Is feng shui an ancient wisdom of environmental design? Is feng shui a Chinese cultural tradition or simply, a new-age phenomenon? Another important question is: Does feng shui have universal value?

Most people define feng shui based on their own exposure and understanding to the subject, whether they obtain it from books, the internet, feng shui teachers or through a school.  Due to the vast variety of information on the subject, it is inevitable that the difference of opinions on feng shui surface.  Even in China, throughout its long history, there has never been a shortage of debates between the pro and anti feng shui camps. Therefore, it is not surprising, that the same debate and arguments continue today in the West.

First, it is crucial to establish a common base defining the term feng shui.  Only then, can we begin to have a meaningful discussion on feng shui.  If there is no common agreement on the term, there is no basis for an argument.

I define the essence of feng shui as “the philosophy, science and art of environment design”. I strongly encourage all, to read the page “What is feng shui?” on the Blue Mountain Feng Shui Website. The basis of this blog is to share feng shui knowledge and further our understanding.  Those who do not and cannot see feng shui as a universal concept might need to expand their knowledge of feng shui or open their hearts to widen their vision.

Shan-tung Hsu Feng Shui

A few people wrote me, expressing how they liked the idea in the previous blog of giving thanks and saying farewell to the house being sold.
This brought about a new question.  “So what should we do when we are moving into a new house?”  My suggestion would be to keep the same attitude.  Be thankful to the new house that takes us in and promise to take good care of it.

During our years of adolescence,  in school and at home, we were taught to love, respect and be thankful to people in our lives.  This should be taken further, to include learning to be thankful and appreciative to all things in our lives—the house we live in, the table we use, the chair we sit on, the clothes we wear, the food we eat and even the paper napkin we use and throw away.   If we have this attitude, we will naturally love and care for all animals and all living plants whether they are in the house, yard or garden. With this attitude and mind set, we will naturally respect, and love all people in our lives and have compassion to all sentient and non-sentient beings in the world. Maybe schools and parents should teach this to their children early in life.  A good start would be to appreciate their toys.

Shan-tung Hsu Feng Shui

While lecturing in Kiev, Ukraine, the students there asked me to comment on the feng shui of Ukraine.
“Good” I answered.  Indeed, Ukraine has a good mountain in the Northwest, vast fertile land on the east and south, and it is also adjacent to the Black Sea on the south.  From a feng shui point of view, Ukraine has all the four features: Dragon, Guardian Hill, Energy Spot and Bodies of Water.  Furthermore, Ukraine has an abundant amount of natural resources, and it exports uranium, coal, electricity…  “How then are we still poor?” the students asked?
We are affected by Heaven (time), Human, and Earth (space).  Even if the space is good, it is also affected by the human factor.  This is a country, where food and clothes are not any less expensive than in the United States.  The streets are full of new cars such as, Mercedes, BMW and Lexus.  I was amazed; it does not seem like a poor country. Yet, a university professor makes about only $500 per month.  People in the private sector make a bit more, but $1000.00 per month is regarded high.  The average person is indeed poor. But who are those driving all the expensive cars?  There must be an issue with the Human factor.  There must be some imbalance in the Human factor.  The Human factor includes the average citizen and government officials.  Well you can guess what is wrong here.  It must be the abundant amount of corruption among government officials!

