Although it seems like the latest craze, the philosophy of Feng Shui is thousands of years old with its origins in the Chinese Book of Change, the I Ching. According to this philosophy, chi, the vital force in everyone and everything, is transported by wind and held by water. So Feng (wind) and Shui (water) concerns the construction of the best pattern of chi flowing though a house or place of work.
The tools of Feng Shui include placement of furniture, plants, fountains, fish, and wind chimes, among other objects, and avoidance of conflict and traps. Trapped chi is a leading cause of negative energy, illness, wrinkled wallpaper, bunched-up carpets, and other signs of disharmony.
The benefits of properly moving chi are not only health and happiness: chi also affects external forces such as your wealth and business fortune. On the face of it, some people consider Feng Shui just rearranging furniture: the goal, however, is heightening people’s awareness of their surroundings, and creating an equilibrium between man and nature.
But it’s easiest to start with furniture. Feng Shui tip: watch out for antiques. Some believe that antiques are rife with potential negative energy. Perhaps a previous owner of the antique was unlucky, or surrounded by negative energy. If that’s the case, the next owner could be releasing the negative energies the antique absorbed in its previous environment into his own home. The flip side of this is that a different kind of antique, your great-grandfather’s lucky pocket watch, for example, could bring good fortune.
Feng Shui extends to every aspect of a person’s life, including food. In cooking it’s very important the chi or life force of the chef and within the kitchen have good flow, because this can affect the food’s flavor as well as nourishing abilities. A high-strung or angry chef can, theoretically, impart these negative energies into the food.
