What is Conscious Real Estate? A Fresh Perspective
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What is "conscious" real estate? A fresh  perspective on property
 
This is the transcript of Barbara Harwell, a Real Estate Broker and Feng Shui Consultant Barbara interviewing Dr. Stefan J. Kasian. This radio interview was originally aired Janunary 26, 2007 and the audio recording of this interview is archived on AchieveRadio.com.
 
BH:  Hello, my name is Barbara Harwell…I am the Designated Broker and Owner of Devas and Associates Real Estate serving the Phoenix Metro area.  We would like to welcome you to the Arizona Holistic Chamber of Commerce's Broadcast called A NEW SPIRIT OF BUSINESS.  The Members of the Arizona Holistic Chamber of Commerce believe there is a spiritual awakening taking place globally that is empowering people in every aspect of their lives.  The Arizona Holistic Chamber of Commerce holds a vision where these empowered individuals take their positive, successful holistic lifestyles into the business community.  In this vision, Chamber members serve as a model for business…a new, holistic way of being in this world.  Please visit their web site at AZHolisticChamber.com for further information and growth opportunities. In conjunction with the Chambers' vision of promoting spirituality in business we will be exploring the topic of Conscious Real Estate with our guest Dr. Stefan J. Kasian.
 
In business and in life…let's face it, real estate is a hot topic…Arizona is still one of the fastest growing markets in the United States…whether or not there is media attention about a real estate boom, we all need a roof over our heads and real estate is one of the most important financial and emotional investments most people will ever make.  This segment will expand your views on real estate…some of it may surprise you, shock you, or seem controversial.  You may be a skeptic or believer, either way, keep an open mind… we are excited to share this information with you.
 
This program is about Conscious Real Estate…to explore this topic with us, I'd like to introduce an innovator in this area, Dr. Stefan J. Kasian.  Stefan is a real estate entrepreneur, author, mentor, and international public speaker.  After a brief stint on Wall Street, he founded Sunvista Real Estateto buy, sell, and manage residential and commercial real estate investments.  He has published dozens of articles and several books, including Auction Fever:  Winning Strategies to Buy, Sell and Rent Real Estate which he co-authored with New York Times best-selling author Dr. Dolf de Roos.  Serving as a faculty member in Psychology at Akamai University, in Hilo, Hawaii, Dr. Kasian loves helping others become financially and spiritually prosperous by sharing his experiences and research at real estate investing seminars and conferences on consciousness worldwide.  Welcome, Stefan…
 
SK:     Thank you, Barbara…it is my pleasure to be here…
 
BH:     Stefan, Conscious Real Estate is a new term…what is your definition of Conscious Real Estate?
 
SK:     Conscious Real Estate is a term coined by my business strategist Gigi Van Deckter, a New York City Real Estate Broker.
 
Conscious Real Estate is about exploring the deeper dimensions of real estate, and seeking practical applications and tools for them.  Promoting individuals and practices involved in real estate with awareness and a deeper sense of metaphysics and spirituality.  We draw upon major world spiritual traditions, scientific advances and research whenever possible, and especially experiences from people who are either practitioners of this type of real estate, or those who have had some unusual experiences around real estate.
 
BH:     So tell us, Stefan, how did you become interested in Conscious Real Estate?
 
SK:     Perhaps since I was a child, I found myself having dreams about the future, dreams that would afterwards come true – I always had a sense of life that there was much more to the workings of the world and more than meets the eye.  As the author of The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery states, "what is essential is invisible to the eye."
 
BH:     Ah yes…that is so true…
 
SK:     Since my undergraduate years at Duke I have found my career and life weaving themes of mind and body and then eventually business and spiritual worlds.
 
BH:     Stefan, you mention you attended Duke University, what was your area of interest there?
 
SK:     I started out wanting to be a traditional doctor.  While studying pre-med, I delved into hard-core biology, biochemistry, and physics, but found my education lacking in a sense of balance or wholeness.  So I was fortunate enough to find a Larry Burk, M.D., a sponsor to help me run a mind-body medicine study group where I invited and worked with leaders such as Deepak Chopra and Larry Dossey, who I brought to campus to speak on complimentary medicine.  I could tell by the level of interest in the community by the hundreds of people who attended these workshops I helped arrange.
 
