Feng Shui – Page 5 – Feng Shui DIY

Outside Your House – External Feng Shui Principles (1) [Master Class Lesson 3]

Welcome to the third lesson of the Feng Shui Master Class. This time we’ll look at external Feng Shui, things that surround your house but affects you. Although they are not inside the house, their impact to occupants in the house could be as great as the internal Feng Shui. This is why all authentic Feng Shui masters must check the external environment in the first place when commissioned to do a Feng Shui diagnosis.

There are lots of things that you should check when examining the external Feng Shui. We’ll split this topic into two lessons. In this lesson, we shall look at the natural environment and objects, i.e. mountains, trees, rivers, etc. The next lesson will be completely focused on artificial objects such as roads and buildings.

Mountain / Hill

Is it good to have a mountain / hill outside your house? Well, it depends. Generally speaking, we love mountains and hills behind your house, and dislike those in the front. By saying “front”, I mean the location where your house’s entrance door faces. “Behind”, would mean the opposite.

Why a mountain / hill at the back is good? Because the back is supposed to be the support, and with an object bigger and taller than your house is effectively a good support. It means you could get support in real life when you are in trouble.

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The photo below shows the model of the Forbidden City in Beijing China, which was the palace of 24 ancient emperors in two dynasties. I downloaded this image from Wikipedia. The blue arrow I added points to the front of the working place of the emperors. The red arrow points to a hill, which is located behind the palace. You probably know that Feng Shui was used by ancient Chinese emperors as a tool to strengthen their power. So you know why when they chose the location of their palace, they selected such as place with a hill behind.

So if you work in the office, you’d better have a seat where there is a wall behind you, because the wall is just like an artificial hill. If you cannot find a wall, at least you should get yourself a high cabinet to create this effect.

On the other hand, a mountain / hill in front is not good, because it blocks the view of your house. It is always good to have a large space without obstruction in front of the house. This makes the accumulation of wealth more easy. Besides, it is also good to health.

How about a mountain / hill on the left / right of the house? In this case, usually we prefer a mountain / hill on the left than the right. It is believed that, generally speaking, the left is a good position while the right is not.

River / Stream

In traditional Feng Shui, water means wealth (水為財). Generally speaking a house with water nearby should have good Feng Shui. However, if there is a long and straight river/stream pointing directly to the entrance of your house, it is not good.

Imagine a water hose with strong running water pointing to your face. You won’t feel comfortable since the splash of water goes into your mouth and nose. For the same reason, a long and straight water stream creates a movement of Chi (氣的流動) which is too strong to the occupiers of the house.

How about water going in front of your house? Well, it depends. If the water stream does not go straightly but bend to embrace your house, it is good Feng Shui. On the other hand, if the water runs like a sickle against your house, it is bad.

Let’s have a look at two parcels of farmland, A and B. With the river running in this shape, A and B receive “embracing water” (環抱水) and “sickle water” (反弓水) respectively.

As time goes by, sediments in the water naturally accumulate along the perimeter of A while the soil of B would gradually be washed away by the movement of water. It turns out the farm land size of A would grow and that of B would shrink. In the past farmland is the source of income, so the income generated from A would increase while that from B would drop. Now you know why a house with an embracing road is good!

If you want some proof about this natural phenomenon, the following photo downloaded from Wikipedia shows the accumulation of sand and mud on only one side of the river at Mississippi River. The soil on one side is eroded by water while the other side has a sand bar formed.

Trees

Similar to modern living science, in traditional Feng Shui trees are considered good for people in general. However, trees are not always good in Feng Shui.

The location of vegetation in relation to your house could have significant impact on the occupiers. For example, Flying Star 3, when meeting “wood” elements, would cause interpersonal disputes. If there is a tree outside your house in a direction where the Flying Star 3 occupies, you may have quarrels with people or even get involved in lawsuits easily. We will learn Flying Star Feng Shui in this course soon, you’ll know what how trees could affect Feng Shui in detail.

