Dear Lillian,
It would be a great pleasure if you could give me some feng shui advice on how to face and communicate with my Western office manager, and thereby improve the general atmosphere in my workplace.

I am a contract basic employee and have been working under him for quite a long time. We are all working for a world-class oil & gas company. My manager is a grumpy man - bad-tempered, always frustrated and not easy to talk to.

My colleagues and I are not happy with this situation and are feeling stressed out by the bad Yang in our department.

We haven't heard laughter in our office for a long time now, never mind joking or kidding around with our manager during a normal conversation.

Furthermore, I sometimes have to go offshore to work and sometimes stay on a barge for as long as one month. Whenever there's bad weather, like a storm or gate-force winds, we have to look for shelter near the shore. That means I have to stay on the barge and be like one of the seaman.

Presently, I am wearing a necklace of Kuan Yin emerald and a ring of Pi Xiu emerald on my left hand, which I bought in China. Recently, on my office desk, I placed a 'Fly on a Horse', an elegant painting of a horse on the right, and a Dragon Tortoise painting without water behind me. I intend to buy a small painting of a Dragon which will be pasted on the front left of my deskspace. I also intend to have a Rooster & 6 Crystals which will be placed on my desk, too.

I indeed believe that the Chinese zodiac signs bring me wealth luck whenever the animal year of my birth comes along. I was born in July 1971, which is the Boar. This year, I got promoted and my wages have doubted.

Anyway, I have a few specific questions for you:
1) What are the feng shui tips, or figurines and paintings that I need to have on my desk to improve the atmosphere in my office and gain confidence from my boss?

2) Our office space is limited, so I don't think I can put place a large feng shui object, such as a water feature. Will just placing things on and around my desk suffice?

3) What are the amulets I need to wear when I stay offshore on a big ship?

Thanks, Your Fan

Dear Fan,
Wow. You sure can write a long letter! Must have lots of time on your hands! Anyway, your boss sounds like he has some problems on his mind and he is also a serious sort of chap. I am sure his being reserved is just his character - some people are just born unhappy you know - and finds it hard to smile.

What I suggest you do is buy him a present - a gift of my book, maybe, or one of my mantra rings. He is not a bad person because he has not done anything to make your working life miserable. He just lacks a sense of humour.

So send some loving energy his way and I am sure it with 'break' the spell in the office. If you like, you can also get one of my bass mirrors (it's very cheap and very small). Use it to reflect his face and then let the mirror face the sun. This will help make him more Yang as a person. See if this makes a difference to his personality.

Dear Lillian,
I am starting renovations on my first home and have tried to apply many feng shui principles to it. I was born a Dragon on Aug 8, 1976, and my kua number is 9. My new apartment unit's main door faces the southeast and my kitchen is also along this direction.

I am currently extending my wet kitchen and plan to have a concrete table 10 feet long. At one end of this table is my hob and at the other end, my sink.

I have been told that having the stove and sink in tine is bad. Is this true? Also, in my dry kitchen, my fridge is facing my other sink - is this alright? Thank you so much for your help. Your advice will surely put my mind to rest!

Regards, Errolyn

Dear Errolyn,
Hey, are you a chef or something? Because all your do is ask about the kitchen? Ha, ha.

Well, feng shui is more than just about the kitchen. Although, I can understand your concern, as it seems your main door and your kitchen are all in a line.
One effect of this is that you'll always love to eat, and while there is nothing wrong in that, this might cause some problems.

And yes, the stove and the sink being in line causes a disharmony of elements. The fridge facing the sink is also not a good idea.

Can you rearrange things so that the lines do not get created in a straight manner? Better for the Chi to meander than to travel in a straight line.

Dear Lillian,
My wife and I are new to feng shui. We own a few of your books, like Basic Feng Shui and Feng Shui Interiors, and we recently read your astrology for 2008.

My wife recently bought the Sacred Mantras Ring at the World of Feng Shui. What are the advantages of this ring? She now intends to get a Body Guard Medallion or Holy Mantra for my eldest son after reading his 2008 astrology. Where can get this item?

Also, we are trying to achieve harmonious results according to the 8 Mansion formula. But my wife and I are complete opposites: my best direction is her worst direction. We intend to buy a new house and do some renovation.

My question is, can I use my kua (Jan 30 1961) for my best direction, since I'm the sole breadwinner in the family, for the new house and the sleeping positions. And as for the kitchen direction, can I renovate according to my wife's kua position (July 4, 1965)? Which best position of the property should I purchase?

I would also like to know, for Period 8 property for 2008, will the renovation locations for Grand Duke, Three Killings and Five Yellow be affected? Your advice is very much appreciated.

Thank You, Mr Ng

Dear Mr Ng,
The sacred mantra ring has two mantras. One, the wish -fulfilling mantra, which helps you to actualise your dreams. The other is the very powerful purifying mantra, which, by just looking at the ring, purifies 100,000 eons of negative karma.

What this means is that just seeing the mantra causes you to reduce your negative karma - and this will help you escape misfortune and overcome obstacles in your fife. These mantras are incredibly precious and since we at World Of Feng Shui put them on the market, they have protected and helped so many people. We receive lots of mail describing truly inspiring stories.

For the Body Guard Medallion, please go to any World Of Feng Shui shop and ask for the amulets for 2008, and then request to see the Bodyguard Medallion with holy mantras. It is meant to be worn at all times through 2008.

As to your last question regarding the Kua directions being just the opposite for each other, well, my husband and I are exactly like you. My best is his worse direction and vice versa. So we have different front doors, different rooms and different rice pots. With a little bit of help from feng shui, I am truly proud to say that we have been together now for 39 years!

So you follow your good directions and she follows hers. Where you need to choose only one, you should select your own good direction, Mr Ng. This is because Chinese feng shui is a very male chauvinist practice (I am joking!).