Feng Shui

Principles: Ch'i and Other Feng Shui Basics

These feng shui principles provide a simplified, Westernized take on a very complex discipline. They dive just deep enough to shed a little why and how on the intriguing world of feng shui:
 
1. Everything—people, places, and things—is alive with Ch’i. That means it’s important to evaluate your material possessions. Is the high-backed chair in your living room stylish but uncomfortable? Does your grandmother’s jewelry box bring back positive memories?
 
2. Ch’i connects everything. The memories and associations of people, places and things affect you in positive and negative ways, as in the chair and the jewelry box.
 
3. Ch’i is always changing. A simple adjustment, like adding a pillow to the uncomfortable chair, or a more major change, like replacing it altogether, can instantly change the Ch’i of your home.
 
4. Changing one’s Ch’i can directly influence the connection between your home and happiness, health and prosperity. Enhancing your home’s Ch’i can lead to stronger relationships, better career opportunities or a financial boost.
 
5. You cannot divide your life into isolated components. The quality of each aspect of your life impacts the others.
 
6. Ch’i is stimulated by change. Feng shui must be accompanied by a willingness to change, ridding yourself of situations, possessions and arrangements that create negative energy. Similarly, there is no “end result” to feng shui. Your kitchen’s positive Ch’i could turn stagnant down the road, signaling the need for another change.
 
7. Safety and comfort trump style. Feng shui is not about Asian-influenced furnishings or an abundance of wind chimes and waterfalls. Finding harmony in your life means creating an environment that you feel welcome and safe in.
 
Source: The Western Guide to Feng Shui: Room By Room, by Terah Kathryn Collins