Among the multitude of stylistic and technological choices that have become available in recent years, Classical or Scientific Feng Shui or the Chinese Science of Placement, has become one of today’s most fashionable trends for home and business owners. But what truly lies behind this popular, yet mysterious practice?
Properly applied, Feng Shui can help balance the energy flow in our environment. It can enable us to take advantage of favorable environments in positively energetic, healthy and harmonious houses and/or work places.
it’s a very sophisticated form of environmental psycology where you’d consider the person’s personal “energy” (Qi) and then match it to their living and working environment. From landscape design to architectural and interior design features such as colors, lighting and furniture layout, home and business owners can use this ancient secret while they are in the process of building a new house or transforming an old one.
The objective is to transform a house into a dream house, and a work place into a productive and successful environment.
The roots of Classical Yang Sang Feng Shui (our legacy school of Feng Shui) are very ancient; its basic principles are the same as those of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture. It is a natural science that treats the environment as an integral part of the art of living and creates perosnalized design around each building’s occupants.
In the 21th century, laws of physics like electromagnetism, thermodynamics and binary mathematic validated the basis upon which this ancient discipline was created over 2,000 years ago. In addition, the inclusion of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the WHO (World Health Organization) confirms the accuracy of the results obtained over 2,000 years ago thru systematic sperimentation once investigated with modern science. However, the language with which Feng Shui is explained is very ancient and rich in symbols, giving the appearance of a mysterious and obscure discipline. In fact, Feng Shui is extremely practical and straighforwrad, once the proper interpretation is made, and the applications are themselves very clear and sound.
Because of its power and effectiveness, Feng Shui knowledge was traditionally a guarded secret, one that was not accessible to the general population. The teachings were transmitted orally from Masters to a limited number of students; confidentiality was strictly required.
These ancient scholars are the equivalent of today’s scientists. They saw the world as a uniqum in which ‘life-force energy’, or Qi, was the main component. They believed that most illnesses could be prevented and that people’s well being could be preserved and reinforced by applying Classical Feng Shui to ensure a proper flow of Qi in the environment, and Tai Qi, Qi Gong, Shiatsu Massage and Acupuncture to ensure a proper flow of Qi in the body. Like those ancient scholars, today’s Feng Shui masters understand the pattern of this energy flow; they understood that any living creature could benefit from this technique, especially humankind.
Seasonal cycles, locations, orientations and weather conditions could, however, create imbalances. The ancient scholars therefore created formulas that continue to be applied today to understand the forces of nature by analyzing the Qi frequencies and the combination of elements or the lack of elements that make up our environment. They acknowledged that every element in the natural world is constituted of the ‘life force’, or Qi.
According to them these energy types correspond to materials that exist in nature, such as Earth, Fire, Metal, Water and Wood and there is a color scheme that corresponds to each energy type.
Human beings were also analyzed in terms of their elemental energy groups; these analyses determined their compatibility with the surrounding environment and the results were usually subtle or very obvious, direct or indirect. In order to counteract imbalances in the environment and restore harmony to our human-environmental interaction, the ancients applied corrective prescriptions based on elaborate formulae they created.
More recently, studies conducted on geopathological stress (an illness caused by exposure to adverse earth ’emissions’ such as radon or gamma rays) have shown evidence of the relationship between people’s well being and the natural energies. While negative energy can adversely affect the nervous system, the genetic code and the immune system, positive energy can sustain our well being, enhance our ability to counteract stressful situations and increase our potential to succeed.
Properly applied, Feng Shui can help balance the energy flow in our environment, which in turn can enable us to take advantage of energetic, healthy and harmonious houses. As mentioned earlier the objective of Feng Shui is to turn a house into a dream house, or an office into the most productive workspace, by maximizing the health and happiness of the inhabitants. And this is why Feng Shui is the original Human-Centered Design Theory ever created.
To schedule an appointment for a consultation with one of our associates or with Dr. Mainini herself, call 310.860.8989 or direct your request to dr.simona@fengshuiarch.com
1) Inspect a Property Before it’s Purchased (to ensure it is a worthwhile building). Some properties need more corrections than others, which implies an increase in budget to do the corrections with. During a pre-purchase inspection I inform my clients on what is needed to be done and they can then get a quote for its implementation BEFORE acquiring the property. This is the most effective way to financially plan your purchase and your Feng Shui improvements all at once. This is done during escrow, or, preferably, before making an offer, which can save you the escrow’s associated costs on the wrong property.
3) Renovation Consulting. This is often done after the property has been purchased, and the new owner has already planned for it, with the associated construction budget needed. It is often done when the property in question is very old, or is in unsuitable condition, or the new owner simply wants to do some structural upgrades to it before moving in. This consultation is more complex than #2 and it could be more extensive and require a larger budget. It will probably involve an architect, or a designer or contractor of some kind as well. From a Feng Shui standpoint, this can also be the most effective way to change the energy of a property by incorporating the Feng Shui corrections during the redesign stage.
