Different schools of feng shui
have developed over the centuries. All schools of feng shui
are based on similar universal knowledge, but have developed different
approaches and techniques for identifying and balancing chi. The
two oldest, traditional schools are the Form School and the Compass School.
Form School
This is the oldest form of feng shui.
It concerns understanding the energy of land forms and waterways,
based on their shape, size and relative positions, as to how they will
affect the people living on the land and in the buildings on the land.
The orientation of homes and burial sites is also a part of form school.
This is a more visual approach, relying on analysis of the specific energies
of the land, buildings, waterways, and roadways and then recommending proper
placement of buildings and burial sites in relation to the physical surroundings.
Four symbolic animals: the tortoise,
the green dragon, the white tiger and the red phoenix are represented in
different land formations and man made structures. It is preferable
to have a mountain at the back of your building for support (the tortoise);
have the green dragon to your left of your building, when looking out from
the front entrance; have the white tiger to the right of your building,
when looking out from the front entrance (the white tiger, should be smaller
than the green dragon); and the red phoenix should be in front of the building.
What this means in actuality is that you need to have either natural or
man made support behind you and on both sides of you with clear open
space in front, which will then collect the energy which will nourish the
people in the building.
Compass School - Eight Mansions or
East-West School
This school is based on the compass
eight directions. Every person has four good directions and four
bad directions, as does every building. People belong to either the
West Group or the East Group. This is determined by the year you
are born. Buildings belong to either the West Group or the East Group,
depending on its sitting direction. By knowing and using your
best directions for sleeping, working, studying, and negotiating, you will
be more supported in your life. This school enables you to understand
your compatibility or lack of compatibility with other individuals,
as well as buildings. There is no time factor in this school in the
East-West School. Click here to determine your personal Best/Worst
Directions, if you are of the East Group or West Group, and your Personal
Trigram and Element.
Compass School - Flying Stars
The the Flying Stars School uses the
Eight Trigrams of the I Ching, and the lo shu magic square (used
to divide a house, building or room into nine sectors. Each trigram
is made up of yin and yang lines and each relates to a compass directions,
an element, a season of the year, various parts of the body, members in
the family, a color and specific shapes.
This school encompasses a thorough understanding
of yin yang theory, five element theory, Chinese astrology and numerology.
It is very computational, relying more on the use of scientific formulae
to understand the energetic qualities of an environment. It is some
times referred to as Time Period Feng Shui.
A special compass, called a
lou pan, is used to take a directional reading of the home or building.
A person's date of birth and the construction date of the building are
also important factors in Flying Stars calculations. The birth
date relates to the individual's personal trigram and best and worst directions.
The year of construction relates to the unique time factor in this school's
mathematical calculations. This school recognizes that everything is energy
and that all energy is in a constant state of change and operates according
to specific cycles of time. It is based on scientific observations of energetic
patterns that are consistently repeatable.
Feng shui evaluations based on the East/West
School, along with the principles behind the Flying Stars calculations
and an understanding of Form School, produces the highest form of
feng shui analysis.
Life Aspiration School
This school is a simplified form
of feng shui and easy to learn. The pa kua or bagua is used as an
energy map and is broken down into eight directions. Each direction
is responsible for a specific life aspiration and has an element and color
associated with it. The different directions can be activated
by different types of remedies. When these remedies are put into
place, they increase the luck associated with the aspiration of the direction.
The aspirations are:
Wealth and prosperity/Southeast
Recognition and Fame/South
Marriage and romantic happiness/Southwest
Children and Joy
Mentors, helpful people, networking/Northeast
Career prospects/North
Knowledge and education/Northeast
Family relationships and health/East
Although specific elemental remedies are
used to activate each life aspiration, I am convinced that it is the belief
and the conviction of the intention behind the cure or remedy
that acts as a catalyst for change. The pa kua is placed over the home
or building based on the direction the front door faces, therefore true
directions are being used. Another important aspect of this
school is determining a persons best and worst directions. Everyone
has four favorable and for unfavorable directions. By knowing and using
your best directions for sleeping, studying, working, etc. you will be
more supported in your environment.
Black
Sect Feng Shui
Black Sect Feng Shui derives, in part,
from Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, as taught by Professor Lin Yun of Berkeley,
California. He brought his teachings from Taiwan to the United States
in 1986. It is the most simplified approach to feng shui.
It is a school of thought that uniquely
combines the traditional principles of Feng Shui design with spirituality,
psychology, modern science and the transcendental to reflect the needs
of society today. It is sometimes referred to as Western
Feng Shui. In its purest form, it is taught as a spiritual practice.
However, one does not need to be a Buddhist, or for that matter of any
particular faith to apply the principles of this school of feng shui.
It has more to do with working with Spirit or God as co-creators, using
the mind in a positive and constructive way to create our reality by working
with both visible and invisible chi.
With this school, rather than using
a magnetic compass to determine the directions, each house or room is evaluated
from the position of the main door and the interior doors, by using a bagua.
Therefore, there is no direct relationship to the cardinal directions.
The
bagua is the energy map that is used as a template that is superimposed
over a floor plan or property to evaluate the quality of the various
energies. Each section of the bagua is called a gua and has specific
qualities that are attached to each, such as fame, wealth, marriage,
career etc. Each has a direction, element and color associated with it.
Specific elemental cures are used to activate or balance the different
guas. Here, there needs to be a note of caution. If elemental
remedies are used inappropriately, based only on what can be seen or because
of a static energy template, there is the potential for creating
conflict and or harm. For example, many books recommend using
water, such as a fountain, in the wealth area to increase wealth.
