Even if we are a Third World country, Philippine cinema and television still try to adapt and conform to the latest technological inventions and innovations abroad.
But for all its efforts to keep up with modernity, local show business and most of its practitioners still basically adhere to superstitions.
Some superstitious producers, for example, do not allow cast and crew to eat boiled peanuts on the set because there will be a lot of empty shells around (that is said to translate to empty coffers, empty pocketbooks, etc.). In a way, that also keeps the surroundings clean and tidy since most Pinoys still do not know how to properly dispose of trash.
Fridays also used to be a no-no to start the shoot of any project. Maybe because that is the end of the week and the old superstitious generations believe that it is the day when witches are at their most powerful.
I’m trying to differentiate superstitions from feng shui, but I feel these two are cousins, probably even siblings.
Superstitious beliefs — I will have difficulty defending since some are downright absurd. Brides, for instance, are not supposed to fit their bridal attire before the altar date or else the wedding will not push through. To go around this superstition, the couturier usually makes a chemise for the bride and that is what is used during the fitting.
Feng shui, on the other hand, has more or less a scientific and practical basis. A bathroom higher than the floor of the rest of the house (particularly the bedroom) is not supposed to be good feng shui.
The logical explanation I see to this is that if the bathroom gets flooded you can just imagine what that mess can create to the rest of the home. Water seeks its own level and if you keep the bathroom floor lower, the flood will only be contained in that area.
During this recent Halloween season — when the public always expects ghost stories and topics related to superstitions from TV and print — I will not dwell on superstitious beliefs but will focus more on feng shui because I see some practicality to it.
I believe this is a good time to talk about feng shui because come January, which is less than two months away from now a lot of families will begin construction of their homes. January is the best time to build because that is far from the rainy season.
For feng shui advice, I asked Francis Gaw (francis_gaw@yahoo.com) because he is respected in this field. Among his clients are Roselle Monteverde and Laguna Gov. ER Ejercito and wife Maita, the former actress and now mayor of Pagsanjan. The Ejercito ancestral home is located in Pagsanjan and Francis had already done feng shui to the place and Gov. ER couldn’t thank the psychic consultant enough for the help.
Here are some feng shui tips on building residential homes.
Pinoy homebuilders in the past had always wanted their homes facing east because that is where the sunrise is. This is also practical because by doing so you avoid the oppressive afternoon sun from the west.
But according to Francis, it can be either east of south. But the best is southeast and that direction is good for everyone regardless of birth sign. This is his explanation: There is a lot of water in the Arctic Circle up north. The water element is considered lucky by the Chinese (which is why he says that there are very few Chinese people in the Middle East where deserts abound). From the North Pole, water trickles down south and meets up with the direction of the east where the sun rises.
Francis says that the Southeast Asian nations are lucky, which explains why a country like Vietnam was able to bounce back in spite of its horrible history.
The Philippines is supposed to be lucky, too (we are rich in natural resources), except that we had the misfortune of being plagued by corruption.
A no-no in house building based on feng shui is for the façade to be pointed toward the northwest (“where is Northwest Airlines now?”) because north is the direction that dispenses water and west is where the sun sets.
The northwest direction, Francis volunteers, is the best location to build orphanages, home for the aged and other charitable institutions. It will attract donors to contribute to the funds of the establishment meant for charity.
The southwest is good for retirement homes because the occupants there will finally find rest. I kid him rather morbidly: Maybe even eternal rest.
Francis is a walking reference to feng shui rules, except that there are so many to print here. In early 2012, I will try to seek him out again to help guide those who believe in feng shui before they start building homes.
Being a psychic consultant and feng shui expert, incidentally, is only an activity he does on the side. His main business deals with the production of tarpaulins — those that we see along EDSA.
Will the authorities ease their rules on the current clampdown on sexy billboards? He only looks upward as if to say that we need no psychic to answer that question.
This is the Philippines — so go figure. But he assures product endorsers and manufacturers promoting goods that sell sexy bodies that happy days will be here again soon.