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Real Feng Shui

Well, now that the feng shui bath oils, wallpaper, candles, TV adverts etc are fading into the past, it's time for the real feng shui to stand up and be noticed! Yes, it's alive and kicking, producing exciting results for therapists, businesses, gardeners, home-lovers, and everyone who want a little extra help with their life. Trouble is, we read the magazine articles and it ends up sounding like thirty wind chimes and a chunk of crystal will fix the universe!

Some people I meet think feng shui is a kind of Japanese food, others think it might be a martial art! To dispel confusion, I'd like to fill you in on who's using it now in Britain and how it works, and answer a few of the commonest questions I get asked.

What is it?

It's a collection of guidelines, formulas and techniques that can be applied to any space, large or small, to benefit the people who inhabit it or work there. It was developed through research and pragmatic application over many dynasties in China. It was based on the observable cycles of changes in the natural world and the heavens, and was known as one of the 'eight rays' of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is now used in many parts of the world for commercial advantage, personal benefits and domestic happiness. It is not magic, not a decorating style, not a religion or cult, and not a medical cure

(though it may complement standard medical treatment).

There are different approaches and styles of 'doing feng shui.'

Some people use the 'Black Hat' system developed in the States in the 80's, others use systems based on compass directions, some have a specifically Buddhist approach, others incorporate shamanism. Imperial Feng Shui students are trained to use most of the systems that are compass-based, and also to draw up Chinese horoscopes to assess each individual's compatibility with their home. Every competent consultant should be aware of these differences and be able to describe their own approach to you. The Feng Shui Society holds information on around 80 professional consultants in the UK, and offers general guidance on choosing a consultant, plus descriptions of the most common techniques used. (Contact details at the end of the article).

Who uses it?

Mostly we hear about the big corporations that use feng shui, like British Airways or BUPA, but there are hundreds of smaller businesses that are feeling the benefits; any business premises that clients or members of the public go into can use feng shui to attract more customers through the door, and to organize the interior layout so that clients feel more secure or pampered or energized. A health club, for instance, can use feng shui to make the frontage more appealing, to create the right ambience in reception, and to site the different activities in the areas that benefit from the best energy.

Many of my clients work from home doing reiki, massage, aromatherapy, and other therapies. We use feng shui to decide which part of the room holds the best energy to site the treatment couch, or which part of the house should be used for the treatment area, or how to decorate and organize an existing therapy space for the most healing and nurturing effect. My clients over the last few years include a travel agency, a lingerie shop, a beauty salon, a clothes shop, an art gallery, a health food shop, a yoga teacher, a health club, a drama coach and a medical counselor, all of whom have found it relevant and effective.

Many private individuals use feng shui for their own benefit - most aspects of life can be enhanced. Of any ten people who contact me, usually three or four want their home to feel more welcoming and harmonious, two or three want to improve their career or income, two or three want to find a partner, or rekindle romance, and one will have a very specific purpose such as improving someone's health, getting a good night's sleep, stopping the children quarreling, aiding conception, or adapting to retirement or living alone. Sometimes, people have a very particular feeling about their home which usually comes out as "I can't feel settled here", "It doesn't feel right", "Ever since we moved in, it's been one thing after another..". Often feng shui can pinpoint the problem and suggest remedies.

Does it really work? How does it work?

Feng shui works with chi, the vital energy that flows through humans and the environment. The quality of chi depends on the geography of a location - it can disperse, collect, go stagnant, become harmful, or be beneficial, depending on how the mountains and rivers, or buildings and roads, are arranged. A practitioner analyses the chi at the spot in question and decides what can be done to improve it, to ensure that the chi of the location is as vitalizing as possible to the humans who use it. Different consultants use different styles of analysis, and make different types of recommendations depending on their backgrounds and training.

As the quality of chi that enters the home or workspace is affected by the surroundings, it is important to rebalance the outside first. Classical feng shui practices would include reshaping the garden layout, building walls or planting hedges to block poor quality energy, building garden features to boost good chi, re-sitting a pathway or repositioning the main door. (Not all at once, I hasten to add!) These large-scale changes to a home's surroundings have the biggest effect. Inside, a consultant might make suggestions to improve the flow and quality of chi throughout the dwelling. These could involve repositioning furniture or fittings, using particular colours, shapes or materials in the décor, or using particular areas for study or sleep, others for entertaining or storage.

