Feng shui (traditional Chinese: 風水; simplified Chinese: 风水; pinyin: fēng shuǐ; pronounced /ˈfəŋˌʃueɪ/ foong-shoy in Chinese Mandarin, "fheng-schway" in American English) is an ancient Chinese system of aesthetics believed to utilize the Laws of both heaven (astronomy) and Earth (geography) to help one improve life by receiving positive Qi. The original designation for the discipline is Kan Yu (traditional Chinese: 堪輿; simplified Chinese: 堪舆; pinyin: kānyú; literally: Tao of heaven and earth).

The words feng shui literally translate as "wind-water" in English. This is a cultural shorthand taken from the following passage of the Zhangshu (Book of Burial) by Guo Pu of the Jin Dynasty:

Qi rides the wind and scatters, but is retained when encountering water.

Traditional Feng Shui practice always requires an extremely accurate Chinese compass, or Luo Pan, in order to determine the directions in finding any auspicious sector in a desired location.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Feng Shui Plants - Two of Your Best Choices For Growing Good Fortune

When selecting Feng Shui plants for your home or office, there are two plants in particular that you will want to have for good fortune and long term success luck. In this article we'll cover what they are, some tips for care and a few of the beneficial locations.

1. Lucky Bamboo or bamboo plant. The "Lucky Bamboo" plant is noted for retaining the positive energetic qualities you desire in a plant. Lucky Bamboo (which, interestingly enough...is not actual bamboo!) grows best in water and thrives well in containers that have stones or pebbles, rather than soil. The plant needs a fair amount of indirect light and requires little direct sunlight. Too much direct sunlight will cause the leaves to yellow.

In Feng Shui, bamboo has long been regarded as a strong symbol of good fortune and tenacity. Because the plant thrives relatively easily, with little hands on maintenance, it retains a quality of independence and easy growth which strongly supports career and business success. It is an ideal plant for people who don't have a green thumb, but still want the living cure benefits of a healthy lucky plant in close proximity.

You can order Lucky Bamboo online, but chances are you will be able to locate an appropriate plant at major retail stores in your area. Be sure the plant you choose is healthy--avoid plants that have yellow leaves or stalks. Bamboo plants are strong, but they do need adequate water and the occasional dose of plant food in order to thrive long term.

Good placements for bamboo plants are in your office, in the career area and also in the wealth corner. If you choose a smaller plant, a good location is on your desk toward the back left corner. The plant embodies new growth and opportunities...exactly the type of energy you want for your career or business!

2. Invite Feng Shui money plants into your life. There are two plants that are considered "money plants" and have gained the reputation of attracting wealth for their owners and for the businesses they grace with their presence. The first is known formally as 'Pachira'.

This Feng Shui plant embodies and harmoniously blends the five elements, creating a powerful living cure capable of attracting great wealth. The plant is not appropriate for a desktop though, as it can grow to be quite large. It is often displayed in corners of rooms where it can easily arouse and clear any stale energies residing there. This money plant does not require a lot of extra care--just the average amount of watering and indirect sunlight.

The second Feng Shui plant associated with money and wealth is a biennial known scientifically as "lunaria annua". Most appropriate for the wealth corner of your garden, this plant is one that self propagates readily, symbolizing the multiplication of money. The seed pods are a popular favorite when composing dried flower arrangements, giving you the ability to transport a touch of wealth indoors!

All Feng Shui plants symbolize new growth, vitality and vibrant life, naturally providing the energy for success and opportunities. See where you can apply these powerful living plant cures to your needy areas and enjoy the results!



Autor: Ling Meng

Ling Meng is a Feng Shui enthusiast, practicer and author.
Would you like to learn more Feng Shui plants and gardening secrets? Live your best life starting today and invest in the comprehensive four part Feng Shui information package available only from this site!


Added: January 26, 2010
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Practise Feng Shui in Your Home to Enhance Your Life

'Feng Shui' is the ancient Chinese study of the elements and an art of placement that can improve all aspects of your life. In 'Feng Shui', objects are used to redirect the flow of energy through an indoor or outdoor environment. Put simply, it is a system for arranging your surroundings so there is balance and harmony with nature. With serenity and harmony to the universal forces, it is believed that one can enhance his life and attain success in all areas of his life. When practicing in the right way, it has been shown to help improve in all areas of life like:

- improving focus and concentration required for studies and achieving good grades
- giving peak performance at work hence a boost to career growth
- enhancing inter-personal communication for establishing and maintaining good relationships
- having positive energy hence attaining good mental and physical health.

