The art of Feng Shui

Just about everyone who owns a home has heard of Feng Shui but few people really understand what it means. First, let’s have a little history lesson and define the term so we can better understand why Feng Shui is important in your home.  

Feng Shui originated in ancient China around 4000 BC and literally means “wind-water” and claims to use the energy forces of nature to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. If you’re at peace with where you are in your environment then you are experiencing a spiritual awakening to our natural energy forces. In other words, everything is right with the world and you feel good. If you don’t understand the natural forces think of gravity and electromagnetic forces.  The sun, and light are also part of these forces. We live with these forces every day, we just don’t think that much about them.  Feng Shui is a state of mind and consciousness.  It’s understanding that the reason you love the sound of a babbling creek makes you feel good, or why you can stare at a fire for hours and it relaxes you.  You don’t have to understand why they make you feel good.  You just have to believe they do. 

Feng Shui is not making your home look like a home in China. For us living in America, it is about flow and balance. Have you ever walked into a room and felt the room was “off” somehow? There was just something wrong with the balance of the space but you can’t quite figure it out. This has happened to me numerous times, however, I’m used to this sort of thing and I know what to look for. The dining room table is facing the wrong direction and the distances between one section of the room are way out of alignment with the other sections of the room. One section is cluttered while the other is spacious and almost empty. There’s no clear path, if you will, from one section of the room to the other. You are experiencing a lack of Feng Shui.

People don’t live in homes. We live within the space so let’s make the space live better for you. Here are a few tips on how you can live in a Feng Shui world.

  1. Brighten up the entryway to your home. Remove all the clutter that gathers at the front door and keep the area clean. Buy a class door if you have to and let the sunshine in. 
  2.  Clean all the windows in your home and keep them clean at all times. You should be doing this anyway but this is a Feng Shui belief.   
  3. Pay attention to the doors in your home and keep them open. Don’t hang jackets or other clothing on the doorknobs and remove any clutter from behind the door and oil any squeaky hinges. Doors should be silent and open.
  4. Place important objects like the bed, office, and stove in commanding positions because the bed represents you, the office represents your career the stove represents wealth. When these items are in commanding positions you are in a positive energy position for the best opportunities life can offer.
  5. Remove obstacles in your path. Basically, clean your home and remove clutter or things you see when you move around the house. Toys on the floor, shoes, and clothing that pile up in places. All of these things break up the flow of positive energy and balance.
  6. Be spacious. Feng Shui is more about creating a beautiful space and less about decluttering, but these two words are often used together when living in a Feng Shui home. Get rid of items you no longer use and create a better more useful place. The beautiful thing here is that when that space becomes cluttered again you can start all over.
  7. Plants! If you can find a way to put beautiful plants in your home please do so. Plants are alive and they bring energy to the room. If you place them near the windows they will thrive and bring you joy.  
  8.  Offer gratitude to your home because Feng Shui is a shamanic tradition that believes everything is alive including the space we live in. Your home is more than just shelter. Your home is a place for rest, entertaining, celebrating and so much more do give thanks to your home and take care of it.