CONVERSATION WITH FRIENDOVERSEAS.

Aroon Ajmera

For the spring Newsletter I welcome the opportunity to be in conversation with Aroon Ajmera. Many of you will know Aroon either directly or indirectly through his long association with the Society. He has been an executive committee member, treasurer of the London Group, Photo editor of the quarterly FSS News letter and its advertising manager between 1998 and 2005.

Aroon was born in India and chose to move to New York to study for his Masters degree in Business Administration. Since 1967 he has moved to and settled in London. He started his business life running a number of his own businesses and obtained senior positions in banking and finance.

Since 1996 his ‘passion and sole focus’ has been feng shui. Apart from transforming his clients’ lives through consultations, he still teaches key concepts of Feng Shui and 9 Star Ki Astrology in London and Mumbai.

  1. Welcome Aroon. Although born in India you decided to move to New York to take your post graduate degree. How did you come to make that decision?

My parents were very keen that I get the best education they could afford to give me. When I was at college, my father owned a fabric store in Mumbai. After my graduation, I thought I should work for a corporation to earn more for a better life-style than what running a shop would give me. They say that ‘The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams’- My dream created my future.

  1. You describe yourself as having a flair for Interior Design. How were you using this whilst following a career in business and the banking world?

Whilst studying in USA I started capturing photos of modern architecture and interiors. My wife Sumi had studied Interior Design also which helped us create a beautiful home and a small office in London. Soonafter joining the banking group as a Management Consultant in 1975, in addition to developing and running Leasing and Hire Purchase divisions, I was made responsible for Personnel Management, Facilities Management and Interior Design, which made me deal with plants, pictures and lighting-the three things which instantly lift the energy of a space.

  1. Because of your interest in Interior Design you made a decision to undertake training in feng shui. How and why did you come to this decision?

In 1994, both my wife and I attended a talk on Feng Shui at The ideal Home Exhibition. I thought I would enjoy this profession when I retired, as it offered avenues for creative work like photography, applied psychology and astrology, appropriate artworks, floor plans and designs. The satisfyingend result would be improvement in the quality of people’s lives.

  1. You continued using your business and entrepreneurial skills in the world of feng shui and established Feng Shui Designs Ltd. Which can be explored on the web site:

Can you say more about this?

During the years I was with the banking group, I offered my services to them through my own company which was running other businesses, so I preferred to continue the same format insteadof becoming a self employed independent Feng Shui consultant in my new career. That way, my wife’s expertise in plants and flower arranging plus interior design could be utilized as co-director. In fact she used to accompany me to consultations.

  1. The world in which you now work must be very different from the business world which you started out in. Is this so and in what way?

Yes. It is very much so. According to Indian astrology, everyone goes through cycles of 30 years at the end of which they may change the direction or eventhe profession. I came to London when I was 30 and gave up my lucrative banking career at 60 in 1998 so that I could fully concentrate on Feng Shui. During the years of banking work, life routine was 10 hours at work. Since 1998, it consisted of consultations, teaching Feng Shui, writing articles, photography and working from home- A more creative and fulfilling life.

  1. You are interested in new age study, alternative therapies and the ‘vibrational world’, what is your understanding of how they impactand influence our physical and psychological health and well being?

Over the years, life has been enriched through deeper learning curve of Intuitive Feng Shui under William Spear by attending his lectures in London. In addition, healthy diets, regular exercise, deep adequate sleep, proper nutrition, regular meditation and developing the will power to learn to live a stress-free life enhanced my own wellbeing which I started sharing. Acupuncture, acupressure and shiatsu are now widely accepted and they form the basis of Feng Shui principle of rebalancing the energy. They allenable us to clear the blockages and harness positive energies necessary for our physical, emotional and spiritual health.

  1. Another of your interests and talents is photography, particularly of nature. You also created a web site: photoboxgallery.com How does this and feng shui come to-gether?

‘A picture tells a story in thousand words’.This phrase prompted me to combine my knowledge with my photo skills to create my latest classic photo book ‘Feng Shui Living’published in September 2009. I believe that we live in a vibrational world and images continually give messages, good, uplifting or bad and depressing. Nature photographs bring nature into homes to bring us closer to the universe. Beautiful images lift our chi and affect our behavior in the same way as the interiors affect us through colours, shapes and materials.

  1. I get the impression that whatever you decide to do you ‘throw’ yourself into it, becoming involved and committed. Would you agree?

Yes I do. I believe what I have heard that “Every job is the self portrait of the person who did it. Autographyour work with excellence”.

  1. After joining the Feng Shui Society you became an active member and have served as a member of the Executive for many years. Has The Society changed over the years?

Yes. It has. There are no monthly lectures/ meetings, nor is there a quarterly paper magazine full of advertisements of creative feng shui cures coming through the letter box. However, we have new eventslike few a workshops in a year, some consultant meetings and excellent e-newsletters. The number of overall members seems to have gone down and a rise is seen in accredited consultants. Saving on printing and postage costs has created healthier Balance Sheet.

  1. After over 12 years of membership of the Feng Shui Society you have decided to retire. Why now?

No.I retired from the executive committee and treasurer duties of London region in 2005 after seven years of active participation. I am still an active friend of the Society and contribute articles to Joan for our fabulous website.

  1. You are also an author having written three books.Have you any ideas for your next one?

Nothing in the horizon yet but I love 9 star ki astrology. Thanks to Jon Sandifer and Simon Brown for their guidance, direction and constant inspiration. Many of my clients who find it fascinating have suggested I write a small book on it.

  1. In 2000 you set up the on-line Feng Shui Photographic Gallery, the first of its kind in UK. What gave you the idea to do this?

Having my first book published in 2000, I was happy to see the books sell on the internet without me doing anything. I thought of doing the same to my nature photographs. I was lucky to be introduced to Photobox Ltd, who agreed to take on all my printing and admin work for a fee. I just take good photos and upload them to the gallery on Theclients can go to the gallery and buy them in any size.

  1. I know you have worked as a feng shui consultant in your home country as well as in UK. Is feng shui very popular in India and doyou approach a consultation there differently from in the UK?

Feng Shui is very popular in India but it has competition from Vastu, a science similar to Feng Shui but much older and originating in India. This has been there for over 5000 years.

The consultation procedure I follow there is the same as in UK except that the fees are scaled down in line with the local economic conditions.

  1. How do your see the role of feng shui over the next few years with the world changing as it is and the warnings about 2012 ringing in our ears?

Feng Shui helps us live in harmony with our environments and helps us fulfill our dreams. Feng Shui will flourish as long as there are environments needing adjustments and dreams needing fulfillment. We will always be connected and influenced by our environments as they are the third layer after our skin and clothing.

  1. One final question Aroon, do you have one consultation that has stayed in your mind and for what reason?

In year 2000, I helped in setting up a UK office for an Indian Industrialist. This UKoffice became the most profitable amongst all their worldwide offices within a year of opening.

Then in 2002, the managing director of his world headquarters in USA approached me for setting up consultations for 4 of their offices across USA. I suggested to themthe services of a consultant friend in New York to do this work to save them my travel and accommodation costs,but as they were thrilled with the UK office’s performance, they insisted I do the feng shui consultations.I took up the offer and went to four different offices of varying sizes in terms of space and personnel across USA.

How can I forget this exciting experience, particularly when I later found through their feedback on how the consultations benefitted them- that the groupwas taken over by a much bigger American firm with majority stake giving them much more liquidity and much less responsibility!!

Thank-you, Aroon, I have enjoyed being in Conversation with you to-day and learning more of your busy and varied life.