Feng Shui — The Energy of Your Home and Life

By Kathryn Weber, publisher of the Red Lotus Letter feng shui e-zine, www.redlotusletter.com.

Energy is everywhere. It surrounds us and affects our lives, including the quality of our lives. One of the classic ways of understanding the energy that surrounds us is the ancient art of feng shui.
Many people call feng shui “the art of placement,” but there is more to it than simply where you place a lamp. The Chinese I Ching is at the root of feng shui.  This classic text explains how life is a constant ebb and flow and the rhythm of life is based on a cyclical nature.  This explains how we move from fortune to misfortune, from good times to lean times and back to good times again.

Having good feng shui, so to speak, doesn’t mean one never experiences misfortune.  It means that when the cycle of misfortune arises, that the way is smoother, easier, and that life’s little bumps and bruises are easier to handle.  And just like the times of misfortune can be made easier, it also can create times of greater fortune and blessings.  When feng shui is employed correctly, negativity can be muted and blessings magnified.

Wind and water

The definition of feng shui is wind and water.  But what does this really mean?  It refers to the elements that are at work in the environment and how those elements affect your home.  In other words, the way your home is situated in the environment has an impact on your life.

Trees, roadways, a church, electric wires, all affect your home – and correspondingly your life – in some way.  The same is true of clutter, a house that has a broken front door, or a water leak. Our houses often reflect our lives and whether they run smoothly, or if they require a lot of effort, give us peace or make us despair.

Balance at the heart

Few things describe the art of feng shui as well as the word balance.  Like a trapeze artist, feng shui is the practice of finding balance – creating an environment that has both light and dark, smooth and rough, quiet and vibrant.

The high-wire walker represents a good example of the tipping point or point of balance.  Either end of his long balancing pole represents a move to one energy or another.  As long as the pole is level and in balance, the walker remains on the tight-rope.  He uses the pole to correct his sway and keep him balanced.

A garden with both shade and sunshine is another good metaphor for the balance that feng shui encapsulates.  A garden that is hot and sunny becomes tiresome; plants wither and thirst for water.  Conversely a garden of shade can become too dark for plants to live and may become too water-logged with plants suffering from rot. But a garden with both shade and sun, light and dark, will thrive and will become a place that draws birds, butterflies and people alike.

When a home is too yin there is an abundance of dark colors, a suppression of energy, lack of movement or light.  When a house is too yang, or energetic, the house may have too much light, noise and stimulation.  Again, we must seek to find balance and harmony in our homes so that we can find balance in our lives.  When our lives are dominated by yang energy, we are restless, always on the move and unable to relax or enjoy leisure time.  When our homes are too yin we can’t muster the energy to get moving in our lives or take action.

Observing our homes helps us to see what energy is most at work there and exerting an influence on our lives.

The flow of energy must also be balanced.  A smooth flowing river is a good example of harmonious energetic flow.  When the water rushes too quickly, much like a flood, harm occurs.  When it is too slow, there is drought.  In a room, energy that rushes, such as in a long, narrow hallway or in a straight pathway to the front door, energy can become harmful.  If it is stagnant, such as when furniture is pushed against walls and clutter is abundant, energy stops and this creates a corresponding standstill in life.  Balance of energies is first and foremost at the heart of feng shui.

The saying that we are a product of our environment is simply another way of saying feng shui. The way our homes are arranged, maintained, oriented in the landscape and so forth, all impacts our quality of life, and the quality of energy at work in our lives. Looking at the energy that literally surrounds us is a way to understand ourselves. And, lastly, understanding our home’s energy helps us to understand that energy that’s working in our lives, or that’s working against us.