Feng Shui

Feng Shui (pronounced: fung-shway) is the Chinese Art of Placement. Simply stated, the fundamental premise is that there is a better and a worse place to put anything. America is currently seeing an explosion of new publications on this subject. It is a hot topic.

It doesn't take a Rocket Scientist to know that one wouldn't normally place the front door to one's home entering into the closet for the Master Bedroom. But then again, as in most areas of concern, the Big Stuff is usually fairly easy to figure out. Where we need help is with that portion of stuff that isn't quite so easy to see. It is primarily the growing concern for the deeper, more subtle energy levels of life that brings Feng Shui forward into greater popularity in today's growth-oriented Western Culture.

There are many stories about how particular Fung Shui-type problems are believed to have caused real and meaningful negative events in the lives of individuals, families, and businesses. In the extreme, death or financial ruin can be the result.

Feng Shui understands that nothing is more important than the front door to a home or a business. (We only get one chance to make a first impression. A poorly placed front door can easily cause problems, annoyances, and inconveniences for inhabitants and visitors alike.

A problem front door can be addressed by Feng Shui. Many types of "cures" are available. Sometimes simply changing the color of the front door can correct an incoherent energy. It is possible to access the oriental concept of the Five Elements and "bend" Natural Law by the selective use of color.

Day-To-Day Life

Subtle energies are always at work all around us. For years, we didn't know that the Moon controls the timing of women's monthly cycles. Science now knows the importance of sunspot cycles, and their effect upon weather and all human life. Have you ever felt or seen a sunspot? In the past, most people thought nothing of building homes next to electrical high-power transmission lines. Nobody could see or feel anything wrong. Yet, after many years of data compilation, NO ONE is willing to live very close to those nasty but necessary overhead lines.

Like that, think back in life about all the people and businesses you've known that have moved. Isn't it amazing how many times a physical move has brought a profound improvement or worsening in the lives of those involved? And, very often there is nothing visible on the surface to account for it. This is what we are talking about. Feng Shui problems can cause a person to be tired, sick, unhappy, or less than successful. Thinking physicians are always looking for the cause of the patient's disease. It is irresponsible to overlook the subtler energies in life.

Using a Consultant

In China and Hong Kong today, no self-respecting corporation would build anything without bringing a Feng Shui Consultant on board their design team from the inception of the project. Any person of wealth and means in that part of the world does likewise.

The height of neighboring buildings, the shape of those buildings, approaching traffic, nearby power lines, churches, and cemeteries all cause concern . . . and more.

In various countries, use of Feng Shui Consultants is more or less common. In countries where this knowledge originates, such as India, Burma, and Japan, temple design is Big. And, the upper class utilizes these services extensively. Most, if not all, of our churches face East in America. Could this be a mere coincidence? There is a growing trend for Americans who can, to use Feng Shui Consultants. As with all professions, there are the good, the bad, and the ugly. As with any area in life where we do not personally have a lot of knowledge or expertise, it is best to trust a referral to a skilled Consultant.

The Fix

Analysis is the first half - discerning what the problem is. Once we have an idea of what needs to be fixed, there are usually options. It is easiest to fix something before it is broken. A correction during the design phase is most likely going to be easier and less expensive to fix than a problem which is discovered later on.

More often than not in America today, the Feng Shui Consultant is called in after the fact. There is a problem; what do we do now? The Consultant may suggest cleaning out clutter, moving furniture, or changing the way a room is used. A doorway may need to be altered or moved. Mirrors, wind chimes, and other devices are commonly employed in order to change the way the energy works in a home or an office. Careful attention to inner and outer congruency is important.

From Chinese Medicine and Ayur-Veda (from India) we learn that our bodies and our lives are made up of nothing but the Five Elements and their interrelationship. It is possible to utilize this knowledge of deeper energy function to correct problems in life. Mid-Day/Mid-Night Law, the concept of yin and yang, and many other relevant Natural Laws can be used in the application of Fung Shui cures. Looking at the shape of the land, placement of trees and shrubs, and what is viewed from one's windows is of great concern.

Historical

Attempting to find the first use of Feng Shui is a lot like trying to find out when someone first attempted to treat a neighbor for a cut finger or a bruised leg. It would only be slightly more difficult to determine when and where the first breath was taken on this planet.

Certain functions are basic to life. Humans have always done those fundamental things instinctively. No matter what country we go to, there is some history of an applied art concerning placement, positioning, or architecture. In England, it's called Geomancy. In India, it's Stapatya Veda. In Burma, it's all in the hands of the Astrologers.