But without knowing the deeper level of feng shui, this could cause
a problem. Hypothetically, let's say that the area needs the fire
element (the real southeast direction) to enhance wealth, then by putting
water there you are actually extinguishing your prospects for wealth.
Feng Shui is not that simplistic. If it were, then everyone who puts a
fountain in their wealth corner would be wealthy.
When benefits do occur from using the
elements, again, I am convinced it is the belief and the conviction
of the intention behind the elemental remedy that acts as a catalyst for
change. The different areas of the bagua can also be symbolically enhanced
with things other than the elements and beneficial results can occur for
the same above mentioned reasons.
Why All The Feng Shui Methods Work
Over time people have come to believe
that having good feng shui in their home or business is a way to attract
and have prosperity, good relationships, health, etc. This is true.
However, as I have explained, there
are several different methods or schools of feng shui. Energy or chi is
evaluated and interpreted differently by a feng shui practitioner, depending
on the method or methods that they have learned and what they believe according
to what they have been taught. Aside from Form School or Landscape Feng
Shui, which is the basis of all feng shui methods, there is generally not
a lot of consensus as to what is agreed upon in terms of how to analyze
and interpret the energy of a place and the ways to adjust the energy of
a place. If you have read more than one book on feng shui you have probably
noticed some inconsistencies or conflicting information.
With so many different methods being
used by practitioners with their clients, why do they all seem to get positive
results for their clients when many of the methods seem to conflict with
each other? The simple answer is Belief, Intention and Resonance.
Everyone creates their reality based
on both their conscious and unconscious beliefs. This statement is both
a scientific and metaphysical fact. If you, as a client are drawn to and
resonate with a particular practitioner who practices a particular method
of feng shui, then there is an implicit agreement between the two of you,
based on belief, that the recommendations for adjusting the feng
shui of a place will balance the energy and generate harmony and attract
the things you are desiring. It is even more powerful if there is agreed
upon intention behind the feng shui remedies. It is as simple as that.
Another way of loooking at this is,
the chi in your body acts very similarly to the way the energy in a magnet
works, it draws to it the same type of energy it magnetizes out.
This is another way of saying that your
consciousness is represented in your environment. For instance, if
your chi is sending out signals that resonate to a sense of harmony and
balance, then it will draw to it things, events, and opportunities that
will harmonious and balanced. That’s why is so important to work
with and balance the chi in your environment because it directly affects
what type of relationships, finances, career opportunities, etc., that
you will attract. This is why you must make sure that your environment
reflects what you want to pull in. If you don’t like what you have
or see, then change it. But change it with conscious intention, positive
beliefs and attitudes and with an understanding of feng shui principles.
You cannot make changes to the external
environment without having corresponding changes take place on the inside.
These changes can be perceptual, emotional or spiritual. In many
case these changes confer growth and self-transformation. Conversely,
you can’t make internal changes without corresponding external changes
needing to be made to your environment. If you don’t make changes to your
external environment to match your inner energetic state, then your environment
can pull you back into old habits and old patterns. It is a matter of resonance.
You want the inside and the outside to have similar resonance. It
is similar to two tuning forks that are vibrating at the same frequency.
Simply stated, the majority of people
are attracted to where they live and work as a result of their karma and
their consciously and subconsciously held beliefs. It is this combined
energy that they project out into the world. It is this combined energy
that attracts all of their experiences in life. Fortunately, if we don’t
like what we are experiencing, we have the ability to change this through
conscious choice and focused intention and by creating a home or workplace
with good feng shui.
On another level, if you have cultivated
yourself through a spiritual practice and raised your consciousness and
personal energy vibration, over an extended period of time, it is possible
to get to the point where your environment does not negatively impact you.
This is in the realm of saints, sages, and advanced spiritual seekers.
In these situations, the person can positively affect the energy of the
environment and those around them.
Know that feng shui works. When looking
for a feng shui practitioner, ask questions about what method or school
of feng shui they practice. If you resonate with them and believe they
can help you, then consider using their services. If not, don’t. It is
as simple as that.
Environmental and Personal Energy
Clearing
Sheila provides environmental clearing,
sometimes called space clearing, with her feng shui. She has studied with
Eric Dowsett, master dowser from Australia and author of The Moment that
Matters. Eric's techniques for environmental clearing, using the ancient
practice of dowsing, are simple yet powerful ways of bringing spaces into
a clear and balanced state. This form of clearing is not part of traditional
feng shui. However, I believe that it will support any and all feng shui
recommendations that are given.
Traditional feng shui does not address
the negative energetic residue that is in your surroundings that is caused
from previous occupants, some times referred to as predecessor energies.
Nor does it address the less supportive emotional energies that have built
up over time since you have been in the space, such as is caused by anger,
conflicts, illness, etc.
Traditional feng shui also does not
address disturbing earth energies, such as geopathic stress and electromagnetic
fields, which can adversely affect you. The technique Sheila uses identifies
these types of energies, and where appropriate, clears or shields the client
from the negative effects of these types of energies.
Combining feng shui with environmental
clearing are effective ways to transform and release what does not support
your present intentions and to activate creative flow in your life. Sheila
brings a loving heart, with refined intuitive and sensing skills to help
clients live fully intentioned lives.
She also does personal clearing work
for individuals. This can be done as part of the overall consultation or
done apart from the feng shui and environmental balancing consultation.
Sheila is also a PSYCH-K™ Facilitator.
PSYCH-K™ stands for psychological kinesiology and is technique for identifying
and changing unwanted subconscious beliefs to be congruent with conscious
beliefs, goals and intentions. To learn more click
here.
