Literally, “FENG” is wind and “SHUI” is water. But this is the most literal and basic (also standard and boring) explanation for one of the most profound and fascinating subjects in the world.

The origins of Feng Shui can be traced back to around 250 BC, or thereabouts. Classical Feng Shui is not an abstract practice of object placement to “harmonize with nature” as it is mistakenly described in the west. Nor is it the art of placement of objects to enhance prosperity etc etc…It is a thorough and deep practice of identifying the quality of energy or QI that influences your surroundings and the events that take place in a property. This depends on various factors, the land formations around a property, orientations of the property, the occupants and the time in question

  

Over the last ten years, Feng Shui practice has gained increasing recognition in the Western World as the benefits of practicing this art have been self-revelatory and unchallenged. With such a booming interest in Feng Shui, undoubtedly many people are easily confused or misled by the intricate principles and numerous schools of Feng Shui practice.

The world today is filled with self-proclaimed Feng Shui practitioners who profess greatness but generally fail to deliver. Within this environment, finding an authentic Master or teacher or for that matter, a practitioner who can truly offer the traditional and authentic form of Chinese Feng Shui can prove to be extremely difficult for the average layman. My advice is to check credentials like which institution they have graduated from, and references from their clients.

  

Feng Shui has unfortunately suffered the same fate; its practices and teachings are muddled in the mires of superstition and folklore. There is a need to correct this biased view placed upon this practice.

  

Classical FENG SHUI is a form of metaphysical science that can almost be fully explained by logic and by sound principles. The roots of this science can be traced to the Yi Jing (the Book of Changes).

Modern lifestyles have twisted our peaceful existence into one of chaos and extremes. Feng Shui adopts the principles of balance (Yin and Yang) to correct these flaws. Humans have for centuries lived intertwined with the flow of nature; Feng Shui is based on this. Present dwellings, however, do not consider these principles, creating disharmony, with disastrous consequences for the occupants.

  

Undeniably, certain aspects of our lives seem to be controlled by external forces not fully understandable to the layman. The earth's gravity, electromagnetic fields, directional influence and its surrounding constellations all place some form of emphasis on our actions.

FENG SHUI enables us to understand these aspects of our living environment and allows us to tap or tune into our natural beneficial cycle or position, thereby enabling us to be in tune with our environment rather than against it. By doing so, we can perform better, see and seize opportunities as they arise, and function optimally in all aspects of our lives.

  

Four aspects need to be considered for a Feng Shui analysis: TIME, ENVIRONMENT, BUILDING and THE RESIDENT.;

Genuine Feng Shui practitioners should be able to tell events that have occurred in a house just by their Feng Shui analysis of the property. A skillful practitioner should be able to pinpoint certain events that previously occurred and are presently happening, and even future events.

Much like a seer, minus the mystical and psychic abilities, Feng Shui is actually a science and art. Anyone who takes up this study seriously will be able to achieve this. There is no need for any rituals or religious, intuitive or psychic abilities. As I said before, Feng Shui is the knowledge; the practice of Feng Shui is a SKILL, a skill that can be learnt by any genuine enthusiast.

In Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia where this art is practiced with high standards, Feng Shui Masters are engaged by large corporate bodies as consultants, to help them with building designs, town planning and house designs, to ensure good outcomes and the smooth sailing of their businesses. Good Feng Shui Masters are sought-after for their valuable advice before making major decisions such as signing major contracts, selecting the timing of a product or event launch, moving into new premises and even hiring new staff. Happily, this is very much the profile of my practice in India as well.

  

Feng Shui is not the art of placement of objects and we don not use objects in our school. Objects are a part of Chinese CULTURE

  

By understanding how the Qi in our environment and particular location can work in given periods of time, a Feng Shui practitioner can ascertain certain outcomes of events or predict possible happenings. Feng Shui can also be applied to create positive opportunities in life, improve health and well-being and most of all, improve your quality of life.