For now, you should remember that trees are not always good. When trees are in close proximity to windows and doors, they shelter natural sunlight. Houses with insufficient daylight are believed to attract spirit of the departed easily.

You may not believe in the existence of ghost. Let’s say “seeing dead people” is simply a psychological phenomenon. Modern science has already proven that always living in a dark environment could cause depression more easily. No matter what, if your house is blocked from access to sunlight due to trees, it is definitely not good.

So does it mean that my house must be very bright inside? No. If your house does not have sufficient shading and the windows are large, the sun light may go directly into the house through windows. The interior may be too bright, which is not good. Bright is Yang (陽) and dark is Yin (陰), we do not want the two extremes but a balanced condition. People living in a house with over-strong natural lighting may have anger easily. It is also not good for health. So a house should not be too dark or too bright. Sometimes trees are good to provide some shading to your house.

Another case you need to beware of is tree outside entrance door of your house. In the following top view, you could see that there is a tree right in front of the main entrance door of a house. Is this good? No, certainly bad.

Why? To have a tree in front of the door is like a gun pointing to your mouth. You won’t feel good if this actually happens. Besides, this may also bring bad health according to Feng Shui theories.

Wind

Is wind good? What if my house is located up on a hilltop where it is windy? Same as lighting, we want a house in balance. It is not good to live in a house without natural wind. However, a windy place is not a good place for living.

The first problem with wind is sound. In windy places you can hear the annoying sound of the wind blowing through windows, tree leaves and other objects. The constant noise is not good for health.

The second problem with wind is temperature. Usually when wind blows over a house it takes away the heat. This makes the house cooler. It would be nice if the house is located in hot and humid places, but not so good if the place is already cold.

What if I live in a windy place? Should I move? Well, if you cannot afford moving, the best thing to do is to build a fence or plant some trees in the yard as wind shield.

Smell

Odor is definitely bad Feng Shui. If you live in a place with bad smell, your health is in threat no only according to medical science but Feng Shui as well.

Usually the origin of bad smell is man-made. We will cover these locations in more detail in the next lesson. However, there are some places that are natural odor generators. For example, some dried streams may have sludge accumulated. The sludge is a good place for microorganisms to breed, and bad smell may be generated easily. Avoid living in such places.

Sound

Similarly, noise is not good for health. Living in a noisy place is not easy, I had this experience before. It would be difficult to fall asleep. Insufficient sleep could make you feel drowsy during the day (of course), besides it also means losing temper easily and poor concentration.

What are the natural sources of sound? Well, it certainly depends on the sound level. If you live at a distance from a water stream you may think it is nice to hear the sound of the water. But if you live right next to a river, the sound may be too loud.

It also depends on the quality of the sound. High pitch sound produced by wind blowing through a narrow slit is definitely bad. It takes some judgment to decide, but the rule of thumb is if an ordinary man would hate the sound.

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Takeaway Feng Shui

In the “Trees” section above, we mentioned having a tree right in front of the entrance door is bad, because it looks like a gun pointing right towards the mouth. In fact, personification is commonly found in Feng Shui theories. Just consider your house as a person, you could easily think of many Feng Shui principles by analogy.

If you say the facade of your house/flat is the face of a person, than having a lift (elevator) right in front of the door is just like looking at a pair of scissors everyday. In ancient times there is no lift, so no Feng Shui master in the past would imagine any Feng Shui theories about lifts.

By analogy, you may consider the lift doors as medical scissors that are used in medical operations. Believe it or not, according to my observation over the years, for flats in a multi-storey building which faces a lift directly, the occupants may have bad health conditions easily. Many of them may need to have operation.

Another interesting observation I made over the years is the impact of air ducts and air conditioning louvres. Some residential flats, especially those in the densely populated areas in Hong Kong, faces the air duct openings and air conditioning louvres of the opposite buildings. It is already not so good to see one or two of these, but what if you see many of them right outside your window?