A consultant might also suggest the use of symbols to enhance the energy of a specific area. This aspect of feng shui has become very popular as it is in many books and is easy to apply; however, many people mistakenly think that everything in the home "has to be in the right place" and end up worrying needlessly about each beloved ornament!

The question "Does it really work?" is usually asked by people who think feng shui has to be just a form of 'positive thinking'. The answer is that the energy always flows through everything and humans can assess its qualities and change them for the better. If it were 'only' positive thinking, it would have no effect on those too young to focus their emotions, and any change you made would have the right effect, regardless of what it was. I wish!

It is also true that more can be done in some situations than others. If you eat junk food for ten years, feng shui will not give you a healthy body! If you want a new partner but never leave the house, feng shui will probably not oblige. Feng shui is not some cosmic Pavlovian lever - pull the handle and get the reward - it is the art of improving the odds in your favour, of encouraging things to go your way, of getting the vibes right…

It's all about clutter, isn't it?

Two or three other practices have been taken up alongside feng shui, which are not really part of it, but are wonderfully supportive of its aims. The first is clutter-clearing, which people love to shudder about. The premise is that to move your life on, it is good to let go of items you no longer need or use. Who has not watched mesmerized as the TV life-coach encourages the traumatized clutterer to hurl the debris of many years into the crusher? It is generally true that old junk turns the chi in your home stale, and prevents fresh chi entering, so it can only be good for the flow to de-clutter from time to time.

The second related practice is space-clearing, a collection of techniques for removing stale or negative energy from a room, after illness perhaps, or before an important occasion. It can be useful for therapists between clients or at the end of the day. Again there is a range of practices and approaches, some using chanting and visualization, others favouring smudging, seasalt or room-sprays. This is a good one for people to learn to do for themselves on a regular basis.

The third related practice is an awareness of electricity in the home, and the sitting of domestic appliances with extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields away from areas where people spend a lot of time. There is cause for concern, but no definitive body of research, on the effects of these fields on the human energy field. The general consensus is to avoid unnecessary exposure. One might look, for example, at the position of electrical alarm clocks, computers, or halogen lamps in a bedroom and see if it is practical to site them further away from the bed.

What can I try out myself?

Everyone can get involved in clutter clearing, space-clearing and electrical awareness. These three things alone can have very beneficial effects. They make a good basis on which to apply more specific feng shui techniques. My advice is to start small with something you feel confident about and that is yours to change without needing to involve others. Do have some thought for those you share the house with - I have seen enthusiastic clutter-clearers rile the family to shouting pitch in less than a week!

Another thing you can do is become aware of the pictures and posters on your walls, to see if they are in sync with your goals in life. One client whose aim was to have more time for herself instead of being a permanent babysitter for her daughter had large photos of her grandchildren in the kitchen and the living -room and the hallway and up the stairs and round the landing. Symbolically, they had her surrounded! Another client couple who wished to improve their relationship had a picture of two sailing ships, cannon blasting away at each other, on the wall by the bedroom door … 'Battle On The Nile' it was called ………a single female client, who was complaining that she never met anyone, had three pictures in her bedroom, all of single women in fantasy soft-focus - white muslin, doves, swirly winds, no background …………. a young man who told me all his career moves ended in disaster had a poster over his workdesk of a train falling out of a building ……… I rest my case!

So, try something out, find out more……. May your home bring you success, vitality and joy!

Joanna Greenway is a classically trained Feng Shui consultant. She is a graduate of the Imperial School of Feng Shui and Chinese Horoscopes. Joanna is one of only four students in the North of England to pass the rigorous written exam and practical demanded by the Overseas Chinese Horoscope and Research Association. The Association was founded in the 1960's by Grand Master Chue Yen and a group of feng shui masters from Hong Kong and Taiwan. The current master is Master Chan Kun Wah, who is internationally famous for his skills in Yuen Hom Feng Shui, the style of the Imperial Courts.

Joanna is a member of the Chue Foundation, an international organization whose aim is to promote and develop authentic feng shui through research and teaching.

Joanna is also an Accredited Consultant of the Feng Shui Society, the UK umbrella organization that is currently setting standards in practice and teaching for consultants and tutors. She works throughout the North of England carrying out consultations for homes and businesses.