All knowledge used to exist within one mind. Now, we fragment all knowledge; it's partitioned among many minds. In ancient times, there was just the one wise elder. He or she may have been a Medicine-man or Shaman, who took care of the patients physical and spiritual needs. Over time , the priesthood has become professionalized, and our great and learned professions have become secularized. With today's fragmentation, we've gained a lot - and we've lost a lot, too. If the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts, we are in deep trouble.

This is where Feng Shui is different. The whole is seen clearly as the sum of the parts, along with their interrelatedness. The Feng Shui Consultant who knows the whole, is destined to succeed in their dealing with the parts.

Gross vs. Subtle

Any architect can tell you that the front door to a home or a business is an important thing. However, only a few can tell you that the direction the front door faces, and its color, may make an important difference in the life of everyone residing under that roof.

Like that, there is an ongoing set of differences between the way an architect and a Feng Shui Consultant will look at placement. The basic principles of architecture are not foreign to the Feng Shui Consultant. But sadly, most architects today know little about Feng Shui.

An important feature of Natural Law is that as we move towards subtlety, away from the superficial gross level of life, we gain in power and influence. A good example of this would be seen with a glass of water. If someone threw the water onto you, you'd get wet. In a week or two you would have forgotten about it. However, if in the process of tossing that water someone were to excite the hydrogen molecule in a certain way, we would have a hydrogen bomb going off with tremendous destructive power.

General vs. Specific

Just as with the church doors facing the rising Sun in the East, there are many factors which apply in a general way to all. As a rule, any building which is to be used by the public is best designed using the general rules and principles. Whereas people are more alike than they are different, we are all still individuals - unique in our own important ways. When designing for a person, family, or business, it is much better to utilize the Laws of Nature that relate on the individual level of life. Yet, the generalized truths and realities never go away.

With some skill and experience these two, sometimes conflicting opposites, can be merged in a truly functional way to bring about the highest application of Good in the life of the family or business.

Relationships

. . . exist between all things. Some are obvious; some are not. The Law of Harmonic Resonance is the primary governing force in all relationships, whether between people, things, or people and things. Birds of a feather flock together. Yet, opposites attract. Yes, life is truly stranger than fiction.

So, you wouldn't put the refrigerator in the living room, right? Then, how would you site the stove relative to the kitchen sink? These are but a couple of the thousands of questions running around inside the head of the skilled Feng Shui Consultant. That is why they all have that peculiar look in their eyes, like the head is having difficulty holding all that knowledge inside.

Positional Relevance

"A place for everything, and everything in its place." Who sits on the right hand of the lord of the house, and who sits on the left? Should the door swing into the room, or swing out? Would we put the garage under the Master Bedroom?

Resonant relationship determines positional relevance. Some things belong next to each other, while others do not. Who would put their pet fox and their chicken in the back yard unattended? Form MUST follow function. There is a fundamental order to life and its structures. There is a reason why people have done certain things in certain ways for many years. Simply, it works.

Success in Life

By definition, we are not really successful in life unless we are doing well in all areas of our life simultaneously. We all know the busy businessman type (he may live next door to us). He has a great success in his business, while his kids may be bad actors due to lack of attention. His wife may have wandering eyes, for the same reason. That is not a successful life. All areas of our life effect all others. And, our life effects the lives of others.

Feng Shui teaches us that there is an inseparable relationship between all the disparate parts of our lives. A problem in one area will often cause difficulties in another. This is why it is impossible to examine a single area of one's life, excluding all others.

Left Brain/Right Brain

Our left brain is more about linear things such as logic, math, and reason. Our right brain, on the other hand, is about nonlinear things like tonality, abstract thought, and intuition. There are a number of physical structures in the brain that are responsible for intercommunication between the two sides, correlating and integrating the linear and nonlinear.

Science is an organized body of knowledge, proper fare for the left brain. While knowledge is power, there can be a great difference in how knowledge is applied. The application of any science is an art, and art is the domain of the right brain.

Our Creator gave us both right brain and left brain so we can use them. What could be better than big knowledge applied by a great artist? It is imperative that the Feng Shui Consultant have a functional left and right brain. The science must be used. And, there must be an aliveness on the deepest levels of life in that practitioner's experience. A strong intuitive faculty is an important requirement.

How It's Done

After an initial fact-finding meeting with the client, the Consultant will delve into both the deep and superficial aspects of the home or business. Knowledge of proper placement will merge with an innate sense of the client's needs and desires. The Feng Shui Practitioner will think about and feel into the reality that is there, or proposed. That exercise of extending one's conscious awareness allows the Consultant to live the experience of a placement and its effects in their own body.

