Feng Shui? What’s Your House Got to do with it?

Filed Under: General Home Improvement

For the past few years, Feng Shui hasn’t been a foreign concept; it has made its ways into living rooms and bedrooms all over the world.  Still, the knowledge of it is, in itself, foreign. Take for instance, its existence.

 

While it might seem like something that has recently appeared on the decorating scene, Feng Shui was actually developed more than three thousand years ago. It is both an ancient art and an ancient science.

 

Born in China, Feng Shui is defined as a body of knowledge that provides insight into using a balance of energies to maximize health, wellness, and fortune. In other words, it’s something nice to have around the house.

 

Feng, meaning “wind,” and Shui, meaning “water,” are coupled together as natural elements of determination. Hence, it is believed that Good Feng Shui can produce good luck while its opposite, bad Feng Shui, can lead to dire circumstances.

 

Based on Taoist principles, followers of Feng Shui believe that the land is alive. Through positioning methods, people can harmonize with the energy it emanates. For this reason, many people have attempted to bring Feng Shui into their homes: living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens and dens have recently become followers.

 

Feng Shui doesn’t care if you have brand name furniture or a second hand item you bought from a friend. It doesn’t care if you live in a mansion or a condominium: it’s not what you have, it’s how you use it.

 

One of the main driving forces behind Feng Shui is the belief that the center of your home is also at the center of importance. For this reason, a house that is filled with large, vacuous spaces will better utilize the practice. It is also important to keep a clean and clutter free environment (sorry pack rats). Doing this, allows the energies to complement each other.

 

Like anything that has been around for three thousand years, Feng Shui is an extensive and deep practice: there are all sorts of things you could do to your home to adhere to its principles. But, for those just getting started, there a few simple steps that just might lead you on the path to harmony.

 

Put up pictures that emanate happiness: Bright photos of smiling people can’t help but make others smile. These can be pictures of your children, family members, and friends. Instead of keeping these in one or two places in your home, hang them throughout.

 

Place scented oils around your house: Many oils, particularly essential ones, provide an innate sense of tranquility. This helps perpetuate an environment of soothing, calm energy. These are particularly useful in places like bathrooms.

 

 Focus on your bedroom: Getting a good night’s sleep is essential to having a good day. Putting Feng Shui principles to work in your bedroom is one of the elements to making sure a good night’s sleep happens. A sleep filled with harmony can leave you better rested, and better focused.

 

Use Colors, lots and lots of colors: Feng Shui maintains a belief in five elements: wood, fire, Earth, metal and water. With each element being represented by a specific color (wood is represented by green, for instance), a house can become harmonized with something as simple as a paint job. It might take some time, some research, (and some new matching furniture), but in the end, your house, and yourself, will thank you.