A warm hello to you.

It’s the end of another year again, and I’m amazed that time has flown by so quickly! I hope that 2008 has been a fulfilling one for you and your loved ones, and that this message finds you in good health and prosperity.

I would like to sincerely thank you for your support and friendship throughout the years. 2008 has been a year of growth and development both for me, and my team at the Mastery Academy, and it couldn’t have been possible without you. It was my greatest pleasure to have been able to revisit old friends and acquaintances and make new connections during the course of my classes, consults, events, and speaking engagements. I look forward to forging many new friendships in the year ahead.

As always, when the year draws to a close, people tend to become reflective and ponder upon all that has gone on in the previous year – and start planning for the year ahead. I would like to take a moment to share with you the various personal milestones we’ve hit over the course of 2008 precisely because all of you played such an important role in helping us arrive at those achievements.

Reflecting on the Year that Has Been…

I’m happy to note that we carried on with the Feng Shui Mastery Excursion Series in China for the 5th year running, and it was a wonderful experience, as always. It’s always heartening to see how my students throw themselves into the coursework, both theoretical and practical, with such energy and enthusiasm that makes my teaching responsibilities seem like all play and no work! I couldn’t have chosen a better group with which to have explored the residential village of the forefather of Feng Shui, Grandmaster Yang Yun Song.

Besides heading the National Feng Shui Congress for the 2nd year running, this year also gave me an opportunity to speak in two very exciting cities – New York and London – for the “Thriving in Challenging Times” seminar in November. It was an opportunity for me to reach out to a whole new audience, and I absolutely enjoyed both the culture and the people in those two places. It was a wonderful experience for me to be able to convey the message of Feng Shui and Chinese Metaphysics to a warm and appreciative audience in both places.

I was also happy to release Your Aquarium Here, a streamlined explanation of how to ‘Feng Shui It Yourself’ for the regular person – the first of a series of books in my newly-launched Fengshuilogy series. Besides that, I also had my first international publication launch with Pure Feng Shui, and had the chance to promote and talk about it in various venues across London and New York. It marks the first time that my book was published by an international publisher.

And speaking of books… you can read all about the China excursion trip (this year’s, and the previous ones) in my book, Walking the Dragons. I’m especially pleased with this work, as it is something different from the books I’ve usually done. It’s a travelogue and a Feng Shui book all in one, and I was thrilled when it hit the Bestseller List for Non-Fiction.

I also fulfilled a long-term dream of putting out more Chinese Metaphysics reference books, including the Plum Blossom Divination Reference Book, the Xuan Kong Da Gua Structures Reference Book, the upcoming Date Selection Compendium: Book One, and several others. I say “dream” because in the course of my study and practice of Feng Shui, I’ve always wanted to collect and compile the various ancient sources of information into easily accessible source books that provide reference terminology in both English and Chinese. And I’m happy to say, this year I’ve been able to take this dream to new heights under my Chinese Metaphysics Reference Series.

Looking Forward to a Brighter Future…

I know we’ve all been bombarded with bad news about how much harder things are going to be in the coming year. I want to remind you that no matter how bad it sounds, nothing is completely bad all the time. There is always plenty we can DO to make things different. The cards that we’re dealt are just that – cards. It’s up to us, as individuals, to play it right and make the game of life a game worth winning.

John F. Kennedy once said, “When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters – one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.” I particularly like this quote, because it highlights an essential fact of life: nothing is ever wholly good, or wholly bad. Even in times of crisis and danger, there is opportunity. So yes, there’s a lot of pessimism surrounding the forecast for 2009, but what can you do about it? You can actually use your Feng Shui and BaZi knowledge to stay ahead of the game.

I’ll be discussing some of these strategies and techniques in my upcoming Feng Shui & Astrology for 2009 seminar next year. In the midst of the gloom and doom, there should be a focus on self-empowerment and the opportunities we have at hand, and that’s precisely what I’ll be focusing on during the seminar. If you have the time, I’d like to see you there!

In the pipeline is also my TV show that I’m very excited about, “Walking the Dragons with Joey Yap.” It will air on Astro Malaysia’s Wah Lah Toi channel from end of February onward. Shot on location in Beijing and Shenyang in China, it will be Walking the Dragons come to life onscreen, and you’ll be able to see for yourself the classical landform structures of fascinating places, such as the Qing Dynasty tombs. The producers were wonderful and gracious in helping me put forward my perspective on the Feng Shui of the culture and history of China, and I had a tremendous amount of fun filming the show.

Also in the works for 2009 are the long-awaited BaZi – The Destiny Code Book 3! I had plenty of material to squeeze into Book 3 – too much, in fact – that a fourth BaZi book is also in the works.

And… one of the highlights I’m most looking forward to next year?
To once again teach the Feng Shui Mastery Series Modules 1 and 2, as well as the BaZi Mastery Series Modules 1 and 2 in KL during March of next year! I am especially thrilled about this because I haven’t been teaching Modules 1 and 2 personally for some time now, and it’s a good time to get back in the saddle. I have decided to upgrade the syllabus of these courses, because when it was first developed there weren’t any reference texts on the subjects that students could easily refer to. Since the publication of my books and reference texts, I felt it was time to come up with a far more advanced syllabus – and so an upgrade was needed. If you’re keen to get the upgrade, please contact us for more details. I’m excited to be teaching it again for this one time only, and look forward to seeing you in the classes!

I hope next year brings you happiness and fulfillment in whatever it is you choose to pursue, and I hope we get the chance to reconnect over our shared passion and interest in all things Feng Shui and Chinese Metaphysics during one of my future events and seminars.

I wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and I hope you have a wonderful Year of the Earth Ox in 2009!