BH:     This must have led you into some interesting directions…please tell us more…
 
SK:     Yes, indeed it did lead me into some interesting directions…I had the opportunity to be the first intern at The Monroe Institute…a leading consciousness laboratory located south of Charlottesville, Virginia in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.  There I conducted research on the effect of special sound patterns called hemi-sync, with Skip Atwater, the former Director of the US Army's Remote Viewing Project named Star Gate,
 
BH:     Ah yes, I am familiar with Hemi-Sync and with The Monroe Institute…for those in our audience who are not familiar with the technology, please tell us more…
 
SK:     Hemi-sync sound patterns are used to create special states of consciousness or awareness…it is also used to help ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), accelerated learning, and accelerated healing from surgery as I personally experienced last year when I had emergency brain surgery.
 
While researching the effects of these sound technologies at The Monroe Institute, I first met Joe McMoneagle, a retired special forces CIA official who conducted "remote viewing" missions for the U.S. Army Star Gate Project headed by Skip Atwater. 
 
BH:     OK, Stefan, for the benefit of our listeners, please explain what you mean when you refer to "remote viewing."
 
SK:     Of course, Barbara…it is the ability to perceive and describe distant locations using the mind only.  Officials from several special divisions US Government would give Joe specific coordinates such as latitudes and longitudes and he would gather intelligence…often this would lead to intelligence crucial for our national security and safety…at other times he uses the skill in locating missing children in other private projects.
 
BH:     That is truly amazing and I am sure that information alone would be a topic all its own…tell us more about this journey of yours…
 
SK:     Indeed.  After The Monroe Institute, I worked on Wall Street for a leading investment bank…J.P. Morgan and one of the HR directors, Tom Bain. co-sponsored me to attend an "Intuition in Business Workshop."  Many of the most successful Wall Street traders claimed they make split second decisions from what would be called "gut" or "intuition"…this led me to realize that there is a part of them and a part of us that can process information many times faster than traditional step-by-step thinking.
 
BH:     You have our undivided attention, Stefan…please tell us more…
 
SK:     As an undergraduate, I then encountered the world's leading parapsychology research center, now known as The Rhine Research Center, formerly the Institute for Parapsychology at one time located on the Duke  University campus. The staff and I explored the possibility with a major Wall Street investment bank which I consulted to about conducting a formal study to determine how top traders use their intuition and how this can be applied to enhance our intuition in everyday dealings to be more successful in life and business.
 
BH:     That's very interesting…would you please explain parapsychology?
 
SK:     Parapsychology is the attempt to study, as scientifically as possible, the subtle effects of the mind that cannot be explained by the 5 physical senses.  For example, extra sensory perception (ESP), having a sense of knowing something where we don't have direct evidence how we know.  There are some interesting results, but it is still a controversial field.
 
BH:     Thank you for clarifying that for us…then what happened?
 
SK:     While I was applying to medical schools, I've always had a fascination and curiosity about real estate, so I began studying with the nation's leading real estate trainers, such as Dr. Dolf de Roos, Ron LeGrand, Kathy Kennebrook, Richard Roop, Robert Kiyosaki , and I ended up buying my first home for $100 and never signed personally on any paperwork. And this was fresh out of Duke, I actually purchased the property from a Duke employee who saw my ad in the university classifieds. He actually wrote me a letter of thanks for taking the property off his hands.
 
BH:     That's incredible!
 
SK:     Incredible indeed and it was then that I realized how real estate is an incredible tool for prosperity.  The need for a roof over our heads is a basic building block to our survival.  But I've always like to look at the world in terms of possibilities.
 
Meanwhile, my career plans evolved and I realized my vision was bigger than medical school and I enrolled in a doctoral program in transpersonal psychology, where I was not only trained in hard-core clinical psychology, research, and writing, but also specializing in consciousness studies, eastern psychologies, and anomalous experiences ---unusual experiences, such as ESP, déjà vu, vivid dreams etc., that many, if not most people have, and those experiences may not have a conventional or easy explanation within normal cultural boundaries accepted explanations.  I've been trained to work with and respect these as experiences while at the same time maintaining a hard-nosed skepticism.
 
BH:     You also wrote a book about dreams…tell us about that…
 
SK:     Yes, while completing my doctorate, I conducted a case study of 10 exceptional individuals each who reported having a dream that seemed to predict or foreshadow their eventual purchase of what later became their dream home. This was published in a book called Dream homes..
 
