Discovering Taiwan: Temples, Feng Shui, and Spiritual Insights with Master Seno
Discovering Taiwan: Temples, Feng Shui, and Spiritual Insights with Master Seno
Experience niche travel in the spiritual realm, where it's all about activations, timings, rituals and praying for diety support.
Ever wondered how ancient practices can still shape our modern lives?
My recent trip to Taiwan opened up a fascinating world of temples, good Feng Shui, and energy balancing techniques that have withstood the test of time.
Approximately 80% of Taiwanese people practice a blend of Buddhism, Taoism, and folk religion.
If you're curious about how these practices can enrich your spiritual journey, you're in for a treat.
From ornate temple architecture to local rituals that harmonize your surroundings, Taiwan’s spiritual landscape offers a wealth of knowledge and experience that you won't want to miss.
In this article, I'll share my learnings from this explorative adventure. Buckle up as we delve into:
Insightful visits to breathtaking temples
The principles of good Feng Shui and its practical applications
The transformative energy and spiritual practices that can renew your outlook on life
Unveiling the Spiritual Heart of Taiwan
I joined this trip to Taiwan with Master Seno’s group, a Malaysian Feng Shui and Qimen expert based in Ipoh.
My first trip with him was to Ipoh where he brought us around many caves and temples, and found the real-life application of Feng Shui to be very enriching. Feng Shui is practiced by around 90% of Taiwanese households.
This time, it was a larger group of 25 people and longer trip where we visited 2-4 temples each day for 5 days.
Temples in Taiwan often feature dragon and phoenix motifs, symbolising power, strength, and harmony.
Apart from the physical landmarks, Master Seno had matched our trip themes with the daily energies from the chinese calendar, allowing us the reap maximum support from the experiences we engaged in, through the angle of Heaven, Earth and Man (天地人).
So many activations all at one time. I call such moments "the stars are aligned" although that still does not fully explain what I mean.
Either way, it takes many factors for such moments to happen, and the results can also be out of this world (pun not intended).
It was a spiritually intense trip, to say the least. I'll share my highlights and takeaways below.
7 Star Lamp Ritual at the 阳明山姜太公道场
姜太公道场 was the highlight of our trip on the first day, where our group of 20+ participated in the 7-star lamp ritual, known for its powerful wish-manifesting effects.
道场 President 陳桂姍 assisted each of us individually with the rituals.
The temple was bustling with two large groups chanting Buddhist mantras and Taoist prayers, signalling a favourable day even without consulting the calendar.
From a Feng Shui perspective, Master Seno explained that the temple's location by a river along the mountain road, with Qi flowing down from the mountain and accumulating due to natural and artificial "dams" (roads and rock structures), makes it a powerful site to accumulate Qi as a resource for the dieties to become powerful enough to grant amazing wishes.
In Feng Shui, the principle is to find places with abundant Qi, usually near mountains. Qi accumulates in areas where natural or artificial structures obstruct its flow, similar to how dams create reservoirs of potential energy.
This accumulation of Qi energises the deities in the temple, enabling them to manifest wishes for devotees. Even deities operate on such natural laws in universal energy to manifest into our world.
Chinese calendar wise, it was also a very powerful day. Master Seno said it was a Success day, with Jade Hall and Willow Constellation.
I saw that on the Bazi stem, there is a full combination with the year, and in the branches a formation that pulls in a lot of metal.
After the ritual, I felt quite tired, the kind of tired that I've experienced enough times that was likened to some sort of spiritual clearing or karma clearing.
We stood in prayer as a lead priest chanted, walked over seven coal pots to symbolise clearing past karma, and burned incense and joss papers at the temple entrance.
Usually in such practices, the new "good" energy that supposed to benefit you comes into your aura and mixes with your base energy, and there is a process of integration going on where you get used to the presence of the new energy within you.
Heavily Commercialised Temple At 九天玄女
The next notable temple was the 九天玄女 temple, known for its excellent Feng Shui in the surrounding mountains.
Positioned at the dragon’s head, it featured a mountain formation in front representing hands, with the left hand extending further out. This formation gave the temple strong commercial energy, focusing on selling emotion and impulsivity.
On the right was a white tiger formation and a smaller green dragon, alongside a large mountain plateau (door). Behind the temple, star 6 formations symbolised authority and expertise.
For the first time in my life, we were fetched by temple volunteers in Mercedes cars. Upon arrival, we were greeted with bowls of mee sua, fruits, and crackers, giving the place a tourist hotspot vibe.
On one side, a Shifu was doing ointment massages for bruised men, likely from Taoist exercises.
Nearby, a medium served as a messenger for the 9 Heaven Deity, providing intriguing readings.
The medium, speaking for the deity, requested donations in increasing amounts until it was "accepted," which struck me as a savvy upsell I've never seen before.
I didn't know that even in temples such powerful closing techniques would happen - those that I'm more familiar with in internet marketing seminars. Many of us went over to eat and engage in all the extra services other temples usually don't offer.