My find is that, since these openings looks like mouths, it seems like there are many opened mouths in front of you. In Chinese we call quarrels “口舌” which literally means “mouth and tongue”. People living in such a place may have disputes with people easily. The problem would be aggravated if there is a blowing fan inside the air duct or behind the louvre.

These are just a few of the examples of personification in Feng Shui. We will come across some other examples in this Feng Shui course. In fact, if you can imagine, you can think of some other Feng Shui principles. Everyone could be a Feng Shui master!

What Do 8 Directions Represent in Feng Shui? [Master Class Lesson 2]

In the first lesson we have seen what Feng Shui means and what are the different systems. From this lesson onwards, we will begin to learn some real things, things that you can use and apply to your house.

We know that Feng Shui is about the “space” we live in. No matter which system or school of Feng Shui, the major element must be “directions”. Back in elementary schools we learnt that there are 8 directions, namely North, East, South, West, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and Northwest.

But in Flying Feng Shui, which is the system we will mainly learn in this e-course, there could be 24 directions and each direction could be further divided into 3 sections. You see how complex Feng Shui could be. But in this course and for the time being, let us focus on the 8 directions first. The reason is not that I want to keep the advanced skills to myself, but since we don’t need to know that for now. We’ll certainly study in detail how the 24 directions could affect us.

The Meaning of 8 Directions

The 8 directions of Feng Shui correspond to the 8 Guas (卦 in Chinese) of the I-Ching (易經 in Chinese), one of the most mysterious books and philosophies in Chinese society. It is believed that everything in the world could be categorized under one of the eight Guas. For example, each person in a family is represented by a Gua. Each part of your body is also represented by an individual Gua.

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So this is how we could use the meanings of the 8 directions to interpret your house’s Feng Shui. If there is a problem in a certain direction, a particular person in a family who corresponds to that Gua and direction may be more affected by the problem than the other family members. Besides, there is a higher chance that the corresponding health problem may be more probable to happen in that family.

Below are brief explanations of what the 8 directions mean.

East

East belongs to the “wood” element, with the meaning of patience, kindness, self-motivation and self-esteem. It also represents the oldest boy or son, or male of approximately 31-45 years old. For health, it is related to arms, legs and the nerves.

Southeast

Southeast also belongs to “wood”, it means stretching ability, benevolence, compassion and patience. It represents the oldest girl or daughter in a family, or female of approximately 31-45 years old. Bed Feng Shui in this direction may trigger health problems in liver, gallbladder, eyes, nerves, limbs and skin, as well as stroke for elderly and alopecia other occupants.

South

South means the girl or daughter in the middle or female of approximately 15-30 years old, it has “fire” characteristic and is related to fashion, culture, punctuality, sports and self-discipline. For health, it is about heart, eyes, blood, small intestine, tongue and brain.

Southwest

Southwest represents old lady or the mother, or female above 45, “earth” element, inclusiveness, tolerance, frugality and credibility. For health, it means the belly, stomach, skin, lips, tumors and the back.

West

West is the youngest girl or female below 15, “metal” element, social skills, creativity, sense of humor, financial management skills and recreation. It represents lung, larynx, colon, ridge, nasal bone, articulate, chest, breasts, vocal cords, bones in the health aspect.

Northwest

Northwest means old man or the father, or male above 45. It carries the meaning of leadership, management, courage and perseverance. For health, it means bones, head, face, brain and joint disease.

North

North belongs to “water”, with the meaning of integrity, strategy, resilience and lust. It relates to kidney, blood, bladder, ear, uterus and urinary system. It represents the boy or son in the middle or male of approximately 15-30 year old.

Northeast

Northeast is “earth”, religion, inclusiveness and speed of action. For health, it means nose, back, stomach, muscle. It is the youngest son or boy in a family or male below 15.

Interpreting Feng Shui Problems

So how do we use these meanings of the 8 directions? Good Feng Shui in a direction is a positive sign for the corresponding characteristics and vice versa. So if there is bad Feng Shui in the East, the occupants of this apartment may lose patience easier, have lower self-motivation and kindness, etc. The problems would more easily happen on the oldest son or boy in the family.

