If you’ve been reading my material, I think you know that I am not too impressed by the mainstream news channels. Increasingly, we see news as entertainment, and the notion of news “stories” being just that; stories FIRST - stories that fascinate, intrigue, titillate, and arouse curiosity - and news only as a poor second. Competition between channels increasingly brings the entertainment element to the fore, and truthful reporting to the rear.


Well, I am happy to say that all that has finally changed for the better!

There IS a channel that I can recommend, and that I believe does deliver the goods in reporting things around the world that really matter, and that strives to do so in an honest way.

Although, this channel has been around for years, it has not had very good press, and has not even been available in English. Hence, we have not really had the chance to get an unbiased opinion of it by watching it ourselves.

So who am I talking about?…..

The new Al-Jazeera in English!

It only started up a few months ago, but I have to say that I am totally impressed.

It comes out of Doha, London and Washington, and it looks as if the parent station have spent billions on setting up this brave new venture.

Perhaps it is because this is the first English-speaking news channel to be outside of the US/UK propaganda nexus that we finally get to hear what is REALLY going on in places like Israel, Iraq, Iran and the like. Perhaps it is because Al-Jazeera is an Arab channel that we finally get to hear what the people of the Middle East REALLY think.

For example, you don’t just get the usual baloney labelling of people whose grievances we don’t understand as “terrorists”. Instead, you might actually find the grievances of some of these people being honestly discussed. Al-Jazeera does not just spoon-feed you the party line of propaganda, by treating the issues ridiculously simplistically, as is often the case elsewhere.

Instead, they make a real effort to connect with the complexity of each issue they discuss. That’s why you will hear opinions expressed that you just won’t get elsewhere. Other English new channels have too many interests to protect, i.e. toe the party line etc., to ever dare to break new ground in honesty.

In fact, it’s precisely because Al-Jazeera is (a) Arabic and (b) does NOT possess the in-built bias of the US/UK nexus of English channels, that they are actually trusted to report in some places that are off-limits to the rest.

It’s not all Middle East coverage. They have many quality documentaries from all parts of the world, and excellent interview programs (President Jimmy Carter and Jesse Jackson have been on).

They’ve got Riz Khan (can’t remember where he came from, but it was a big news channel), who always hosts a fascinating mixture of interview and viewer Q%A. then, there’s the UK’s legendary David Frost. The fact that he’s moved to Al-Jazeera is a major statement.

However, it goes beyond that. They try to report REAL news; things that matter, or SHOULD matter, to intelligent educated people.

Hence, if you are more interested in knowing the latest on missing blonde teenagers in Aruba, or Britney Spear’s latest haircut, or where Anna Nicole Smith gets to be buried and by whose permission…. well, you KNOW where to go for that. Al Jazeera is NOT for you!

Anyway, last time I heard, Al-Jazeera in English was not actually available anywhere in the USA. THAT in itself is a pretty telling statement, for the so-called Land Of The Free. Hopefully, that will change soon.

You can still get to see it at:

http://www.aljazeera.net/English

There is a free service there, as well as a paid broadband version. Frankly, it IS worth paying for if you are in the US and cannot get it any other way. I think you will find it a breath of fresh air compared to the rest that are out there.

It’s not that ALL other English news channels are bad. It’s just that they have a huge inherent (and often invisible) bias in them when it comes to reporting international news. Hence, “the truth” is almost impossible (and that’s before we even get into the issue of them running “stories” that are more for entertainment than actual news value, just to stay up in the ratings).

Let us not forget that both the US and the UK and the primary CAUSES of many of the worst problems we see in the world today. I am NOT talking about just the last six years either. Check your history, people, going back the last hundred years or more! Interestingly though, you will NEVER find the US/UK news channels ever pointing the finger down at the ground upon which they are walking.

Check out Al-Jazeera. If you have an open mind, and a functional brain, I think you’ll be very impressed.

Copyright 2007. Asoka Selvarajah. All Rights Reserved.

A Happy Chinese New Year to you!

This is the year of the Fire Pig for the Chinese, which they consider to be especially auspicious. Let’s hope so. The world can use a little good fortune right now.


Anyway, on with my latest findings and activities in Feng Shui…

It’s actually a pretty complex subject and I don’t pretend to be an expert, but rather a student. Also, without making certain specific Feng Shui calculations, individual for each person and each residence or work place, it’s impossible to say a vast amount.

That said, there are still certain Feng Shui principles that are universally applicable, and we can certainly discuss those.

One is the notion of clutter and not holding onto old things. Holding onto stuff you no longer need symbolizes holding onto the past, or else not being willing to let new fresh energy into your life. When you hold onto hold stuff, you are not making space for new things in your life. You are closing down the flow of abundance.

Take your attic, for instance…

In Feng Shui, your attic symbolically represents your future. However, most people stash a pile of old junk in their attics! What do you think this has to say about their future? That is quite apart from the fact that the sheer volume of all this old stuff blocking the free flow of Qi energy through the area of your home that is supposed to represent your hopes and dreams.

