In recent years we have been exposed to a great many eastern precepts, but nowadays, such an exposition has pushed us so far to the point where we have had enough. In our era, Reiki is just another initiation; yoga is as common as a gym class. Each day we hear of a new, advanced, or more influential teaching with a brand new name, or at least they claim so. Indeed, to fulfill the spiritual void inside us, we are in need of another daily pile of information to eat up. Therefore, teachings of a thousand years are consumed in just days.
In between this turmoil, the roots, meaning, and influence of these ancient teachings vanish into thin air. Yet, people have a need to grasp things to the full and devour them. Consequently, people prefer to hear true life experiences of their mentors, instead of typical introductory information provided by them. So, as a traveler of life who knows a little bit of everything with no expertise on anything specific, I will share my own life experiences regarding these eastern precepts.
The Nature of Wind and Water
What is Feng Shui? First impressions about it vary in between “what the hell is that?” and “well, don’t tell me: I know it’s about decorating the house, placing flowers here and the vase there.” In Chinese, Feng stands for wind and Shui for water because they symbolize the polarization of energies in the material world. Thus, it is the interactive relation of these polar energies that shape the earth.
After thousands of years of observation, the Chinese fostered the emergence of Feng Shui by mastering the decoration of their homes and environs so polar energies would flow freely. Dating as far back as 7000 B.C., Feng Shui was called “Chinese Ergonomics.” Feng Shui became integrated into the daily life of Chinese people. Not only do they style their homes with respect to Feng Shui, but they design their cities accordingly. Namely, Hong Kong has been designed in such a way to avail the flow of money and prevent leakage. With this in mind, the city was built on the edges of a wide gulf with a narrow main entrance.
Moreover, the making of the Great Wall of China was not meant for security first, but to emphasize the “Dragon” corner of the country (cited first-hand from Chinese masters). As mentioned before, they do not teach Feng Shui in China; they live it. Still, like the rest of the world, Chinese traders have been influenced by capitalism, and Feng Shui became an issue of commerce. Unfortunately, problems emerged when this ancient wisdom reached the west.
The Style School of the Black Hat Sect
There are three main movements of Feng Shui: the earth school, the compass school and the form school. The earth school emanated thousands of years ago when Feng Shui first emerged. Using the teachings of the earth school, the Chinese built their homes around nature, where energy flows freely. Thereafter, with the onset of urbanization, a quest for a new movement arose and the compass school was founded. In conformity with this school, people chose their settlements by using a compass, the most trusted tool of the era. Today, some Feng Shui specialists still consult a compass for making calculations. Admittedly, this method is both difficult and inconvenient for western urban structure.
When I first encountered Feng Shui, I read about directions but it did not make any sense to me. This was the exact reason I did not get involved with the subject for many years. Now, I belong to a society whose interest in directions is limited to the location of Qibla; therefore, I have nothing to do with directions or otherwise. That brought me to the third and most convenient school, especially for western people. This new system, namely, the form school, was founded by a group of Taoist Buddhist monks who call themselves the Black Hat Sect. The form school frees you from compasses and all those calculations. All you need do is to lean back against your front door and create your Bagua Map.
Throughout the rest of this article, I’ll address the placement of the right object(s) in specific corners and share some real-life stories.
Chi and the Bagua Map
In Chinese, Chi means life energy. The same concept for Hindus is called Prana; Qi in Japanese; Ka by Egyptians, and Breath by the Sufists. As long as you have a smooth and vibrant energy flow, your life will be wonderful until you come across a blockage, then a variety of problems will appear (viz., physical illnesses). The main goal of Feng Shui is to let Qi flow smoothly, so we will live to the fullest. The more you are immersed with Qi, the more efficient, wealthier, blissful and productive your life will be. No longer is this Qi energy regarded as a superstitious belief of eastern civilizations; on the contrary, this energy now envelops the foundation of our lives and has already been observed and measured by western scientists.
Similarly, Reiki energy releases blockages and heals its origin, while acupuncture stimulates certain points in the human body with needles to allow the continuous flow of energy. Yoga asanas (poses) increase such a flow of energy. While these practices and others concentrate on bodily flow, Feng Shui deals with environmental flow that requires a road map, specifically, the Bagua Map.
