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Which Feng Shui School is Right for You?
by Renate M Bell (c) 2010
There are numerous Feng Shui schools, which can be summarized in this simplified grouping: Traditional or Classical Feng Shui, Black Sect Tantric Buddhism Feng Shui, and Modern Feng Shui. Here are brief descriptions, showing how each school is similar and different from the rest.
The
The
The Flying Stars School is another system which emerged from the
Also used within the
The Black Sect Tantric Buddhism
The
Feng Shui Master Professor Lin Yun introduced BTB to the west, and by the linguistic knowledge and effort of one of his students, Sarah Rossbach, much of his writings have been presented to Feng Shui enthusiasts throughout the
Modern Feng Shui
An example of Modern Feng Shui is the
My Personal Experience
The first workshop I attended revealed the basic tenets of Feng Shui. Honestly, I don’t even remember which school it belonged to. In fact, I didn’t care. My interest was in what I was learning and how effective it could be, not what country or time frame it came from.
After a few years, I enrolled in a 9-week course in the Flying Stars School and learned the ins and outs of the compass, the directions, how to use the Period 8 Chart, how to calculate the Kua number and orient furniture accordingly. My home was soon rearranged based on this teaching.
The greatest impact from the Flying Stars program
Yet, I found myself resonating much more instinctively and intuitively to the 'BTB teachings' that followed a few years later.
In 2009, I enrolled in the Sheffield School of Interior Design’s Feng Shui Interior Design program.
In addition to R. D. Chin’s masterful input, the program features textbooks by Terah Kathryn Collins and Gina Lazenby, whom I consider modern, intuitive Feng Shui experts and whose books are highly recommended. Together with a panel of professional Feng Shui practitioners, the course set forth its goal “to present Feng Shui in a balanced, unbiased way” and the goal was achieved.
So Which School is Right for You?
The best answer to this question is to find out for yourself, trying them all, or as many as possible. Keep in mind, however, that there are no ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ schools. Each is authentic and valuable. Each contributes ways and means to achieve results. As you try them, be careful not to get overwhelmed with differing theories. Notice which you resonate to and which you do not. Work with the ones that feel right to you.
Triple Effectiveness: Attraction, Balance, and Intention
by Renate M Bell (c) 2010
People interested in Feng Shui have placed objects in rooms or introduced certain colors into their décor to increase positive results in specific life areas, such as wealth, career, or relationships, according to the bagua based on suggestions from a book or because 'someone told me to'.
With an in-depth Feng Shui Interior Design consultation, you will gain insight and learn the importance of the power and necessity of your own consciousness and intuition. Rather than place an object, add a color, or use any other enhancement 'just because', you will understand why you should. When you make any changes, consider these three objectives: attraction, balance, and intention. Cures or enhancements set into motion and incorporated into the space which fulfill these three create a triple effectiveness.
Attraction
If traditional Chinese objects, such as fu dogs, bamboo flutes, red tassels, bronze toads and fish are unattractive or unappealing to you, using them for your Feng Shui efforts may not be the best choice for you. Or you may like them, but if you are unaware of what they symbolize, placing them in your space disregards the principles of Feng Shui. The objects, therefore, may be less effective. The same is true for modern or non-traditional objects and enhancements which you may consider unattractive or not understand what they symbolize.
Whether using traditional or non-traditional objects,
when there is this lack of attraction and lack of symbolic understanding, effectiveness may be diminished. Use objects that attract you and have meaning to you.
Surrounding yourself with objects which you consider attractive is highly recommended. Remember, attraction does not always mean the appeal of a physical form but often involves emotion and a "responsive energetic pull". Simply put, you're drawn emotionally or intuitively in a positive way. You are attracted to the object for the essence beyond appearance.
This is important for the Feng Shui practitioner to understand as well. While the client may have a strong positive attraction to an object, the practitioner may not find anything appealing about it. In professional consultations, the practitioner must put personal opinions aside. In such cases, the practitioner may point out the object, with courtesy and respect, and question its value to and purpose for the client. Their conversation will create a better rapport between them and provide the practitioner with more insight as to why the object is an important piece to the client.
