Declutter Your Life by Rearranging Your Home! (Feng Shui)

Member Name: Shekera

Product:	Feng Shui
Date:	15/02/02 (1741 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Does not cost very much to apply the principles of Feng Shui to your home.

Disadvantages: Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Feng Shui

As those of you who read my opinion will know, I have a deep interest in alternative medicines and therapies etc. One of these interests is feng shui - I recently had an opportunity to attend a talk on the subject, which was given by a professional feng shui consultant.

I found her presentation both interesting and entertaining and came away, to a certain respect inspired, but also just a little bit sceptical. This opinion takes on board some of the things which she discussed in her presentation – I hope I was listening properly!

The consultant started her presentation by telling us about the history of feng shui and how it can be used today to arrange your home and workplace so as to accumulate auspicious energy for happiness, prosperity, and good health.

She explained that feng shui is an ancient Chinese system in which we are able to harmonise man made structures within the environment and is literally translated as “wind and water” and is perhaps more easily understood as Chinese Geomancy or to the layman “Art and Placement” which, when the principles are put into practice, could help transform your life! This is done by harnessing the positive energy of your environment.

Firstly, you have to understand and learn to recognise the hidden energies of Chi. The flow of Chi is, in feng shui terms, the hidden life breath that permeates the environment in which we live. To help us understand Chi in simple terms there is a saying which is “When Chi is in disarray, misfortunes rule the day”.

Yin and Yang
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Most of us have heard about Yin and Yang, which are the “energies” which continually “dance” together, striving for the cosmic balance that brings harmony. Yin represents cool and dark and lifeless, whilst Yang represents hot and bright and full of life. If these forces are kept in harmony within your home and w
orkplace, it is reputed that you will enjoy good luck!

The consultant told us how to balance Yin and Yang by creating comfortable levels of light and shade – and to gain success by adding slightly more light to enhance and emphasise your Yang energy.

Feng Shui inside the House
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The consultant discussed shapes of items in the home and according to the “laws” of feng shui, it is better to have regular shapes rather than irregular, apparently, furniture which are square or rectangular have better feng shui than those which are triangular or shapes with missing corners.

She went on to say that any protruding corners create “knife edges” and should be softened by placing a plant directly in front of them. Apparently, this deflects and dissolves all the killing energy released by the edge. You must ensure that the plant is changed regularly as it cannot survive the “killing” Chi coming from the corner.

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, my house does not have exposed overhead oak beams. Apparently, overhead beams cause bad energy to press down on anyone sitting or sleeping below them.

If you do have overhead beams, the consultant suggested that you hang a five-rod windchime on the offending beam, which will counteract the feng shui defect. It is imperative that the rods of the windchime are hollow rather than solid so that the Chicken can travel through them and transform into good luck.

If you have a tiny hall or any tight corners in your house, it is a good idea to enlarge the space with the use of mirrors, as large mirrors are excellent for enhancing the stale energy of a tight or cramped space. The mirror should be placed on the wall, which does not face the door or reflect the door, as this will cause all good fortune to dissipate! Too late for me and a lot of the other ladies in the audience.

She told us that the ratio
of windows to doors in one’s rooms should not exceed 3:1 and too many windows caused all your luck to seep away. She also pointed out that it was not good feng shui to have a window on the opposite wall to the door – at that point, a lot of the audience were asking for the telephone number of a builder.

In feng shui the main door represents the “mouth” of the house. Its feng shui affects the entire household so it should be sighted carefully (not that most of have a choice when we buy a house!).

The consultant went on to say that it is important that the main (front) door is not facing a toilet, staircase, mirror, a pillar, the edge of two walls, or a protruding corner and should most definitely not be below a toilet on the floor above – at this point, I most definitely viewed this evening as a “bit of fun”.

The consultant told us that in order to create feng shui harmony one should paint one’s front door accordingly to the element of the direction in which it faces – red for South, Southwest or Northeast; blue for north, East or Southeast; white for West, Northwest or North and green for East, Southeast or South.

