Just what is feng shui? First and foremost, it is a living skill and offers an integrated set of guidelines that can be put into practice which transcend the limitations of culture and religion. Today much of the mystique has been taken out of feng shui practice and it is gaining acceptance as the science of living spaces.
Feng shui is representative of Chinese science in the same manner that the electromagnetic spectrum is representative of western science, in which terms of visible and invisible light emissions in the electromagnetic spectrum are used to define our surroundings. Just as these emissions can be both productive and destructive, so too can Chi (energy) and feng shui produce both beneficial and disastrous results — what the Chinese construe as good and bad luck.
Feng shui is neither pseudo-religious nor spiritual practice nor is it a magic or shamanistic. It is a living skill requiring the acquisition of knowledge and practical experience and understanding of the invisible energy forces that surround humankind.
Feng shui rules should be evaluated by using intuition and modified to produce real change in one’s current lifestyle. Primarily setting an intent is very important when one wants to adapt feng shui or vaastu recommendations in one’s home or office and bring about changes that enhance life experiences. Look at your own life experiences to see where the intention has helped you manifest your desired goals.
Most often we focus on aligning and correcting a space and we ignore the effect of negative chi from our neighborhood or neighbours. Negative chi can be caused due to number factors. Homes that suffer from years of neglect and are dirty and cluttered contain negative chi. Homes that have illness, loss, unhappiness and anger suffer from the lingering energy left behind by these negative life situations. Negative chi must be cleared, cleansed and purified.
Regular space cleansing creates a powerful healing energy where there may have been illness, builds stunning harmony where there may have been discord and reintroduces fabulous new-found strength where there has been weakness. Bad luck ceases and good luck flows unimpeded back into the home.
When we have friendly neighbours, the energy is reinforcing. When the vibes are hostile, the energy is depleted and becomes negative. When you have bad vibes, you constantly receive negative chi, which would be intimidating.
One could dissolve the bad chi generated out of gossip and envy by ignoring it or countering it with a stronger chi. If you have a neighbourhood with children screaming or that is noisy, you could counter it by simply placing a large urn with wide mouth and narrow bottom, filled with water to that specific side of the house. You could enhance the energy further by placing some underwater lights inside the water and maybe add some small fishes inside it.
At times, we could even have negative chi left over from the previous occupants of a home whose lives would have been spent in anger, bitterness and violence. These strong emotions get stuck and no renovation or painting after they move out would restore a positive feel. The most effective remedy to cleanse such a space would be by using metal objects such as bells, cymbals or Tibetan singing bowls, which absorb the negative chi as the harmonics of metal on metal, would be extremely powerful.
(The writer is an accredited Master Feng Shui Consultant, Bio-energetician and Traditional Vaastu Practitioner.)