What does it mean by a Feng Shui problem? Most Feng Shui problems we are talking about are “Form” problems. In other words, they are mostly related to the shape, size and disposition of objects. An easily found situation is a recessed corner or projection.

A good apartment should usually be in rectangular shape, if there is a large recess or projection in a direction, it is not good Feng Shui, corresponding bad effects may happen and the corresponding person in a family may suffer the most. Please note that in modern days building are usually not in perfect square so minor recessions and projections aren’t big issues.

For missing corner/recess, which is a common Feng Shui problem, the solution is to put a piece of specific ornament in that direction to neutralize the bad effect. You need to use the specific shape of ornament mentioned below because that shape serves as a supplement to “complete” the missing corner.

There are other “Form” Feng Shui problems that are commonly found in and around modern buildings. There will be separate lessons when we talk about them in much more detail.

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Take-away Feng Shui

This lesson’s practical tip is how to use compass. What? I need to learn using compass? Isn’t it something that everyone already knows? Well, if you talk about using compass for way-finding, yes I assume you know how to use it. But using compass for Feng Shui purpose is different. For advanced Feng Shui calculation, we need to carefully find out in which region your house face, because every region could have its own Flying Star Pan (星盤 in Chinese).

In this Feng Shui e-course, I don’t intend to go into such details. We’ll instead use some basic yet effective systems to check your house. However, it is always good for all Feng Shui beginners to learn using compass.

Measure from Outside First!

To begin a Feng Shui measurement, we need to find out the orientation of a house. Remember! The first thing to do is NOT going into the house. This is a mistake that not only beginners make. Some “Feng Shui practitioners” make this mistake too.

Instead of going straight into the house, you should find out the directions outside. If you have a compass in hand, let’s do a test now. Stand in the middle of your house, note the direction shown on the compass and where the magnet points to. Now move around inside your house, try approaching the walls, columns and electrical appliances. Did you find any unusual movement of the magnet?

Modern houses are built with concrete and steel reinforcement. Concrete may contain minerals and steel reinforcement bars are metal, these are things that could interfere with the compass’s interaction with the earth’s magnetic field. In the experiment above you were effectively walking in a big cage made of metal bars and magnetic materials. I have seen cases where the magnet moved over 30 degrees within the same house. Now do you think you can find out the correct directions by just measuring in the house?

And please switch off your electrical devices, including cell phone and iPod, or hand them to somebody else while you use the compass. I don’t want to scare you but if you do not eliminate all sources of interference, chances are you may mistake a good Feng Shui house as a bad one or vice versa. A wrong determination could have serious impact on the occupiers.

The proper way of measurement is to hold the compass in front of your waist, keep it horizontal and align it so that it is parallel to the house. All authentic Chinese Feng Shui compasses are in square shape. Unfortunately most common compasses are not. If you only have a common circular compass, imagine there is an intangible line normal to the facade of your house. Make sure this line runs through you and your compass.

Then, turn the compass so that the N mark aligns to the magnet’s North pointer. Make sure you got it right but not the reverse. If you do not know which side of the magnet points to North, try calibrating the compass by facing the sun in the morning. North should be roughly on your left hand side.

OK, now you should be able to tell in which direction your house faces. If your house has more than one doors, consider the main entrance which is the most frequently used one. Mark down not only the eight directions but the degree as well. It may be less useful for Ba Gua Feng Shui, but you may need this information if you study advanced Flying Star Feng Shui.

Back to the House

“You just said we should measure from outside, now you are asking us to go back to our house?” You may ask. Well, I did say you should do the measurement outdoor FIRST, but I did not say you should only do it outdoor. You should go back to the house, do a measurement and check if there is significant variation of the results.

The next step is to overlay the direction plan you got from outside the house onto the internal layout. In this way you find out in which direction the rooms and doors are located.

To do this you must find out the center point of your house. Knowing that many modern houses are not rectangular, I have prepared some examples below for your reference.

