"Four Letter Words"...that change lives!

 

HOME... your door closes. The rushing world outside quickly melts into the background. You feel the mask of your public face relaxing into the honest beauty of your true self - the private person you feel safe sharing with those close to you. Keys drop, shoes fall, and you sigh with delight as your spine sinks safely into the nearest comfy chair.       

 

SAFE... meals to prepare, homework to supervise, laundry to gather, bills to pay and bedtime stories waiting to be heard. These are the activities of this private place known as "home".

 

REST... Home is the 'nest' which cradles our life experiences.  Home is where we are free to be ourselves, to love, cry, laugh and disagree.  We celebrate achievements, discover our strengths and declare our personal beliefs.  Within these walls, we learn respect and support for ourselves and members of our family.  These four walls are the recovery site for our hurts, fears and health challenges and the launching pad for our hopes, dreams, and ambitions.

What have you experienced, since inhabiting your current home? Is the ‘story’ of your life one of financial success, loving relationships, increasing career choices, outstanding academic performance and glowing health?  Or, are there some decidedly difficult areas in one or more of these areas?  You are not alone.  Even when life is running smoothly, there are always those quiet hopes for ‘just a little more’... money, love, respect, achievement.

 

 

One desire we all share is to find balance within the joys and challenges of 'living the human experience'.   When things ‘stray off track,’ we take steps to bring life back in line with our overall goals.  Many divergent paths are chosen to create this balance and to pursue harmony in our lives and homes; all attempt to establish a refuge for our tired bodies and overly-challenged psyches.   What then, can you do, when your chosen actions do not create the desired outcome?

 

Consider looking at an ancient, yet timely, philosophy used to analyze your surroundings and develop changes.  Find out what the ‘Feng Shui’ of your space is contributing to your life. 

 

"Feng...WHAT," you ask?

 

Feng Shui - (like - “young boy”). These two four letter words, have become an integral part of many construction, design and renovation projects around the world. In the past 20 years many people have become familiar with this term.  Some are quick to dismiss the concept as ‘new age’ nonsense, spiritual mumbo-jumbo, or simply a trendy ‘interior decorating’ fad.  Truth is, behind the nonsensical ‘fluff’ erroneously  attached to Feng Shui, lies a serious, legitimate subject which has the ability to effect change within our life experience - often in simple, obvious steps. 

 

Feng Shui is a management tool; used for reading the patterns of nature in our surroundings and then working with them to create the best possible environments for humans to live within.  Feng Shui can help make the best choice regarding timing of projects, actions, or events.  It will assist in determining the most favourable placement of a building upon the land, or major objects within the building.  It can predict what is likely to occur for the inhabitants of a given space  and it is always used to create harmony and balance in the lives of the occupants.

 

“How,” you ask?   By analyzing the flow of something the Chinese call “Qi ” (‘chee’).  This is sometimes described as “the flow of universal life force energy within land forms and buildings” - and this is exactly the point at which many people give up and close the book on Feng Shui.  “Too corny, too crazy and too confusing!”  Let look at it another way - think of fish swimming in an aquarium.  If you could ask a fish about the ‘qi’ of his environment - they would say “What qi”?”  I don’t see any “qi”. Meanwhile their watery environment is the vital link with how they are surviving.  Every human being is exactly the same. 

 

Think of ‘qi’ for humans as simply the oxygen and light filling the world around you.  We cannot exist long without them yet how do we measure and work with something so simple yet so difficult to describe or physically hold on to?  We use over 3000 years of observations, analysis, mathematical formulas and instinctive human reactions to determine and predict the most likely outcome of a given space, like your home or office and its surrounding landscape.  Once this information is known, a Feng Shui consultant can recommend adjustments to enhance the positive or reduce the negative effects within a space.

 

Feng Shui is not a religion, nor is it a supernatural phenomenon or crystal ball gazing .  It will not make you a millionaire, help you lose 20 pounds overnight or become the next Hollywood celebrity.  It will provide a very useful insight into what may happen within your life, family, career, or business based upon some cold, hard facts and observation of the physical space in which you spend your time.

 

Feng Shui was first introduced in North America during the 1970's.  It is useful to remember that in many ways, we were a more rigid, structured society at that time.  The Eastern constructs of ‘living energy’ and ‘achieving balance’ were too organic to fit neatly into the compartmentalized western mind.  Adjustments were made to bridge these two seemingly opposite systems of thought and the concept of “Western” Feng Shui was born. 

 

This stylized system of Feng Shui created a simple grid which breaks each home into eight basic areas of life. Modern language was used to describe this 3000 year old, metaphysical topic, (IE: career, wealth, fame) to make it easier to understand and to again ‘fit’ the western intellect.  In Feng Shui, everything in the universe is categorized into one of five basic elements -fire, earth, metal, water and wood.  With time, this stylized Western system of Feng Shui was adapted even further and today, it has evolved into many different variations which incorporate topics and theories unknown in the ancient world - such as electromagnetic frequency (EMF’s), radiation, applied kinesiology, and bau-biology to name just a few. This does not mean they are not necessarily valid - they are separate studies of their own and NOT a traditional part of Feng Shui.

