Introduction to Feng Shui

The most complicated part about Feng Shui is the pronunciation – FUNG SHWEE. But it doesn't really matter how you pronouce it, the most important part is embracing it into your life!

Let's begin with a question I'm sure you've asked yourself at some stage. Is Feng Shui just some kind of crazy superstition? Go on, admit it! It's crossed your mind, hasn't it? Maybe you've even dabbled a bit and encountered judgment from other people who think Feng Shui sounds a bit strange. That's why we're going to start by clearing up a few myths about what it is, and what it's not, giving you a little background on Feng Shui, where it comes from, why we use it, and what it can do for you.

What is Feng Shui?

Feng Shui is all about energy, or chi. In essence, you can think of Feng Shui as acupuncture for your home. It's a way of keeping the energy flowing in and around your home. The practice of Feng Shui is about making that energy as positive as possible, aligning your home for the highest good of you, your life, your business, your relationships, your opportunities, and the home itself. Originating in China, it uses the same Five Elements theories (Fire, Water, Earth, Metal, and Wood) as Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and the Five Element Theory itself.

Feng Shui is a complex practice with many layers. There are also different schools of Feng Shui, but going into each and every one of those layers and schools is not within the scope of this book. However, for the purposes of The Happy Home, we are looking at the layers of Feng Shui that can bring you to a beautiful place with your home and a good level of understanding. To do so, we'll look at the layers of Feng Shui that use compass directions.

As a Feng Shui consultant, I use the traditional luo pan compass in the personal readings I do in my work which, as you can see, is highly technical. Although it's available to you if you wish to do a personal reading; in this book, we won't be going into such complex layers. We're still using the compass as a mapping tool for your home, just a much simpler one. Later, you will learn how to use the compass directions to map your home and find all of the corresponding life areas so that you can make them more supportive in your life.

Feng Shui may be complex, but this is for a good reason. In China, where Feng Shui originated, the first houses to be built according to Feng Shui were built with intention. That was 4,000 years ago, when Feng Shui was brought into its first form. In those times, people took into consideration where the sun rose, where the sun set, the situation or positioning of the home, and the land around it. Home-building was intentional. In fact, everything was done with powerful intention. What Feng Shui did was to bring that intention into people's environment, and into their homes.

Intention is the most important aspect of Feng Shui, because it seems to me that intention has been lost in the world to a large degree. If you look at the way we create homes now, we just knock up houses anywhere. That is reflected in our lives too. Living with intention has shifted a great deal since the times when Feng Shui first came about.

What is Feng Shui for?

The purpose of Feng Shui, when the ancient Chinese first built those houses with intention, was for good health and a good harvest. And isn't that what we all want in the end? We want to be healthy and vibrant. We want everyone in our home to be happy. We also want a 'good harvest'. Back then, agriculture was the measure of prosperity; whatever the farmers sowed was harvested and became their abundance. Today, a good harvest is measured in whatever way you choose.

All in all, Feng Shui tunes into and honours the intentions you can set from within your home, using the energy in the most powerful ways. Feng Shui helps you create a space where you can feel more confident, supported, and empowered in your home, your life, and your business. Feng Shui exists to feel positivity; to harmonise interactions between the people in the home and between those in your life; to reduce arguments and disagreements; and to create a solid foundation; to flourish.

Feng Shui can influence a number of areas in your life, allowing you to spend time with and analyse each one. As you spend time with a particular life area, you may notice how it's mirrored by the energy in that part of your home.

Feng Shui is also oh-so subtle, making it important to trust the process and not rush through. It's not about immediate results, though that can happen. As the energy shifts in your home, it allows your space to become more magnetic to joy, love, pleasure, abundance, and success for you and everybody else living there. It breaks old patterns of lack and draws in the energy of abundance.

Does it work?

If these claims sound unbelievable to you, I get it. (I'm a Feng Shui consultant, so I'm biased after all!) But you don't just have to take my word for it. I'll let you into a little secret. An increasing number of successful people and organisations are investing in Feng Shui. This includes many large corporations, global entrepreneurs, hotels, banks, Hollywood directors, movie stars, TV presenters, and more. They all use Feng Shui. Why? Because they are the kinds of people and organisations that use whatever they can to make their lives and businesses better and more successful. That's what you are doing here too and you're in good...