In Chinese feng means wind and shui means wind and shui means water. If you look up to heaven and then down to the surface of the earth, what you are likely to see in between are clouds: these clouds consist of wind and water. The ancient Chinese saw wind and water as the intermediaries between heaven and earth. They thought that heaven directly affected their progress through life in a much more fundamental way than by simply providing changeable weather.
It is clear that at the very least water is the sustainer of all life, whether plant, animal or human. Likewise, it is the wind which carries water from place to place, causes evaporation from the sea, and enables rain to fall on what would otherwise be parched land. Wind and water are therefore essential to our survival.
In addition, for a feng-shui practitioner these elements also carry the invisible life energy force ch’i. Therefore to ensure that there is an abundance of ch’i in a site or a home, it is important to observe the flow of wind and water and their interaction with the land.
The effects of ch’i Ch’i acts on every level – on the human level it is the energy flowing through the acupuncture meridians or channels of the body; at the agricultural level it is the force which, if not stagnant, ensures fertile crops; and at the climatic level it is the energy carried on the wind and by the waters.
The mapping of these ch’i flows, and their deflection or enhancement are the main principles of feng-shui. In other words, after mapping these ch’i flows, it is often necessary to correct, enhance or deflect them. For example, feng-shui practitioners maintain that just placing a small mirror or a wind-chime precisely in the correct place can sometimes make an enormous difference to your life. Instead of finding yourself always battling against life and your surroundings, whether in your love life or your career, you will find with the correct placement of some almost insignificant feng-shui “cure” that suddenly everything seems to go your way. The most unexpected meetings develop into major and profitable business relationship, or precipitate significant career advancement. Partners and colleagues suddenly seem more helpful, and you feel more in control of your life.
Accepting feng-shuiIt is not easy to see why the placement of a mirror or even a change in the position of your bed should suddenly improve your relationships. Don’t think of feng-shui as thinking symbolically. Famous psychologist such as Carl Jung proved that the subconscious is impressed by symbols that the conscious mind might see as trivial. Although feng-shui actually works because of concentrations and dispersals of ch’i, if you find it difficult to accept you can always justify your feng-shui successes by reasoning that you have impressed your subconscious sufficiently for it to work on your behalf towards your desired ends. You could then consider that practices of feng-shui simply a shorthand set of rules for impressing your subconscious.
Don’t however make the mistake of thinking that feng-shui is arbitrary. You cannot just make up the rules as go along. Sloppy and incorrect use of feng-shui can be just as effective as destroying your luck, as correct use can be in building it up.
