DUBAI // Vastu Shastra, from India, and Feng Shui, from China, are ancient theories of geomancy.
Both claim that by arranging furniture in a particular way people can improve their mental well-being, as well as their personal finances, physical health and even fortune.
They are based on a theory of energy flow in the environment, called prana in Vastu, or chi in Feng Shui.
Each has a set of principles and uses items such as crystals, water features and chimes to create or direct this energy flow in a positive way.
While the origins of both are shrouded in mystery, Vastu appears to be the older of the two, dating to some time between 6000 BC and 3000 BC.
Vastu Shastra literally means doctrine of dwelling, and was originally developed for the design of Hindu temples.
Similarly, Feng Shui was believed to have originated in the design of graveyards in China.
In recent years, both practices have been revived and adopted in many western architecture projects. At the same time, there has been a boom in the number of consultants.
In Dubai there are at least six businesses claiming to offer expert consulting in both Vastu and Feng Shui.
Elements Feng Shui, in Dubai, charges up to Dh5,000 for a consultation on a five-bedroom villa, although prices of other consultants vary.
The Skeptic’s Dictionary website has a somewhat scathing opinion of the practices.
“Feng Shui has become another New Age ‘energy’ scam, with arrays of metaphysical products from paper cutouts of half moons and planets to octagonal mirrors, to wooden flutes offered for sale to help you improve your health, maximise your potential, and guarantee fulfilment of some fortune cookie philosophy,” the site says.
mcroucher@thenational.ae
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Honeymoonish
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Where to Find Me by Alba Arikha
Alma Books
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