One way to get started in 'Feng Shui' is from your home as this is where you spend most of your time.

A 'Feng Shui' expert or geomancer can help you audit your house and do a home analysis to improve the 'Feng Shui' of your house. Some of the interior areas in the house that he may look at include:

1) Main Door - The main door in your home is a critical location to consider in your house. It is often considered the channel through which the flow of energy, or Chi, as it is known in Chinese, flows through the house. Good Chi enhances the quality of your life like longevity, health and prosperity. One consideration is the direction of the main door.

2) Master bedroom - Another place in your home is the bedroom. This is especially important for couples, as they spend most of their time together there. Good 'Feng Shui', like the direction of the bed, must be practiced in the bedroom to ensure that the couple lives in harmony, be in good health and enjoy a successful marriage.

3) Bedroom - An average person will spend 6 to 8 hours sleeping in their bedrooms. It is important the bedroom is kept uncluttered and clean. If not, negative energy will accumulate and this will cause health and wealth problems for the host.

4) Kitchen - 'Feng Shui' in the kitchen can be attained by adjusting the kitchen layout, which in turn can reduce and eliminate some of the negative factors. This can help you to attain wealth and good health.



Autor: Mark Greenfield

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Added: January 25, 2010
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Starting Feng-Shui on the Right Note

You have an interest in Feng Shui and you would like to start implementing its principles in your home, here are a few pointers to get you started

Feng shui is the art of living in harmony with one's environment. It allows you to arrange your space to maximize the quality of cosmic energy that flows around you. This energy is called "Chi" and affects the quality of your life. It is a mix of symbolism, traditions and common sense. It supposes the subtle feeling of being in touch with universal vibrations.

The goal is to achieve a certain equilibrium in one's life, to reach this goal you must control the Chi. Chi can be dispersed, when that happens it does not serve you well, and disorder is present. When Chi cannot circulate it can become caustic. You must then regulate the Chi that is always present around you, you must allow it to circulate positively in order to add equilibrium to the yin and the yang. This is the principle of harmony as defined by Tao. Equilibrium leads to harmony, and harmony leads to good luck and happiness.

You cannot control Chi away from your own environment, but your home is where you replenish yourself and your soul. It is your haven in this world and you control how Chi reacts around you, giving you all you need to face the world.

First clean up your home. No I don't mean that you have cobwebs and you need to get rid of them. Get rid of objects that symbolize death, sadness, loss, abandonment, aggression. These produce negative emotions that drain energy. Surround yourself with objects that bring serenity and prosperity, invite love, joy, happiness, health around you. Get rid of everything that is cumbersome to you. Get rid of old clothes, old objects without interest, get rid of things you don't use anymore. Sort things out and clean up from top to bottom, from room to room, yes even the garage and the basement. That alone will bring a breath of fresh air throughout the house.

Secondly choose a school to follow. You can choose one of three ways to follow.

  1. The first school is known as the form school know also as the 3 doors school. It is based upon nature and based on the energies of the roads, the rivers and the mountains. It involves placement of object in relationship to these natural elements.
  2. The next school is the compass or eight directions school. Based on the eight trigrams of the I Ching this school uses the eight points of a compass to understand and explain auspicious and ominous layouts of buildings and furnishings.
  3. The last school of feng shui is called the black hat sect school. It is a modern American interpretation of feng shui, a hybrid of Tibetan Buddhism, traditional feng shui and Taoism. In this case the arrangement or layout of the room is based on the Ba Gua (the direction of the door). The house is subdivided in eight sectors each with its own influence on an aspect of your life.

Once you have chosen the school you want to follow (there is not a right or wrong one, only the one that fits you and your circumstances best,) try to orientate the important elements like the bed or a desk, in function of the directions given by your Kua number. Your Kua number is determined by your birth date, you can get your kua number online.

Finally identify your problems. If all is well in your life it is not necessary to turn things around, but you can work on the zones where obstacles could occur. For example is everything alright in your professional life, or your romantic relationships, if not then you can strengthen that zone. If romance is the sector you need to improve work on the Chi in your bedroom. If a child is giving you some difficulties check out this child's room and reorient it to improve his/her Chi, if your professional life is where attention is needed, look at the orientation of your desk.



Autor: Charlotte Adelman

This gives you a good way to get started without a big investment into feng shui, but is sufficient to give you a taste of how it can improve your life. If you want to learn about feng shui colors follow me to internet Home Alliance a site with advice on all home decor and maintenance.


Added: January 23, 2010
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/