I was recently asked to provide an endorsement for a book on Feng Shui, and I declined. The book was nice and well-written, and there was nothing wrong with it. Why did I decline? Because philosophically, I did not feel aligned with what the book teaches. I am bracing myself for the controversy this post may generate, but I think a lot of people might feel the same way. I am very open to hearing what you have to say in the comments-- feel free to convince me otherwise!
For me, there are two aspects of Feng Shui that I am calling the Practical and the Mystical. Basically, I really like the Practical aspects, and the Mystical ones I have a hard time with.
On the Practical side, there is lots to love! First of all, Feng Shui teaches that clutter is holding you back in life and that you must clear it out. I completely agree. Unfinished projects, old photos of relationships gone sour, relics of an unhappy time-- those make sense to me to resolve, repair, or remove from your life.
Also, I love the idea of the Bagua map. I wrote about this in a previous post, how I have used the idea of the Bagua to organize my vision board that I keep on my closet wall. There are nine areas of the map, categories like "Knowledge-Self-Cultivation-Wisdom" and "Love-Partnership-Marriage" that provide a simple framework for thinking about the various aspects of your life. You can lay this "tic-tac-toe"-like map over any space to think about the various areas of your life and how they relate to your space. You can think about the Bagua as it overlays your entire home, or just a room, or even just a desk. I love the idea of placing objects in those areas to remind you of your goals and dreams for those various parts of your life. That makes sense to me, because the reticular activating system (RAS) in your brain sees that every day and subtly reminds you of those intentions. It's like having little private jokes to yourself set all over the house! I think that is very powerful, and I have had personal experiences that have shown me how effective it is in my own life.
I also think that arrangement of furniture and artwork in a room does affect a person's frame of mind and the flow of traffic and the feel of comfort and peace in the space. Advice like not having your back to the door makes sense to me, as we innately would feel slightly fearful without being able to see "danger" coming our way.
The Mystical aspects of Feng Shui are where I get stuck. I am on the fence about the flow of energy through a house, or how a sidewalk or driveway might need bushes planted against it to stop energy from flowing around the house. I once had a client who was told by a Feng Shui practitioner to hammer red golf tees in a line into her grass from one corner of her house out to a point in the yard, and she asked me to help her with this on one of our appointments. I don't understand space-clearing with sage, or crystals, or doing anything that seems "magical" to change someone else's behavior. I once was told that if you are having marriage problems, that you could put something red under the mattress to fix it, even if your partner doesn't know it's there. These invisible, unproven parts of Feng Shui are hard for me to understand or agree with.
So, I love Feng Shui and it also confuses me. And that's the truth. Share your thoughts in the comments! By the way, if you receive my blog updates via e-mail from our FeedBlitz service, you can comment by clicking on the title of the article in your e-mail-- it will take you to the blog post itself, online, where you can then post your thoughts.
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