Feng Shui

Most of us grew up believing in some local Folk Belief that’s meant to improve our LUCK, HEALTH or LOVE. I grew up in Texas where some neighbors hung horseshoes over their doors. To the general public that was a sign… the family was superstitious and having problems. Around the world many Folk Beliefs are passed down from generation to generation and seldom are their origins ever examined. Feng Shui has been a practiced in secret for centuries, so no wonder there are so many folk beliefs concerning it. Thanks to the recent popularity of Feng Shui books, many of these folk beliefs are now filling the bookstore shelves.

Even the term “Feng Shui” is being misrepresented for marketing purposes. There are only two kinds of Feng Shui… YANG House Feng Shui, which deals with the environment surrounding, UNseen energy patterns within and the people occupying the buildings we live and work in. The other is YIN House Feng Shui that deals with gravesites.

If a company says what they do is “like Feng Shui,” that is just an analogy. Since, Feng Shui is something that is so difficult to explain, I can’t understand why anyone would want to add that challenge to their marketing efforts. For instance, I’ve seen an advertisement for a hairdresser that charges $250 for a Feng Shui haircut. Well, I guess it is profitable in some cases to just use the term “Feng Shui” for marketing.

Someone even trademarked the name “Fashion Feng Shui,” when Feng Shui has NOTHING to do with fashion. However, in Classical Feng Shui, you do have a personal Yi Jing Trigram according to your date of birth and gender. Each Trigram relates to… an element, a direction, a member of the traditional Chinese family and their personality, among other things. In this way you do relate to the element of your Trigram, so wearing the colors of that element is supportive to you… as well as wearing the colors of the element that produces your element. The colors that relate to the elements are:

Water - Blues & Black
Wood � Greens
Fire - Purple, Red, Burgundy, Maroon
Earth - Yellow, Brown, Beige, Tan, Terra Cotta
Metal - White, Gray, Gold, Silver, Copper

The actual elements… Water, Wood, Earth and Metal are used as Classical Feng Shui remedies. For a Fire remedy we use Fire Colors for obvious safety reasons. In addition, there are NO one-size-fits-all remedies in Classical Feng Shui. Parr of the science of Yang House Feng Shui is calculating the UNseen energy patterns in a building, while the art aspect is implementing each necessary elemental remedy as a beautiful accessory that blend with your decor. This means once you know what elements you need in specific sections of your home, you go shopping for an item made of that element that will enhance the beauty of your home, as well as remedy the Unseen energies.

Any product, other than a compass or a book that has the words “Feng Shui” on its packaging is just using the term for marketing purposes. Frankly, as far as I’m concerned, most Feng Shui books contain more folk beliefs than anything else. In fact, some of the books are written by authors who have little or no training or experience in Feng Shui. One such author approached a fellow instructor at a party and said, “Hi, I hear you do Feng Shui and I’m writing a book on the subject.” To which he said, “Terrific, who have you studied with?” He said she looked like a deer in headlights and replied “No one, I just got the book deal and will read a few books, then put my own take on it.” Therefore, even when it comes to Feng Shui books…. buyers beware.

When you decide to hire a Feng Shui consultant… be sure to ask them who they have studied with and call that school to verify just how many classes they have completed. Ask for several references and contact those references.

Additional questions to ask when choosing a Feng Shui consultant are:

How long have they been doing Feng Shui full-time?
Do they work with the 5 elements as remedies?
Do they need a compass reading & the year built to advise remedies?
Will they teach you all of your 15� personal directions?

Most of all, you must feel comfortable with and be able to communicate with the consultant you choose. After all their work will have a huge impact on your life. Many of my clients treat me like family; since I treat every client’s home has if it were my own.

� 2003 P.K. Odle. All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

P.K. Odle is an internationally respected instructor for the renowned American Feng Shui Institute and founder of The Feng Shui Advantage. To learn more about Classical Feng Shui and sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at http://www.FengShuiAdvantage.com