Fine Tune Environmental Qi with Feng Shui

The Practice of Feng Shui

We have lots of wind and water here on the Eastern Shore. We are blessed. In Chinese Wind Water translates to Feng Shui. This is an ancient practice of positioning homes and designing structures, to ensure good energy and proper flow of energy. Originally this was used in the placement of grave sites to bring prosperity to families by honouring their ancestors.

Have you ever walked to an area or been inside a home that just feels good. Sometimes you can’t explain it. Lakes, ocean views, lush forests with rolling hills are a pleasant sight for most of us, unless you still have painful memories of raking those fall leaves. There is a reason for that. Living things create good vibrant energy and life force.

The practice of Feng Shui has evolved from different philosophies and schools and is believed to bring good fortune. Good luck depends on good people, good timing as well as good energy. The external energy in our environment, at a more intimate level than the culture and systems in society, in our homes and relationships, also affects our health. Have you ever felt depressed when your house gets cluttered and messy? This is because the energy gets stagnant and affects how we feel. It also reminds us there is a ton of work waiting for us and it drags us away from what we really want to do.

Ultimately we want to bring fresh air and lots of light into our homes. We want the good energy to come in and linger there with a nice flow throughout the house. Being clutter free is important as is the layout, design and decorating, placement of the house, and the geographic features of the land surrounding it.

If you are purchasing a new house, getting a Feng Shui reading could be beneficial. I recommend it. A house with land sloping upward behind it and sloping downwards in the front is good. Looking for lush vegetation and water in the front would be ideal. However, most of us are stuck with what we already have. Do not despair.

There are tons of ways to improve your energy and work with what you have. Getting rid of clutter is the first thing you need to do. The rest can be done with proper placement of furniture, accessories and colours. You do not need to spend lots of money. Below are some examples of what to do and what to look for.

The front of the house is deemed where the formal entrance is and where most of us have large windows and the living area. Having a house sitting with its back on a gentle slope is ideal with the slope behind the house a little higher. If you are in a residential area, a building behind you can act as that upward slope to offer a sense of protection. Small slopes or other buildings or trees, on either side of the house are also beneficial. The ideal positioning of a house geographically is when the landscape looks like the house sitting in an armchair.

If you find yourself facing a street coming towards you, at the end of a dead-end, T intersection or a corner lot, or if you have busy traffic along a straight stretch of a highway for example, you may want to buffer that with a small fence or hedge of trees. Being in close proximity to a hospital, church, fire station, cemetery, police station etc., may also present an overwhelming influx of energies, positive and negative, so you will want to buffer yourself from these, as well.

If you are at the top of a hill, on a steep incline, overlooking a cliff or right at the edge of the ocean, the view is great but it may be too much of a good thing. There is so much energy coming at you that you may have trouble sleeping. It is like always being on watch or sleeping with one eye open. As long as you can close the curtains and shut off the view or retreat from the view, you should find refuge.

Once you are inside your house, the walls are your mountains. There are nine areas of your house that reflect areas of your life. If you improve the energy in each of these areas, you can improve these specific aspects of your life: wealth, love, fame, family, creativity, health, wisdom or career.

The fixes to enhance each of these areas should fit your tastes and do not have to use accessories from Chinese culture. When I started, my husband was afraid I would Feng Shui him right out the door, with all his stuff sent to the workshop. That didn’t happen, but I did organize his office area.

The centre of this house is the health and well-being area. This area correlates to the earth element and you want this area to be vibrant, healthy and grounded. Living green plants, with rounded, not sharp leaves, stone or pottery accents and colours with yellows or browns are good. Some recommend pictures of the earth, stars, sunrise, vegetables or fruit.

The other eight areas depend on what school of Feng Shui you adopt. Some schools use special compasses, stars, numerology etc. The modern methods divide up areas of your home using the front door as point zero. The older more traditional methods divide the nine areas of the house by compass direction.