BH:     That's fascinating…give us an example…
 
SK:     One of my first participants was a clinical psychologist living in California.  She spent over a year looking for a home but nothing materialized.  One night she had a dream in which she heard the exact coordinates of her home…when she work up she told her husband, and just hours later her real estate agent told her of a home that just went on the market…with the exact same address coordinates as the one she dreamed about.  She drove to the home, immediately fell in love with it, made an offer, bought the home and years later she still loves it.
 
BH:     But, Stefan, couldn't that be just coincidence?
 
SK:     Well, here's what is so interesting…at that time the CA market was so overheated, the owners received multiple offers from buyers within hours of being put on the market.  Her offer was $20,000 less than the highest bid, but her real estate agent informed the sellers of the dream and asked them to take that into account.  Interestingly, one of the owners actually said she too had a dream that inspired her to buy this home, and based on the fact that both had dreams…they ended up selling her the home for $20,000 less than the highest offer.
 
BH:     WOW…that's amazing…yet, could there be another explanation for that?
 
SK:     Absolutely, surely it is possible she may have overheard a conversation somewhere, or spent so much time researching the market that she developed an instinctive understanding.  And I'm not making a claim that this dream was "precognitive" or "psychic"…but the controversy makes it so interesting.
 
The very fact that the mention of this dream caused the owners to sacrifice their home for a $20,000 discount tells me that whether or not psychic experiences exist, they are meaningful to us as human beings.  And for this very reason I believe it is important to factor in, or at the very least, weigh these experiences into our equation.
 
BH:     So, as real estate professionals, how could this insight be applied?
 
SK:     As a real estate professional working with clients, it could add an extra advantage to at least be aware of peoples' subtle impressions, as they could help guide and supplement decision-making when sorting through the sometimes hundreds or thousands of ambiguous options one must sort through on a very rapid day-to-day basis in the real estate world.  That is one possible application.
 
BH:     I can certainly see how this applies to real estate.  How did this awareness impact your dream study?
 
SK:     It could be the very subtle piece of information that guides us to the most satisfying purchase possible…which is what all the people in my study reported…of all their homes, they enjoyed the one they believe was foreshadowed in the dream…as the most significant…the most satisfying and influential.
 
BH:    Why do you think so-called psychic experiences seem to occur around real estate in particular?
 
SK:     The scientific term is called emotional salience and relevance.  There are the anecdotal reports of a mother who has a strange sense of her child being in danger and rescues the child from imminent danger.  Or someone claims to see an apparition of a family member who died unexpectedly in some tragedy.  Because real estate tends to be one of the largest and most emotional investments of most people, of course the emotions around it may tend to attract these types of unusual experiences.
 
BH:     How do you apply this background to your current work as a real estate entrepreneur?
 
SK:     Over the years I've also hired a business strategic advisor, Gigi Van Deckter, who I first met speaking at the workshop on Intuition in Business.  After a career as a director and producer on and off Broadway venues, she began consulting to world leaders including the CEO of Sony.  I found her intuition to be uncanny in its accuracy and eventually began asking her questions specifically about properties.  I'd fax her a map, provide a list of potential clients who might want to buy a property.  She would then help me sort through a sea if decisions resulting in at least a 10% increase in profitability for my company.
 
BH:     Is there anywhere else you apply this strategy?
 
SK:     Yes, in addition , every property I work with I like to perform a ritual clearing on the property.  This takes place in indigenous cultures and in Latin American and Asian countries as well.  It is a simple ritual with sage, salt, and fire with strong intentions to "clear" the energy.
 
Barbara, have you ever come across a property that simply feels uncomfortable for reasons you can't put you finger on…there might have been a divorce or some violence taking place in the house.  At the very least, after doing the ritual, the home smells fresh and clean, and at the very best, perhaps this intention does influence the experience of the property. 
 
BH:     Yes, I have experienced that often.
 
SK:     Even more avant garde, in addition to a ritual clearing, prior to this, I have an intuitive expert who does an energy scan on a property and identifies any so called "portals" or "entities" or energies that might be less than savory, shall we say…often from years or centuries of living in a certain home, for instance.
 
