Author: Nancy C. Canestaro, D.Arch.
As both an exquisite art and meticulous science, Feng Shui is a 2,000 year old method of evaluating the influence on people of the subtle natural forces around them. Feng Shui helps people align living spaces to natural energy fields for the purpose of promoting wealth, good health and peace of mind.
To understand the effect of natural energy, imagine how you feel when you walk through an Asian meditation garden or spend time on a patio surrounded by a beautiful flower garden, complete with song birds and moving, crystal clear water. Such places blend nature with man-made environments. We may not understand why, but we always sense the beneficial effects of a harmonious blending of natural energies into and around our homes and places of work. Feng Shui gives a better understanding of how these energies work and what we can do to take advantage of and increase the positive energies around us.
The philosophy of Feng Shui is based on the concept that the universe is in a state of change. By studying patterns from the ever-changing flow of energy, beneficial and detrimental influences of any building can be evaluated. Properly analyzed, remedies can be determined that should neutralize negative influences and improve health, harmony and prosperity for people in a building.
Energy Flows Through and Around People and Spaces…
- Some places feel heavy or troubled; some feel light and peaceful
- Sometimes people feel down and sometimes they feel uplifted.
- We are trained in the West to see objects, not feel space.
Space is Where Energy Is…
- Western design deals with the stuff in our lives, furniture, walls, and artifacts.
- However, we can feel abundance or lack.
- We can feel happy and more energetic
We Can Tune Out Unhealthy Aspects We Can’t See or Touch..
- We can’t see or touch electromagnetism, light, sound, or climate, however they have a palpable effect on us.
- We know what it feels like to be happy and healthy, and also the opposite.
Think of Feng Shui as a metaphorical language. Much of its beauty and I believe, the reason it brings health, harmony and prosperity to those who follow its principles comes from an intuitive understanding of the way nature enhances or blocks life-enhancing energies. The Chinese have long understood these principles and worked with nature, instead of trying to dominate it.
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