Clutter throughout the house also blocks free flow of Qi energy through your home and your life, according to Feng Shui. Even psychologically, and quite apart from any Feng Shui concepts, we can understand that a blocked environment could have a blocking influence on the mind, and hence on one’s ability to perform well at life or work.

I remember when I bought my first home outside the UK, and went over to live there for the first time when it was totally empty. It was a unique experience, probably never to be repeated. For the first, and perhaps only, time in my life I was totally unencumbered by the enormous weight of possessions. No computer, No crowded bookshelves. No wardrobes stuffed with suits, shirts, and jeans. Nothing, apart from what I had brought over in one suitcase.

It was an extraordinarily “light” sensation, like being liberated from heavy shackles. Maybe we’ll feel this way just after we die? i don’t know… but maybe.

Anyway, even if you can’t get bear to get rid of much, try starting small. See what you CAN dump without regret. Remember that if your hand is clenched tight gripping onto something, it can’t be open at the same time to accept whatever the universe might be offering.

Take a good look at what is in your attic. If it’s there in the first place, it means you are not using it much. Will you EVER use it? If the brutally honest answer is no, then think of getting rid of it. In general, according to Feng Shui, it is best to keep the attic as empty as possible. If you have an out-house such as a garage of some sort, maybe you can store your stuff there?

Take another look around your house. What could you do without? How about those old clothes in your wardrobe? You know the ones I mean. The nice stuff that’s three sizes too Small. But you keep it anyway because…. who knows… One day, you just might fit in it again!?

As you unblock your house and get rid of clutter, consider that you are symbolically unblocking your life and freeing the energy of the universe to flow freely once more. What stronger incentive could there be than that?

You Can LISTEN To This As A Feng Shui Podcast

As some of you may know, it’s the Chinese New Year coming up, and it’s the year of the Fire Pig.


Now, this might have been purely incidental information for me if it was not for the fact that I have begun studying and practicing Feng Shui.

For anyone whose been living under a rock all these years, Feng Shui is the Chinese art of arranging your home or office in such a way as to be conducive to attracting positive energies from the universe to aid you in your life, both personally and professionally. It is about creating a harmonious environment that becomes a symbolic representation of what you wish to manifest from the universe.

The basic theory of Feng Shui is that the Qi, the universal energy of life that flows through the universe and all living things, also flows through your home and business environment. Hence, by arranging these in a way that attracts and strengthens the Qi, you will attract good fortune to your existence, and simultaneously minimize the effects of illness, misfortune and disaster.

Cynics might say that there is more than a small element of Sympathetic Magic about it, i.e. the notion that by affecting a representation of something, you similarly affect the thing itself.

However, if you do subscribe to the idea that there is more to the universe that meets the eye, and that all things accord with spiritual principles, then Feng Shui does make pretty good sense.

Even for the materialistic skeptic, it can still be argued that the psychological and symbolic effect upon the psyche of putting your living or work space in order, as if it were your very life, must be very strong.

It seems that it’s not just ex-hippy New Agers who are into Feng Shui. Major corporations in the West now employ Feng Shui consultants, for sizable packages, to advise them about the construction of their buildings. Of course, this has been going on in China for thousands of years.

I’ve been putting myself through a crash course in this subject, and I have to say that it’s a pretty complex subject to grasp all at once. It’s also an enormous task to put one’s home to rights, according to Feng Shui principles.

For a start, there is the sheer amount of physical “stuff” in the house to move or get rid of. This alone can take weeks, months or even years. However, the bigger clutter takes place in the mind. There is so much stuff that, despite the fact you have not touched it for years, you just do not WANT to get rid of!

Sentimental stuff. Things that “might” come in useful one day. And stuff you just can’t bear to do without… for no good reason at all!

The Feng Shui attitude is that if you’re not prepared to let go of old spent energy, then you cannot allow new energy into your life.

That’s easy to say… but you should take a look at my library sometime! The Feng Shui approach to books seems to be that if you haven’t used a book in the last two years or so, then the chances are that you never will, and they have therefore become “clutter”. Feng Shui practitioners aim to reduce their books by at least one third to one half.

Well, I have to say this this is a major point of resistance for me! Some? Maybe. But one third? Not going to happen! At least, not this year.

Feng Shui does have a lot going for it though as a spiritual and mental discipline. There is little doubt in my mind that your environment does affect your mind and body, which in turn affect your success in life.

Anyway, as I proceed with this, I’ll keep you posted on how I am getting on. So far, I’ve been busy putting up Feng Shui “cures” and “activators” in preparation for the Chinese New Year. I have to admit that, for me, it’s still a fairly quaint process that has me laughing out loud at times (in a good-natured fashion).

Then again, the proof of the pudding is in the eating! So let’s see what comes of it. Right?

Let me know your thoughts about Feng Shui below.

Copyright 2007. Asoka Selvarajah. All Rights Reserved