There is more to the Art of Feng Shui than lighting incense - in short, it is more than just smoke and mirrors. A Chine tradition dating back 5000 years, Feng Shui is about living in harmony with your surroundings and allowing the good energy - the Chi - to freely circulate through your home and your lifestyle.
The Chinese believe very strongly in Chi, the good energy, so much so that it is incorporated into modern public buildings, like a hotel in Hong Kong that has an opening in the architecture to allow good Chi to flow through.
Feng Shui literally means Wind and Water and it is these elements that allow the easy flow of Chi. Making sure nothing blocks this flow is second nature in Asia, but in the west we seem bent on blocking it. Our houses and gardens are not designed to encourage good Chi, so we use Feng Shui to `cure' the problems and restore harmony.
Look at any suburb and you will see these problems immediately. Houses that are built at the ends of roads or junctions leave the occupiers open to `deadly arrows' of bad Chi coming straight at the house.
L-shaped houses often leave out whole areas without protection for the residents - the gap may fall in your wealth, family or career areas, with a corresponding lack of growth there. Flushing lavatories, showers and bathrooms inside the house are said to `wash away' your finances, and as well, the western lifestyle encourages a lot of clutter. All of this confounds our efforts to harmonize with our homes.
Often there is nothing we can do if the house we want to buy and can afford breaks all the rules, but if you are building a house you might consider having an expert in Feng Shui check your house plans. If you are already in a difficult home, don't despair - there are many ways you can use the art of Feng Shui to fix the problems. You don't have to move!
It's easy to estimate where the important areas of your house need fixing up.Stand at the main entrance, whether that is at the front or back, and look into the house. Look to the far left hand corner, and that is your money area. Fixes will be needed if you have a bathroom there! Next to this, in the center at the far back, is your Fame area. Clutter or disorder here will muddle your ambitions. To the far right, is your area of love and relationships. You will want to keep that in harmony.
Now consider the center of your home. Far left center is the family area, while far right center is creativity - a good place for a kitchen or home office, if you can situate it there. In the dead centre of your home is the area of health. There may be a hall or connecting space to different room there, which should be kept pristine.
Nearest to you at the entrance, the left corner is the area of knowledge, the center is the area of career and advancement, and the right corner is the area for friends and social connections. If you spot clutter or poor placement in any of these areas, your personal life will correspondingly suffer.
Vases of dead flowers, leaking taps, boxes piled high, poor lighting, awkward corners and general drabness in forgotten parts of your home - or even the dread L Shape that completely obliterates an area of your life - all these block the easy flow of good chi. When it is blocked, it stagnates and cannot help you gain harmony with your surroundings.
Because our houses are often inimitable to good Chi, Feng Shui cures are very popular in the west. The first and most important cure is to clean up the clutter and let in the light. The L Shape fault is a bad one, but if you turn that area into a lovely garden spot you will have `cured' the fault.
Money frogs, fish tanks, wind chimes and other commercial cures will add pleasant aspects to your home and encourage good Chi, but don't rely on them completely. Harmony is the key to Feng Shui, not more clutter. It will make no difference how many chimes you put up or how many Feng Shui ornaments you have, if your home still does not give you a sense of ease and welcome.
Move existing furniture so that the Chi flows easily through the house, lighten the walls and open the windows. If your back door and your front door are directly in line with each other, the Chi will flow straight out again, so think curves and graceful movements around your home.
Beautify those areas you want to emphasise. Work on your garden and create meandering paths for the Chi to flow with lots of fresh flowers that you can bring into the house. Banish clutter from closets and under the beds and anywhere else you find it, because good Chi stagnates in these areas and so will your life. If you feel `stuck' in your life, a good clear out will do wonders.
The most important cure you can employ is not sold in a shop anyway - love is one of the finest conduits for good Chi. A loving and happy home is what you are creating, one in which you and your family feel the effects of good Chi through the harmony you all enjoy with each other. That is possible anywhere - even in a tiny hut or a western house that breaks all the rules.