This is a practical knowledge you should know if you want to use Feng Shui in the right way. Most Feng Shui books teach you what to put in what direction, but they seldom tell you how to properly find out the directions.

The Luckiest Feng Shui Direction in Year of Snake (2013)

In the last post I told you which direction is the worst in the coming Year of Snake, this time let’s look at something good – the best direction in 2013.

Before I reveal this direction, let me tell you why it is regarded as the best direction. According to Feng Shui theories, there are totally 9 “Yun” (i.e. periods), from the first to the ninth, each Yun equals to 20 years. 9 x 20 = 180 years, so every 180 years the cycle repeats. From Year 2004 to Year 2023 is the Eighth Yun. During the Eighth Yun the Flying Star 8 is the luckiest, so the direction where the Flying Star 8 locates in a year is the best direction of that year.

The Flying Star 8 occupies Northeast in the coming Year of Snake. It follows naturally that Northeast is the best direction in this year. This Flying Star brings wealth, happiness and good luck, we certainly want to maximize our use of it.

If the entrance door of your house happen to locate in the Northeast, it means that in general your family would enjoy a good year in the Year of Snake. Similarly, if your desk is located in this direction, you may have a better year in the workplace. To cut it short, such a good direction is good for entrance door, bed, desk, kitchen and everything and everywhere you would stay a few hours a day or pass through several times daily.

What if none of these in your house is located in Northeast? No worry, you can also use Feng Shui ornaments to boost your luck. Your top choice is a water feature such as fountain or aquarium. Alternatively, you can place a large piece of crystal, jade or other “earth” related ornament here. Where can you find such Feng Shui ornaments? The most convenient place is Amazon online store! Just search for “Feng Shui water feature” ad you can find quite a lot.

Before we say goodbye, I would like to announce a good news, that my Google+ Fan Page, Facebook Fan Page and Twitter account are now opened! You are invited to follow me on Google+, Facebook or Twitter. I’ll frequently publish Feng Shui tips on these platforms. Besides, you’ll be the first one to receive notification about my FREE Feng Shui books and offers!

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The Worst Feng Shui Direction in 2013 Year of Snake

According to Feng Shui theories, the good and bad directions rotate every year. A good direction this year may become bad in the next year. This is exactly the case for 2013 Year of Snake. A direction that was good last year would become awfully bad in 2013.

This bad direction is East. It was a direction good for job promotion and study in 2012. However, it becomes the source of disputes and troubles in 2013 due to the presence of Flying Star 3. If the main door of your flat or office is located in this direction, chances are you would have much tougher times in the coming year.

A real case is the Chief Executive of Hong Kong (consider this position as the mayor of a big city with over 7 million citizens). Some of you may remember that I live in Hong Kong, a city in Southern Asia. In 2012 the main entrance of the Chief Executive’s house is exactly where the Flying Star 3 locates. It turns out that the original Chief Executive Mr. Donald Tsang and his successor Mr. CY Leung who replaced Mr. Tsang since July, faced great challenges in this year. Scandals happened on both guys, and the Legislative Council initiated two Motions of Non-Confidence against them. Mr. Tsang was investigated by the authority for alleged acceptance of advantages.

Bad Entrance Direction of Gong Kong Government House

Hong Kong Government House – Residence of Chief Executive
(Image source: Wikipedia)

Now you see how terrible this Flying Star 3 is? No only this, the East direction is also occupied by an extra thing, San Sha (三煞). San Sha is not a flying star, but it nevertheless brings bad luck. It literally means three killings. It would not affect you if you don’t touch it, but if there is any building works, even as small as a general repair of your flat, it could affect the health of the occupants. Illness and bodily injury may happen.

East could be regarded as a terrible direction in the coming Year of Snake. My advices are, (1) do not carry out any building/repair works in this direction, and (2) place a big object in red in this direction, such as a big red lamp or a red carpet. This method could reduce the bad effects of the Flying Star 3.