The more an object in your space offers you positive energy and good vibes and creates from you uplifting reactions, the stronger its impact on you and your environment. The stronger this impact, the greater the support for your intended Feng Shui design goal or remedy.
This rule of attraction is important to remember when decluttering. As we change over time, the emotional pull of objects can loosen. Our interests have shifted elsewhere over the years, and it may be time to let go. If objects hold no uplifting, positive remembrance or effects, get rid of them. They no longer serve you (no matter who they’re from). Remember this idea of attraction and, as decluttering, be objective and clear about who you are today and whether or not the object continues to hold personal value to you. Let honesty and wisdom be your companions when cleaning!
Balance
Many people search the web or browse bookstore shelves to find quick Feng Shui enhancements for a particular area of life, such as relationships, and they do a good job. They succeed, to the best of their ability. They use an effective remedy and they've brought into their lives what they've wished for. Nothing's wrong with that, is there? Well, kind of. Here is something to keep in mind: one of the greatest values of Feng Shui is creating balance.
When using Feng Shui to create balance and harmony in your life, try not to use it just to 'have what you want'. It's possible that what you want could create imbalance. It is, therefore, important to be clear about your wants. I’m sure you've heard these sayings a bazillion times-- What you want isn't always what you need and Be careful what you wish for.
Let's assume you have firmly established what it is you want, and stay with the example of a relationship. You read articles on Feng Shui blogs and websites, researched tips to increase romance from a few Feng Shui books while enjoying a cappuccino at the bookstore, and you returned home with a fairly solid game plan. It's not long before you've paired a few items on your dresser, added a sensual faux throw on the foot of your bed, bought a second nightstand, and spiced up your bed with red satin sheets. But in all of the excitement, you forgot to consider what's going on at the opposite end of the spectrum.
All areas of life affect each other.
All areas of the bagua affect each other.
Each area of the bagua is directly linked to another, similar to the houses of an astrology chart where, for example, the first house of "Self" is always directly across from the seventh house of the "Marriage partner". Located directly across from the Relationship sector on the bagua is the Self-cultivation sector.
Without keeping this concept of polarities clearly in mind, you could unsuspectingly invite imbalance. Continuing with the relationship example, perhaps you end up so absorbed in the new relationship that other areas of your life begin to suffer. Your hobbies, your meditation practice, your down time to watch television or paint, your girls or boys night out begins slipping away and before you know it, that relationship you've wanted so much is making you feel emotionally disturbed and out of sorts with yourself. You've lost your rhythm. You're out of step. Your relationship enhancements tipped the seesaw and catapulted self-cultivation out the window!
To be a positive, loving, well-rounded and grounded partner and enhance someone else's life (hence enhancing your own!), you must cultivate self-knowledge and remain true to yourself. Honor yourself, even when you are a partner in a relationship. Go back to the internet sites or the bookstore and determine Feng Shui enhancements you need to incorporate into the Self-Cultivation gua!
Each axis should be supported and enhanced as "a whole".
The remaining polarities are: Career and Fame/Reputation, Helpful People/Travel and Wealth/Prosperity, and Family/Health (Past) and Children/Creativity(Future). Let's take a peek into these polarities through potential situations as examples:
What good is fame if the career is off course and unsatisfying? You may have a wonderful reputation but long so deeply for a new career. You may have a great career but a weak reputation. Perhaps you work very hard, but seldom receive the praise you deserve. Think of and enhance both Career and Fame/Reputation guas if you desire improvement or change to either.
And how often to create growth and opportunity do we need the help, guidance, wisdom, and experience of others—our mentors, teachers, clergy, spirit guides, Higher Self? If it is wealth you seek, enhance the Helpful People gua to stimulate receiving more resources and networking. This will be beneficial in creating more resourcefulness in yourself as well.