  

No, just Feng Shui is not enough. It is not the final say on the events that take place in a property, as if that were so, you and your other family members would have the same quality of life, as all of you reside in the same house. The differences are in two other and equally important factors:

Let me elaborate :

In Chinese Metaphysics, your luck is divided into three parts :

The first part: Heaven Luck, is what we refer to as our DESTINY. Destiny has been analysed and understood in almost all cultures.

  

You have the 12 zodiac signs in Western Astrology, then you have Indian Horoscopes which we call Janam Patri, you also have the Japanese system of 9 Star Qi and the Chinese system that I have studied, called BaZi. For the purpose of destiny analysis, all the systems are equally good and interchangeable. Their accuracy depends upon the skills of the practitioner rather than on the system itself. The practitioner has to be highly experienced, skilled and intuitive, in order to be accurate.

  

Your destiny is like your DNA, it is exclusive to you and is like your fingerprint, it cannot be replicated by anybody, or be taken from you. It cannot be altered, no matter who you are, and one of the earliest records of destiny we refer to is that of Gautam Buddha. His father know at the time of his birth what his life was going to be and no matter what he did, it could not be changed, though he was so powerful – a king nonetheless.

  

Earth Luck is what we refer to as Feng Shui. It is the influence that your immediate surroundings have on you, that includes your home, office and whatever properties you occupy. If this is good, then your destiny is helped, if it is negative, you see the results in your day to day life. This part is the easiest to analyse but my observation is that the ease with which one can actually change it depends upon your destiny.

  

We have one more kind of luck called Man Luck. This is the effect of your own input and effort. It is what you make of your destiny.

  

You need a bit of all three to be successful. Just Hard work is not enough, as if that were so, our servants, who work harder than us would be better off. Your destiny has to have the seeds and your property must support it.

  

My answer is very helpful. Based on knowing what is in store for you, you are able to take informed decisions, and strategize your future. The Feng Shui can be done according to your specific requirement. E.g., if a person’s destiny shows that his health is in danger in the near future, I would take steps to protect his health and well being and not concentrate on giving him more money.

  

Broadly speaking, there are four types of energies that we work with:

We divide a house into 8 sectors and four have these are influenced by energies in the POSITIVE form and the other four are influenced by these energies in the NEGATIVE form.

Using this information you can adjust these aspects by using the house correctly, attracting the type of energy you require to obtain your balance.

  

There are no rituals, psychic abilities or religion involved. Originally used for over 3500 years for the purpose of charting the most auspicious location to bury the dead, today it is used for improving the quality of myriad human needs and endeavors like health problems, inter-relationships, home and business to name a few.

  

Traditionally Feng Shui has always been split into two ideologies, “San He” (which contains the eight mansions among other things) and “San Yuan” (which contains the popular flying stars, Xuan Kong Da Gua and Date Selection) which is determined by a Lou Pan compass which helps us understand the formula and extracts information.

  

Pop Feng Shui with the common belief of obtaining balance through hanging crystals, re-arranging furniture, placing objects, is merely scratching the surface – the superficial crust that has popularly (but erroneously) assumed the mantle of being the essence of Feng Shui. Authentic, true, traditional and correct Feng Shui is a sophisticated system with formulas, calculations and applications. Masters, students and practitioners embark upon years of study to understand Feng Shui.

  

People who meditate and practice Qi Kong or yoga will understand what QI actually is. It is the lifeblood or soul of the universe, an indestructible form of energy that permeates the universe. This energy changes with time, taking on the form of different elements of nature and follows a certain pattern of transition that is constant. Much like water, that takes on the form of ice as in snow, then melts to form a river (water) then evaporates in the sun to form clouds, may come down as rain etc, the cycle goes on and the water is virtually indestructible.

  

There are 5 basic types of qi each having two polarities. All qi goes through a certain pattern of transformation of 5 stages where in each stage, it mimics a certain element of nature and we use that element to explain the various stages.

