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Recently I had the opportunity to travel to Thailand and China for business. One of our activities in these countries was to go on Study Tours. We traveled with guides to various real estate developments to learn about their properties and amenities. In Thailand, we went to 4 residential developments of varying price ranges. All the homes were designed incorporating the principles of Feng Shui!
To me, the homes, whether they were smaller track homes or large villas, had a pleasing feeling both inside and outside. I couldn稚 put my finger on why the homes had a certain comfortable and pleasing feeling, except I noted that all of them had a water feature in the yards, which were not swimming pools or fountains. One of the architect/developers showing us a gated community in Bangkok remarked that designing the community space and homes with Feng Shui was a prerequisite for selling the homes!
For over 4,500 years, the principles of Feng Shui have been used in the designs of homes and cities, and burial sites in the East. Now this concept of design and integration of space is being used by Western inhabitants. The Chinese art of arranging space to achieve happiness, health, and prosperity is a good one to learn and use.
Feng Shui is based on the concept of ch段. Ch段 is the universal force or cosmic breath which all things are thought to possess. The Chinese character for ch段 is translated usually as energy, energy which moves and flows much like water.
Ch段 movement is affected by the areas through which it flows. It can be slowed or deterred by obstacles such as tress, mountains, and curves in a road. Ch段 is energized by moving objects, such as people walking or moving vehicles. It can be accelerated by the slop of a mountain or a straight road.
Ch段 can enter structures in a variety of ways. It can rush through large windows, seep through cracks or vents, and can be generated within a room by heat from electric lights, a burning fireplace or stove. Ch段 can be generated by an argument or discord, as well.
One of our visits in Beijing was to the Ming tombs, the burial grounds for the Ming dynasty. There were various gates and mounds or burn of earth placed within the gardens and along trails to the tombs themselves.
I learned later that these tombs were placed in such a way as to convey blessings which were beamed toward the houses of living family members. This is an example of the importance of ch段 energy flowing from the ancestors to their living heirs.
The early references to feng (wind) shui (water) were from the manuscripts of the instructions for positioning of the graves of ancestors whose families were seeking their support. Feng shui is the management of ch段 to keep the energy moving at a correct pace.
The importance of ch段 in nature is to understand the forces which have the potential for good or for harm. Placement of dwellings or cultivated fields on the south side of the mountains would deflect the northern winds and spare crops from early frost and winter storms. Homes would benefit from the southern sun.
In the floods of Hong Kong痴 Western New Territories in l966, all the modern settlements were flooded while traditional villages, positioned by feng shui practitioners, were left unharmed.
In fundamentals of feng shui as applied to a room in a home or office, major pieces of furniture should be positioned so that someone using the room will face the room痴 entrance. It is not true that placing the desk to face a wall or corner cuts down on distractions. You can be more distracted if you have unconscious stress from sounds and motions behind your back which you cannot see. Psychologically, we have the instinct to position ourselves where we will be safe and able to use all our senses to warn of danger.
Here are some examples of problems and solutions using the principles of feng shui:
A family is considering buying a beautiful two-story home. The main stairway from the second floor descends to the ground floor in a direct line to the front door. In traditional feng shui, this configuration causes the good fortune of a family to escape from the house too quickly. To western eyes, the entry may appear crowded because of the stairway taking up so much space. The feeling upon entering is discomfort.
The solution: The energy flowing down the stairs does not need t to be stopped, only slowed, and perhaps fragmented. The best solution would be to direct it back into the rest of the house. The feng shui practitioner recommended hanging a chandelier between the door and the end of the stairs. Crystals will fragment the energy. Two plants placed on either side of the inside entry door will absorb part of the energy. The highly polished wood floor in the entry was covered with a thick carpet to slow the movement of the ch段 toward the door. A mirror was place on one wall of the foyer to redirect the energy to other parts of the house.
In the case of a small room in a city apartment which was dark and uninviting, the problem was that the only window faced onto an airshaft.
Solution:
Reflective surfaces are used to maximize available light. Painting the room in a glossy, light colored enamel, gives more light. The wooden floors were coated with high gloss polyurethane for the same reason. The light entering through the window at the airshaft would reflect off the walls and floor and create a glow. A few crystals on the window sill further reflect light and create interest. The choice was made to use lower wattage bulbs to keep artificial light from being too harsh with the shiny surfaces of the floor and walls.
Here is a good one: A couple is told by their real estate agent that their condo is hard to sell because the prospective owners find it lifeless.
Solution:
The chairs in the living room were turned so that their backs greeted the visitors to the home. Repositioning the chairs was the first thing to change to welcome the guests.
The addition of nine potted green plants surrounding a small water fountain in the living room energized the space. A wind chime was hung at the front door. Potential buyers are attracted to a space which has qualities showing the owners are extending a welcome with pride and pleasure in their home.
In the cases where a couple have moved to a new area and don稚 know anyone, there can be created visual signals to the community to show the newcomers want to establish relationships with their neighbors.
In a home with a yard, the addition of a birdbath, flagpole or colorful banner in the front yard create a connection with wildlife and the community. Potted plants or a border of colorful flowers along the front walk signals to neighbors they are welcome.
In a condo, the front door can have a wreath or welcoming decorative door knocker. If permitted, fresh plants can be put on either side of the front door.
In order to know how to arrange elements to create good energy, practitioners of feng shui use a tool to analyze and evaluate a room, house, or tract of land. The ba-gua is an octagon with different trigrams (three part figures) assigned to each side. Ba in Chinese means 8 and gua means trigram.
The trigrams are made up of various combinations of two symbols, the male symbol (_____) or yang and the female symbol (__ __) or yin.
The center of the ba-gua is the yin yang symbol which represents the balance of all aspects of our life as represented in our space. The essence of fen shui is to bring harmony and balance within our inner selves as well as our exterior surroundings.
The first step in a feng shui consultation is to superimpose this octagonal shape on the floor plan of a room, or a house, apartment or piece of land. The ba-gua will tell us the attributes of the form for an initial or rough perspective of the space. After this step, solutions can be addressed.
If there is more than one entrance into a room, the main entrance will be the one normally used to serve as the mouth of the ch段 energy.
On the south end of the octagon is the Fame (Fire) area, the north is Career (Water). To the east is Family and to the west is Children, and Creativity. On the west side of the ba-gua octagon is also Marriage and Community, Helpful People and Travel. On the East side is Knowledge and Wealth and Power.
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