FENG SHUI:
Ancient Wisdom For Creating A Life Of Balance

By: James Jay

When Joel Curry and his wife Joy purchased the Pathways to Health Massage Therapy Center in Auburn, California in early 1993, it had a few problems. "The community had a general misconception about our center and massage in general. To put it mildly, massage was not looked upon as a viable health care alternative. Also the center had never made much of a profit since its establishment nine years ago," Joel recalls.

Utilizing his background in marketing, Joel set about to educate the public and generate more business for his center. "The marketing started paying off with increased clientele, but it was still a bit sluggish." He says. That's when he tried something different. A friend had mentioned an ancient Chinese method for enhancing the energies in an environment called Feng Shui (pronounced fung shway) and Joel decided to give it a try. On an intuitive level it made sense, he was already working to enhance the energy of his clients and this seemed like a logical extension of his work. Joel called in a pair of Feng Shui experts who analyzed the center. They suggested things like re-arranging the furniture, putting flags on the roof, placing a mirror on the bathroom door, and hanging wind chimes and cut glass crystals in strategic places. Although the suggestions seemed a bit obscure, the results were astounding. "Immediately, our clients noticed a difference, they began asking what we'd done because the place felt so much better.

The increase in our revenue has been amazing. In fact, we're doing well over double the business we did last year. And as for our community acceptance--the Mayor of Auburn came to our center last week to give a talk to our local massage association!"

Joel's story is by no means an isolated case. People all over the world are turning to this time-tested philosophy to solve a multitude of personal and business problems.

Feng Shui has been called the Chinese "Art of Placement" that balances the life-energies or "chi" in a living space. Using simple "cures," it increases the flow of positive chi and subdues the negative. And according to Feng Shui, harmonizing our personal chi with the chi in our environment puts us in harmony with the natural forces of nature and in turn, results in a healthy, happy and prosperous life.

The basic tenets of this philosophy are quite simple. If positive energy can flow through an environment, then the people residing there will benefit. Just as an acupuncturist charts the energy flow within a person's body and either stimulates points of stagnation or subdues over-active channels, the Feng Shui expert maps the flow through our surroundings and makes adjustments with often startling results. When the chi circulates properly we experience a feeling of well being while good health and prosperity are increased in our lives.

Using cut-glass crystals, mirrors, colors, furniture arrangement, bamboo flutes, wind chimes, fragrances and many other items, the flow of chi can be altered. For example, if a heavy beam lies directly across a bed or chair it can put unseen pressure on the person laying or sitting beneath it. Properly hung bamboo flutes can lift the sense of oppression and remedy the situation. On the other hand, if one faces a wall upon entering a building or office, a well placed mirror can expand the area and at the same time give a sense of hope and broadened horizons to everyone who enters. These and other "cures" are prescribed by the Feng Shui expert to create balance and harmony in the environment.

We've all had the experience of entering a place and feeling instantly comfortable, whether it be a large expensive home or just a humble apartment. At the same time we've experienced the feeling of oppression and gloom given off by other locations. This "feeling" is created by a location's Feng Shui.

According to Feng Shui, each and every building can be divided into distinct areas that represent a different aspect of life (see diagram). Each area is a subtle balance between Yin (all that is still, heavy, receptive and cool in the environment) and Yang (all that is active, light, hot and outgoing in character). As laid out in the I-Ching or Book of Changes there are eight basic ways in which these energies interact. Thus we have eight different positions in any location corresponding to the eight configurations of Yin and Yang.