For me, there are two aspects of Feng Shui that I am calling the Practical and the Mystical. Basically, I really like the Practical aspects, and the Mystical ones I have a hard time with.
On the Practical side, there is lots to love! First of all, Feng Shui teaches that clutter is holding you back in life and that you must clear it out. I completely agree. Unfinished projects, old photos of relationships gone sour, relics of an unhappy time– those make sense to me to resolve, repair, or remove from your life.
Also, I love the idea of the Bagua map. I wrote about this in a previous post, how I have used the idea of the Bagua to organize my vision board that I keep on my closet wall. There are nine areas of the map, categories like “Knowledge-Self-Cultivation-Wisdom” and “Love-Partnership-Marriage” that provide a simple framework for thinking about the various aspects of your life. You can lay this “tic-tac-toe”-like map over any space to think about the various areas of your life and how they relate to your space. You can think about the Bagua as it overlays your entire home, or just a room, or even just a desk. I love the idea of placing objects in those areas to remind you of your goals and dreams for those various parts of your life. That makes sense to me, because the reticular activating system (RAS) in your brain sees that every day and subtly reminds you of those intentions. It’s like having little private jokes to yourself set all over the house! I think that is very powerful, and I have had personal experiences that have shown me how effective it is in my own life.
I also think that arrangement of furniture and artwork in a room does affect a person’s frame of mind and the flow of traffic and the feel of comfort and peace in the space. Advice like not having your back to the door makes sense to me, as we innately would feel slightly fearful without being able to see “danger” coming our way.
The Mystical aspects of Feng Shui are where I get stuck. I am on the fence about the flow of energy through a house, or how a sidewalk or driveway might need bushes planted against it to stop energy from flowing around the house. I once had a client who was told by a Feng Shui practitioner to hammer red golf tees in a line into her grass from one corner of her house out to a point in the yard, and she asked me to help her with this on one of our appointments. I don’t understand space-clearing with sage, or crystals, or doing anything that seems “magical” to change someone else’s behavior. I once was told that if you are having marriage problems, that you could put something red under the mattress to fix it, even if your partner doesn’t know it’s there. These invisible, unproven parts of Feng Shui are hard for me to understand or agree with.
So, I love Feng Shui and it also confuses me. And that’s the truth.
Agreed.
I feel much of feng shui is common sense – the kind that comes from the inner animal in all of us. We feel safe when… we feel clarity when… but having energy change with the years and water, fire, earth, wood symbolism throws it into the realm of astrology for me.
I agree with your points on Feng Shui. I have a hard time with rules that limit how and why we use our space. Each of us is so unique in what and how we do things, I feel FS limits us instead of releases us to actually move forward. If you are always concerned with how this will effect the energy of the space you will have no energy to actually accomplish anything!
I do love its clutter principles and find it interesting. Yet, I do not endorse it to my clients!
Great Post Lorie,
I have also struggled with the theory of Quantum Physics and the power of energy. Here is some information I found on this theory http://library.thinkquest.org/3487/qp.html and have written on this topic myself http://www.elaineshannon.com/2010/01/clutter-stuck-energy/
I am now of the opinion that there are things cannot be explained with the logic and intellect and there are things that happen that we cannot see but are never the less there.
Elaine
I think it’s interesting you chose the word mystical instead of spiritual. I find feng shui a spiritual practice. Something that helps be breathe a little easier and feel at peace in my home.
Clutter clogs energy, and I completely can feel the energy flow in my home. I know when it’s off and so does my husband because I am easily irritated. :)Moving things around, adding colors or plants in certain places. These things do change the flow of energy.
Feng shui is like everything else. There are many ways to practice it. Many opinions. In reality, doing what feels comfortable for YOU is the only right way to do anything. Lucky for all of us we have many options. I don’t believe feng shui is about “magic” that can change someones behavior. I think it provides the foundation for you to “feel” good in your surroundings and in turn affect the way you “act” or “react” to the people and events in your life.
Huh. That’s interesting that you can’t “get behind” the idea of energy flow, when you talk about understanding the block it can place to have your back to the door. That’s really all energy flow is; the things that can affect the way we interact with our space (and the way we perceive a room to be a “good” or “happy” space or not).
