Do You Even Feng Shui?

Has walking into a room ever felt like a literal “breath of fresh air?” Or how about that feeling you get when you walk into a space that is so warm and cozy that you feel as if you are being embraced by an invisible hug? What about those less than enlightening occasions where you just felt like something was off? Yes people, we are energy beings which means these “feelings” that we cannot physically see are quite real. It is not just in your head, we are all sensitive to them and experience the transition of energy from room to room. That’s right — you are not alone, you are not crazy, you are simply experiencing what is.

Feng Shui is a broad topic that I could not give justice to by going over everything in one post! The goal of this post is to peak your interest on a topic that literally effects all of us on a daily basis. In this post I will be covering:

1. The general idea of Feng Shui
2. Some practical techniques that you can begin implementing today
3. How to determine which direction you should be sleeping in based on your personal Feng Shui — because honestly, why else would you be reading this article?

So let’s dive in!

FENG, WHAT?

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese pseudoscience based on the electromagnetic fields that surround us and their chi energy. In Feng Shui, chi energy is defined as the invisible energy lines that make up the spectrum of electromagnetic waves, otherwise known as “earth currents” in the atmosphere. In Chinese culture it is believed that the literal positioning of the spaces we inhibit based on electromagnetic fields are responsible for our health, illness, good and bad luck. That said, it is important to remember that Feng Shui is not a religious belief and does not promise that by following the principles that your destiny will be altered. Rather it is about creating the possibility to empower your overall life experience by drawing an awareness to the energy that surrounds us both in indoor and outdoor spaces.

The home and the office are two popular environments where individuals seek to learn about the best Feng Shui practices. This is where we often spend the majority of our time so good Feng Shui is SUPER important! As mentioned above, we are all affected both by the physical, outside location of a property as well as the inside layout and positioning of objects (furniture) in the space.

For example, when purchasing a property it is important to consider the following:

1. Direction of the main entrance
2. Whether or not the property is facing a main road
3. Whether or not the property is located on a hill
4. The overall surroundings of the property
5. Which colors and shapes for the property will be most beneficial

You may be looking at this list and nodding your head — “ok, ok, ok, ok, until you hit the last bullet point colors and shapes and think “what?!”

HOW TO DETERMINE THE BEST COLORS AND SHAPES FOR PROPERTIES

The best color and shapes for properties can be determined through the property’s “sitting element” which is defined by its “sitting direction.” The sitting direction is the exact opposite of whatever direction the property is facing.

For example, if a building is facing South then its sitting direction would be North. In the case of a Northern sitting direction the sitting element would be water. The best colors for a Northern sitting building would include: black, blue, and white while the worst colors would be green and yellow. For this specific example the best shapes for furnishing purposes would be circular and modular.

There are a total of five different combinations of sitting directions that account for all eight directional possibilities (N, S, SW or NE, E or SE, and W or NW).

That’s enough digging on properties for now — but if you are interested in learning more about this specifically, let me know and I will create a post dedicated to just property Feng Shui!

BACK ON TRACK — WHAT CAN YOU DO RIGHT NOW?

In the home:

1. If your kitchen has space between the cabinets and the ceiling put some plants up there! Without any plants and a gap between cabinet to ceiling, the energy is stale and unmoving leaving the chi essentially “stuck” which could in turn hold you back in life!
2. In the bathroom keep your toilet lid shut and your bathroom door closed when you are not using it. In Feng Shui the element water is related to money and the idea that water “goes out” from the bathroom is reason to keep “it in,” if that makes sense. To be safe, from “letting money out” it is recommended to keep these areas closed when possible.
3. In the bedroom make sure your bed is facing the right direction! Again, we will get to this part soon, keep reading! But basic bedroom Feng Shui includes having a headboard (ideally made of wood) and matching side tables. It is less than ideal to be in direct alignment with the door and mirrors should be avoided.
4. Keep fresh fruit and flowers in sight in both the kitchen and living room areas. When flowers are no longer fresh, make sure to replace them to revive the overall energy in the room.
5. CLEAR EVERYTHING — both physically and spiritually. This means clearing any clutter that is lying around and/or objects that are out of place and blocking what should be a “clear path” to enter and exit your home. It also means clearing the energy in your home which can be done with sage and also intention and gratitude. Don’t be afraid to talk to your home and literally say goodbye when you leave and hello when you enter*.

* This can be done as a silent acknowledgement, you don’t need to verbally announce it if you don’t want to. The intention behind the act is the energy here, which is the same in both thought and verbal form!

In the office:

1. If possible, move your desk to be facing diagonal to the entrance of the door and avoid having a corner behind you. If you do happen to have a corner behind you, put a picture of a mountain behind you.
2. If you cannot face diagonal to the office entrance, try to face one of your personal best four directions. Stay with me here, a link to finding out your best four directions is coming further down in this post!
3. If possible, sit side-by-side your colleagues to avoid facing in front of them in a “confrontational” way.
4. Plants, plants, plants! Not only are plants an easy way to add some extra flare to the office, they purify the air and are good Feng Shui!
5. Most importantly, CLEAR THE CLUTTER, try to clear your desk daily before beginning to work at it. Make sure that there are no random pens and papers out of place. Everything on your desk should have a dedicated place. Not to mention, make sure that your desk and surrounding area are physically clean as well. Even just wiping everything down once a week can make a big difference!

YALLAH, WHAT DIRECTION SHOULD I BE SLEEPING IN?

Ah yes, the moment you have all been waiting for in this post! The final answer to it all! The direction you should be facing while you sleep and understanding your four best directions for success!

This answer can be found in your personal Kua Number which is based on a Chinese numerology system that takes into account your birth year and sex. As this system is based on the Chinese lunar calendar, if your birthday falls before February 4th count your birth year as if it were a year earlier. For example, if you were born January 11, 1990 you would use 1989 as your birth year for the purpose of determining your Kua number. Next based on your sex follow the directions below to calculate the number:

For Females:

1. Add all the digits of your birth year. For example 1990 would be 1+9+9 = 19
2. Keep reducing the number until you hit a single digit. Using the example above this would be: 1+ 9 = 10, 1+ 0 = 1 <from this we can determine that “1” would be the personal Kua number for this female born in 1990
3. Important — if you end up with a 5, as a female your personal Kua number would be an “8"

For Males:

1. Add all the digits of your birth year. For example: 1+9+9+6 = 25
2. Keep reducing this number until you hit a single digit. Using the example above we would get 2 + 5= 7
3. Next subtract this number from 11, so this would be 11–7 = 4< from this we can determine that “4” would be the personal Kua number for this male born in 1995.
4. Reduce this number from step three to a single digit (if necessary) to determine the Kua number
5. Important — if you end up with a 5, as a male your personal Kua number would be a “2"

Once you have determined your Kua number — based on the chart below the direction that your Kua number corresponds to would be as follows:

In the second chart below, you will see that Kua numbers are also defined by two categories, East and West.

The directions that are in your grouping are considered your “best” and most lucky directions and should be considered when arranging your bedroom and work places.

There are of course a number of factors that come to play and we cannot always face in one of our lucky directions and that is OK! The idea of this knowledge is not to make you crazy and have you rearranging your entire home and office space — it is simply to have you become more aware of your surroundings and the energy around. That’s all! Facing a less-than ideal direction does not mean you will have bad luck!

Lastly, this post was written to be an offering of perspective and you can take as many grains of salt from it as you would like! Until next time, thank you for reading — you and your time are very much appreciated!