WHAT IS FENG SHUI?
The ancient art of placement, Feng Shui can be found in a variety of forms and cultures. The idea is that energy or chi must be invited into the home and entertained so it will stay and assist those within the dwelling.
If you want to make changes and shifts in your life, using Feng Shui can help you accomplish those changes. In order to use the following information effectively you need to practice Feng Shui with the use of a bagua, a nine-chambered grid that is placed over your floor plan. You can find a drawing of a bagua online or in many Feng Shui books. You do not need any special way of reproducing the bagua. Many people draw one out on grid paper and use it for reference and some make elaborate baguas.
The bagua is made up of chambers or squares that are labeled with the areas of concern for most people – Knowledge, Career, Helpful People/Travel, Family, Health, Children and Creativity, Wealth, Fame, Love/Relationship. You may find variations on these themes, but most will generally address the same topic as listed above.
TIPS FOR APARTMENT DWELLERS
The following tips are meant to assist those practicing Feng Shui within a rented apartment space.
1. Couple the practice of Feng Shui with the practice of intent. Know what your intentions are as you are moving furniture or adding an object to an area, or just cleaning house. Think through what you are intending before making a step to change something. Your effort will be charged with the intent you give it and if your thinking is not in a good place you could cause yourself delay or be side tracked from your goals.
2. Get rid of clutter. Some people attempt to Feng Shui their clutter. This makes no sense. Clutter is clutter, get rid of it. Remove broken items or fix them immediately. If you must store items do so in an organized and intentional way. If you recycle do so in a conscious manner and organize and label your recycle boxes and make sure they have lids.
3. Make the kitchen a Feng Shui priority. Regardless of where the kitchen is placed in a bagua, it is the most important spot in the apartment. Shoring up this area can assist all the other areas. Do not allow trash or debris to build up in the kitchen, on the floors, in the sink, in the refrigerator, or on the counters.
4. Make sure your stove is working properly and all the burners work. The stove is considered a symbol of wealth in a Chinese home. If your stove is not working, chances are most everything else is not working in your life.
5. Dark and dreary is not good. Use lighting to “lighten up” dark corners or corridors that go nowhere. Add a Feng Shui feature to dead end areas to tease the chi back into your main area of living.
6. Seal up any drafts that may exist. Theses drafty areas can cause energy to escape from your home.
7. Find ways to eliminate sharp corners. This can be accomplished with fabric draping or curtains, placing other objects to block the sharp corner or hanging Feng Shui appropriate objects from them. Sharp corners indicate a pointing finger or knives. This keeps the chi away; wouldn’t you run if you had a knife pointed at you?
8. Chimes or fountains at the front door are good. They entice the chi to enter.
9. Consider what you are putting on your walls. Are there images that might be considered angry, sad or confrontational? These might be affecting the chi flow in your apartment.
