Feng Shui: My Ancient Chinese Secret

I credit Feng Shui as the #1 source of my good luck over the past year. Ever since hiring my Feng Shui consultant and neighbor, Cara Gallagher, to rearrange my house according to the principles of this ancient art, I have been inundated with unsolicited recognition for my achievements in business and have earned a respectable profit in a reportedly unstable economy.

Not bad for a newbie ;)

Not only that, but my health has improved dramatically in ways I never thought possible! Here Cara submits an article below on how Feng Shui can enhance your environment and offers practical advice to make it easy to implementing.

FENG SHUI is the ancient Chinese environmental art that uses geography, interior design and common sense. It not only can bring balance to our surroundings, but it can bring balance to our physical self. FENG SHUI is a lifestyle tool that can transform our lives.

We are connected to our environment and our homes should be that link between our physical body and our surroundings. If we don’t have a healthy atmosphere to live in then we can’t live a healthy lifestyle. Our homes are foundations for good health. A healthy home gives us energy and stability. We need that healthy foundation to build upon. We need to be surrounded by a space that helps our well-being and encourages good health. Our homes should do more than just protect us from the outside world. They should nourish our spirit, reflect our dreams and inspire our aspirations.

Our home ought to be a place where we can rest, relax and restore our bodies. Just as our physical body needs a check up, so does our environment. We should review our environment to see if there are aliments that may be affecting our spaces. Reviewing a building as a body is not a new concept. Temples and places of worship for centuries have been referred to in a human form. European cathedrals were designed to reflect a human with outstretched arms. In the Hindu culture, the body is referred to being in the shape of a temple as a way to bring man closer to God. If we think of our home as a representation of the human body, it can give us a better understanding of the ancient art of FENG SHUI.

If we begin with the most important part of our house, it would be the front door. The front door is the mouth of the house. This is where all the energy or Chi enters the homes and exits the space. We want to make sure that the front door is in good working order and that there is nothing blocking that beneficial Chi from entering the space. Ideally, we want to be able to see the front door from the street. We want to highlight the front entryway. Have something by the front door that captures the attention of that good energy or Chi. For example, a wreath on the front door, potted plants positioned on the front porch or good lighting accenting the area will ensure that we capture the positive energy and utilize its powerful forces.

Next, we want to look at the kitchen. The kitchen is the most important room of the house. The kitchen in FENG SHUI is considered the heart of the home. It houses the most important appliance in the home, the stove. The stove gives us life and keeps us healthy. We want to make sure our stove is in good working order, it is clean and free of clutter. We want to be able to open the door without it banging into something else. The stove represents abundance in FENG SHUI. If we want to increase our wealth we should make sure our stove is properly taken care of. We want to honor that powerful energy that the fires of FENG SHUI can ignite for us.

If the kitchen is the heart of the house then the dining room is the stomach. Our dinning room should be welcoming and relaxing. In order to digest food properly we want to be able to eat slowly and comfortably. In FENG SHUI, we look for calming colors such as green, blue and earth tones. We can always add accent colors to the space. However, ideally we look for colors that will slow us down and make us savor our meals.

Try to avoid red and fiery colors in the dining room. The color red is popular in all the design magazines, however too much red brings in the fire element and that can cause indigestion and heartburn. Picture an expensive restaurant. They have comfortable chairs, soothing colors and a quiet atmosphere. They do that to get you to stay awhile and enjoy the meal. That’s what you want to achieve in your home at mealtime.

These are just a few examples of how we can utilize the principles of FENG SHUI to bring balance to our surroundings. If we have stability in our environment, then we will have a balance in our lives and in our physical bodies as well. We want to honor our living space. We can utilize the beneficial energy or Chi that surrounds our space in order to ensure harmony in our life.

Our home should be a place where we can get away from the outside world. Our body needs a place where we can restore the energy and our home should be a place where we can rest and relax. Using Feng Shui effectively can accomplish just that.