Shan-tung Hsu Feng Shui

The second half of April, I was in Kiev, Ukraine for a 10-days visit, giving two levels of feng shui workshops. During this period, some students took me to visit a museum in a small village called Trypillia, 50 km south of Kiev, where Trypillian culture (5508-2750 BC) was first discovered in the year 1897.  The museum was modest in size but the collections it housed were amazingly impressive.  It was difficult to imagine that people in 7500-4750 years back in history could create such beautiful designs of pottery and vases, of which many included images of animals.  As I was the only visitor, the old caretaker of the museum, full of warm energy, patiently explained the history and significance of the culture and artifacts.  One interesting aspect about the culture in the Trypillian tradition was that approximately every 60 to 80 years, they would burn their cities down and relocate to a new place for reasons that still puzzle archaeologists.  Toward the end of my visit, my attention was heightened when he mentioned that most of Trypillian settlements (cities) were on the right side (view from facing downstream) of the big Dnipro River.  For those who are into feng shui, it’s an interesting point: Classical Chinese feng shui text stated that “land on the right-hand side of river was more auspicious”.  Here we find the same pattern in Trypillian culture dating back 7500 years, on the opposite of side of the planet from China. True feng shui concepts are universal.  As a matter of fact, if you take a look at the large cities in the world, with rivers running through the city, it will either sit on the right-side of river or the initial development of the city began on the right side of the river. In the traditional Form School feng shui teaching, there is a clear and good explanation for this.  Here, I post it as a challenge to those who have studied feng shui for the explanation.  Please send in your comments!

Shan-tung Hsu Feng Shui

A good friend from St. Simons Island, Georgia, asked if there is a good way to help sell her house.  She is anxious to move back to the NW and the fact her house is still on the market has bogged her down.  With the current difficult climate in real estate, many people must also be anxious to find a way to sell their house quickly.  Traditionally, for a new house, a builder or realtor will rent furniture or employ a staging service, allowing the buyer to visualize how they will live there. But both are costly options.  To enhance the house in the information and energy levels, the least expensive way is by using living indoor plants; place an abundant number of plants in the house.  If there are people still living in the house while on the market, it is advised to keep the house tidy and clean, and naturally, living plants will help too. However, there is another power and a hardly being recognized way to speed up the process of the sale.   I told this charming lady to treat the house humanly—to say farewell to the house: “I love you, and thank you for accommodating me for all these years until now.  I know you will be in good hands after I depart”.   Is this idea too new-age for you? It doesn’t hurt to try.  It might surprise you.

Shan-tung Hsu Feng Shui

In this tough economic climate, it is a good opportunity to step back and re-evaluate our living situation and our lives in general.  To help guide us, it makes good sense to start with the feng shui principles.  But where do we start? Trying to implement the information taught by Master Hsu is not as easy as imagined.  In a sense it’s like reading a self-help book.  You read it and think you comprehend it, but changing your habits is never simple.

However, there are simple things we can start with in feng shui.  I am working on my front yard.  Is the path to my entrance clear without obstruction?  Are we protected from the energy of the road?  Does it look presentable?  Do I need to prune a few trees, pull some weeds or trim the hedge?  Stepping back and taking a fresh look at something you observe everyday may spark some new vision.  Spring is here.  Planting some cheerful flowers to greet everyone in the neighborhood is only a small step, but one that will bring a smile everyday.  This should bring everyone some positive chi!

Jenny Hones Feng Shui

In one of the earlier blogs published on April 4th, Master Hsu discusses the natural change of seasons.  He mentions why we find new found energy in the spring and how this connection can be observed through nature.   This point rang so true when I was a chaperone for my son’s school trip, on a study of vocations with animals, to the Seattle Aquarium.

The middle and high school students were asked to gather water samples from the Puget Sound just outside the Aquarium.  These samples were then brought up to one of their rooms where they had microscopes set up for them to observe the plankton they captured.
So what is plankton?  According to Wikipedia, it is divided into three groups.
1.    Phytoplankton
2.    Zooplankton
3.    Bacterioplankton

What caught my attention was when the biologist/teacher mentioned that the “plant” plankton, phytoplankton, which is the green stuff you see floating on the surface of the ocean, sea, lake or other body of water, is responsible for 50% of the earth’s oxygen!  And when does it start to grow?  Yes, in the spring, when there is more sunlight, so we get photosynthesis. With the increase in oxygen within the earth’s atmosphere, it is no wonder we have more energy to get up and go in the spring!  This is the natural law Master Hsu was talking about.

