Achieve A Balance - Feng Shui All The Way

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese belief that involves studying natural and the built environments. The arrangements of these objects affect the yin and the yang, as well as the energy of a room. Feng Shui has developed into many different versions based on religion, geography, symbolism and culture. One commonality of all Feng Shui practitioners, Of course, is the belief in energy. Different schools of Feng Shui have progressed into seven different forms.

1. The Compass School

The first school of thought is the Compass school. The compass school uses 8 trigrams of the I-Ching. These 8 trigrams are known collectively as Pa Kua, that is based on the eight main directions of a compass. Each of these directions is associated with a specific chi. A southern direction, for example, is vibrant energy and is associated with the middle of the summer.

2. Eight Mansion School

Another school is the Eight Mansion School, also known as the Eight House Feng Shui. This school of thought is based on the individual number of a person. The number of the man living in the home is used to bring harmony and balance to the home. Furthermore, people using this system have both lucky and unlucky numbers, with the west numbers being 2, 6, 7, and 8 and the east numbers being 1, 3, 4, and 9.

3. Form School

The Form school of thought is based on the landscapes shape and uses four symbolic animals. These animals are used to identify the type of landscape. The Form school is easy to use along with the Compass school to increase chi both in and out of the home.

4. Black Hat Sect

The Black Hat Sect is another school of thought. The Black Hat Sect used a fixed entry point for determination of the life areas. It is similar in philosophy to the Compass school, but the areas are different. In addition, the Black Hat Sect mixes psychology, Buddhism and basic design principles, as well.

5. Nine Star Key School

Another school is the Nine Star Key School. This form used stars to help identify lucky and unlucky days. Using complicated math formulas, this school can pinpoint when a person will get married and the astrological sign of the person to be married to. This form is very inflexible and is based purely on science. The Nine Star Key will also tell the practitioner what house he lives in and makes suggestions on how to live based on the house.

6. Flying Star School

The Flying Star philosophy is the most common Asian form of Feng Shui and is based on astrology and numerology. This form is difficult to understand and to learn. It, too, is based on mathematical principals and is used to determine a persons fate.

7. Four Pillars School

The final school of thought is the Four Pillars. This form is not very common and is based on astrology according to the persons date of birth, right down to the minutes. This form is also used to determine a persons fate.

8. The Five Elements

After determining that school of thought is best for an individual, it is important to also understand each element. These five elements are: Earth, Fire, Water, Metal, and Wood. The elements are capable of destroying each others energies and forming a continual cycle. Through the use of these elements, balance and harmony can be created in a home. If these elements are used incorrectly, Of course, the energy can be destroyed or lessened.

Each of the five elements is also associated with a color, direction, and number.

Earth (Brown/Beige) - 2,5,8 - Southwest

Fire (Red/Purple) ?? 9 - South

Water (Blue/Black) ?? 1 - North

Metal (Grey/Reflective) - 6,7 - West

Wood (Green) - 3,4 - East

Each of these elements has both a destructive and a productive cycle and must be used carefully.

The productive cycle uses the following pattern:

Water ?? Wood ?? Fire ?? Earth ?? Metal

Water feed feeds Wood for it to grow. Wood then feeds Fire and produces Earth. Earth, in turn created Metal. Metal holds water and, thus, continues the cycle. To keep this cycle flowing, bring into the room the elements before and after the main element

The destructive cycle reduces energy and can be used in a room where one element needs to be lessened. It follows this pattern:

Water ?? Fire ?? Metal ?? Wood ?? Earth

Water puts out Fire and Fire melts Metal. Metal cuts Wood down and Wood clogs Earth, while Earth muddies Water.

9. Using Feng Shui

Every room needs to be balanced with each of the five elements. Some elements can be heavier than others due to size; chair might score as three counts of an element while a throw pillow only counts as one.

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Creating Powerful Change with Feng Shui

The start of each year is a time of tremendous power. It's an opportunity to press the reset button on your life. Its a chance to look back on the previous year, set goals, create resolutions and wish lists. Unfortunately two weeks into the New Year many people can barely remember what those resolutions were. How about you?

Did you start adding exercise programs, prosperity goals, relationship goals into your life? Did you make space for them?

In designing the life you choose, first you must make space. In Feng Shui, clutter busting is the first step. If you place enhancements in your home or office without clearing the clutter, they will be ineffective.

The definition of clutter is anything unfinished, unused, unresolved, tolerated, disorganized. If all you ever do is remove the clutter from your environment and your life, you will be making space for who you truly are. In my experience, it is the single most powerful thing you can do.

The reason clutter affects you so greatly is that it blocks the flow of energy. If you surround yourself with things that are disorganized, or hold bad memories, or things that remind you of something you would rather not think about, theyll have an effect on your energy. Anything you are tolerating blocks your energy.

If you can bring yourself to clutter bust when you are feeling stuck, watch out!

Here are some of the things my clients have experienced:

- In clearing out her closet, within a few days a client had the urge to begin writing an autobiography she had been trying to write for 4 years. The secrets she cleared out of her closet allowed her to write about the secrets in her family.

- Clearing the clutter from her office a client gaining new clients that same week. This included clearing her filing cabinet and making space for new client files, removing a broken clock from her prosperity corner, and removing a painting from her relationship corner that didnt reflect the type of relationships she wanted with her clients.

- A client cleared out an office and discovered he had made space for a new career path he is much better suited to

- Doing a body cleanse which freed up the energy to gain clarity and to face relationship issues

- After having her condo on the market for some months, this client cleared the clutter in her home and the property sold within 2 weeks

- Another client cleared the clutter in her home, it sold within a week and for much more than expected

- A woman with chronic fatigue syndrome gained a noticeable increase in energy by having someone help her declutter her home, including getting rid of clothes that held memories of her life at the time she discovered she had chronic fatigue

Growth creates clutter. As you make changes within yourself, more of your belongings fit the definition of clutter. Having the urge to discard things in your home or office is a sign of you stepping more fully into yourself and your abundance. If you are growing and changing you are continually creating clutter.

Often its not until you clear your clutter that you realize how it has been holding you in the past. Clearing clutter is the fastest way I know to shift energy and create change.

2003, Vicky White. All rights reserved. May be duplicated with attribution and copyright notice intact. http://www.LifeDesignStrategies.com/

Vicky White is a Certified Feng Shui Consultant and Life Coach who works with clients both locally and internationally. Get your FREE 7-part e-course Your Secret Weapon: Powerful Feng Shui Tips To Give Your Business The Competitive Edge at http://www.LifeDesignStrategies.com/