Sage cleansing is another one that seems pretty simple to me. It’s harnessing both meditative powers (something that I don’t think anyone, these days, disagrees exists) with literally freshening the air of the home. Given how tightly sealed our homes are these days, this is actually beneficial to the health (stagnant and toxic air can easily build up in a house; draftier homes have a better positive air exchange); the toxic off-gasing from all kinds of things can actually be hazardous to our health. Sage or incense burning is a ritual that can facilitate a literal change of air in the home.
Ritual, really, I think is the key. Placing something red under a mattress? Sure, it’s weird – but is it any weirder than having the visual jokes in your line of sight to remind you of your intentions? *You* know that red item is there, and it’s a mental reminder (much like tying a string on your finger) that you want to change and improve.
The mistake, I think, is to leave it as “mystical” and walk away. There are a lot of things that we do that have nonsensical or mystical or religious roots; the power is in the doing and the reminder that these rituals create. I’m sure, if you thought about it, you would realize there are a lot of rituals you do in your life that have no “grounded” or “scientific” proof, but work because of habit, memory, and culture.
Lorie,
I agree- and Gail I TOTALLY know what you’re talking about. I have a client I’ve been trying to help for YEARS who is so stuck in feng shui that we haven’t accomplished anything she feels comfortable with, mainly b/c the back room “should’nt” be an office because of the way it faces, meanwhile her whole home piles up with paper and office supplies and her garage is so full she can’t park there! ahhhh!!!!! LOL- seems paralyzing to me.
I am a total Feng Shui Chameleon.
If my organizing client doesn’t seem the type, I don’t mention it at all. If they bring it up, or seem the type, I don’t hesitate to mention which things are good or bad Feng Shui, if I know it for sure. If they want advice beyond my capabilities I refer them to qualified practitioners. Bottom line? I don’t think the red paper or the windchimes matter a bit if you haven’t de-cluttered yet.
I’m with you on ‘mystical’ vs ‘practical’. I read some rules of Feng Shui once, and it seemed to me it was much easier to get your mind around it if you replace the word ‘energy’ or ‘chi’ with ‘water’, ‘air’, or ‘dirt’.. 🙂
That is, plant bushes next to the sidewalk to control the flow of ‘water’ rather than ‘energy’.. Have plants at strategic places in your home to control ‘traffic’ and ‘air quality’ rather than ‘energy’.. Don’t put your home at the bottom of a hill because bad ‘water’ will flow right in, never mind the ‘energy’.. 🙂
shris
Laurie, As I continue my journey of decluttering my house and that of a client, I must share with you that I too, know a Feng Shui practitioner. Here is my take on all this: The Mystical part is all about making you aware and bringing focus to that concern through the act of placing the “mystical” solution. Remember Uncle Billy in “It’s a Wonderful Life”, with Jimmy Stewart? He could never remember why he tied those strings around his finger. Yes, at times he had more than one, don’t we all? Mystical methods for placement in Feng Shui are more productive because you make the effort to place things in an organized way using the Bagua. When placing a reminder in the area of your life you want to work on you have a physical trigger for creating the positive image of what you want to emphasize in your life or work toward changing – it is the ancient method of tying a string around your finger. Sage and crystals are another way of doing something different to help you through change because you are taking action when you chose to use these methods to help yourself. Much like the tools, exercises and “play” that is used in management training in business. It is about action without emotion or blame. The goal is to help and guide using Feng Shui as tool. To respond to Kate’ posting, if a client is using Feng Shui to identify the placement of an office in her home and she is using the Bagua to avoid a room because of it’s direction the client may not understand the method of cures to make that space office friendly (which means the client would then have to accept that they have a paper problem in other parts of the home and make a change to use the new office space – who doesn’t resist change?). Ask your client to share with you what she knows about cures and how to use them in this pending office space. Feng Shui is not an excuse for clutter in other parts of the home or the dreaded hording that can happen so quickly. I wish you success, let me know if this helps.
My parents do believe on feng shui. As a matter of fact, they are buying charms. Some of these are buried under the floor, etc as instructed to them. These were all for luck and harmony, as they said. But still, one time our business got bankrupted. So how could that be? I thought these are all for luck? From then on, I never trusted feng shui anymore. But my parents, they still keep on believing and going to Feng Shui temple… Saying rituals and consulting.
I am a feng shui practitioner and I understand all of the comments/concerns. I think the confusion comes in with the different schools of feng shui. I do use the bagua so I am more “contemporary Western” which is more easily understood. We have all been in places that just don’t feel good to us – it’s the energy. When we can direct the energy using a better flow, it nourishes us and makes our home more peaceful. The mystical aspect is the true ancient Chinese customs of certain cures. One could argue that it doesn’t make sense, but don’t we all have our little good luck charms? Attention goes where energy flows – let it flow to the good in life!
