Understanding Feng Shui

Creating Harmony Inside and Out

It’s not about furniture or props, it’s about a lifestyle. It’s not a superstition or an esoteric practice, but a widespread understanding based on empirical, practical evidence. Feng shui is about colors, yin and yang, qi, and all the elements that are implicitly embedded in every other form of Chinese Medicine and theory. It hinges on the belief that individuals must actively pursue their happiness and good fortune (Knapp, 1999). In essence, Feng Shui is about harnessing qi in the environment and maximizing its potential(Yap, 2003).

It all about qi.
Much like how qi flows through the body according to meridians, qi also flows through homes and the environment seeking balance(Anderson, 1996). While qi is neither visible nor tangible, masters have learned to identify settings with optimal qi. These ideas are explained in terms of energy, but they actually follow scientific philosophies as well. 

For example, principles of the Form School of Feng Shui advise to build a home on the slope of a hill, but not on the zenith or under a cliff; the top of the hill is too yang and under the cliff is too yin. However, this makes practical sense in Western terms as well, because the zenith gets to much sun, creating excess is heat, and is also prone to intense winds. Living under a cliff is very dark, and consequently gloomy, and is also prone to flooding. Therefore, living on the slope of hill is the perfect balance of yin and yang, and logically out of the way of natural disasters(Kohn, 2004). This state of harmony is a goal of Feng Shui and essential for individuals to be at peace. Walters argues that man cannot be content without living in harmony(Walters, 1989).