Introduction to Feng Shui
The art of Feng Shui has become diluted over the years since it became a “mainstream” subject. Much of the true art has been interpreted and re-interpreted and the real and true essence of the art is lost.
It has become too simplified and it is either “good” or “bad”. Good or bad is always relative to ones perpective, just like the saying “One man’s meat is another man’s poison”. Practitioners are literally taking the classical text and turning it into a conventional solution. Here is what I mean “literal”:
When the Chinese classic mentioned there is a need for water in the north area, the color blue is recommended to be painted on the North side of the wall. If there is the lack of fire, you need to paint your South side room red in color. Such is the simplified practice of today’s Feng Shui Practitioner.
“To use Feng Shui, you must understanding the flow of Qi” – HarmonyLiving.SgEveryone needs to understand that when we are working on the subject of Feng Shui, we are working on identifying and managing the flow of “Qi”. But what exactly is “Qi”?
Understanding Qi
Qi by definition is a body of energy that cannot be seen and yet it has a great influence to our environment in the world we live in. It is continuously circulating and moving all around us. Unseen by us, it affects all living element including animals, plants, insects and so on, regardless if you like it or not.
It is the life force that brings life to all living beings on earth. It is a natural phenomenon and the energy cannot be made, manufacture nor be destroyed.
Every successful Feng Shui Practitioner needs to know where Qi are found in abundance, where they are dispersed and how we can actually tap on the Qi to make it useful for us to use in our daily life.
To give you an idea about the density of Qi, we make a comparison between two pieces of land. One is in a desert and the other is in a vibrant city. They are both pieces of land on earth but in different locations. One has lots of people living on it and the other rarely have anyone staying for long. Of course, there are still life on a desert land but just look at the contrast in terms of human activity.
Have you asked yourself why is it like this? In school we learned it is due to extreme weather conditions and availability of water that determines where human beings prefer to gather. But for us who studied the art of Chinese Metaphysics, the underlying reason for such a contrasting environment is the availability of Qi plus the quality, quantity, speed, volume and sentimentally of water in the area.
What does this say about Qi? Where does Qi come from? Qi comes from the ground. It comes from the earth from beneath your feet. If you have ever attended a Qi Gong class, the Master will always recommend that you practice as close as possible at the lowest ground and be bare footed or at least wearing a thin-soled shoe because they want you to be connected to the ground as much as possible. This is the essence to understanding where Qi comes from.
Some say it is hocus-pocus. But let me give you another example. The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been making great progress in the medical field as a form of alternative medicine. It is often said that western medicine cure symptoms and TCM gets to the root-cause of the illness.
What is the principle behind the art of TCM? A simplified answer is TCM works on the Qi within our own internal body system and it enables the process of keeping them balanced to ensure optimal health. Sickness occurs when the Qi within our body systems goes out-of-balance.
Similarly, our earth and the piece of land we live on are also being influenced by Qi. Keeping them balanced is key to keeping our own personal life in balance. Once it goes out of balance, that is when problem starts to occur in our daily life.
What Feng Shui is Not
The art of Feng Shui is NOT about putting unnecessary objects in your house, in your rooms and so on to help you become richer and more successful. The most it can do is to give you a psychological advantage to think more positive and get on with life positively, besides burning a hole in your pocket. With a positive mindset, it helps you carry out your tasks positively and thus, getting the results you aimed for.
What Feng Shui really is
The real art of Feng Shui is about managing and working with Qi to be useful and to give us an advantage. Because Qi is from the ground, we need to understand the flow of Qi and be able to tap on the right Qi for our intended purposes. This is where the knowledge and experience of a skillful practitioner of Feng Shui becomes important.
A skillful master practitioner can help create specific results that we want by harnessing the correct Qi that is around us. A skilful practitioner is able to identify the type of Qi and channel it to your house, apartments, bedrooms, offices. Thereafter, he can fine-tune the settings in your environment to achieve the type of results that you wishes for.
However, to achieve any specific results, the key source of “ingredient” which is the landform must be correct. The house or office where it is located, must be sitting on a good area and having the necessary elements that helps to produce the results successfully.
There are many factors involved where the elements are concerned. We have to assess the external landform, the environment immediately outside the property, the direction, the flow of Qi and so on. So, no amount of colorful pictures, flowers and sets of figurines will be able to generate the Qi that you want other than giving a positive mindset.
The true art of Feng Shui is to identify the flow of Qi and to use the correct Qi for our specific purpose. There are different “types” of Qi and each one of them has its own purpose and usage. Use the right one, you benefit from it. Use the wrong one, more trouble follows you. Our job as a Practitioner is to understand what you want and we create a solution for you.
How Feng Shui Works
Feng Shui works from outside-in. This means the external factor must be conducive first before the internal of the property can be created to tap on it. The inside of the property can be designed with the best Feng Shui practice but if the external environment is not productive, for example, a desert, the occupants may not stay very long inside. More discussions on how Feng Shui works will be coming up in the future.
In our next article, we shall discuss the internal and external Feng Shui and why they are important to all of us.
Do you have any questions or experiences related to Feng Shui to share, please feel free to post them here for our discussion. Posting rules apply.
About HarmonyLiving.Sg
HarmonyLiving.Sg is a boutique Chinese Metaphysics portal where we offer BaZi Destiny Analysis, Feng Shui Consultations, Date Selection Services and Property Selection Services globally.
Our focus is getting the results that our client seeks and to help our client make informed decisions using techniques from the art of Chinese Metaphysics.
We offer specific results Feng Shui, specifically tailored to your requirements and getting the results you wish to achieve.
