The fundamentals of Feng Shui are about creating balance—to harmonize and balance the polar influences in our physical dwellings as well as our inner sanctuaries.
What is Feng Shui? “Feng” in ancient Chinese means wind, and “Shui” means water. Literally speaking, Feng Shui translates to “Wind and Water.” Water represents life; it is a priceless, indispensable element that sustains all living beings. Without water, there is no life. Water symbolizes the original cosmic mother, the giver of life, and is the womb of existence. Life was born from water, the universal matter from which the cosmos was created, originating from the primordial oceans.
However, water alone does not possess life. It must be infused by the elements of air or igneous light that animates and sets it in motion. This igneous light is known to the ancient Chinese as Wind. In the absence of wind to carry the water, there can only be desert—places where no one can truly live. People may cross deserts, but they do not settle there; they keep moving until they find an oasis with water. Once water is found, life appears, and every organization begins to take shape around it, as vegetation, animals, and human beings gather to form civilizations.
Take Australia, for example: it is the largest single island or continent, and all its cities are built along the coast, where water is present. The center is dominated by deserts and bushland, with hardly any inhabitants.
Here’s how it all begins: Once upon a time, long ago, the primary occupation of mankind was farming. The cultivation of crops and domestic animals was essential for survival. Everyone owned a plot of land to grow grains, vegetables, and perishable crops. They plowed their land, planted the crops, fertilized, and harvested according to the seasons. However, to ensure a good harvest, they needed to understand and live in harmony with nature, as nature provides. Farmers knew that without water, their crops, animals, and even their own survival were at stake. Thus, they needed to find a suitable location to settle.
By observing nature, they discovered that living on the rain shadow side of a mountain valley protected them from hurricanes and typhoons. More importantly, it provided them with fresh air, healthy rainfall, and abundant streams and rivers. There was life in abundance, and they lived happily ever after.
Years passed, and life evolved. One day, a clever individual studied the farmers’ strategies and formulated the theory now commonly known as “Feng Shui.” Today, Feng Shui has become complicated, mixing traditions, religions, energy work, rituals, superstitions, omens, rules, charms, talismans, and even aspects of science, philosophy, metaphysics, and theosophy. Unfortunately, many gullible individuals fall prey to charlatans who promise success and wealth.
“Advancement is man’s ability to complicate simplicity.” Feng Shui is fundamentally about balance—balancing the eight directions: as above, so below; as in front, so behind; as left, so right; and as within, so without. Charlatan Feng Shui masters might define the eight directions as north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest. Many so-called masters use fear tactics and scare strategies to manipulate their clients, often enticing them with promises of wealth, but these methods do not serve the highest good; they simply siphon money under the guise of assistance.
These masters will first entice you into believing you have many problems, then take your money, and finally disappear, leaving you lost and in deep water.
There are nine fundamental basics of Feng Shui. If you do not follow these basics, no matter what you do to your house, office, or any dwelling, nothing will work:
- Cleanliness
- Flow
- Space
- Vision
- Odor
- Taste
- Auditory
- Feel
- Thought
These nine basic principles are used to balance the entire area, which is further subdivided into eight regions: above and below, left and right, front and back, inside and outside. Our true home is our physical body, where our spirit and soul reside. Almost everyone, including Feng Shui practitioners, neglects this important point, becoming so caught up with the external that they overlook the most crucial person within us: the real “you.”