Perhaps if one would travel to other parts of the world they would recognize the prosperity which already exists in their own lives, and a new energy of gratitude will bloom in their hearts upon returning home. Their desire for prosperity will likely require some reevaluation.
With one’s eye always upon the future, will immediate family needs and health suffer? With one’s mind steadily gazing back into the past, will the future even matter? If the family as a unit cannot function in harmony, won’t the children suffer? If the children are unceasingly the center of attention, isn’t it possible that the marriage of the parents will crack under pressure and neglect? We all know the importance of maintaining these healthy boundaries and having flexibility within family relationships is essential. This is why balance is so important.
Intention
With your goals clearly formulated, it’s time to introduce the thought or objective to your environment. This is achieved through intention.
In a comparable method set forth by the BTB School, three gestures or techniques are employed as a means to:
- purify and solidify your intention
- send your request out onto the vibrational stream or universal 'chi'
- reaffirm your intention with triple reinforcement of body, mind, and speech
When each Feng Shui enhancement is placed with this trinity, you are grounding your goals, actively requesting successful results with grace and respect, and coordinating your goals with conscious resonance.
You will be instructed on how to carry out these three reinforcements during your consultation as needed.
The Bagua: The Sacred Journey of Our Lives
by Renate M Bell © 2010
Resembling a tic-tac-toe board, the bagua (see illustration below) is a simple grid consisting of eight squares surrounding a central square. Traditionally, the bagua is depicted in an octagonal-shape, suggested by the dashed lines.
The term bagua means “eight” (ba) and “areas or houses” (gua). We can find the meaning behind each of these eight guas or sectors in the classical Chinese oracle, the I Ching, where they are referred to as trigrams.
Trigrams consist of triple line formations composed of solid lines ___ representing male/active, and broken or dashed lines _ _ representing female/passive, differing combinations, if you will, of the Yin-Yang represented by the center gua. Each formation or grouping of lines is assigned to one of the eight squares of the bagua. While this article will not go deeper into the meaning behind the line configurations, those interested should consult the I Ching.
The Bagua © Renate M Bell 2010
Each trigram or sector of the bagua contains layers of meaning in Feng Shui, primarily the specific areas of our lives (career, family, marriage, etc…), colors, elements, and directions. In this article, areas of life will be our focus.
In the illustration above, the most commonly used names are given for each gua. Like the Tree of Life in the Kabbalah, the Major and Minor Arcana cards of the Tarot Deck, the meanings assigned to numbers in Numerology, or the twelve houses of the astrological natal chart, all areas of life, all aspects of our personalities find their appropriate place of expression and analysis.
By using the bagua, we can instantly gauge how supportive the floor plan of a home or building is to its occupants, how the layout of each room will benefit or challenge certain areas or functions in life. For example, ideally the master bedroom is located in the Relationship sector, the office in the Career sector, and so on.
If an architect would consult the bagua prior to and during the design phase, he or she would arrange the spaces of the building to best support different aspects of the occupants’ lives and functions. This preliminary consideration is beneficial for commercial as well as residential construction.
Yet for those of us who are not living in a Feng Shui-designed home or working in a Feng Shui-ed office building, the bagua is available for our personal analysis. We can, with our own effort, rearrange are rooms and possessions as deemed necessary and successfully bring in enhancements to achieve desired outcomes. It’s a matter of learning about the bagua and getting at it! There are many books and practitioners available for guidance.
In western Feng Shui schools, such as BTB, the bagua is placed over the floor plan of a residence, commercial building, or individual room by aligning the bottom row of squares (Knowledge/Self-Cultivation, Career, and Helpful People/Travel) to the wall where the front or main door is located. Here is a basic example:
When using the bagua in this manner, the front door will always occur in either the Knowledge/Self-cultivation sector (Ken), the Career sector (K’an), or the Helpful People/Travel sector (Ch’ien). In the example above, the door is located in the Career sector.