I like Kelly’s thought provoking perspective on habit, memory and perspective.
That being said, I also agree with what you refer to as the ‘practical side’…and have difficulty with admonishments about not storing things under your bed, etc. No, it shouldn’t be a cluttered place to stash and dash but it’s often a practical place to organize and store.
Thanks for the great topic, Lorie!
I think you were right to not endorse something that you are not qualified to endorse. It is not your field, and the 2 are barely related. It would be like asking me to endorse a book on golf. Yeah, I’ve played, but I wouldn’t know good advice from bad.
Personally, I don’t care to know why I should hang a mirror on a certain wall or a plant in a certain corner to dissolve the negative energy from mistakes in the original house design, or try to put my headboard facing a certain way when it won’t work that way. My home is clean, comfortable and calm. I’ve lived in a number of places, and whether my feet face the toliet has had zero impact on my luck. It’s just something else to stress over.
Love the controversy! Would have to agree on some of your thoughts with Feng Shui. I like the practical aspects but it can get kind of impractical, especially if your house doesn’t align with good Feng Shui practices short of knocking down a wall. But as with anything, there are always good things that we can take away with us and apply if we so choose.
I agree with Shris – some things are just practical. As far as the reminders and spiritual side that’s why I have Bible verses in art on my walls. I want to focus my mind on something greater than myself and my home.
I’m not really into Feng Shui but I do believe in one thing, never put your headboard against a window.. 🙂
I love the concept, there is merit in it. However I do believe that we are making our destiny not the placement of our things. I don’t know that the air flow makes a difference as long as there is air flow. A mirror here to bounce bad spirits and such.. well I am very hard put to swallow that kind of thinking. I am more of a CCC(my own system… Cull Clean Clear) kind of gal and fun sway – than a feun Shui believer. It is a concept that is do-able as long as the mystic beliefs are not taken in. These kinds of things are not for Christians and a Christian Nation.
I love the feng shui concept and embrace it. My reason for doing so and long story short is that in the mystical sense, the idea of energy flow is that everything around us including us give off vibrations of energy whether good or bad. Think of, if you will, you happen to come across someone who is angry vented their anger toward you, and were left quite the not-so-happy receiver of that anger. How many times haven’t we been in a situation as that or think of a reverse, you may be the angry party but you came across someone or thought of a happy experience and were left quite happy. So for me Feng shui is that way. The energy they refer to is that of people, scents, experiences that not only do we carry but many times is reflected in and out of our homes. If that makes any sense to you.
Kudos to you, Lorie for your discernment. Feng shui is nothing more than animism. What is animism? It is what many godless peoples throughout the ages have believed: that inanimate objects have power.
It is amazing to me that so many thinking Americans, growing up in a once God-fearing nation would embrace this concept. Though I must say that the poison of it has been mixed with “sugar” to help it go down better. The “sugar” is the practical aspects of it that are added to the mystical.
“Godless peoples”? “Poison”? Those are big words and big assumptions, Julie. Feng shui is not a religion; it’s based in the cultural beliefs of a society thousands of years older than our own. No better, no worse. If you don’t believe in it, or if someone else does, it’s a simple choice and brings no call for sweeping generalizations.
Your post exemplifies exactly why people have begun to shun “God-fearing” ways. If people of faith want to impart what we believe, we should strive to be an example and tell our truths – not insult and ridicule the way others have been taught, whether that way is wrong or right.
Oh dear! I’m both godless *and* anti-feng shui. I don’t give spiritual powers to any thing or any notion. I want an organization system/household layout that works because it fits my habits.
Wow, everyone, I am so pleased with the discussion here. I do want to say that I would appreciate comments in the future be free of religious references, as it causes controversy that is not within the scope of our subject at hand and can really hurt and provoke others unnecessarily.
Thank you for adding your thoughts!
– Lorie
I think Feng shui is a creative addition to the decluttering and organizing process and you can just take from it what works and feels right for you. it is alwasys helpful to look at things from another angle and using some of their ideas has helped me get rid of even more clutter.
Using the Bagua in my home has helped me tune in to what feels right rather than working from some external principals. One thing about giving your home a walk thorugh with some sage is that it really refreshes and uplifts the energy.