FENG SHUI DEMYSTIFIED
So, what is Feng Shui apart from a mysterious and somewhat confusing term? To me, it’s mainly about our environment and its form, both internally and externally. By form, I mean the lie of the land, the surrounding buildings, and the furniture and shapes within our living spaces. Can I ask, have you ever visited a building or sat in a room, where you felt uncomfortable? Without completely putting your finger on it, something just didn’t feel right! Was it the color of the walls, the drab paintings maybe? Where you were sitting, did you feel exposed or unsupported? Were you surrounded by heaps of clutter that just made your head go on overload? I guess what I am trying to say is, how we shape our surroundings, place ourselves within them, their color and brightness ALL effect us in some way.
Feng Shui, translated literally as “Wind and Water”, is the appreciation that CHI or ‘life force’ ebbs and flows within all things, living and inanimate. Sometimes it moves quickly, other times it can become stagnant and stuck. Like Yin and Yang - the ultimate symbol of opposites - CHI can either be beneficial or harmful. We get CHI from the food we eat, the air that we breathe and the people we meet. Hence the quality and type of foods we eat, the freshness of the air we breathe and the attitudes and behavior of people we associate with, all have an impact on our own body and mind. Likewise, our built environment can alter how CHI behaves. For example if I lived in a cul-de-sac, which was hidden away within a large secluded estate, I may find that the CHI arriving at my house is slow and pensive, compared to that of a building situated along a busy main road.
To demystify Feng Shui, simply look at the way you behave in different situations. If I was to walk along a straight open pathway I may feel more inclined to run, jog or concentrate on the end which is in sight but still way ahead. Transpose this feeling onto a pathway which curves and is lined with features. I would be more inclined to meander rather than strut, coming across a surprise round the next bend, not totally focused on reaching the unseen exit. CHI reacts similar to this. Looking more at our own CHI, if I was to sit in line with a door, my back to the room and facing a wall, I’d feel very conscious of being exposed, unsupported and having a lack of perspective. Yet, if I was to sit with my back to a solid wall or high backed chair and facing into a room with open space in front of me and a good view of the door.
Imagine how CHI ‘flows’ within your home, does it get stuck when it enters the porch, where the pile of school bags, shoes, coats and three months’ of the advertiser sit? When you go upstairs, do you have to remember to avoid things cluttering the first four steps, which you meant to either take up or sort out weeks ago? Okay, so much of this is common sense, but for the sakes of an introduction you can hopefully see what I mean? Without going into mathematics, complex calculations and brain bending theories, if we simply look at creating a more open, uncluttered and supportive living or working space, both the mind and body have less to concern themselves’ about, and that must be a good thing!
Article by © David Walters Dip Chiro.