The Sacred Journey of Our Lives
Now that you have the basic understanding of the history and placement of the bagua, let’s look at the guas and learn how they correspond to different aspects of our lives.
1. Career/Journey
The first gua, the start-off point, is the Career, also referred to as Journey. Simply put, it is where our journey begins and reflects what our individual path in life is to us, our purpose, and our sense of productivity and usefulness. More commonly referred to as the Career gua, it reflects our jobs, the tasks we select or are chosen to perform, the industries we find ourselves drawn to, our ability to find and hold jobs, to advance, bog-down, or shift our careers.
In this area, it is important to ask: what is it that I want to do? What is it that I’m good at? What comes naturally to me? What requires more education? What can I share? How can I help and serve others? Where can this passion of mine take me? How can it make a difference in my life and in the lives of others?
It’s also an area to honor yourself. No one is walking in your shoes. No one but you is walking your path. You are uniquely yourself. Here, ultimately, you must cherish and share who you are, your authentic self so that you may live an authentic life.
2. Relationships/Marriage
This gua is also referred to as Commitment. All of your relationships are reflected here- with yourself, your spouse or partner, with your family and friends, with co-workers.
Most often the spouse or intimate partner is thought of here, but this area is about all relationships, showing your ability to relate, your availability to others, your level of commitment to partnerships and friendships, how open and receptive you are to love.
Do you feel worthy to be loved? Do you share your emotions easily or feel blocked and unable to communicate with your loved ones?
People often look at this gua as representing the other person, be it the spouse or friend. But relationships are only as good as the one you have with yourself. Look into this area for clues as to how you feel about yourself and, if need be, begin creating a better foundation within to create richer, more loving and open relationships with others.
This sector reflects the feminine qualities within each of us, male or female. How nurturing are we to ourselves and others? How much are we able to compromise? Do we have compassion for those who are struggling and are less fortunate then we are?
If married, what is the quality of your marriage? Have you been able to maintain the passion, the mutual admiration, respect, and love for each other? Have you become bored, overworked, exhausted, that your relationship to each other is suffering? What can you do to rekindle the sparks that initially ignited the love between the two of you?
3. Family/Health
This sector reflects each member of our families, our ancestry, and heritage. Whether it is the immediate family living in our home- our own children and spouse- or our extended families who live elsewhere, this area shows how well these established and taken-for-granted connections are doing.
Here people who are like-family are included. Do you have a friend who’s more like a sibling? An elderly person who is like a grandparent to you? Do you have adopted family members? Family members through marriage? In-laws? Step-family members? This gua reflects whether these relationships are thriving and supportive, neglected and loosing value, are harmonious, or need attention and mending.
How mature and responsible are we in our family relationships? How often are we throwing our own problems at family members and neglecting their own individual needs? Are we at odds with someone because their personality is completely different than ours, or do we have the security and curiosity to enjoy them for who and how they are regardless of differences? Do we offer encouragement to one another? How honest are we as family?
This gua is also the area for Health and well being. We can look at the connection to the quality of our family relationships and make a direct correlation to our health. We can also look at health issues through the medical lens of genetics- the predestined issues, chronic concerns, and vulnerable areas that we may have inherited.
How well are you taking care of yourself? If you are a parent, how well are you balancing your own needs with the needs of your children? Are your own needs being met or neglected? Failure to take care of yourself will eventually challenge your ability to care for your children. Even flight attendants tell us to inhale the oxygen first, then apply the mask to our child. This is not a natural instinct, as a parent would first respond by helping their children. Yet, when you think about, if you are not well, how will you protect your kids?
In this gua, we must ask: Am I eating healthy? Am I getting enough exercise? Do I balance work and pleasure or do I let work dominate my life, affect my health, and interfere with having quality time with my family?
4. Wealth/Prosperity
On the most basic level, the Wealth gua reflects our bank accounts and our financial assets. It shows our ability to attract, use, and save money.
Are we constantly scraping bottom? Are we living in accordance with our income? Are we overspending? Does money come and go? Do we find it difficult to save? Are we judging ourselves, our lives, on what we make financially? Is money all that matters?