Microcosm/Macrocosm

We are each a perfect reflection of all the stars in heaven. By reading the heavens, we can read the body and the life. By reading the body we can read the heavens. Timing is everything. The moment specific to any event places an indelible stamp of identity upon it. This is the domain of Astrology, from which we gain important information about directional relevance.

The human nervous system is more complex and dynamic than the largest Cray Computer. When perfected, the human being is capable of normal functioning which appears to be miraculous to many.

The Great Bard said it first, "Know thyself, then ever to that self be true." As we each grow in more perfect knowing, we gain greater skill in functioning. Feng Shui Consultants live their experiences on a deep level inside themselves. Like a TV set with many channels, they simply pick up more information via their developed senses.

American Feng Shui

We Americans tend to have a melting pot mentality. It is true that as a group we are fairly ruthless in sorting out just what works. This flare for the eclectic approach to life is without question one of the larger driving forces most responsible for the building of this great nation.

In America today there are a number of Feng Shui options. The Black Hat Sect Feng Shui purists relate to everything via the static form of the eight-sided Ba-gua. There are those that bring in the knowledge of the Compass School, adding the use of the compass and Luo Pan. Others add in the knowledge bases of India, Burma, and Geomancy from the British Isles. As in all areas of knowledge, more IS better, IF it can be integrated in a way that works. Otherwise it will simply breed confusion.

American Feng Shui is moving in the direction of amalgamation and inclusion. After all, isn't truth best defined as That Which Never Contradicts Itself? As a result, the best Fung Shui Practitioners are often able to move a great amount of power in their efforts towards eliminating obstacles and helping people's lives to become more coherent and successful.

A Story

Once there was a businessman, let's call him George. He had his office inside another man's office. Let's call him Pete. At first, their relationship was amicable. Over time, things went downhill.

Pete made some bad choices in his life. Things went the way one might expect. Pete got more and more stressed and developed the habit of going up to George's office door and dumping his psychic stress and venom through the doorway. Then, George's life began to go downhill as a result of his wearing Pete's negativity. George was suffering in body and in mind. This went on for quite a while. George didn't know what to do.

Enter Feng Shui. The cure that was elected was plain and simple. It was suggested that George place a good-sized mirror directly across from that by-now-infamous doorway. The corrective concept was basic: Simply allow Pete's negativity to be reflected right back to him.

It worked. Over the next weeks, Pete began to look worse and worse. Soon, the dominoes began to fall, banging rudely against one another. Within a short space of time, Pete had to declare bankruptcy, the IRS seized everything he had, and his family life was strained to the max.

George moved out into a much nicer office in the same part of town. His life improved in all ways. Who says nice guys finish last?

Other Stories

There was a businessman named Larry. His coherence was a bit crazy and harried. Indeed, one day Larry found himself sitting in his office quite literally paralyzed, unable to make even a simple decision. A Feng Shui analysis revealed a large beam crossing his desk, where he sat daily. (In Feng Shui it is understood that this beam overhead is a bad idea.) The problem beam was treated. The mental stasis disappeared. Life became happy.

There was a businessman named Barry. He was just starting out on his own and was not doing very well. He was in a small, single-room office in a large office building. Business was booming in this small town and there was very little space available to rent. This tiny office had many problems, some very obvious. Feng Shui treatments were applied. Barry's energy, emotions, business, and health improved immediately. Magically, a nicer, larger space became available - Barry grabbed it. Life got better and better.

There was a lady, we'll call her Lynn. She was having problems and unhappiness at her place of employment. She began to study Feng Shui and decided to set up an office area in her home. She did so with great care and attention to Natural Law. As soon as she moved into her wonderful, new office space, she found that she could do just about twice the work in about half the time. Her happiness increased.

An Odd Reality

Sadly, we Americans have been trained to believe that if we cannot touch it, it doesn't exist. We have had the Scientific Method shoved down our collective throats. We have become the sickest of the developed nations, while spending more per capita on health care (it should be called sick care) than ANY other nation.

Finally, the scientists are catching up with common sense and the reality of everyday, ordinary experience. The New Physics is helping us all to understand that when we get down to the final level of abstraction, our objective and our subjective realities become interdependent - and kinda merge, a bit.

To put it more into body-terms: Our left and right brains are being found to be interdependent relative to one another. They each work super well when they are both healthy.

Comeuppance

What goes 'round, comes 'round. The real questions are: Comes around to which degree, aspecting what else, and at what angle? Is it serious? Does it really matter? So, it seems that life is but a series of choices we make, and then living with the result of those choices. Thank God, we get to choose.