Top 5 Feng Shui Tips
Did your water heater just break? Having bad luck lately? Not enough room in your apartment? Your apartment may be suffering from bad feng shui.
Feng what? Feng shui
Pronounced “fung shway”, Fast Feng Shui defines feng shui as the art of placement or "the art of flow.” This term is no longer just an Asian practice, it has become part of the mainstream terminology. When literally translated from Chinese, it means “wind” and “water.” It is based on the thinking of Taoism’s chi and the belief everything is interconnected. Feng shui is not a religion, but the art of placing of objects and using space. Thinking of rearranging your furniture is a step in the right direction.
Looking for an apartment?
Use the 3 Ps
If you are looking for an apartment, feng shui can be of help. Look for the 3 Ps:
3 Ps
- Path of energy
One of the basic rules when decorating with feng shui is to make sure that the path of energy, whether good or bad, cannot flow through your home. This happens when windows are directly across from each other, or doors are directly in front of a window. When good energy flows through your home, you can have good luck one day and bad the next, since the good energy has just flown through. When bad energy flows through your home, it is believed to cause more than just bad luck, including death and pain. Although the bad energy can flow out of your home, it leaves its wrath and can be hard to fully get rid of.
- Plenty of windows
The second rule is that when you open up a window and allow natural sun light, only positive energy can flow through. When shopping for an apartment, look for windows throughout but make sure that it does not violate the first rule. Ideally your window should have direct natural light.
- Pastel colored kitchen
According to Lillian Too, your kitchen is a part of your home that influences your family’s health based on its design. One of her suggestions when decorating a kitchen is to have a beige, yellow or pastel colored kitchen. When you go apartment hunting, look for a pastel colored kitchen. With it, you are one step closer to creating positive energy to flow through your home. Without a pastel colored kitchen, a bucket of paint, and your landlord’s written permission can take care of this.
Modifying your current apartment? Follow the ABC’s
You already moved in and you want to decorate using feng shui techniques? Not a problem. Although feng shui is complicated and there are many experts who could do an extensive analysis of your home, you can still do a few things yourself. Follow the ABC’s:
ABC
- Arrange furniture
Start with an empty room. Once a room is empty, you can then fill it one piece at a time. You should begin with the larger pieces, like the couch, bed, television, etc. When placing each item, analyze whether the object is relevant to the area and whether people can flow through the room without running into anything. Ask yourself if you really need it in the room you are working on, or if it would better fit into another room, or if you should donate it, to goodwill. You don’t have to put everything back into the room that you took out. Get rid of whatever you have left after arranging each room. This is considered clutter and can slow down your positive energy.
- Birthday symbols
Each individual has a symbol that is determined by their birthday. Use your birthday to find out what object you should place in the middle of your living room. Find your color, earth element (water, wood, fire, earth, metal) and direction, using a ba-gua. For example, my zodiac symbol is a rat, and since my birthday is in August, by the astrological weight and birth calculator I should place a crab in the middle of my living room so that my wealth can be protected.
- Clean up
As one of the most important steps to improve your chi, cleaning up can help. Positive energy can’t come through when there’s dirt and clutter everywhere. Start early, start now. If you haven’t cleaned your home lately, then your chi could be clogged up behind that dirty closet or in the messy bed you haven’t made yet. Spring cleaning does not apply only to your home. You should neutralize the negative energy in your life and job. This can include people, bad habits, and anything that could potentially make your “chi” stale and slow.If you’re around negative people, of course you may not be able to get away from some of these individuals. If at all possible, you should try to minimize the amount of time spent with people who make you tired, depressed, angry, and suppresses your new opportunities. Instead, welcome new friends and opportunities. If people who are slowing down your chi live with you, when it comes to the end of the lease, it’s time to say goodbye.
Bad habits die hard. However, while working on your home to improve it, you should also improve yourself. Whether you smoke, don’t put down the toilet seat, whatever your faults are, you should at least make an attempt to improve yourself. Ask, what can make your chi stale and slow? Work on issues in your life that increase stress, create fights, and make it difficult for you to get a good night’s sleep.
As I mentioned, feng shui is complicated, and there are experts who are willing to complete an extensive analysis of your home. Here are a few websites to visit if you are interested in contacting an expert in your area:
http://www.doyoufengshui.com/
http://www.fengshuibestbuy.co
http://www.fengshuicrazy.com/
http://www.fengshuiexpert.com
