FENG SHUI

Feng shui is a chinese taoist art that allows the revitalization of one’s environement by optimizing the circulation of the chi, a process that brings health, well-being and prosperity.

For ages, the Chinese have used it for the implantation, the construction and the lay-out of their houses and workplaces. There is a positive chi that ought to be stimulated and a negative chi that needs to be corrected.

In the Balinese tradition, houses are built according to the measurements of the head of the family. First of all, the most favorable day should be chosen for conceiving the house, certain days being more auspicious than others for this activity. Then, if he has the means to do so, the head of the family entrusts a traditional architect with the project, who calculates the exact proportions of the entrance, the thickness of the walls, the height of the ceiling… again according to the measurements of the head of the family, as if he was working on a made to measure suit. Finally, the location is chosen carefully so that there is an harmony between the occupants and the spirit of the place.

Today, feng shui is very fashionable. One’s dwelling can be harmonized by consulting an expert or by reading books. There is an appropriate location for every piece of furniture and principally for the bed. The bedroom should retain a yin energy as it is used for resting. Too much yang energy should not be brought into that room.

A great tool for optimizing the circulation of energy is the ba gua, a map that shows the principles of the Yin and the Yang, the eight trigrams of the Yi king than the five elements.

There is a scholarly way to use this tool, but most of the books of popularization on feng shui indicate a simple way to proceed: copy the ba gua on a sheet of tracing paper and place it over the floor plan of your living space, making the entrance and the north (the sector of career) meet exactly. It will then be possible to strengthen the chi in certain areas or to counteract the negative chi. Be careful! It is wrong to consider feng shui as a set of recipes: a mirror or a crystal placed in the sector of prosperity attracts riches; a plant with circular leaves, placed in the sector of relationships attracts love…
That is why one should first develop their sensitivity to energies. This pragmatic process allows the understanding of what truly functions and thus helps avoiding superstitions.

A good technique consists in working with the phosphenes. The phosphenes are all the sensations of light which are not directly caused by light stimulating the retina. The phosphenes can be produced by focusing shortly on a source of light. Dr Lefebure has demonstrated the influence of light on mental processes. Once a phosphene has been produced by focusing shortly on a source of light, it will persist for several minutes. The presence of the phosphene channels attention on the object of study – here, the layout of a house. It sharpens sensations and favors associations of ideas.

Example: if you wish to place a crystal to strengthen the chi in a domain of the ba gua. Pick up a particular place in your house or apartment. Do a phosphene and observe the sensations and the thoughts that come to your mind during the presence of the phosphene. Repeat this operation for every room and choose the one who has provided the most pleasant sensations.

There is another way to proceed. Instead of working on the circulation of the chi in the house, it is possible to increase the circulation of the chi within oneself. This process allows the regulation of the flow of the chi around oneself. Thus, thanks to the practice of qigong, it is possible to improve the feng shui of one’s dwelling or workplace.

Similarly, practicing Phosphenism regularly strengthens the nervous system, a process that stimulates the positive chi and allows to be less affected by the negative chi.