Master later assured us that the temple was very powerful due to the landforms and would deliver on its promises to the devotees.
Later, he also said that we were visibly affected by the emotional selling from the temple staff, which corresponded to the Feng Shui the temple was in.
Whether or not it was deliberate or accidental, I felt that it was a great aligning of Feng Shui formations with the suitable commercial execution, leading to many of our participants spending large amounts at this particular temple.
Feng Shui effects are not always visible in real-time, and also require an expert eye to diagnose the energy signature.
So when they are all available for witness, it becomes quite a sight to behold that the temple has already created a commercialised process to keep their business running.
Feeling Meridian Spots at Tai Chung's 五指山
At 五指山, I learned to read divination papers using the Jiao Bei. To verify a correct reading, you need to throw the Jiao Bei three times in a row, and getting one up and one down each time.
Statistically, I estimated that this has a 12.5% chance of occurring by chance alone. Despite this, I managed to get a reading after just 4 tries, rather than the expected 8 tries by probability.
A detailed statistical analysis of Jiao Bei can be found here. Like how the academics would observe, I suspended disbelief during the throws, trusting that persistence would eventually yield positive results.
The paper also shows that the nature of getting confirmation from "Gods" can also be misused, which is why I still believe the need for an healthy amount of faith instead of fixating on the numbers.
An issue with being over-analytical during spiritual practices is that is closes your mind to things that the mind cannot comprehend.
With such a fixed logical path to a conclusion, it narrows the possible options you are attuned to to receive benefits or solutions, even if they are not in the format that you expect.
The laws of cause and effect in this world can be non-linear and hard for the logical mind to comprehend, too many calculations and probabilties beyond our processing limits.
With computers and better AI, we could improve our computation past human limits, but as per the philosophy of Tai Ji and Wu Ji, the more we uncover, the more we also uncover what we have not covered.
Hence, it's an endless cycle that will never complete all calculations to satisfy the pure intellectual.
Beyond statistics, I believe in the power of good Feng Shui and rituals that infuse temples with strong energies, bending reality in ways that numbers in a lab can't explain.
Faith and spirituality play significant roles in people's lives, transcending mere statistics and probabilities.
While my intellectual side seeks to understand the statistical rarity of my divination, I also recognise the importance of spiritual philosophies that is beyond the mind.
Powerful Meridian Spots & "Gem" Stones
My favourite highlight was Tai Chung’s 5 Finger Mountain. Master Seno identified a meridian spot behind one of the temples, leading us to a pagoda where we felt strong energy. The spot, appearing as a hollow opening within the bushes, was unmistakably powerful.
Our group meditated and chanted there for 30 minutes, marking my first conscious experience of a meridian spot. The Qi we felt was transformative, enhancing our vibrations for various pursuits.
I experienced it like a stream of energy coming down from the mountain hollow, as though like a Qi river flowing down and through us. It did feel different from the other spots, even within the temple and many participants also meditated there, saying that they could feel different energies.
I particularly enjoyed the Wukong altar, where a giant rock behind the temple had accumulated significant Qi from the mountain flow.
Touching it, I felt an intense energy, the most powerful I’ve ever experienced with gemstones, beyond its large size.
Manifesting for health benefits, I felt the powerful vibes coursing through my body, embodying the true power of good Feng Shui.
It was a type of energy I've never felt before.
Given the playful and rebellious nature of the Monkey God we are used to seeing in Journey to the West, I didn't usually associate it with the more serene, all powerful dieties that are usually more saint-like.
However, this experience shown me that there is a high vibration version for every personality, meaning that there is a certain Dao to the Monkey God's character and him following his Dao also played a role in his enlightenment.
For about 20 minutes, we felt high-vibration, serene energy from the meridian spot. The cloud views as we left were stunning, like calligraphy paintings.
I loved this experience as it was a first time I was experiencing a meridian spot live, and also getting to touch the Monkey God stone, which was the most energetic stone I've touched in my many years of playing with gemstones and healing bowls.
Keeping The Energy Of Wealth With The Wealth God
The last highlight of my trip was the 财神爷 temple. Typically, I don't focus on money during spiritual trips, but Master Seno discussed the spirituality of wealth, prompting me to meditate on this energy.
He asked, "How does one become wealthy?"
My initial, pragmatic answer was to provide value to solve problems people are willing to pay for. However, Master Seno was referring to a more philosophical theme: being a magnet that attracts money.
He explained the concept of becoming a person whom money is drawn to—a money magnet.
I interpreted this as a vibrational currency, trying to connect with it and understand what it means to embody the vibration of money.
Reflecting on my entrepreneurship journey, I realised that creating value and solving problems sustains the economy and, in turn, generates wealth.
Entrepreneurs face market forces, technological advances, customer preferences, and more. We must plan ahead, strategise, and seek business opportunities beyond daily tasks.