Each area of the house has unique qualities and is believed to affect specific areas of your life. Readings can get complicated because each area has a specific relationship with the others. The key is to have good balance and good flow throughout the house. However if one area is weak, it can throw the balance off. It is easiest to just enhance all areas equally.

For example the area in the north, represents the element water. In the modern model this is also point zero and corresponds to the main formal entrance of your home. This is the area of career and success. In terms of health it affects kidney, bones, hair, ears and is about restoration, philosophy, fear and wisdom. To enhance this area, install a healthy plant, water fountain or something representing gentle or slow moving water. The colours for this area would include accessories in dark blue or black.

The opposite side of the house, south, is fire and affects fame, reputation and future wealth. It is about prosperity, joy, relationship and affects the heart, tongue, blood vessels and complexion. This area can be enhanced with a tall healthy plant (no dead or dried plants), objects representing recognition and fire, a light source (tall lamp) and red, orange, yellow or green accents. A red candle is good in this area.

The centre of the house represents earth, health, well-being, integrity, sympathy, self-care, the intellect and affects the spleen, muscles, mouth and lips. The north east and southwest areas are also earth elements and are also enhanced by accents in yellow, brown and beige earth tones. However the north east also represents the mountain and is about knowledge and wisdom. Books, items in deep blue or green and spiritual representations are also good. The south west is the love and relationship area. It affects fertility and is enhanced by pink, red, white and peach colours. Items representing marriage or union, photos of happy couples or items representing love are appropriate here.

In general, other things you need to look for are areas of clutter, sharp corners, ceiling beams or low sloping ceilings. These features can negatively affect the energy causing it to stagnate, become too sharp or oppressive. Steep stairs and long hallways can also cause the energy to speed up. These deterrents can be improved through placement of furniture, plants, use of mirrors, crystals and wind chimes, for example.

The bathroom is another area that needs attention. As mundane as this area might seem, the bathroom is worth mentioning because you want good energy to enter, linger and flow nicely through your home. A badly placed washroom, such as one close to the main entrance, can cause your good fortune to go directly down the toilet. I like to keep the door closed, the toilet lid down and a silk plant next to the toilet, shielding it from the door, no matter where the bathroom is located in the house. Making it as spa-like, enjoyable and pleasant as possible is good for this area.

The most important area for enhancing wealth and prosperity is in the southeast area of the home. This area is related to both wind and wood and the colour is green. It represents academics, achievements, creativity and morals. It is good to add healthy plants and flowing water, perhaps a water fountain, to keep prosperity moving towards you. You want things made of wood, accents of green or purple or vibrant artwork of trees or flowers.

The east also represents wood but instead of wind it is thunder. This is the area that influences family and is about planning, vision, courage and life direction. Green colours and wood items also enhance the energy in this area, but accents in blue are recommended because this area is supported by water. This is a good place to put happy pictures of family members. Improving this area can enhance family dynamics in a positive way.

The west and northwest areas are also about people. The west area is metal-lake while northwest is metal-heaven. The west is about creativity, children, self-worth, righteousness, letting go and grief. The northwest is about helpful people, spirits, authority and respect. Metal objects and the colours gold, silver and white benefit both areas, while I would add black accents to the northwest area. The west would be a great place to put children’s artwork and the northwest would be a good place for religious pictures or pictures of people who have helped or inspired you.

In the end, you need to love the changes you make to your living space and it needs to be practical. The furniture should be spaced so there is a good flow without blocking movement or sight lines. The bed should have a good headboard, not directly facing a door or a mirror, or placed so your head is under a window, on the same wall as a toilet or where you can see a toilet. The desk in your office should not cause you to have your back to the door and be placed at the farthest point from the entry, with the seat facing towards the door. Of course you need a big enough space to do this.

It is not possible to do everything. Just change a little at a time, do what you can and have fun with it. It is about balance. Some say it is not good to make too many changes at once and over time I agree with this. It is best just to change one thing and then sit with it and see how it feels. If anything, just getting rid of the clutter will do wonders not only for the external energy affecting you but for your internal energy as well.