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FENG SHUI WHAT?


I am sure that many of you have heard about Feng Shui, but many don’t really know what it is and how it works.

Feng Shui is an ancient art and science developed over 3000 years ago in China, that reveals how to balance the energy of any space to bring good fortune and health for people inhabiting it.

In Chinese, the words “Feng Shui” mean “wind water”, and this gives you a hint that this subject is connected to the natural elements, but Feng Shui also refers to the energy behind life, called “Ch’i”.

According to Feng Shui, humankind must live in harmony with the environment. Our homes, like our bodies, have energy and to feel good in the place we live in this energy needs to be balanced. When the energy of a home or any space is balanced the people who are in it can benefit of an immediate sense of peace and tranquility.

Your home is a powerful force in your life, because it reflects who you are and what your life is currently focused on. Your relationships with abundance, health, creativity, intimacy, family and love are represented in your space. Your home affects you as you affect it. The patterns, the furniture, the colors, the objects with which you surround yourself create energetic vibrations that may or may not serve you. The good news is that by changing the decor you can change a person’s energy in a healing way. You can totally use your home as a force that restores balance, heals and encourages growth.

THE BASIC RULES OF FENG SHUI

  1. The Ch’i (energy) should be invited by a welcoming front door;

  2. The Ch’i should circulate freely around the home, neither stagnating nor rushing through rapidly;

  3. The Ch’i should be activated when beneficial, but pressed down when inauspicious;

  4. Not all rooms in the home are equally important. The most important places in the house are: the entrance, because this is where the energy comes in; the office, because it is where you spend a long time if you work from home and where you generate your income; and the bedrooms, because we spend about a third of our lives there and it is where you and your family regenerate your energy.

SOME FENG SHUI TIPS FOR EACH ROOM

  • Living room: when you place the furniture make sure that there are no cut off corners where the Ch’i can stagnate;

  • Dining room: if possible, no chairs should point their seatbacks in the direction of the doorway, leaving their occupants vulnerable and unsupported, and the seat of the main breadwinner should have its back firmly against a supporting wall;

  • Bed room: Do not sleep under beams, because they can have a negative effect on your health or relationship with your life partner. You should also avoid having an empty space or a window behind your bed, as this removes the support needed by the bed;

  • Bath room: keep the toilet lid down, so that it will help preventing the beneficial Ch’i from draining away;

  • Kitchen: preparation surfaces should be located so that the chef should not have his or her back to the kitchen door while working;

  • Hallways and stairs: the front door should not directly face a staircase; particularly not one leading downwards, this is because the Ch’i will rush straight up or down the stairs, while it needs to flow slowly. Halls should be bright, as they conduct the Ch’i from one part of the house to another;

  • Office: make sure the back of your chair is not facing the door, because you need to be able to always see who comes into the room.

Personally, since I got exposed to Feng Shui a few years ago, I completely fell in love with it and its principals. Whenever I design a space, Feng Shui is always in the back of my mind and if there is something off in any particular space I immediately feel a sense of unsettlement.

If you want to learn more about Feng Shui, you can check out the website of the amazing teacher, Simona Mainini, who thought the course I took at UCLA back in 2003 (http://www.fengshuiarch.com/feng_shui_master_simona_mainini_bio.html) and also take a look at the following books:

  • “Feng Shui for architecture”, by Simona Mainini

  • “The principal of Feng Shui”, by Master Larry Sang

  • “The practical encyclopedia of Feng Shui”, by Gill Hale

  • “The completed illustrated guide to Feng Shui”, by Lillian Too

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