Do you want a better year? You can enjoy a lucky and healthy year if you know the best Feng Shui design for 2013! My 2013 Feng Shui guide will be published soon. I’m finalizing the contents and will announce you once it’s really. Stay tuned!

3 Types of Good and 7 Types of Bad Feng Shui House

As you know Feng Shui is a system with long tradition in Chinese society. All Feng Shui practitioners learn their skills from books written by renowned Feng Shui masters hundred years ago. The role of modern Feng Shui designers is to interpret old Feng Shui theories in the modern day context.

In this article, I’m going to show you what good and bad Feng Shui house are according to a very famous old Feng Shui book, 八宅明鏡. Although these theories were not new, they are very applicable to nowadays houses.

3 Types of Good Feng Shui House

(1) A house with a regular footprint, preferably in square or rectangular shape, with support at the back and a space in front of the entrance door. There should also be buildings or hills on the left and right, preferably the left hand side is higher. The rooms inside the house are properly sized. This is the best type of house which brings good wealth and health.

(2) A house with regular footprint and a full height solid fence wall. This creates an artificial boundary which serves as the support.

(3) A house with flat and rectangular foundation, the house sitting in the center, not too high nor too low. The height of a house matters, if it is too high while the footprint is small, the house is not good (see paragraph 5 below).

7 Types of Bad Feng Shui House

(4) A house with disproportionate room sizes. For example, while the living and dining rooms are very large the bedrooms are extremely small, or vice versa. In Feng Shui the active areas are Yang (陽) and the sleeping areas are Yin (陰), we need a balanced house with properly sized Yang and Yin areas.

(5) A house with a small footprint and a few or more storeys, without no supporting houses nearby. It looks like a narrow rod standing up on the ground. This kind of house could not provide support to occupiers.

(6) A house with defective foundation. This is certainly not good because if the foundation is poor the walls and floor slabs above would not be stable. People living in this house may have body conditions and illness easily.

(7) A house without insufficient lighting, wide and deep rooms but only small windows. Sometimes even if the house itself has big windows, there won’t be sufficient daylight if there are many trees surrounding the house. This kind of house is easy to attract spirits (ghosts).

(8) Defective house with broken window, poorly maintained walls and finishes, looks like an old man without care. This kind of house would never bring wealth to the occupier.

(9) House with improperly high foundation. Usually a house’s foundation should level with the surround ground. However, some houses have high foundations which looks like a plinth underneath the house. So the house’s entrance would be above the surround ground. This makes Chi difficult to go into the house, so as wealth and good luck.

(10) A small house with small rooms and narrow corridors. Chi could not flow smoothly inside the house, affecting the health of the occupiers.

You see all these concerns the form and shape of a house irrespective of the directions. In fact, Feng Shui is more about the living environment. If you could manage to build a house with good size and shape, even if you don’t know anything about Flying Star or Ba Gua, chances are your house would have not bad Feng Shui.

It is this principle that driven me to write my first detailed book about office Feng Shui. In my latest book, Feng Shui Office: You Quick Start Guide, I introduced many ways to find tune your workplace Feng Shui without using a compass. Certainly, I have included some sections in which more advanced office Feng Shui using Flying Star and Ba Gua systems are introduced. You should have seen a few tips in my previous post about Feng Shui office, but this new e-book is much more informative with many more useful tips.

To celebrate the birthday my son, I’m now offering this book at an exceptionally low price! You can get an insanely great discount for this e-book PLUS two bonus reports! This birthday sale won’t last long so if you want to create a better work space for yourself, this is the time to start learning these powerful techniques that only the experts use. I tried to make everything easy to learn, I’m confident that you could bring changes to your office immediately!

>> Click here to find out how to improve your workplace Feng Shui <<

While the above are more relevant to houses, in the next post I’ll teach you how to distinguish good and bad Feng Shui of multi-storey apartments. Stay tuned!

Is Feng Shui Science?

