Into the Story

Bree: Hi there listeners! I hope you love Into the Story as much as we love making it. Si quieres apoyarnos para poder seguir produciendo más episodios, suscríbete y déjanos 5 estrellas. And if you EXTRA love Into the Story déjanos una valoración. Thank you so much! Today’s story is about becoming a feng shui master. Nuestra protagonista, Bea, nos relata su historia de convertirse en maestra de feng shui, una ciencia antigua que tiene sus raíces en China! Hace 8 años Bea y su familia tuvieron la oportunidad de mudarse a Kuala Lumpur, Malasia. Y fue allí que Bea descubrió una afinidad especial con la cultura asiática. 

Bea: I went to my friend’s house and I think it was the first time I noticed consciously a house that energetically felt different. I was like, I like your house. What did you do? And she said, I hired a feng shui master and I was like, what is feng shui? I had no idea what it was! 

Bree: In today’s episode, Bea talks about finding so many similarities between the people and culture of Caracas, Venezuela, the city in which she grew up in, and her new home in Malaysia. But then when things start to go wrong for the family, Bea discovers Feng Shui. With nothing to lose, she starts to follow the advice of this ancient science to help her put her life back on track. Let’s listen to learn more about Feng Shui and Bea’s story!

Ok antes de escuchar la historias, veamos 5 palabras y expresiones interesante que utiliza Bea en este episodio: 

1. Firstly, a ‘melting pot’. This expression has both a literal and metaphorical meaning. Traditionally, a melting pot refers to a container in which metals or other materials are mixed together. But more commonly, a melting pot refers to a place where a variety of people, ethnicities and cultures live together. You’ll hear Bea today describe Kuala Lumpur as being a very family-oriented city and a melting pot of Asian cultures. 
2. Next ‘borderline’. This word can be used in two ways. Firstly, a borderline can refer to the boundary between two places or countries – como una frontera. Secondly, borderline is used as an adjective to talk about something that is only just acceptable in quality or something that only just qualifies as a certain category. En español, podríamos decir, limítrofe, marginal, o al límite. For instance we can talk about a patient in a hospital having borderline symptoms of a disease. In this case a doctor might not be sure if the patient has a disease or not. Borderline. 
3. Next, ‘to fall into place’ – In English if we talk about something falling into place we mean that something begins to make sense or becomes easier to understand. For example, you could, after many hours of studying phrasal verbs, everything began to fall into place.  Fall into place can also mean that something resolves itself naturally to produce a result you want. For instance, ‘everything is falling into place for the business after having overcome the economic crisis’ ‘ahora el negocio va sobre ruedas después de haber superado la crisis económica’.
4. ‘To work wonders’ – This is a great expression to use in everyday English as well as in an English exam. To work wonders or to do wonders is an expression meaning to achieve amazing results with something. For example you could say in English, ‘exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet will do wonders for your health’. To work wonders.
5. Finally, ‘a go-to’. This slang expression is used to describe or refer to something or someone that is very dependable. En español, go-to se puede traducir como preferida o favorito. For example, my go-to person for advice is my mother. Mi madre es la persona que prefiero para pedir consejo. You’ll hear Bea today talk about her go-to advice for anyone looking to explore feng shui more. go-to. 

Don’t forget, para bajarte la transcripción, la ficha de vocabulario, y un test de comprensión te dejamos el enlace en las notas del programa. Let’s get into the story…

Bea: I’m Bea Rodriguez or Beatriz Rodriguez and I am, well I’m living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. But I am from Venezuela. I used to live in Texas before. I think it has been easier for me to adapt to Malaysia than it was to adapt to Houston, Texas. When I first arrived here in Kuala Lumpur, I came with my two children and my husband, very young kids. And I remember going to the street called Jalan Alor and I remember seeing everybody so crowded and people selling food everywhere and I remember these guys selling frogs in (on) a stick like it could be you know, like how people sell chicken or corn on sticks well he was selling frogs and people were buying their frogs and buying their frog feast.

Kuala Lumpur reminds me a lot of Caracas, Venezuela. People are very lively like in Venezuela we’re always like ‘hey what’s up?’ ‘Woo, I love you!’. We scream from one corner of the street to the other. Malaysians are very family-oriented like most Latinos are too. So I like that part of their familiarity, of their celebrations. Because here they celebrate Chinese New Year, Ramadan. It’s such a nice melting pot. The more I get to know it, the more I like it and the more I feel connected. 

Bree: Life was going great, Bea and her family settled into their new home in Kuala Lumpur but then their luck turned.

Bea: I started having health problems and I was borderline to have a cancer in my oesophagus because of the pretty bad acid reflux that I had. And I saw a lot of doctors here in Malaysia and a lot of doctors in Mexico because my family’s in Mexico City. And also in Houston, Texas and nobody could provide me with a solution but pills that were making me sicker. At the same time, my husband’s job was very unstable and we were… we might… we’re going to be transferred back to Houston but we didn’t want to go back yet because we were just, we have been here just for a short time. 

Bree: Bea was at a low point. Her health and family life were not where she would have liked them to be. She was open to asking for help and exploring something new. 

