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Why Feng Shui?
June 1998
What do a restaurateur, an architect, an entertainment executive, and a housewife have in common? Answer: All are individuals who are looking to Feng Shui for prosperity, balance, and well being in their lives, or in the lives of their clients. Feng Shui is experiencing a tremendous growth here in the United States and all other areas of the world. The United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Western Europe, and Brazil are all seeking information about Feng Shui and what place it holds in their culture and lives. Internet Usenet, web sites, books, television and other forms of media all contain an ambient buzz about Feng Shui.
So why is there this resurgence in popularity of a 2000+-year-old practice? What are people looking to have Feng Shui accomplish in their lives? Why now, is Feng Shui becoming something that everyone wants to have? There are so many questions about the timing of this expansion of Feng Shui. People are seeking this information out in all areas, the Internet, books, and by word-of-mouth. Feng Shui holds a lot of answers that people are seeking today.
With the new millennium relatively a few days away, people are looking for answers. At the end of every century there are doomsayers, predictions of disasters, and seekers of new information. If you watch today's popular media, including movies, books, and television, you will find more and more information about disaster prediction, end of the world stories, and other forms of negativity. Why? Because more and more people are buying into these "end of the millennium" and "end of the world" stories as the century mark comes closer.
Feng Shui is about balance, comfort and harmony. Feng Shui is not a religion or a mystical belief. Rather, it is a science that offers the ability to create a balance in your dwelling or place of work. It is no coincidence that with the end of this millennium, we are in a Tui (#7) cycle of Feng Shui. Tui is the Trigram that is associated with entertainment and communication. The movie industry is booming and the Internet is leading to communication never before seen in the world.
So is Feng Shui frivolous and a passing fad? Definitely not. Why? Because Feng Shui is not a fad, rather it has been a means to build one's prosperity and well being for more than two millennia. Its resurgence in popularity might be attributed to this time period, but the science of Feng Shui remains squarely rooted in architecture, astronomy, physics, and design. The definition of science is as follows:
1. a. The observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena. b. Such activities restricted to a class of natural phenomena. c. Such activities applied to an object of inquiry or study.
2. Methodological activity, discipline, or study: I've got packing a suitcase down to a science.
3. An activity that appears to require study and method: the science of purchasing.
4. Knowledge, especially that gained through experience.1
Feng Shui uses observation, repeatable calculations and methodologies, and is based on the study of the environment around, both inside and out. Kan Yu, the original name for Feng Shui, means "Raise the head and observe the sky above. Lower the head and observe the environment around us.2" More precisely, Feng Shui is the scientific study of the natural and built environment. Chinese Geomancy is another way of describing Feng Shui. Geomancy can be described as "Earth Wisdom." All in all, it is the study of environmental effects on people.
Feng Shui, at its most basic level, is about helping people. People are seeing the benefits of properly aligning their homes, offices, and new developments within the principles of Feng Shui. Utilizing these principles, people are creating comfortable, safe, and re-energizing environments for themselves and the people who visit their buildings or dwellings. More and more, architecture is seeking to use Feng Shui concepts. People are demanding it. With proper Feng Shui principles applied, people can see the results of happier attitudes, more prosperity, more sense of harmony and balance, an improvement in health and well being.
Clients have reported many results directly attributed to Feng Shui. One man had his asthma disappear. Salespeople report their sales have increased. Couples have realized a sense of calm in their relationship. People from all cross-sections of life are utilizing Feng Shui to create improvements in their environment thus creating improvements in their lives.
With society and media creating false impressions of doom and gloom, Feng Shui is finding resurgence due to this seeking spirit in people. They are looking for some order in this fast paced world. They go home to become grounded again. If in the chaos of modern living, one can find balance and harmony in their home or office through applying Feng Shui, doesn't it make sense that people utilize this age-old science?
1. Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved. 2. The Principles of Feng Shui, Second Edition © 1996 by Master Larry Sang. Published by the American Feng Shui Institute.
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