Feng Shui (pronounced fung shway) is the ancient Eastern art of placement and
design.
A friend was sharing with me the other day that a business client
for whom she had Feng Shui-ed had gone to a lecture where the speaker had declared that
she was going to take the “wu wu” out of Feng Shui. Fortunately, my
friend’s client was not impressed and handed out my friend’s number to her
entire row, entreating everyone to please not be discouraged by what they had just heard.
Several things came up for me as I reflected on the conversation, because this is not the
first time I’ve heard a comment to that effect. What first arose was the
question, “Why would anyone want to make the delightful, mystical knowledge and
experience of Feng Shui mundane and ordinary?” We live in an age, time, and culture
where record numbers of people are finally waking up to, and beginning to treasure,
the non-ordinary and mystical. Feng Shui is part of that awakening, and my experience is
that people absolutely love its “magic” and wu wu!
Eastern traditions and concepts can often seem confusing to the logical western mind, and
it’s important to take the steps necessary in order to gain understanding. Typically
that involves stretching the boundaries, boxes, and limitations of our own mind to make it
a larger, more receptive space. It’s not about taking something vast and subtle and
intangible and carving it up in order to squish it into the narrow space of our
limitations. If we are incapable of expanding in order to understand, or to at least
respect the mystical, how effective is our practice in that system going to be?
Even Chinese Compass School Feng Shui, which uses mathematical calculations, time, and
compass directions to arrive at its conclusions and recommendations, is still incredibly
mystical, using terms like “six curses”, or “five ghosts”, or
“severed fate” to describe the energy of certain locations in a space. As I
reflected on the humor in this, (Compass School considers itself to be very logical), an
important consideration came to mind.
Each current school of Feng Shui has its roots in the ancient Form School. And every Feng
Shui adjustment can be explained and understood via either the principles of Form School,
5 Element Theory, Yin Yang balance, or the 8 trigrams. Every well-trained consultant, from
any school, should be able to explain knowledgeably, at length and in great detail, how
and why a certain cure effects positive change.
This brings another conversation I recently had to mind. Someone from a different city
called and wanted to know where she could go to study Feng Shui and receive certification.
She had called the three people advertising Feng Shui consultations in her city, and each
of them had told her that they were self taught! Given that Feng Shui is an oral
tradition, its power passed directly from teacher to student, it is not possible to
practice Feng Shui professionally and be self taught.
Every professional Feng Shui consultant that I know, and I am fortunate to count many as
friends, has gone to great lengths over the years to learn this ancient practice. They
travel several times a year to their various teachers and willingly devote the
time, energy, and money necessary to be truly qualified to practice with knowledge
and integrity. Consultant fees may vary some, but will typically fall in the range
of a good attorney’s or therapist’s hourly fee ($100.00 +/hr).
You may run into new, self declared, “self taught” consultants charging a
greatly reduced fee. Before you open your door to this “great deal” (as a dear
South American friend of mine says “what’s wrong with this fish?”),
please consider that the effects of poorly understood and applied Feng Shui may be far
worse than neutral. At least once a week I have a Feng Shui consultation that is about
undoing damage incurred via Feng Shui advice received from an untrained practitioner.
I encourage people to play with and experiment with their own home’s Feng Shui. And I
suggest that every adjustment made be written down in a journal or notebook, dated, with a
space left to record the results. In this way, if the results are disastrous, they can be
quickly corrected. To experiment with yourself and your own life is adventurous; to do so
with someone else’s is unconscionable.
And so, until next month, many blessings and much happiness. Please feel free to fax me at
713-861-9243, e-mail me at joani@wt.net, or call me
at 713-861-0903 with your questions, feedback, or personal experiences. I look forward to
hearing from you soon!
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