Bea: And suddenly it happened that I went to my friend’s house and I think it was the first time I noticed consciously a house that energetically felt different. It was smelling good, it was very organized, very clean. It was bright! I remember her apartment was very bright. I was like, I feel good in here… because sometimes you go to houses and you are like what is going on here, I don’t like it but you can’t tell what it is. I feel that I’ve always since very little, (been drawn) driven to these energy things. Ever since I was little I’ve been reading about astrology and crystal energies. So me, going through this whole chaos, I was like, I like your house. What did you do? And she said, I hired a feng shui master and I was like, what is feng shui? I had no idea what it was! Because we hear about it in the west but you never get to really study it or maybe know it unless you’re very interested in it. If not you ignore it. 

So I said can you pass me the contact of this master that you hired and then I told him my situation to the master. I mean I’m having health issues. My husband’s job is very unstable. My kids, I feel like… I don’t feel like… it wasn’t happy, the word, but it wasn’t feeling nice, you know, I wasn’t feeling harmonious. So she came to my house and I remember she started talking about oh I see you have a lot of elements that we can use for your feng shui. And I was like, I don’t know what she’s talking about but I like what she’s talking about.

Feng shui is an asian science that has been practiced for at least six six thousand years and it originated in China and it has to do with how the elements in your space have an impact in your energy and in your life as well as in the energy and life of the people that live in the same space. And I decided to hire her and believe it or not, we all are already doing feng shui in our lives. The difference is that we do it consciously or unconsciously. Anyways we have elements in our houses and we place it properly according to the energies that we have in our house it can work wonders for us. We started placing little things like coins for instance or putting up a plant. You know, pretty simple things. And things just started moving and it was kinda easier for me to manifest what I wanted. That’s what it does feng shui. It helps whatever you want in life to fall into place to help you manifest what you want in a conscious way. 

Bree: Despite not knowing much about feng shui in the beginning, Bea starts to put in place the feng shui master’s advice. She also starts investigating the concept further to help turn her luck around. 

Bea: Back then I wanted to manifest to stay longer in Malaysia and it happened that we got an extension for a 1 year contract and I think through feng shui, it helped me to find a great doctor that is in Mexico right now. I think there is great energy in the space that I created through feng shui and my intentions and also practising good eating habits and his guidance too helped me to (reverse) revert the condition that I had and right now I am a healed woman! Completely healed! I fell in love and I started studying it.

Bree: With her life back under control, Bea is inspired to go back to study. She decides to train as a feng shui master and learn more about how she can use this knowledge to help others improve their lives.

Bea: And I became a master in 2019 and I started practising with friends with close friends and with my parents in Mexico and what I love about my skeptics clients which the majority are, the majority come to me because they don’t believe in it, like me! I was in that place when I first started doing it but they come to me because they have nothing else to lose. And they are like let me just try it and see what happens. And they become my best clients and my best believers and my best advertising people because things really move for them and I feel that if you have your guard down, meaning that you are a little bit skeptic(al) meaning you don’t believe in it, I guess the universe just gives it to you faster because it’s like hey here it is!

Bree: Today, Bea continues to live in Malaysia where she balances family life and running her Feng Shui and Reiki Master business. Outside of work, Bea loves spending time with her friends and family, both at home and out exploring the vibrant surroundings in Kuala Lumpur. If you’d like to know more about Bea’s business, called Moove your Energies, you’ll find a link on our website.

And today we have a little bonus for you! There was a lot that we couldn’t fit into today’s story, but if you want to learn more about Feng Shui then here’s a little bonus audio of Bea explaining more about Feng Shui and how you can create positive energy in your life!

Bea: The majority of cultures practice feng shui but they don’t call it feng shui. For instance in India that call it Vastu Shastra but it is feng shui, the same energy adjustment in spaces but culturally, you know with a different name, culturally speaking. In Hawaii they are a very strong culture and they call it Ho’opnopono and (the) same for Mexico. I would say Mexico has a pretty strong feng shui but of course it comes from the Aztecs and the Mayans and all this, all of this ancient knowledge from their ancestors. 

The universe is the most advanced technology that there is and it will always know where to guide you. I always recommend, and my go-to is, organize your house, your home must be very organized. I always tell my clients that they have to imagine that a magazine like a home decoration magazine is coming and the house that is better organised will earn a million dollars. That’s how you want your home! And that you’re going to have the pictures in this magazine and all this. Of course we get too disorganized every few months so you can just do it, you know some maintenance once every 3 months but organization is a key also to not… do not have clutter in your home. Some people tend to collect everything and have things saved just in case  they’re going to use it one day. For instance, my husband used to have clothing in case he got chubby or fat after he lost weight. I’m like why are you saving clothing that you are going to keep in case you get fat. You don’t want to get fat, you don’t want that energy to come to you. Not that it’s bad but if you have a goal of being fit… then keep it fit! have things that make you open your closet and see clothes that make you feel good about yourself. Not that will make you feel like, maybe I will earn (gain) 10 kilos next month so work, have things in your home that will make you work towards that goal and that everyday goal. It doesn’t have to be like a 20 year goal. It can be like an everyday goal for like tomorrow, I’m going to do exercise. You know, having nice clothing that has to do with exercising and things like that. And then another one would be about your thoughts and your intentions, be positive! I truly believe that we are what we think we are, our intentions, we are how we talk to others, we are also how we talk to ourselves and we are what we eat. So I think our lives are a collection of our own belief systems. If there is something you don’t like, then change it, change it for the better!

Bree: Pues qué te ha parecido este episodio? Dinos si tienes una historia similar o si te ha gustado dejándonos un mensaje de voz siguiendo el enlace en las notas del programa. And if you have a friend that’s learning English please share this podcast with them! Ok then that’s all of today, until next time we hope you have a good time, or at least, a good story to tell.