What is Feng Shui?

What is Feng Shui?

Feng Shui (pronounced foong –shway) literally translates to wind and water.  Most simply, it is the ancient art and science of placement, which links people to their surroundings to promote success in life, health, love, wealth, and happiness through the awareness of the flow of chi (universal life-force energy).

Feng Shui also helps create a living space that is balanced, peaceful and energized at the same time.  In traditional form Feng Shui, there are five elements: earth, fire, metal, water and wood. It’s what you find in nature, so you’re creating a space based on a 3,000 year old tradition that taps into the rhythm and harmony of nature.

How does Feng Shui link people to their surroundings to promote success in life?

Feng Shui uses the ‘Pa Qua’ (pronounced ba-qua), an octagon-shaped map that is placed over your home or office space.  The Pa Qua divides the space in your environment into eight sectors, which correspond to directions and various areas in your life.  Here are how the sectors relate:

How do I enhance the sectors of Pa Qua to better support my success in those areas?

By using Classical form Feng Shui, I work with a formula and an analysis that uses a combination of the direction the house faces, when it was built, the date people moved in, and the dates of major renovations. Based on these calculations, the Pa Qua sectors are linked to various elements, specific to your home.  So, if you need Earth in a particular sector of your home that could translate to colors yellow, taupe, beige, brown and neutrals. It might be adding something decoratively like Italian pottery, or choosing granite or marble floors instead of wood. Additionally, I’ll look at each individual in the household and what directions are best for them to sit and lie in bed at night, using a formula based on the person’s birthdate.  For a first-hand look on how this works, check out the article on our client Teresa’s home. 

Are there various schools of Feng Shui?  And if so, why do you practice Classical Form Feng Shui?

There are about 12 styles of Feng Shui all together.  The reason that I practice Classical Form Feng Shui is that I like the accuracy of using time in space.  Just as we change over time as people, why would we think that our homes/space would stand still? Classical Form Feng Shui supports the changes and evolution of a home overtime.

This certainly sounds interesting, but how it did all begin?

Feng Shui began some 3,000 years ago by the wise masters of the time. They were the wise people who paid attention to the land. Some people would call them mystics or shamans. These original Feng Shui Masters passed their knowledge and information from master to student.

Originally, Feng Shui was developed for and used by the Emperors, who considered it proprietary knowledge only to be used only for themselves.  To prevent the masses from utilizing this powerful tool, they even instructed false texts to be written to obscure matters.  To this day, this has resulted in confusion and a good deal of misinformation around the subject.

Is Feng Shui a self-empowerment tool?

Feng Shui can be a wonderful empowerment tool, but it is important to keep in mind that there are many experiences that contribute to life’s experiences.  Traditionally, Feng Shui has looked at the influences in our lives as:

Heaven Luck – What you are born in with to this Earth (parents, talents, karma, etc.)

‘Man’ Person Luck – What actions you take, what you do to help yourself, etc.

Earth Luck – Working with the energies of the land and using a tool like Feng Shui.