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What is Feng Shui? What exactly is Feng Shui? Feng Shui is a ancient science built on the principles of living in harmony with our environment. One does not have to believe in Feng Shui to experience its benefits - it is a practice that is based on a lot of common sense and perception and may be somewhat mystical but is not founded on religion or superstition. The best analogy is that Feng Shui is for the home or office what acupuncture is for the body. Feng Shui (pronounced fung shway) is a 4000 year-old science whose words literally translate to "wind" and "water". This translation opens one's insights to the knowledge that there is a seen world (the "water" aspect) and the unseen world (the "wind" aspect). The Ancients closely studied how the unseen world of energy affected the seen world of matter and deduced this duality existed in everything. In other words, nothing exists without its equal opposite. Known as Yin and Yang, these two opposites encompass Heaven and Earth, Body and Soul, the Physical and Psychological. And, when these are in balance, harmony is the by-product. Energy, also known as Chi, is the life force of the universe and the focus of Feng Shui. A more in-depth look at chi reveals its existence at three different levels, all of which affect us. These distinguished forces include Heaven Chi, Human Chi and Earth Chi. Feng Shui is the study of how the Earth's Chi affects Human Chi. Another way of stating this is how ones environment affects him or her at any given moment in time. The first principle of Feng Shui is harmonizing the flow of Chi in one's environment so that it is supporting one's life aspirations. Understanding that the movement of Chi affects everything, we can then learn to direct its flow using the tools of the Ancients, which have been shown to optimize conditions or situations for an individual based on their desires. Knowing this leads each individual to some personal questions. How does the Chi in your environment flow? Is it smooth or stagnated? How does it affect your emotions, behavior and well-being? How can you align yourself with this life force Chi? The Ancients recognized and studied the beauty and perfect balance in Nature. It became apparent as they watched the sun rise and fall and the seasons come and go, that there were primordial energies that worked in unison to create, destroy or manipulate in some fashion the environment that surrounded them. From these observations they identified the following five elements: water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. They saw how water fed wood so it would grow into tall beautiful trees. These trees, in turn, fed fire that burned into ashes or earth. From the earth, metal was produced that in turn would sweat, creating water. Thus a complete Production Cycle of Nature was identified. The movement of the Chi may also appear negative as it moves to reestablish balance in the Destructive Cycle. It was observed that water put out fire and fire melted metal; metal could cut wood and wood broke through earth; and finally, earth would stop the flow of water. |
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