Apparently, it is important to open two windows in two different rooms at least once a week – this lets fresh air sweep away any stale yin air in the room. If this is done on a sunny day (some chance) it will bring in vibrant yang energy which attracts good fortune.

If you leave your home empty during the day, the consultant advised that it is good feng shui to have a pet as yin emergency accumulates in the silence and stillness of the house – this can be countered by the presence and movement of a cat, dog or fish.

Apparently, it is a feng shui tradition that fish bring good luck and it is suggested that a tank of guppies is placed in the north corner of your living room – this is reputed to help your career to come alive wit
h positive new developments!

The consultant went on to tell us about fireplaces in living rooms – she said that according to feng shui, the best place to have one is on the south wall, but is also auspicious located in the East, Southeast, Southwest and Northeast. The Northwest wall is not a good place for a fireplace – she said that it you have one here, you should consider closing it up or not using it.

The consultant told us that fresh flowers should be placed in your living rooms and hallways as these bring precocious yang energy into the room. However, they must be removed before they wither and die as this can promote depressing yin – dying flowers must never be left in your home – they should be immediately replaced with fresh ones.

Still on the subject of flowers, the consultant said that dried flowers should never be displayed in ones home as feng shui does not consider then auspicious, however, it is quite acceptable to display silk or even plastic artificial flowers.

To bring luck into your home, the consultant advised that you can buy a three-legged frog, which can be purchased from Chinese supermarkets – it should be placed in the vicinity of your front door, facing inwards as if it has just come into the house – she stressed that it must not be placed facing the door.

The consultant told us how to create a “universal wealth” corner in our living rooms, which is the Southeast corner. Placing a leafy green plant or an aquarium of fish there can energise this. Apparently, this should only be done in the main living room and not in any other room of the house.

Feng Shui in the Bedroom
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It is important that mirrors in the bedroom do not reflect the bed as reflections in the mirror suggest the presence of a third party! Again, the subject of sleeping under exposed beams came up – it you sleep under an exposed bea
m, it can cause sleepless nights and a rift between couples. The consultant suggested that any beams are camouflaged with fake ceilings or alternatively, it should have two bamboo steams, tied with red thread, hung from it.

Beds should be positioned in a certain way in order to bring good luck. The bed should always be placed in the corner of the bedroom diagonally opposite the door and you should never sleep with the your head or feet pointing directly at the door.

Also, the door into your bedroom should not face a toilet or kitchen door as this can create bad energy – if this is the case, then any bad energy can be dissolved by hanging a windchime between the two doors.

Bedroom doors should not face a staircase, a mirror or another door. If they do, it is suggested that they are kept closed at all times, if this is not possible, then hang a light or windchime up between them.

The consultant advised that it is good feng shui to have a headboard on ones bed and that the bed should be pushed up against the wall. You should never sleep facing away from the door, as you should always be able to see the entrance.

Pictures of fierce animals, water, or abstract subjects should not be hung on the walls of a bedroom. Water subjects in the bedroom suggests financial loss, however, hung anywhere else in the house, they promote good feng shui.

Feng Shui in the Garden
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The consultant went on to discuss water features for the back garden and their association with money luck – she said that small water fountains, (such as Charlie Dimmock pebble fountains) and/or small ponds in your garden bring exceptional money luck when located in the North or Southeast corner.

If you have a water feature in your front garden, it should be located on the left of the main door from the inside of the house looking out. Apparently, this ensures the stability of any married couples liv
ing there – water on the right-hand side causes husbands to have a roving eye!

Fun Feng Shui
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The consultant ended the presentation with a few “fun” feng shui principals such as she suggested that once a week you should play loud music for ten minutes as this clears out your room!

She suggested that you have a wealth vase, which is kept hidden in a cupboard. It should be made of gold, crystal, or glass and filled with semiprecious stones and with some soil taken from a rich man’s garden.

Another “fun” bit of feng shui advice she gave was that you never leave your washing hanging out overnight as the night energy is excessively yin and your washing will absorb the yin energies of the night and upset your feng shui.

Anyway, whether or not you take any of the above seriously is up to the individual reader, however, it was a bit of fun and interesting evening.

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