I've finally been sucked in by the Feng Shui movement and have been reading the Big Encyclopedia of Feng Shui. Wading through this booger is no fun. So far, all I can find is that I need to put lights facing out of my window. I'm pretty sure I should incorporate some bamboo somewhere, but I haven't gotten to that chapter yet.

Any Feng Shui suggestions or tips? Has anyone else done this? Has anyone else already studied this and are you willing to share the Cliffs Notes version?

Tell me how Feng Shui has made your life better.

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2001

Answers

Well, I wish I had miracle stories of how feng shui changed my life overnight and now I'm a millionaire. :-) I've read about it and I've watched some videos on it. I'm in no way an expert, but I've had fun. Small changes I've made around the house have felt positive, but nothing earthshattering has happened. The biggest change of all was in how I rearranged my home office according to the feng shui compass, and that actually has made that space a lot better, I believe I'm more productive now.

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2001

Paul, tell me some specifics. Did you put a mirror in your window? Did you divide the room into different aspects? Did you introduce bamboo or bonsai into the environment?

I have this horrifying feeling that I'm going to be asked to add more red to my home, and I just don't think I can handle having red anywhere.

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2001

Well, according to the feng shui compass, one part of a living space (it could be a room or a whole house or even an office building) corresponds with "wealth," another with "family," etc. In my home office, the main pieces of furniture are a La-Z-Boy recliner, a 1972 RCA huge-ass console TV (solid-state, though, not tubes), a big oak bookcase, and my big, heavy, oak, L-shaped desk. The TV and the recliner were in the "wealth" part of my office. Sheesh, I could not figure out how playing video games from my cushy chair were going to help me with my various material wealth aspirations. So I flip-flopped the whole room one night and put the desk, where I work on my computer for my job (sometimes) and my personal hobbies, right smack dab in the "wealth zone." It hasn't made me rich, but it's made a big difference in how well I actually like to be in that room, and it allows me to focus much more on my computer work so that I'm more efficient and productive. Rearranging was a good idea and very different from how one would typically layout a room in one's home into which a large L-shaped desk has to fit. Oh, and the other feng shui principle going on in there is that the previous configuration had my back to the door while sitting at the desk, and that's supposed to be a no-no. Now, I am facing the door from the upper-right corner (as seen from the door way to the room, looking in), I can always see the door and I can always see the whole room. I feel better about that, too. That's what I've done so far. Later, I will put some attention into working with the colors and the materials in that space. And I will see what I can get by with in the rest of the house (since my wife thinks it's all bunk). :-)

I honestly can't say I believe in feng shui, but some of the ideas are really great and in any case it can be lots of fun. And if anything positive happens as a result, then that's even better.

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2001

Damn. I'm already thinking that I need to turn my computer table around so that I face the door and the rest of the room.

Damn.

-- Anonymous, April 17, 2001

My house, along with my cubbyhole at work, has devolved into a pigpen. I am totally unqualified to offer anything constructive. I would settle for cleanliness and order at this point. Oink Oink.

-- Anonymous, April 17, 2001

I've been taking notes while reading my book, so if anyone is interested I'll post some of them when I'm near my paper journal. The only things I can remember are that you should have flowing water (like a fountain or aquarium) near your doors to attract money and having bowls or pots with brightly colored stones, rice, or water sitting around will attract money, too.

You can see where my interests lie. I remember not one of the tips on how to have fruitful relationships, but the money ones are burned into my brain.

-- Anonymous, April 17, 2001

I'm into Feng Shui and have used it to good effect. My current house did not get Feng Shui'd because I was lazy, and I kept seeing things that needed to be done. Needless to say, we're moving now. :)

Robyn, you don't have to add red, you can add other aspects of particular elements. If they use the same system, red = fire = joy. Having some nice candles in a particular spot and lighting them once in a while might have the same effect. We had a primarily blue home (prior to Cracktown Hellhut) and had bamboo flutes with red tassels on them attached to a ceiling strut that "disrupted the flow of ch'i". Since they were up high and not particularly large, few people noticed them. And when they did, they commented that they looked pretty cool and that they might put something on their low-haning beams as well. *shrug*

Practical Feng Shui is all about making your surroundings comfortable. There's a lot of common sense AND psychology involved. Example: the computer-facing-the-door thing. Compare how you feel in these two scenarios: 1. Having to work where anyone can walk up behind you at any time and see what you're doing, sneak up on you, look overe your shoulder, etc. or 2. Working where you can see out the openin of your cube or doorway. The second situation is much less stressful.

Taking note of your artwork and seeing what messages they send out is also a part of Feng Shui. I love the movie "Pulp Fiction" and they sell huge posters of Sam and Jules pulling guns on someone. This is a very cool poster, but also a very negative message to look at every day. Feng Shui asks you to look closely at the symbolism you surround yourself with, and to see if the colours you use make you feel good or not. Also, the part about de-cluttering to let energy flow is pretty smart. THe less you have to keep track of, step over or around, etc., the better. And if you have furniture that you bark your shins on constantly, or which you have to squeeze past (don't laugh, I knew someone who was very tidy BUT had a huge chest of drawers and you had to turn sideways to get out of the bedroom!), you know, logically, that getting furniture with rounded edges or which you don't have to make special accomodations for is better.

If I saw your home, I could probably catch some things and make suggestions. Since, however, I have no idea what your stuff looks like, or where you live, or anything else like that, any advice I give is going to be too general to be helpful I think.

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2001

I should add that I did do one thing re: Feng Shui in my current (mostly un-Feng-Shui'd) space. Shortly after I broke up with a boyfriend, I saw my feng shui books and got curious. Turns out the bed and entertainment center needed to be swapped around. Well, not "needed to be", but it was the recommended course of action for better results. And my room looked bigger, felt airier and more comforting and moving the furniture around gave me the impression that I was making changes, all of which helped. I basically ended up truning my room around, furnoiture item by furniture item, about 45 degrees. I kept my bedroom as uncluttery as possible. And, unsurprisingly, I ended up spending most of my time in my bedroom as opposed to the un-Feng-Shui'ed areas of the house, and people who aren't particularly sensitive one way or the other commented on how much they liked my room and felt good in there, and so on. It made a difference.

We're moving into a beautiful old home that has a lot of good vibes to it and it really doesn't need much in the way of Feng Shui. There's a pillar between the foyer and livingroom that will need some treatment, as it blocks flow and can be walked into if you're not paying attention. ;) I will probably get a tabletop fountain for the foyer. We have a dark hallway and I'll have to work a treatment there for that (unsurprisingly, this will include a brighter lightbulb in the ceiling light :) ) and make sure energy doesn't "stagnate" there (by using windchimes and/or flutes again). There isn't much else that hasn't already been taken care of by the owner of the house (who is at least aware of Feng Shui, if not "into" it) and by the house having a good, sensible design to start with.

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2001