I came to understand that the high vibration of money comes from having resources—whether physical, emotional, social, or mental—that others are willing to exchange for.
Value creation starts internally, from a state of mind that leads to actions, communities, movements, and realities.
This high vibration could be called foresight, invention, passion, or consistency. Successful businesses require this high level of energy.
While others on the tour aimed for lottery wins, my Bazi chart aligns more with direct wealth from value creation rather than investments.
High vibration in gambling involves sensing lucky numbers, believing in positive expected outcomes, and calculating risks where downsides are minimal compared to potential gains.
Some people are naturally better at this than others.
Walking Ritual Around The Tai Ji Symbol
Apart from 财神爷, another focus was the Tai Ji Ba Gua symbol at the temple entrance.
Master Seno mentioned its power for manifesting wishes by walking around it.
Tai Ji symbols, rooted in high vibrations of Chinese philosophy, felt particularly powerful combined with date selection and our group energy.
As I walked around it, I experienced heightened senses and focus, leading me to practice Qi Gong to integrate the energy.
I felt time slow down and my ear suddenly getting very sensitive, hearing the drip of water from a nearby tap at 10x the usual definition.
This experience reminded me of a previous meditation I did with a Singapore Yoga Master where I felt I entered a very high dimension. The highest I could ever remember consciously.
From a Bazi perspective, it would make sense why Tai Ji and Ba Gua are associated with good Feng Shui formations. They show the first principles of chinese philosophy, going from the yin yang to eight trigrams, which symbolically covers all phenomenon in our Universe.
With the right balance of the 5 elements, their production cycle reinforces each other, spiralling into a sustainable and high vibration that brings positive energy into a space.
There Is No Free Lunch Even in Spirituality
Another perspective on temples was through Qi currency transactions.
Since the good temples collect good Qi, they also attract many people to come and make wishes, taking the good vibrations and leaving their negative energies.
If the lower vibration exceeds the positive, then the temple would gradually lose power and be corrupted. In this logic, it might not be good for a temple to have too many people if it cannot sustain the exchange rate of positive Qi.
This also guided me to think that whatever wish I make, there is an equivalent karmic debt I'm paying for the benefit I'm receiving, which is consistent with most of my interpretations of worldy affairs, even applying to the realm to dieties and spirituality.
Spiritual Travel: Not All Flowers & Roses
Spirituality is not adopting more beliefs and assumptions but uncovering the best in you.
- Amit Ray
Master Seno shared a practice he follows at spiritual places like temples and caves: he always affirms to "only take what is beneficial and supportive" to him.
This sets a healthy boundary, preventing over-indulgence in the temple's energies or dieties.
He believes there is always a trade-off in spirituality, aligning with the general idea that nothing is free.
This principle resonated with what Master Kevin Chan shared during my previous Qi Gong trip, viewing metaphysics in financial terms:
Bazi represents past Qi (capital).
Feng Shui is current Qi (cash flow).
Qimen is future Qi (credit).
Qimen draws energy from the future through divinations. Since it is about predicting the future, it makes sense to require future repayment, which often manifests as setbacks during spiritual practices or other mishaps, if one does not have enough “in the bank” to handle the transaction.
Qimen's uncertainty lies in the "exchange rate" and repayment methods.
Karma acts like a credit rating; good deeds improve your ability to repay borrowed energy.
Examples of such trade-offs include health issues climbing mountains, last-minute cancellations, mosquito bites, dizziness, and headaches.
During this trip, I felt overwhelmed by visiting multiple temples daily and often needed to distance myself for rest.
Master Seno said it's common for people to get fever after the trip, sometimes even during the trip itself.
He activates certain formations and rituals during the trips that guides us towards a deep change within our consciousness.
Spiritual trips and high vibrations sound appealing but also reveal our low vibrations and hidden karmic debts.
There's always a cost, but it's a rewarding endeavour to those who see the value in improving the spiritual pillar in our lives.
Experiencing Spiritual Awakening in Taiwan
As I came back from the trip I did feel a clear increase in personal luck, vitality and flow in my life.
Some participants also said their wishes in the 7 star ritual came true already within weeks of the trip.
I've done enough spiritual work in my 20s from my experiences across shamanic work, Kaballah, Yoga, meditation, Bazi across USA, Bali and Singapore to recognise spiritual work when I see it.
While the forms are many, there are common themes and energy signatures that are found when engaging in such activities and my intuition has been honed to notice such changes.
This proved to me that there is indeed deep wisdom in Chinese Metaphysics in timing the right actions at the right locations, following the principles of 天地人.
We did so many activations, rituals and practices within a suitable set of dates, and followed a well-designed itinerary that aligned with the calendar readings for each day, using a combination of date selection, Qimen, Feng Shui and other spiritual laws.
Compare this to your regular travel agency, there is simply no comparison.
Thanks to Master Seno for planning and executing this trip, it was really eye-opening to witness.
Here’s a bonus view we got to witness to wrap up this amazing trip.
