Balancing Your Life with Feng Shui in the Home
Have you ever noticed how some homes make you feel relaxed, ready to lounge, while others make you want to
run for the hills?
Do you wonder why some businesses are financially prosperous while others of equal merit fail? It’s a well
known fact that environment affects our health. But did you know that relationships, even financial success
could greatly depend on the arrangement of your furniture?
Feng Shui (pronounced Fung Shway) is a 5000-year-old Chinese art form designed to enhance the harmony between
people and their environments. Originally used by Chinese emperors to maintain power and increase wealth,
Feng Shui blends philosophy, astrology, and design.
Literally
translated as wind and water, Feng Shui is based on the Taoist belief that our bodies and everything around
us are comprised of a constant flowing energy called ch’i. We not only exchange this ch’i with the people
around us, but the buildings we live in, the furniture we sit on, even our front doors.
Feng Shui is designed to improved the flow of ch’i, creating harmony unique to our own personal energy by
working with these five elements:
- fire
- earth
- metal
- water
- wood
Through the proper placement of art, furniture, mirrors and other simple cures, this art form can increase
business, enliven your health and even change your luck.
How Do You Use Feng Shui?
Since its recent popularity, Feng Shui consultants are readily available to help arrange your home or office.
When building or remodeling, choose an architect or designer that includes Feng Shui principles in their
plans. However, you need not hire someone to start today. Improve your Feng Shui by using some of the simple
techniques listed below.
Front Door
The main door to your house or business is a key point for traffic and flow of ch’i. Your door should be proportionate
to the building and well maintained. A clean unobstructed entrance way is essential to invite people and
their energies inside. Placing a wind chime at the entrance allows people to transition from the outside
world into the tranquil world within.
Hallways
Hallways are the roads by which ch’i enters your home or business. Spacious conditions will encourage life-giving
energy to enter. If your front door opens into a hallway, make sure the hallway is well lit and uncluttered.
Dark, cramped hallways impede ch’i circulation. In very dark hallways, keep a light burning at all times.
You can enliven the ch’i with leafy green plants, mirrors, and brightly colored walls.
Living Room
The layout of your living room should invite relaxation. Place your sofa with the back to a wall, thereby
offering people support and protection. Use soft lighting to encourage repose. Choose furnishings suitable
to the room size and arrange it sparsely; cramped pathways funnel negative forces. In smaller living rooms,
create more space by hanging a mirror which magnifies ch’i. Use window coverings over large windows to prevent
too much ch’i from escaping. If your kitchen is attached to the living room, add a screen or divider to separate
the room from busy kitchen activities.
Kitchen
The kitchen is the center of health and prosperity in the home. Stoves represent wealth and should be kept
clean and in good working order to allow money to enter. Natural or bright lighting, clean windows, and fans
can help encourage healthy ch’i movement. Kitchens that open to the front door can funnel negative energy
and cause overindulgence. Use a screen or piece of furniture to form a barrier. If a bathroom opens directly
into your kitchen, make sure the door remains closed to avoid germs and odors spreading into food preparation
areas. Keep the kitchen clean and uncluttered. Eliminate garbage build-up that inhibits healthy flow. Avoid
hanging knives or sharp utensils from kitchen cabinets; they can slice through the ch’i.
Bedroom
The bedroom greatly affects our health, marriage, and prosperity. Make sure the head of your bed is against
the wall to provide support. Place your bed within sight but not directly aligned with the door. This allows
you to see who is entering and provides security. Never place your bed under exposed beams. They carry the
weight of the house and can cause headaches and loss of creative energy. If the beam can’t be avoided, hang
a small mirror or crystal from it to disperse energy. Keep the space under your bed clear, allowing ch’i
to flow unobstructed. Remove large fans or lights directly overhead since they create the feeling that something
is about to fall. Instead, use night stands with lamps on the side of the bed for lighting.
General Tips
- Healthy plants and flowers encourage ch’i
- Lights fill empty or asymmetrical areas with energy
- Mirrors can expand small areas, reflect nature, or correct protrusions or unwanted beams
- Aquariums and fountains can bring good fortune
Remember, Feng Shui’s applications are limitless but with these simple ideas you can begin to explore the
interrelationship between you and your environment and watch your energy soar.
“Balancing Your Life with Feng Shui,” by Mary Capone – courtesy of Gaiam. Mary Capone is a freelance
writer from Boulder, Colorado.
Feng Shui in the Garden
The placement of various elements and objects in your garden can directly influence your ability to attract
more health, wealth, and prosperity into your life. In Feng Shui it is believed that your possessions have
an ‘energy’ all their own that either matches your intentions or opposes them. By surrounding yourself with
elements that amplify the energy that matches your intentions you are energetically supported in creating
the life you wish.
Physical elements, like earth, fire, air, water, and metal as well as colors and various shapes that you surround
yourself with are believed to directly influence your ability to experience exactly what you want. If your
garden and house is in disarray, well so will your life since you environment is affecting your well being
every moment of every day. Feng Shui practitioners use basic feng shui design elements in accordance with
the flow of energy in the bagua to create harmonious spaces where energy flows to support your life.
The bagua is an eight sided symbol that creates an energy map representing different aspects of life, such
as: Career, Fame, Family, Children and Creativity, Benefactors and Travel, Knowledge and Self-cultivation,
Wealth, Marriage and Relationships. The center of the bagua harmonizes all the areas together and represents
Health.
When you work with an entire bagua overlaid on a garden plot you can determine which areas need to be adjusted
energetically to support a nurturing flow of energy in your yard. This will enhance the balance of energy
in you home and provide a harmious environment for living and enjoying family and friends.
Feng Shui Prosperity Book by David Daniel Kennedy
At SoundsTrue you can learn more about the art of Feng Shui Abudance through a unique book that offers you expert insights into this ancient art and how it applies to prosperity and abundance.
Some of what Kennedy shares:
- Secret cures from the Black Sect Tantric Buddhist (BTB) Feng Shui tradition for improved physical health, increased wisdom, and emotional balance
- How to effectively place the Eight Trigrams and the Ba-Gua on your home floor plan—and he includes diagrams.
- Discover 16 Methods for nourishing your life force …
Visit the page below to read an excerpt from the book, which is available both in paperback and ebook form.