Jenny Hones Feng Shui

All phenomena in nature and the universe is nothing but the process of manifesting and striving for yin-yang balance.  What we can also say is, if anything goes wrong, it is due to yin-yang imbalance.  Designing a menu is the same way.

Good menu design should:
o    be balanced according to seasons
o    consider who will consume the food
o    be a balance and combination of different dishes at the same meal
o    have balance within each dish.

I grew up in a family of ten; parents plus five boys and three girls.  I was the youngest boy.  During dinner, all ten of us would sit around a circular table. My mother prepared all the dishes. From time to time, my father would make a comment on the meal if the dishes tended to be too many cold dishes or too many hot dishes. By hot and cold, what we mean is not in terms of temperature but in terms of the food’s medicinal properties.   Then my mother would make the adjustments accordingly.  The suggestions made by my father also reflected the season and our physical condition.

Food is the first medicine for human beings. During summer you need more cold foods to dissipate the heat. Winter time you need more warm foods to store energy. And on the same table, there should be a balance of cold and hot dishes.  In particular dishes, the ingredients should also strive for yin-yang balance. My father always stressed having food that was in season and he did not care for the exotic food that came from distances away.  All the kids in our family grew very healthy.

There is much information available on the internet regarding the medicinal properties and energy of food.  Blue Mountain Feng Shui Institute also offers a course, The Yin and Yang of Food and Cooking, for those interested in this subject.

Shan-tung Hsu Feng Shui

Work hard and work smart.

From a feng shui point of view, money flow is the same as energy flow.  The main entrance is the gateway for energy flow from outside to inside. The space in front of a door is crucial. If it is open, spacious, and well defined, the qi will corrugate and also provide abundant good flow into the house.  Therefore make sure your front yard is clean open and tidy.  Upon the entrance, the space should be open and inviting. It will be good to have some house plant to provide a good energy connection from outside to inside.

However, there are plenty of suggestions in other feng shui circles that you may find somewhat intriguing:

1.  Get a three-leg toad; it will help to bring money into the house.  (Wouldn’t a four-leg frog do a better job than three-leg toad?)
2.  Place a fountain in the house as water is money; water flow brings money flow.  (So, since water is money; it might be good to have a leaking roof in the house, allowing money to come to the    house!)
3.  Put a vase in the fortune corner of the room and also enhance it by a special vase spray.  (Whoever came up with this idea and also sells the vase and spray would surely  have a lot of money flow into their house, but not into yours.)
4.  Put a mirror over the stove, as it reflects more burners which will help you get rich.  (What an idea! Let’s suggest to President Obama to insert this idea in his economic stimulus package.  He could allow the government to buy every family a mirror to install behind their stove and our financial problem will be easily resolved.)

Shan-tung Hsu Feng Shui

The core of feng shui teaching is about designing our ideal living environment. The guiding principle behind this is the natural principle. The fundamentals of the natural principle stems from the Yin-Yang theory.

What we should try to fine tune in our lives, is the striving for the balance of yin and yang, the two polar aspects of every existence and transformation.  This same principle should also guide our activities in response to the natural seasons.  Seasons has its Yin-Yang cycle.  In spring, yang arises and by summer, yang reaches to the maximum.  Come fall, yin appears and during winter, yin reaches the maximum.  Yang is dynamic and active while yin is the opposite. If we are to live in synchronization with the seasons, we should be active in spring and summer then slow down in fall and rest in winter.  In the natural world both plants and animals exhibit this pattern.  In old times, farmers also followed this pattern; after fall harvesting, the farmer takes a good rest until the spring sowing time.  However, after the industrial revolution, and in this modern society, we have no longer followed the natural way. The human has become a machine. The mechanical 9-5 daily working hour and 5 days a week working schedule throughout the year, in the name of proficiency or whatever reasons, prevent us to resonate with the natural rhythm. It is not ideal for health, emotion, and spiritual growth. It is a stupid human invention. We have lost sight of the big picture- a picture of wholesome living.

Shan-tung Hsu Feng Shui, Yin-yang