You know…Quantum physics, energy medicine, even the recent documentary movie The Secret…all discuss the effect of thought as part of a consciousness field that interacts with physical objects in the material world.
 
BH:  That is so true…   Now, Stefan, we have delved into the subtle world of real estate…what about the practical side?
 
SK:     By no means is any of this a substitute for the practical necessities…whether you are buying or leasing a home or building…whether you are a private party or a licensed real estate practitioner, there is no substitute for doing your homework…making sure the investment makes financial sense…you consider the location, the conditions of the home, the finances, you have an inspection done of the property…everything…this simply expands the possibilities to a subtler realm which may really have an influence in the big picture.
 
Additionally, the environment is under assault as Al Gore has documented…some of these practices and traditions help get us more attuned to this planet and feel more a part of it rather than apart from it.  Native Americans and indigenous cultures often looked as far ahead as seven generations in advance when making decisions, even something as simple as planting a tree, knowing it would bring shade to their grandchildren…I believe that engaging in real estate in a more conscious, more aware manner, may help address some of the environmental crises facing us today.
 
BH:     Yes, Stefan, that really ties it together…you wed the business of real estate with its spirit…
 
SK:     Which brings me to how you have helped me with my properties as a Feng Shui Consultant and Real Estate Broker.  I also implement Feng Shui techniques in my buying and selling of real estate.
 
BH:     As you know, Stefan, there are many different opinions as to what constitutes Feng Shui…what is your experience of it?
 
SK:     For me, Feng Shui is a practical yet esoteric tool to help determine the placement of furniture and objects in a room or property arrangement…when I discovered that in the Far East, many companies or individuals won't even build properties without a Feng Shui consultation, I was very interested.  Then I heard that even Donald Trump utilizes Feng Shui principles in this construction…then, I took real note.  In one newspaper article I wrote that Feng Shui can be as simple and as practical as keeping your house clean and organized;  fix anything that is broken, especially appliances, leaks, plumbing and electrical systems…but it becomes much more subtle and sophisticated than that as you well know.
 
With your background, you have a keen business sense, a practical eye for how to repair and decorate a property, and on top of that, when deciding on the final placement of furniture, mirrors, etc…you use Feng Shui guidelines.
 
BH:     Yes, I do…thank you for acknowledging that…
 
SK:     So, Barbara, how did you first get started in Real Estate?
 
BH:     I have always claimed that real estate chose me.  I initially began working as an interior designer for homebuilders and had the experience that the homes I designed sold first for the builders.  Eventually, I realized that I could combine my joy of design with real estate sales, which evolved over the next 30 years into both commercial and residential sales, leasing and management.  I became known in the industry as the person who could turn a project around, so I was repeatedly brought in to manage difficult projects.  This experience, even though challenging became one of my biggest assets and when I was introduced to Feng Shui…another piece of the puzzle was revealed.
 
SK:     And how did you become involved in Feng Shui?
 
BH:     A friend of mine called to let me know she had read a magazine article about Feng Shui that she thought would interest me since I already had a love of Chinese art and décor.  I read that article, found it fascinating and began to research every possible resource for further information.  This was over 15 years ago and there just was not much yet published about Feng Shui in the United States.  It had been considered a secret art and was fervently protected from the general public for thousands of years.  Then, slowly, a few books began to appear and I devoured them…testing and researching them from every angle. 
 
Initially, I learned the Black Hat School of Feng Shui, which is more familiar in our Western world and found it extremely effective until a business partner who lived in Europe contacted me and asked me to use my Feng Shui expertise to find a way to reduce the amount of time he had to travel.   Even though he was an extreme skeptic, he was at a point that he would try anything to alleviate the physical drain of his extensive travel requirements.  He faxed me a floor plan of his home and there was just no explanation for the problem based on my knowledge of Black Hat Feng Shui.  However, I had just read a book by Lillian Too who uses the older, more traditional Feng Shui formulas, such as the Compass Formula, and when I applied that method, it became glaringly apparent that the problem was in the Northwest area of his home which represents travel and mentors, where there was a 2 car garage which was rarely used and above it was a huge empty game room…a complete energy vacuum.  He had been so busy traveling he had not had the time to completely furnish his home.  So, I shipped a box of rocks from Arizona to Europe along with instructions on where to place them and wrote out the intention to apply to them.  To his amazement (and quite frankly, mine as well), within 2 weeks his travel schedule was reduced to a very manageable pace and his health improved substantially.  I should mention, too, that when he moved out of the house a couple of years later, there was delay after delay and I asked him if he had removed the rocks and of course, he said he hadn't.  I instructed him to remove the rocks and take them outside…thank them for serving him so well and release them to the outdoors with his blessing.  He did that and the obstacles to his move evaporated. 
 
