I am sure your first thought is – yes, what does it have to do with Emergency Preparedness? Well let me explain. Remember the first step in Emergency Preparedness is to do all you can to “Prevent the Emergency” or place yourself in a situation that will limit “Emergencies”.
As you may or may not know, Feng Shui is a Chinese system. Feng Shui involves the blending of the Heavens [Astronomy] and Earth [Geography] to help you live successfully. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feng_shui This system can be complicated. At the same time there are a few very simple rules that will save anyone from some serious potential Emergency situations.
Here are the rules to help Prevent Emergency Disasters:
DO NOT -
1. Do not live in the low areas.
a. Do not live with the house lower than the street level. Water run off can get into the house. This can cause mold to grow more easily in the house as well, which can cause more illness.
b. Do not live in a house that is lower than the other homes in the area. Again water can come rolling to the house or the home area can become swampy. The feeling of being at the “bottom” of the area certainly can also have a mental effect on the person’s psyche.
c. Do not live in a house that is on the bend of a river where the water is flowing at the house. The river bank will eventually disappear and the house will be in danger. Flooding increases in this situation as well. How can you sleep at night with that worry?
2. Do not live with the house facing North in northern regions. The house will be cold. This will increase costs. Watch prevailing winds of where you live.
3. Do not live or work where the building has a street that comes right at the building. This opens up the building to have an accident. You hear of the stories where someone drives right into the living room of a house. The car lights at night can be disturbing as well. This again develops a frustration of the owner, which means you are more irritable and at serious risk.
4. Do not live in a poor area. This is both city and country. Crime will be higher. Property values will be difficult to maintain. The poor areas usually are the areas that involve geographical and enviromental problem areas that have water, wind, etc.
5. Do not let things fall into disrepair. This increases chances of accidents and that increases emergencies. This increases the costs of the repairs and the timing is never the “best”.
6. Do not have a pond in the front of the house and in the back. This increases accidental death of children.
7. Do not let the trees, shrubs and grass be “wild” and out of control. This increases your chances of fire and increases pests.
8. Do not live on an odd shaped property – land or building. Costs are higher to maintain. Most people “feel” better with uniformity. Therefore it creates a “feel” of odd and therefore not as likely to be sold.
9. If you live in any of these situations consider how to get out of it and into a better situation.
The thought is you will lose money living in these types of places. The costs certainly can be high and the loss of time just to solve the problems is huge. You will spend more of your life “fighting” the problems and caught in the spiral of “emergencies” rather than living an abundant sustainable life.
DO –
1. Do live on high ground. That solves many problems.
2. Do live with the house having a shelter affect. It is called the arm chair look. The concept is to keep the wind, water, etc. and from weathering the house. This will save money heating and cooling. Plus a person will feel the security around them. Landscaping is important.
3. Do live near a good water source. A bay with a harbor is considered very good. It keeps the temperatures of the area moderated. Businesses flourish in these settings as well. This helps keep a sustainable income.
4. Do live with the house facing South or East. This helps with heating and cooling.
5. Do place an importance to the kitchen especially the stove. Fires started there in the past. Today it would be watch our electrical wiring and gas.
6. Do live in the best area you can afford. Your neighbors in the country or city are an important part of the security of the home for emergencies.
7. Do keep the home, equipment and vehicles repaired. This saves money. You can shop for the best price for the repair. This way you can also schedule the timing of the repair to your schedule.
8. Do have a fountain or pond on the property. This helps mediate the temperature of the area. It gives a good storage of water as well for emergencies.
9. Do keep the trees, shrubs and grass trimmed. This cuts down on fire and pests problems.
10. Do live in an even shaped land and building such as a square or rectangle shape. They are easier to maintain. It gives the owners a positive feeling.
11. If you live with these principles you have cut down your potential emergencies.
I have not covered all of the suggestions. Yet you can see how they are practical methods of “Preventing Emergencies”. There are some practical approaches to the inside of the home and office as well. If you are interested you can research further the practical benefits that have been researched and applied for a couple of thousand years – Fen Shui.
Enjoy! Judy