 

When interpreting some of the basic theories of Feng Shui, Asian cultural folklore was inadvertently imbedded in the translation, much like a butterfly caught inside amber.  These theories were digested by Feng Shui enthusiasts, taken as ‘fact’,  and are now often considered inseparable by many casual readers of this subject.  This has led to the idea that a proliferation of “objects” throughout the house is required to effect a positive change, (also called a ‘cure’ or ‘enhancement’) in Feng Shui.   The most effective Feng Shui is that which uses virtually no objects, but rather focuses upon the correct usage of the space itself and the placement of the people within.

 

The ancient, complex Feng Shui theories and systems were over simplified or parts were eliminated altogether, in an effort to create an ‘over-the-counter’, ‘one size fits all’ solution. In the past fifteen years, an expanding body of ancient material has been translated and distributed, clearly indicating the understanding, accuracy and depth of knowledge of the ancient Feng Shui Masters. The underlying logic of “authentic” Feng Shui methodology has led to a shift toward the search for authentic theories to replace the ‘adapted versions’ introduced years earlier.  These different ‘schools’ or methods are given translated names which can sound slightly out of tune with our western ear.  Literal translation from the Chinese names have given us descriptive terms such as Flying Star, Eight Mansions, Castle Gate, Water Dragon and Peach Blossom to name a few.  Some Chinese names have transferred across the language barrier- such as  Ming Gua, Qi, Tao, BaZi, and of course, Feng Shui. 

 

This divergence between the Western and Authentic, (often called ‘Classical’) faces of Feng Shui, has contributed greatly to the confusion and contradiction surrounding the various schools and theories presented to the public. Therefore, resistance is often encountered in the desire to have these principles accepted as a valid field of study, even though when calculated and applied correctly, they provide positive results for people in virtually every area of life. 

 

It should be noted that Feng Shui is not a “cure-all”.  Situations exist which cannot be altered by applying these ancient principles - much as a serious illness cannot always be cured with medicine.  It can however, help provide you with realistic advice and help develop a plan for getting the most positive experience available from a given situation, often within specified time frames.

 

So, where does a Feng Shui consultation begin?  With your date of birth.  You are the most important person in your own universe and the logical center around which your world turns.  In Feng Shui your birth date is a very special as this is the moment that “Heaven, Earth and Man Luck” combined to create the specific story of your life.  Think of it as a fingerprint of your life.   There is only one person quite like you.  Have you ever wondered why, even within close family groups, there are vastly different life outcomes?  Your date of birth is one of the defining credentials of your life ‘story’.

 

Each building has its own ‘birth date’ as well.  A neighbour may live in a house identical to yours; do they live the exact same life as you do?  Highly unlikely.  The date the building  was constructed, along with an accurate compass reading of the property, provide critical information for determining the potential ‘story’ to be experienced by its occupants.   The roads, lakes and landscape surrounding the building also have a part to play in writing the future memoirs of the family who will live there.  There may be similarities (financial affluence, education, cultural or community interests), but what happens within your life, good or bad, is not an exact duplicate of what your neighbour experiences. 

 

Why do the occupants of some homes repeatedly suffer marriage breakup?  Why are some health issues repeated throughout a family- or even more revealing, through successive families who occupy the same home?  Add legal issues, career challenges, fertility problems and financial losses and you have some of the more common concerns deposited at the door of a Feng Shui consultant. 

 

When hiring any professional consultant - do your homework!  There are associations established which have certification programs for professional consultants with verified training and experience. (One such association, in Canada is: http://www.fengshuiassociationofcanada.ca/cert_members.html )    Ask questions about the type of Feng Shui they practice and where they studied.  (Reading a book, or completing a weekend course does NOT constitute a qualified practitioner - this takes months and even years to accomplish.)  Ask for client referrals, then actually call them!  A Feng Shui consultant may need to ask very personal questions and you should be prepared to be totally honest with them to ensure you get the best possible results and advice for your situation. (A certified consultant will always guarantee confidentiality as  part of ethical business practice - many do this in writing.)  Finally, ask what the consultant charges.  This varies widely and you should be aware of the fees before starting.  Many charge by the hour, (ranging from $50 to $100 and up).  Some will sign an agreement before starting work especially in larger commercial or construction projects.  Ask to find out if you will receive a written report from the consultant, do they follow-up with you to ensure results and can you contact them for additional clarification?

 

Feng Shui can change lives. No matter how you pronounce these two, small, four-letter words, “Fung Shoi” or “Feng Schway” - either way, we are still speaking the same language.  The question is... “What is the Feng Shui of your space telling you?”