Feng Shui Beyond Sustainable

Filed under Feng Shui in Action | Apr 30, 2008 | Tags: environmental psychology, Feng Shui, golden mean, golden spiral, green design, IFSG, sacred geometry, sustainable design, WHO | No Comments

Many of the principles of Feng Shui are inherently within the sustainable building movement: namely, treading lightly on
the Earth and using her resources wisely. However, there is a significant part of Feng Shui that is often missing from
typical green designs. This wisdom can be integrated into sustainable-design practices to enrich human beings through
better physical and psychological health.

Why You Should Care
Feng Shui affects you every moment of your life, whether you realize it or not. The Feng Shui of your home, your
workplace, your dentist’s office, your child’s school, and your local Motor Vehicle office impact the quality of your energy
and how you experience life in those places.

The principles of Feng Shui state that you are always under the influence of universal energies, or chi. The Chinese
describe energies as being yin (passive) or yang (active). For harmony to exist, and therefore, health and well-being, the
energies need to be in balance. Negative chi, or energy that is out of balance, contributes to stress, depression, and
illness. Negative chi can affect you consciously—such as the stress of being in a traffic jam on the way home from work—
or subconsciously—such as the stress you will experience as you sit with your back to the office door. This form of
subconscious stress grows and accumulates throughout your day. A poorly laid out office plan with sharp angles, a darkly
lit entrance to your home, and clutter piled up in your foyer will add stress subconsciously and, with repeated exposure,
can lead to depression and illness.

The World Health Organization cites stress as a global epidemic. “Chronic . . . (stress) is potentially very destructive and
can deprive people of physical and mental health, and at times, even of life itself,” wrote Cyralene P. Bryce in Stress
Management in Disasters (Pan American Organization). According to the International Feng Shui Guild, Feng Shui seeks
to reduce stress in the environment by designing spaces that prioritize the health of humans and our absolute need for
nature and balance.

What is Feng Shui?
Thousands of years ago, ancient people lived in harmony with their environment. Feng Shui, and other similar cultural
philosophies around the world, was practiced intuitively and enriched the lives of the people.

Using the natural movement of chi, the polarities of yin and yang, the five Chinese elements, and the Bagua (a map
based on astronomy and calendars), Feng Shui principles can create a more holistic space that nurtures physical and
psychological health and well-being.

Some Feng Shui principles have been explored and validated by environmental psychology. It focuses on the interplay between humans and their surroundings. In the realm of brain functionality, our modern minds are overwhelmed with left-brain activities: logic, conscious, and linear thinking. Feng Shui works on a right-brain level: simultaneous, intuitive, and subconscious. Because
of this, Feng Shui is considered more of an art than a science and, in order to practice Feng Shui, one needs to exercise
the right-brain functions. Meditation and yoga are great ways to accomplish this.

Feng Shui incorporates principles of nature: proportions, flow of chi, and color relationships. When placed within a
symmetrically shaped building, people inherently feel more comfortable. Some ratio examples are the Golden Rectangle,
credited to Leonardo de Vinci, and the Golden Mean, a beautiful pattern of spirals which nature gloriously displays in
flowers, seashells, and even the human body.

There are no straight lines in nature. Light waves and water currents move in curves. Energy moves in curves. People do
not naturally walk in a straight line. An interesting study on a college campus observed the walking patterns of students
and faculty after a snowstorm. Instead of following the straight walkways, they meandered through the campus, as a
stream meanders through a landscape. Curves are much more natural and, therefore, make us feel more comfortable.
The colors used in our interior spaces are most comfortable when they mimic the natural environment. Darker floors echo
the forest floor, medium colors for walls mimic buildings and distant landscapes, and light-colored ceilings represent the
sky.

I’ve Got a House with a Missing Wealth Area!
Often, clients and people say to me “I have this or that in my house. It’s awful! I should do something about it, right?”
They say that some feature in their home is bad Feng Shui, according to a book they’ve read. What I tell them is this:
Feng Shui is a tool to empower us, not judge us. It’s a tool to help us be in the light, feel comfort, safety, and peace, and
be in balance. There is no such thing as “bad Feng Shui” (although my son will claim that I use those words when his
bedroom is a mess). Feng Shui is not supposed to make us feel like we are missing something, or that what we have isn’t
right.

There are few rules in Feng Shui. What is good for some may be not great for others, and vice versa. A house that has
many levels may be very trying for someone who has difficulty with ambition, decision-making, and self-confidence. For
others this house might be a great environment.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when looking at your space: Who resides here? Who works here? What is the
quality of their energy? What is the primary purpose of the space? What type of energy is best for this space? Is it
working for us, or not? Feng Shui is an art as well as a science, so it’s flexible and intuitive. There are no lists of rules,
black and white. It’s all relative.

The most important thing to realize is how you feel in a space. Although that sounds easy to ascertain, it’s not as easy as
you think. You need to relax and quiet yourself. Reflect on how you feel whenever you walk into that space. Imagine that
you are there. Are you upset, stressed, tired, hungry, confused, happy, at peace? This is what Feng Shui is all about:
getting down to feelings.

Still, it’s very difficult to be objective. A Feng Shui consultant rarely does his or her own Feng Shui. It’s difficult to see
through fresh eyes.

If you are like many people, you are probably stressed much of the time. I can’t underscore how important it is for people
now, more than ever, to have their home and workspace reviewed and brought into alignment with their energy.

So . . . “Beyond Green?”
Feng Shui is the original “green living and design” movement. Nowadays, these new disciplines of green building and
sustainable design are concerned primarily with the Earth, energy efficiency, and water management. Feng Shui creates a
more holistic approach by bringing in the concept of the human element and psychological well-being. Whether they’re
newly constructed LEED-certified or Energy Star buildings or existing structures, the lives of those who reside and work in
them can be enhanced by incorporating ancient Feng Shui principles.

Some architects understand the power of Feng Shui. Some have become Feng-Shui certified, while others work with Feng
Shui consultants on their designs. From health-care facilities to office parks and residences, Feng Shui is enhancing the
lives of people in the West at a rate greater than ever before. It’s vital that this “green” movement not only continues to
grow into the mainstream, but that Feng Shui principles are integrated to create healthy buildings in every sense of the
word.

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Maureen K. Calamia is a Feng Shui Consultant and Teacher and is the author of ‘Luminous Spaces’, her FREE monthly ezine filled with great Feng Shui and Green Lifestyle tips and articles inspiring and empowering you to live and work in harmonious spaces. Visit http://www.luminous-spaces.com to learn more.

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