Feng Shui
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Feng Shui is the Chinese art or practice of positioning (arranging) objects, especially graves, buildings, and furniture, based on a belief in patterns of yin and yang and the flow of chi that have positive and negative effects. It creates harmony and balance within an environment.
This ancient practice Feng shui is based on the Chinese concept of yin
and yang.
According to Daoism, everything that exists contains qi (chi), the
energy or life force. This qi possesses two properties, yin
(receptive) and yang (active) they are opposites and cannot exist
without the other. Within the qi, eight constituents compose the
universe (the Lake, the Mountain, Fire, Water, Heaven, Thunder,
Wind, and Earth). Each trigram, or combination of three yin/yang
elements, represents a particular quality and pattern of energy. In
turn, the proper arrangement of these energetic qualities would affect
not only the qi of the environment, but that of the individual within
the environment as well. With feng shui, the goal is to bring both
into harmony so as to foster prosperity, health, and well-being with
the Wind (feng) dispersing the qi throughout the universe and Water (shui).
The eight trigrams in Feng Shui :
• Heaven - The Creative principle which contains the potential for all
of manifestation.
• Earth - The Receptive principle which contains the potential for
physical manifestation.
• Fire - The Clinging principle which contains the potential for
achievement, clarity, and vitality.
• Water - The Abysmal principle which contains the potential for
adaptability, mystery, and danger.
• Thunder - The Arousing principle which contains the initial impulse
for all new things.
• Lake - The Joyous principle which embodies rewards and endings.
• Mountain - The Stillness principle which contains the potential for
serenity and internal power.
• Wind - The Penetrating principle which contains the power to achieve
without effort.
The practical use of the five elements is based on the fact that it
can be employed within the household in order to stabilize, increase
or decrease the Qi energies of the different elements.
The 5 Elements are:
• Water - This is the quiet, cool, condensed energy of winter. It
represents pure potential, such as the life force in a seed.
• Wood - This is the awakening, active energy of spring. It represents
growth, such as a sapling.
• Fire - This is the hot, vibrant energy of summer. It represents
achievement and clarity, such as a fruit.
• Earth - This is the settled, mature energy of harvest time. It
represents the community partaking of the bounty of nature.
• Metal - This is the condensing, hardening energy of fall. It
represents a return to beginnings and an ordering of nature's
components.
Guidelines in Feng Shui
Internal:
• When you are sitting at a desk, the entrance door should be
in a clear line of sight, and you should have a view of as much of the
room as possible.
• When lying in bed, the entrance door should not be directly facing
the soles of one's feet.
• Straight lines and sharp corners are to be avoided, and especially
should not point where people tend to sit, stand, or sleep.
• Avoid clutter.
• Keep tops of tables simple. Avoid overdecorating tables with objects
and clutter. Those objects represent piles of stress and bad luck you
could/will be carrying. You should be able to sit at a table and have
an open view in front of you.
• Your stairs should never face the front door.
• Some objects are believed to have the power of redirecting,
reflecting, or shifting energy in a space. These include mirrors,
crystals, windchimes, and pools of flowing or standing water.
External:
• Roads to and from ancient towns were often curved and windy,
an attempt to disorient and keep away evil spirits, who were believed
to travel in straight lines.
• Avoid building houses in front of cemeteries, hospitals, and
mortuaries.
• The most auspicious spaces for homes are lots located in streets
shaped like a horseshoe.
• In choosing homes in rural areas, with hills and mountains, pick the
one that is on a sloping hill.
• In choosing homes in urban area, its best to go for the ones that
are on a flat terrain.
• Square-shaped lots are optimal for chi flow.