Fu Hsi made the first Bagua Map. The Chinese man was a nature watcher, and through his observations, he discovered that turtles moved in different directions according to their needs. Inspired by the turtle’s shell, which looks like an octagon divided into nine equal sections, he created the Bagua Map that forms the foundation of Feng Shui today.
For western homes, it’s easier to form your own map just by leaning your back against the front door. All you have to do is draw a simple layout of your house on paper and divide it into nine equal sections. The direction of your main entrance is the most important. The foundation of your map is the main entrance’s position to the layout of your house. You may position the rest of the house with a sample map, but of course, it’s not possible to explain the details of how to make your own map here. Get a book to help you. Following are some case studies to provide a clear understanding of techniques.
Find Your Perfect Match with Feng Shui and Enliven Your Love Life
Frankly, it was my very first Feng Shui practice that made me have faith in it. It was a moment in my life when I was in search of my perfect match. Then, Gulum, my Reiki master, mentioned Feng Shui. She had attended some training and offered me some advice in finding my soulmate.
The first thing Gulum told me to find was the “relationship” corner and to put a statuette of a kissing couple there. Immediately, I went to a gift shop and bought a statuette of a kissing couple with a tea light on top. Now all I had to do was to find the “relationship” corner. To find that corner, I first had to lean my back against the front door and determine the right uppermost corner of my house. Hence, I placed the statuette. Practice this in your own room by leaning your back against your room door. Minding what Gulum told me, I also put two heart-shaped candles on top of the statuette. Remember to put everything in pairs in the “relationship” corner since those objects symbolize your own pair. After I placed the statuette and the candles, I remember praying silently to the One (the eternal being) many times: “Please bring me my mate.” Three months later, my girlfriend and I (now my wife) were looking at the statuette in great astonishment, and to our surprise, the girl in the statuette looked exactly like her!
But, how on earth was it possible? First, I was ready to realize my intent. Still, I was in need of a symbol to activate the creator inside me and to act as a focus to lead her to me. That symbol was the statuette. I symbolically declared my will to the universe through that statuette; thus, I put it in a place where I consider Qi would flow thoroughly to make my wish come true. Of course, you may also do some practices on the “relationship” corner to enliven your existing love interests. Let me offer a tip: To prevent a relationship filled with quarrels and fights, better to use the color pink instead of red.
The Art of Making Money with Feng Shui
Have we all managed to find our mates by leaning our back against the main entrance and specifying the right uppermost corner of the house? Then let’s get down to business. Raise your left arm and point to the left uppermost corner of your house. We have just found the “wealth” corner. In Feng Shui, each section is represented with an element. Wood is the element of the “wealth” corner. To emphasize this corner, we make use of plants, water and objects to symbolize life.
Honestly, I practiced a lot on this corner. First of all, I bought a gold Buddha statuette from the gift shop which had piles of money at its feet. Then, I grabbed a house object and a toy car because I longed for a house and a car. Since I lacked a stand to place these objects, I built a shelf in this corner. I put all those objects on that shelf. To accentuate the wood element, I got a picture of a waterfall running along a forest. With the intent of earning income from a variety of sources, I found a waterfall that ran in several directions and also placed this on the shelf. I put a plant below the shelf as well.
Oddly enough, I have been growing plants for many years, but till then all my plants survived for a few months at most. Far from surviving a few months, this one tripled its size in one year! It’s certain that the plant shot up as a result of placement in the wood element corner, getting nourished with a water symbol and actual watering. I am quite sure that if I had placed it somewhere else in my house, no way that plant would have grown so high. I definitely think that corner should be reconsidered!
So, let’s get down to brass tacks. I may not be considered a rich person, but then I’ve never suffered from not making ends meet. I receive what I need, so I am grateful. I still do not own a house and a car. Sometimes, I even get pressed for cash, but still, I am able to make money from several sources. That is to say, I benefited from this method quite a bit, and if I could find a way to roll-in money, I certainly would tell you.
The Moral of the Story
Both cases show that it is neither a hard job nor a complicated one to practice Feng Shui at home. Of course, there is a number of practices and techniques of this five-thousand year-old precept. I only gave examples of practicing two corners; yet, there are still six corners and a center left to practice. I believe that the best resource I made use of was Terah Kathryn Collins’ book, Western Guide to Feng Shui: Creating Balance, Harmony and Prosperity in Your Environment. I benefited most from this book, but you may find many others more to your liking.