More than dollar signs, this gua is about gratitude. When we sincerely value what we already have in our lives, we live in a richer, open state, which permits more opportunities to flow in. When we are habitually inconsiderate and lack gratitude for what we have, this negative attitude clogs the channels, whereby less and less will arrive.
Are we thriving on all levels? Physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually- are we prospering? Consider each level of being and check in from time to time for an honest self-evaluation. This type of assessment should be considered for your entire household. Look to this area for clues revealing whether you are experiencing or about to experience blockages and expenditures, or whether you are maintaining a healthy cash flow with balanced living.
5. Earth, the Center Gua
Consider the center-most gua the hub of the wheel of your life. From the center you can look out upon all aspects of your being with equilibrium, with equal share. If this area is obstructed, it will affect other areas of your life.
Think of Italian or Mexican villas, for example, which have open courtyards in the center of their floor plans. These internal spaces serve as the ‘community’ center for the family, the heart of the home. Contained within the center, they open to the beauty and health of nature, provide lush gardens from the sunlight and rain, and stimulate peacefulness from the view of the open sky.
Not everyone can afford to live in such a home, so it is important for us to make sure this area is in good condition, well lit, uncluttered, organized, and being used.
This area reflects our core being, our centered self. How grounded are you? Are you swayed too much by the opinions of others, by too much work, by taking on too many activities instead of prioritizing? Often we fill our lives with so much activity that we loose touch with ourselves. If the hub of the wheel becomes imbalanced, the other areas of life will become wobbly, and imbalances there are sure to follow.
How connected do you feel with Nature? When is the last time you took a walk in the woods, the park, or along the beach? Wherever you live, there is a means to keep your connection to the natural world. Container-gardening on your city apartment balcony works. Let the sounds, scents, textures, and beauty of the natural world calm your nerves. Enjoy the outdoors. Give yourself permission to slow you down from time to time and rejuvenate. For this reason, this gua is also a secondary consideration for health and well being.
6. Helpful People/Travel
This gua reflects the people in our lives who have assisted us in any type of beneficial learning- teachers, coaches, mentors, tutors, counselors, therapists, clergymen and priests, spiritual teachers and gurus. When we respect and honor the people who have helped us grow, we continue growing with an openness, a desire to help others, and to perpetuate the teachings from the experience gained.
Helpful people are our resources. They offer us insight where we have confusion, lend a hand when we cannot shoulder a burden or project alone, and bring a fresh perspective filled with wisdom when we are stuck or unable to see past our own noses.
Can you look at the different phases in your life- childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and adult life- and recognize and remember the people who inspired, protected, educated, and empowered you? How grateful we are for these wonderful people who have been or are currently in our lives is reflected in this area. By treating this area with dignity and reverence, we are opening up to potential teachers and resources for the future.
Peers such as co-workers, team-mates, partners often provide daily assistance. They, too, are included here.
Additionally, helpful people also include religious icons, saints, angels, spirit guides and guardians. Here you find the courage to ask yourself what your image of Heaven is, what religion has provided for you, and if it has remained supportive and conducive to your growth as an individual. Here we send our prayers up for continued guidance and blessings.
This gua is also about travel. How often have you ventured out of your comfort zone, explored new places, new venues, new cultures? When traveling, are you open to the experiences? Do you enjoy meeting new people? Do you travel only for work?
Travel is not only physical and geographical. We travel constantly in our thoughts. Are you thinking too much? Are you finding it difficult to settle your thoughts? Are you daydreaming more than being practical? Are you taking an active role in nurturing your dreams into reality?
7. Children/Creativity
In this gua, we celebrate the children in our lives. These can be our own children or, if we do not have our own, the children we love and cherish who belong to family members or friends. They may be the children in our classrooms or playing on our ball fields.
