“The structures around you also emanate energy, and if these structures are placed in a harmonious fashion based on Feng Shui guidelines, you attact good energy, and therefore you attract good fortune and good luck.” – Lillian Too
With the beginning of a new year, many people are searching for opportunities to have a fresh start. We will focus this blog for a few weeks on the renewal of our habitats through the use of Feng Shui. Feng Shui is the Chinese practice of creating harmony between self and the surrounding environment. Feng Shui is a very complex practice. However, modern adaptations have made the techniques much easier to use in everyday living.
Let’s start off with the basics and talk energy. Practitioners of Feng Shui believe that all existence is bound together by energy, also known as, Chi. Chi is a positive or negative force that inhabits all of our environments. Of course, we always want to be surrounded by positive energy, and through the use of basic Feng Shui principles we can encourage the positive energies to surround us.
There are Five Elements that influence energy forces in the practice of Feng Shui. Metal, earth, fire, water, and wood are the substances that can influence the Chi in your environment. When the elements are balanced, the Chi is balanced.
The Aspirations Method is an additional practice in Feng Shui. There are eight life aspirations what correlate with a particular direction for energy flow. Career, knowledge, family, prosperity, reputation, love, creativity/children, and travel are the eight life aspirations. A map of the eight aspirations, called a Bagua map, can be used to identify the sections in your home, or single room in your dwelling. This can also be used in a professional office setting.
The Five Elements and the Eight Aspirations are most commonly used together in modern practice to achieve positive and balanced Chi in your environments. Consider Feng Shui design as a work in progress. Energy is always moving, and Feng Shui can direct a positive flow.
“The most important thing to understand is that feng shui is really about the energy that’s surrounding you in your personal space.” – Lillian Too
In the next post, we will begin our journey into the Five Elements in design settings.