Hence fire QI will always produce earth QI, which will produce metal QI, which in turn will produce water QI that produces wood QI that burns to produce fire QI and the cycle starts all over again. This order is known as the “Production Cycle” and never changes. Qi is much like energy, in physics, a force that can never be destroyed, it only changes its form.

It is the interactions of the various types of QI that gives rise to certain influences that make certain events take place. The study of these patters of QI enable us to predict past as well as future events in a property.

These detailed calculations and quasi-mathematical formulae are used to determine how Qi flows and its effects on a particular place that can be as large as a city or as small as a room in an apartment, and form the study and practice of Feng Shui.

  

Classical Feng Shui does not rely on the use of “objects” and “symbols”. Once the good and bad energies are identified in a property, a good consultant can easily divert auspicious or positive energy where required, and restrict or divert the entry of negative or inauspicious energy into your premises, simply by opening or closing doors and windows, placing water bodies correctly and re-arranging the layout of the rooms.

  

Feng Shui has methods and systems based on formulae and calculations that determine the auspicious and inauspicious sectors of a property. It goes deeper, it can tell you what exact aspect each sector is auspicious for: relationship, money, stability etc.

Further, one can track past and future events that take place in a property.

Finally, there are time related aspects that tell you in what timing a property can be prosperous, dangerous, cause ill health, give rise to celebration etc.

One can reasonably assess the LUCK of a property, by one who is well trained in this science. Fore warned is fore armed, hence one can use this information to ones advantage. How?

Well, you can use the sectors of the property that are beneficial and avoid the sectors that are bad, at given times, based on ones requirement. Usage of a property in general can be designed do that the room allocation and general design is done to get the optimum from a property.

By far the easiest factor to identify and rectify, is wealth.

Each property, based on various factors, has a sector that is generally auspicious for wealth. Each individual also has sectors that are financially auspicious for them. In addition, each year has a primary and secondary wealth sector. From all of these, one can easily find something that can be used for you. Of course, the extent to which you can be helped largely depends on the complete Feng Shui of the house, and how much you have taken advantage of, and your own personal BaZi, and its capacity for wealth. If you are in a good wealth timing, your fortune can expand faster, if in a bad financial timing, you an at least bridge the gap and hold on or stabilize.

  

It can be one of many reasons, but broadly speaking, it could be that the time is not yet right. A simple BaZi reading can tell you the best time for that. A detailed reading can tell you even more, the description of the prospective groom, what he may look like and his nature!

Another reason could be the inauspicious use of the house, wrong door, wrong bedroom, wrong bed, wrong stove…. And all this can be corrected. If you are unable to move stuff, there are many other ways a practitioner can help out.

( Take a look at compatibility meter for a guide to your ideal companion.)

  

My answer is simple, if you have a storm forecast, would you go out? If you had to, would you not at least carry an umbrella? Knowing in advance helps you to make informed decisions.

  

In many many ways:

  

Yi Jing is a very abstract concept, Yi Jing really refers to an ancient book: “the book of changes” which is the bible of all Chinese metaphysics. The practice of Yi Jing is a method of divination, of getting an answer to your questions from the universe, by ultimately referring to this book.

The practice of Yi Jing is a stand alone concept, but I use it in addition to Feng Shui and BaZi, at the end of a consultation. It is amazingly accurate in the advice that it gives and answers questions with bulls-eye accuracy.

  

Typically a consultation consists of first a BaZi reading, followed by the Feng Shui analysis of ALL the properties used by the client. This is essential because the problem can come from any one of the properties, therefore we need to cover all possibilities.

With these two assessments, the cause of the problems become very clear and solutions are given with Feng Shui based solutions using one or more of the many systems that I employ: San He, San Yuan or DaGua.

  

Solutions are twofold: long term and short term.

Long term solutions are first put in place followed by short term predictions for which solutions are given on a month by month basis if required, or an annual basis, depending on the severity of the problem.