20 MINUTES TO MASTER ... FENG SHUI. Simon Brown

energy, d) the eight trigrams, e) the magic square, f) the eight directions and g) the compass. Once I have explained these principles I can then go on to explain how to apply Feng Shui to your own home or place of work.

      Feng Shui has been practised throughout China, Japan and Hong Kong over many centuries. Over such a large area different schools of Feng Shui have developed. There are four aspects popular in the west. They are the Eight Directions, the Eight Houses, the Flying Star School and the Form School. The Eight Directions, the Eight Houses and the Flying Star School methods of Feng Shui all use a compass as the basis for deciding how the energy in each part of a building will influence the occupants. In these methods, the earth’s magnetic field, the Sun’s solar energy, and the influence of the planets are all thought to have the greatest effect on the way energy flows through a building.

      THE EIGHT DIRECTIONS, OR THE COMPASS METHOD

      This method uses a compass to determine the location of eight different areas, each area experiencing a particular type of energy. The features of the house such as the doors, windows and stairs, the function of the rooms such as the kitchen, or the shape of the house, are examined to determine their influence on the home according to the direction in which they lie. In addition, a form of Feng Shui astrology, called Nine Ki, is used to understand and determine the influence of the date and direction of the occupant’s move to this building, as well as to establish the ideal time to implement any changes to the building, or to decide when the occupants might initiate important changes in their lives. In addition, the occupants’ own Nine Ki chart will influence the recommendations made for their home. Another common approach is to use a form of astrology know as the four pillars to take a reading of the five elements present as the time of birth.

      THE EIGHT HOUSE METHOD

      This system combines the position of the front of the building with its compass bearing to determine the nature of eight segments, known as houses, within the building. The occupant’s own birth date and Nine Ki information then determine the suitability of each of the eight houses within the building for the occupants.

      THE FLYING STAR METHOD

      With this school the position of the front of the building, with its compass bearing, is used to orientate a chart onto which the building’s own birth chart is superimposed. The building’s chart is determined by the date it was constructed. The features of the building and the surrounding landscape can then be examined, and their effect on the building’s birth chart calculated. In addition, at the beginning of each year, the Lo Shu chart of that year can also be superimposed over the building’s chart to provide insights into possible problems in that particular coming year.

      THE FORM SCHOOL

      The major difference with this method is that a compass is not used at all. The idea is that the way people enter a building determines the way the energy flows through a building. For this reason the main entrance of a building is used to orientate a grid of nine squares, known as the Ba Gua, which then provides information on how each area will affect the occupants.

      Practitioners of the first three methods may use a sophisticated form of compass, called a Lo Pan, which is designed to provide extensive information on the eight areas of the building.

      During the years I have been working as a Feng Shui practitioner I have been to hundreds of homes, offices and businesses. In each building I have made a floor plan, or used existing drawings, and carefully applied the principles of the compass style of Feng Shui. In each case I have listened to the history of what happened to my clients since they moved into this building. By repeatedly going through the same process with each person I have been able to establish in my own mind, how the timing and direction of a move to a new building, along with the building itself, affected the lives of the occupants. I have found that the more experience I gain with examining the history of a building and its occupants, the better I become at being able to advise people on when to move, which directions would be most favourable, and which building would most help them succeed in life.

      No building is perfect and most people think there are areas in their life they would like to improve. Therefore a lot of my work involves going to existing buildings and advising the occupants on how to improve their living or working space. With each person I keep my own copy of the drawings, and my written report. This helps me keep in contact over the years and assess the effects of my recommendations.

      People often ask me, ‘Does Feng Shui really work? What can I expect?’ In my opinion Feng Shui is just one piece of the jigsaw puzzle. It is not the jigsaw puzzle itself. I have clients who have experienced amazing results almost immediately. For other clients it has been one small stepping stone on the path to a better quality of life.

      When I consider all the different people, their lives and the effects Feng Shui has had, it would be hard to simply answer the above questions. What I have learnt is that a lot depends on what astrological phase the person is in, the direction and timing of their moves, and the way Chi moves through the building they are in. If only one of these factors is not in someone’s favour and it is possible to correct this, then the person can expect much quicker results. For example, someone moves in a good direction to a home, and is in an astrological phase that is supportive to what they want to achieve, but there is a problem with their home. Their bed is in a room where the energy is working against them and the bed itself faces a direction that influences their energy in a way that makes it more difficult for them to succeed in life. Assuming the rest of their home is favourable, by moving their bed to a location that is helping them, they could expect to experience dramatic improvements in the quality of their life.

      Much of my work is rather like that of a detective. To work out the best solution to help someone, I first need to find the cause of the problem. This involves a detailed investigation into a) each person’s Nine Ki astrological chart, b) their moves, c) the timing of important events in their life, and d) the building they live and/or, work in. Once that is complete I am in a much better position to answer the questions of whether Feng Shui can work for them and to what extent. At that stage I feel more confident about telling people what I feel they can expect and when.

      In my opinion Feng Shui does eventually work for everyone. However, the real question is whether a person’s expectations of Feng Shui are realistic considering their own situation.

      In writing this book I have taken the aspects of Feng Shui that I have found to be most important in my own Feng Shui consultations and concentrated on explaining these as clearly as I can. This book is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to all aspects of Feng Shui. There are many excellent books on Feng Shui available, and I would certainly recommend reading about the various approaches.

      I have laid out this book in a similar way to my own Feng Shui consultations. First I will explain the principles of Feng Shui, then how to carry out your own Feng Shui detective work and finally I will describe typical Feng Shui solutions.

CHAPTER 1

       CHI

      Oriental medicine and philosophy is based on the premise that along with all the physical aspects of our world that we can see, hear, touch, smell and taste, there is a movement of a subtle flow of electromagnetic energy. In China this energy is called Chi, in Japan Ki, and in India Prana. Ki is sometimes also spelt Qi.

      This Chi flows through our bodies in much the same way as our blood. Along the centre of our body are seven large concentrations of Chi called chakras (see Figure 2). Spreading out from the chakras are 14 large paths of Chi known as meridians. Twelve of these form pairs and flow along each arm and leg. Like large blood vessels, they take Chi to smaller and smaller channels until each cell is nourished by both blood and Chi (see Figure 3).