Secrets of Chinese garden creation with Master Derek Wolters (Great Britain)

Sometimes we notice that visiting someone you plunge into such a harmonious atmosphere that you don’t want to leave this place. In some other cases the only desire you have is to run away from the place as soon as possible. As a rule such influence does not depend on the financial contributions to the interior of the premises. Of course, hospitality of the hosting party has a certain impact on the way we feel, however is it just the only factor?

Feng Shui science answers all these questions. There is an energy which is emitted by some or other things and objects. This energy influences not only our feeling but also our health, prosperity and relationship. Sometimes the premises are favorable even without any assistance of Feng Shui expert – the object is located in more or less auspicious place and its dwellers intuitively filled it with necessary things in the appropriate locations. However if people feel disharmony they should seek for the methods to make changes in the environment, and Feng Shui offers myriads of such methods.

Today I would like to draw your attention to one of the beautiful topics in Feng Shui – an art of creating the Chinese garden. There is an opinion that it’s impossible to create the right Chinese garden in the ordinary apartment. Someone even believes that such garden has nothing in common with Feng Shui. Derek Wolters – Feng Shui Master, best known for his seminars devoted to the subject of “Chinese Garden”, has kindly agreed to clarify the situation and dispel an illusion as well as to answer my other questions.

Derek Wolters is one of the few instructors who gather a great number of appreciative audience, followers and apprentices. Derek has earned such popularity to a certain extent owing to his consummate mastery of interaction with audience. Meetings with him are always full of humor, plenty of real-life examples as well as demonstration of photos of his journeys and Feng Shui practice.

In terms of practice Derek Walters is known as one of the leading experts of Feng Shui, prophetic mahjong and Chinese astrology. Derek himself lives in England. He has learned from the old masters in Taiwan, Hong-Kong and China. Many Russian-speaking Feng Shui practices know Derek for the nich practice – creation of the Chinese gardens.

Not once he delivered lectures devoted to this subject in Kiev and Moscow. His audience includes not only Feng Shui practitioners but also specialists of absolutely different and in some way analogous sphere – landscape design, who more and more often approach the ancient Feng Shui knowledge while working on their projects.

There is a delusion that Chinese gardens are not related with Feng Shui practice. Derek proves the contrary of this statement in his course – there are a lot of methods for harmonization of the environment and one of such methods is a creation of the Chinese Garden!

Moreover Master sets forth one more task, important for him as an instructor – teaching to create the gardens which are not only correct from the Feng Shui and Chinese traditions prospective, but also beautiful and adapted to the conditions of life, goals and tastes of modern human. Derek Wolters teaches us that an art of creating the garden is a work on finding the harmony and balance between Yin and Yang forces of nature.

I was lucky to learn from Masters and one of such Masters is Derek Walters. I asked him a few questions during our recent meeting.

Classical English gardens have clear regular shapes. How favorable is it and how can this be explained from the Feng Shui perspective?

On the West most of the gardens were arranged in accordance with the basic French-Italian style. However in the 17th century Chinese gardens became popular in England and, consequently, interest towards learning more about it has grown. It’s England that is the first country which has started to use this natural type of the garden. Until now the gardens have been developing in such Chinese style: e.g., in California there were two big gardens named “Chinese gardens” and there were myriads of Chinese structures. However the garden was more formal as it had been established based on understanding by the Englishman how the Chinese garden should look like.

Biological laboratories of the world now carry out different researches. One of such research is to study the impact of the pot shape on the plant. Is this idea connected with any of the Chinese traditions?

I’m not aware of such researches although it sounds quite interesting. I understand the logic of the idea. The pot should have the downward widening shape. Curiously, the Chinese hieroglyph that means “prison” or “the one who was put into prison” looks like a square with a plant inside. Actually the pot itself is a prison.

Do you have your own garden? What are your favorable plants?

I live in a city therefore I don’t have a garden in the general understanding of it. Nevertheless I have a space one meter wide where I created a multilevel garden. In fact, the Chinese say that you may create garden in any space and premises. Even if you have just one meter of free space like me, given the will and knowledge you have an opportunity to create a garden in compliance with all rules of the Chinese garden 🙂

What subject do you teach and train your students to?

I have a comprehensive Feng Shui course that I’ve been practicing for years. During this course we meet with a group of disciples eight years per year. Now I also hold courses focused on Chinese gardens and astronomy (distribution of stars in the sky). Subject of our today’s meeting is “Music in Feng Shui”. It is absolutely new topic that no one touched before. On the one hand, this topic sounds rather simple and obvious, on the other hand, I’ll tell you something that is completely different from all that people have heard before.

How long do you study this subject and how much time did it take you to explore it?

I have always been interested in it as by profession I am a musician and I have a doctorate in this area in England. That’s why I depart tomorrow and will have rehearsal on Tuesday. The first time when I visited Moscow I met with Shostakovych, Khachaturyan and Kovalevskiy…

What are your feelings towards Ukraine? 🙂 Do you have any wishes to your disciples here?

Indeed, Kiev is one of my favorite cities. I also like Odessa very much. My best wished of happiness to all disciples. I’m looking forward towards our soonest meeting!

Traditional and beloved by the whole world Chinese garden – is a cradle of rest, peace and harmony. Owing to the Master Derek Walters the art of creating the right and comfortable garden for modern human became more clear and available.

Moscow, 2011