I leave church every Sunday with my bulletin filled with notes I’ve scribbled in response to the sermons. I like that my minister makes me think. I even appreciate that sometimes he makes me cry because it means the knots are untying and another part of my life is working through to a good resolution.

I have an extra red thread from Sunday and one lucky commenter today will get it. I don’t want you to feel like you have to bear your souls today and talk about the knotted parts of your life, so just tell me about a good book you’ve read lately and what made it so good.

I’ll go first. I’m reading RED’S HOT HONKY-TONK BAR by Pamela Morsi, which is about a woman whose life suddenly gets turned upside down when she has to take responsibility for two young grandchildren she hardly knows.

Slow Dancing, Feng Shui-ing to the Music

From wordnetweb.princeton.edu: feng shui (pronounced fung shway) - rules in Chinese philosophy that govern spatial arrangement and orientation in relation to patterns of yin and yang and the flow of energy or qi.

Almost four years ago, I posted about an online Feng Shui class I took and how I was trying to apply the principles to my office. Not long after that I sold my first short story and I became a true believer.

Here's the Bagua Map, or the guide to applying Feng Shui principles. In this version of Feng Shui, the map is oriented toward the entrance to a room. The entrance will always be along the bottom of the map.

Now I have a new office (with a reorganized Keeper Shelf and washed curtains I might add) and the RWA PRO group had Feng Shui as part of their January bootcamp (see what you're missing by not being a PRO???), so I began the Feng Shui process again.

• Red valances over the window -- check



• Framed magazine covers over the desk -- check



• A meaningful plaque in my Zen area -- check



• Two wooden angels hung over the door in the Helpful People area -- check

The rest of the room would have to wait until I can buy a sofa and move the futon from my living room to my office. But still, something didn't seem quite right.

Then whammo! I realized the furniture in this office is reversed from my old one. The desk is in the Creativity area and the futon will go in the Health/Family area. I had the wrong artwork hung in the wrong place. Oh noes!

So... the framed magazine covers came down to wait in the closet until they can be hung over the futon. But what could I do for the wall over the desk? It has a hutch top so there's a limited amount of wall space above it.

I perused the art I'd moved with me and took one of the metal pieces from the old office, found two round wooden pieces at my fave decorating place, Hobby Lobby, and the Feng Shui for that area feels as right as rain now.

My desk and the revised art over it. I'll tackle the cluttered shelves next because clutter is a negative force anywhere.

The red valances.


The Keeper Shelf and the angels over the door

Truer words have never been spoken

My Zen area plaque because a gal's gotta keep a positive attitude.

Next I need to work on the clutter because clutter just saps the energy right out of a room.

I've had fun playing with the feng shui and while I've been decorating my office and bedroom, I've carried the bagua map in my purse so I'll know if that green wood wall hanging will work in the Health/Family area (it will) or if I should pass on the single red vase because things in the Relationship area should be in pairs.

Whether it really works or I just had some good timing is up in the air. But it sure doesn't hurt to try.

Have you ever done any Feng Shui with your dwelling?

P.S. Our very own Problem Child will be blogging tomorrow at The Pink Heart Society blog. Please pop over and say hi to her.