Is Feng Shui science? This is a question frequently asked by people. If we consider “science” as something accurate, predictable and measurable, Feng Shui may be unale to qualify as scientific, because we cannot precisely predict the improvement some Feng Shui measures could bring. However, if we read between the lines of Feng Shui books and examine the rationales behind, there are traces of “science” behind Feng Shui.

Let us look at an example here. Below is the configuration of two parcels of farmland, A and B. With the river running in this shape, A and B receive “embracing water” (環抱水) and “sickle water” (反弓水) respectively. According to Chinese Feng Shui theories, farmland A is better than B in terms of wealth growth, why?

Let’s consider this from geographical point of view. As time goes by, sediments in the water naturally accumulate along the perimeter of A while the soil of B would gradually be washed away by the movement of water. It turns out the farm land size of A would grow and that of B would shrink. In the past farmland is the source of income, so the income generated from A would increase while that from B would drop.

Now you know why a house with an embracing road is good according to Feng Shui! Do you think this theory makes scientific sense? Is Feng Shui science?

Do you want to learn more about Feng Shui? Want to know how to Feng Shui your house and office in this year? Subscribe to my FREE Feng Shui newsletter now and get a FREE copy of my Feng Shui guide book if you haven’t!

Feng Shui Living Room – The Do’s and Don’ts

To create a Feng Shui living room is one of the most common reasons for hiring a Feng Shui master. People spend a few hours a day in the living room, the Chi in this place definitely affects the well-being of the occupants.

How could you create a Feng Shui living room? Well there are many rules to follow and if you are serious about it, you’ve got to use a Feng Shui compass and do some calculations. Here in this article I will share with you some simple tips to create a a Feng Shui living room. Do not under-estimate the effects of these tips, although they are simple steps to take, doing all of them could bring you a good Feng Shui living room.

Feng Shui Living Room – Colors

You must have heard some other Feng Shui gurus telling you to use particular colors to create a Feng Shui living room. For example, some gurus say that red is perfect for all living rooms. On the other hand, I have seen other gurus recommending cold colors as the best for a Feng Shui living room. These universal advices may be true but I would prefer personalizing your living room according to either the need of your particular home or the birthday of yourself, since no two houses are equal, so as human being.

I wrote another article in this blog about choosing Feng Shui colors. These colors could improve your Chi and bring you luck. They are found according to your own year of birth, so they are more powerful in affecting you. You should consider using these colors in your Feng Shui living room.

Another simple way to choose colors for your Feng Shui living room is to follow the flying stars (飛星) of a particular year. According to the flying star theory, the most popular and powerful Feng Shui theory, there are 9 flying stars that relocate to different directions every year. Each of these flying stars carry different meaning and power. By using the appropriate colors you can absorb the positive energy of good flying stars. On the other hand, if you wrongly used some colors that trigger the bad effects of bad flying stars, you may attract bad luck.

To find out these colors and the locations of the flying stars of the current year, you need to know the flying star theory and five-element (五行) concept. If you do not have relevant knowledge or experience, I have prepared a handy Feng Shui 2013 Guidebook that teaches you how to do the best Feng Shui in year 2012. Simply find out in which direction your living room is, follow the instructions I gave about that particular direction, you can easily make a Feng Shui living room. You can download this book from the previous link or by registering using the form at the end of this article.

Feng Shui Living Room – Dynamic v.s. Static

Some people believe that the living room is where you watch TV and listen to music so it must be noisy. Some other people believe that the living room must be calm and silent so that people in the room could enjoy peace and harmony. Which one of these arguments is correct?

Both of them are true and false. It is illogical to mute your TV simply to ensure you have a silent living room. On the other hand, it is definitely not good frmo living science point of view to have a noisy living room. We need a balance here.

This is the dynamic v.s. static theory in Feng Shui. A Feng Shui living room should have a balance of both elements just like the Yin (陰) and yang (陽) of a Tai Chi (太極) symbol. What really matters is how you locate them. Generally speaking directions with bad flying stars should avoid all dynamic elements. On the other hand, you can use dynamic objects such as a clock, water fountain or TV to maximize the positive effects of good flying stars. Again, you can refer to my FREE guidebook for more information.