SK:     Is that when you decided to study with Lillian Too in Malaysia?
 
BH:     Yes, it is and I found Lillian to be an amazing Teacher and Business Woman.  She has a Harvard MBA…she was the first woman CEO of a Chinese Bank, and she headed a publicly listed chain of successful department stores.  This is a woman who practices what she teaches and she does it with such a generous spirit.  As I mentioned before, most of the Feng Shui formulas that we now have ready access to were Chinese Dynasty secrets available only to their privileged class.  Lillian is a prolific writer who has authored over 80 books, which have been translated into 30 languages, which has made the art and science of Feng Shui available to the general public in an understandable format.  She is so practical and yet spiritual in her approach…for example, as she is sharing formulas to enhance your wealth, she also reminds you that when that wealth arrives, you should share some of it with those less fortunate.  She says, "If you want to practice this art, you have to share your knowledge with believers and unbelievers and allow it to be debated openly.  The world has changed, and the practice of Feng Shui should evolve accordingly.  Ancient masters have this tendency to be very vague in their Feng Shui predictions and I was determined to demystify it.  Feng Shui is actually very practical…very scientific in a way."  Lillian uses her spiritual practices to enhance her teaching, writing and practice of Feng Shui, although Feng Shui is not considered spiritual nor is it a religion.  She states that, "Feng Shui is the art of living in harmony with your environment.  It is not a mysterious art, so people of all races and religions can follow its principles to achieve greater things in life."
 
SK:     Well, Barbara, this brings us to another part of your business…your real estate company, Devas & Associates Real Estate.  How did you arrive at Devas & Associates as the name of your real estate brokerage?  Who or what are Devas?
 
BH:     Devas represent the ancient name for Angelic Beings who are considered to be the Architects of the Universe…working behind the scenes, so to speak, keeping the universe organized and the planets on course…similar in theory to Santa's mythological elves.  While Devas are typically an unseen force in nature, they never-the-less work tirelessly to serve humanity. 
 
At Devas & Associates we see ourselves as the Associates who assist the Devas in serving our clients in a way that our clients have the opportunity to actively participate in their own particular spiritual beliefs, along with the application of sound business principles within the framework of real estate.  We believe this is an ideal way for all businesses to operate…it really all goes back to consciously living the Golden Rule and the Law of Attraction.  So, just as we are discussing the topic for today, you could say that at Devas and Associates, we practice Conscious Real Estate.
 
SK:     Indeed you do…and could you explain a bit more about your philosophy and practice of real estate…you mentioned the Law of Attraction…tell us more about that…
 
BH:     I would be happy to…Devas & Associates Real Estate was formed to provide people the opportunity to consciously experience the Law of Attraction at work in their lives within a real estate setting.  We provide clients a creative setting to magnetize their dream homes and/or investment properties, while providing the solid, practical business foundation and real estate negotiation skills to assist in manifesting their dreams.  To further explain our vision, the Law of Attraction says that "like attracts like"…that if you continuously think the same thoughts, and add strong emotion to them, while visualizing them…those thoughts will manifest into physical reality…whether those thoughts are positive or negative.  So, our clients establish their own vision of what they want to achieve and we work with them to bring their vision into reality.  The process is truly inspirational.
 
SK:     I can really see how you are inspired to wed business and spiritual practice in your real estate.
 
BH:     Yes, thank you…it is our passion.  And, Stefan, I am truly grateful for you sharing with us your vision and expertise in the area of Conscious Real Estate. 
 
SK:     Thank you, Barbara, for inviting me as a guest and I look forward to exploring these ideas further.
 
BH:     Stefan, again, thank you for joining us today…Please remember to also check out the Arizona Holistic Chamber of Commerce web site for further details regarding Chamber membership benefits at AZHolisticChamber.com.
 
Thank you for joining us today…we wish you continued blessings on your path of consciousness…