We can celebrate all the children of the world here. In doing so, we honor simplicity, curiosity, questioning, exploring, and discovering. We reconnect with the positive energy of enthusiasm, excitement, eagerness, and wonder.
Staying in touch with the child within allows us to maintain the ability to look upon things with fresh eyes, to stay flexible when faced with various challenges, to come up with fun ways to accomplish our goals and solve our problems.
This gua also reflects our own child-like nature, our honesty, and our creative, spontaneous expression. Are you expressing your unique perspective with ease, with joy, in fun and unusual ways? Are you feeling blocked and unable to share your own points of view, or your opinions with others? Do you resonate with self-sabotaging beliefs that you’re not creative enough to contribute or share what you come up with?
Ultimately, this area should reflect our joy in life and living. We are free-spirited and non-technical, but rather full of ideas, planning, and using the imagination. We experience the pleasure of Being. Here, we can color outside the lines, paint the sky orange, the grass purple, and the house hot pink. When was the last time you felt joy? Drew or painted with no rules? Made something with your own hands? Laughed until your belly ached?
This gua also reflects our future, our ability to plan ahead, our interest in setting goals and the effort required to achieve them.
8. Knowledge/Self-Cultivation
The Knowledge gua reflects the capacity we have to learn, study, research, investigate, contemplate, and reflect. But is our knowledge brainy book-learning or is it knowledge through books with practical application and realized experience? Are we honoring and nurturing our innate desire to continue learning no matter our age?
The challenges and obstacles in our lives each contain a gift, a lesson, that if recognized, permits us to grow and through growth, wisdom is gained and shared. We learn more about ourselves, what our weaknesses are, our strengths, our vulnerabilities, and talents. How well do you know yourself? Do you feel good about yourself?
This gua also reflects our ability to enjoy our own company, to like who we are when we’re alone, to hear and respond to our intuition, to our heart, to our Higher Self. Can you sit quietly in contemplation, either through meditation, journaling, or an activity such as yoga?
Is your mind more like a choppy, agitated sea full of wave after wave of thought or is it like a reflective surface waiting for a higher impression of guidance? Have you started a spiritual practice? Do you keep a dream journal? In what ways do you reach in and touch this sacred space within?
In the Self-Cultivation gua, it is up to us to center ourselves and tap into our inner worth, our core essence, our spirit and Soul. Are we expressing our highest good? Do we act from Soul or are we merely fulfilling the ceaseless demands of the ego?
Here, our Soul asks us to remember what is essential, relevant, and vital, reminding us to nurture the light within and to shine for everyone around us.
9. Fame/Reputation
This gua reflects our achievements, rewards, awards, and realizations. It is the area where we are acknowledged for who we are, what we’ve done, how we may have encouraged, inspired, or changed things, situations, or people. Here we are recognized and honored by others. We develop integrity to respect and honor ourselves and all of humanity.
When was the last time you set out to achieve something, and did? Can you remember the feeling of satisfaction, of enrichment, of empowerment, and accomplishment?
Do you say what you mean and mean what you say? Does your word count? Do you live up to your promises? Do you hurt people, knowingly or otherwise, by saying you’ll do something and then not follow through? Do you burn bridges or do you maintain respectable, mature, and responsible connections? Are you trustworthy, reliable, and honest?
This final gua also reflects our ability to attune to higher truths, to tap into cosmic and natural laws. The fiery energy of Soul is awakened and realization dawns. Here we rise above the feeling and often confusing nature of the senses, and open to the clarity of simply knowing with an illumined mind. We’ve expanded into the light of truth and realize it has been with us every step of the way. Through the journey, the sacred journey of life, all of our experiences have lifted the layers that previously blocked our awareness.
Too much change at one time can overwhelm us. Return to the bagua over and over, working with one area at a time, if you have to. Look at areas of your home, your office, your individual rooms, your overall property and observe the connections to these deeper meanings. Let the rich symbolism of the bagua help you live the best life you can and accompany you along the ups and downs of Life’s sacred journey.
Wishing you peace and harmony in all areas of your Being~