Another paramount rule to follow is timing. Obviously the living room could be a bit noisy and dynamic in day time but at night it should be calm and silent. Very logical, right?

Feng Shui Living Room – Mirrors

Mirror is the love and hate of Feng Shui masters. If used correctly they could magnify the positive effects of good flying stars. Conversely, mirrors could also be bad if placed wrongly since they could also and power-up the bad effects of bad flying stars. You should take great care about mirrors if you want a good Feng Shui living room.

It is quite common to find mirrors in modern day living rooms because many interior designs love using mirrors to create an illusion that the living room is enlarged. Make sure you check the directions before placing mirrors in the living room (and bed room, study room, etc… toilet is a different issue we may discuss separately).

Feng Shui Living Room – Lighting

A Feng Shui living room must have abundant lighting. Light is the source of energy. Believe it or not, a dark house may attract spirits according to Feng Shui theories.

Photo via Nicola, CC Licence

The best source of light is the sun. Natural daylight is far better than artificial lighting but if there are physical constraints in your house that the living room cannot get sufficient daylight, use artificial lighting. What does it mean by “sufficient lighting”? You can test by trying to read a book in the darkest corner of your living room. If you can easily read all the words, the living room is OK. The is a basic requirement for a Feng Shui living room.

Want more tips for your Feng Shui living room? Want a luckier and healthier year? Download my FREE Feng Shui guide book and subscribe to my FREE Feng Shui newsletter now!

Feng Shui Office – 3 Essential Elements

A lot of people want to work in a Feng Shui office. If not the whole office, at least the own seat is preferably be Feng Shui optimized. I have seen people, mostly of executive grades, employing a master to adjust the settings in their room in hope of boosting their luck in career.

You don’t actually have to pay for Feng Shui office design. In this article I’ll introduce 3 simple yet effective ways to optimize the Feng Shui in your office. There is no special accessories required, and you don’t have to do difficult calculations. Want to learn how? Let’s start now!

#1 Feng Shui Office Element – Back Support

No, I do not mean chair back support, I mean the backing of your seat or desk. Traditional theories believe that the back of your seat is related to the support you receive from colleagues and your boss in the office. With a big backing behind your seat, you would have support by others.

So the best seat is one that is backed by a wall. In contrast, most home office workers sit in front of the wall with a walking space behind the seat. This is not a Feng Shui office.

What if your seat do not have a wall at the back? Well, many modern offices are built with plywood or MDF board partitions. Although these partitions are usually not full-height (from floor to ceiling), if there is a partition like this at your back, the higher the partition is better the support is.

Now if your office does not even have such partitions? Try hanging a jacket or coat in brown on the back of your chair. Brown is “earth” (土) according to Five Element (五行) theory. Putting “earth” behind your chair is to simulate having a mountain at your back (靠山). Of course the effect of this is far less than having a real mountain or wall, but still it helps a bit.

#2 Feng Shui Office Element – Plant

Do you have small plants in the office? Plant belongs to the “wood” (木) group according to Five Element theory. Wood is good for study and career but you need to know the correct type and quality to place on your desk or in your room to create a Feng Shui office.

From 1 to 9, the number that brings good study and career luck is 4. If you have a flower pot in your office, put only 4 flowers in it, nothing more nothing less. That is why many gurus recommend accessories of 4 for Feng Shui office setting.

For color, green is the color of “wood” so ever-green plants are more appropriate. If not, you can put colorful flowers which are good for interpersonal relationships. Do not use plant with spines and prickles, e.g. cactus.

Photo by mark_y_goh

#3 Feng Shui Office Element – Always on the Left

Most of us have a messy desk with piles of documents and books that the bookshelves just could not accommodate them all. Beware of how you place and pile them on your desktop because it could affect Feng Shui.

A good Feng Shui office should be high on the left and low on the right. By that I mean if you pile up books and documents have bookshelves on the desk, those on the left should be higher than those on the right. Why? It is because the left hand side means people who help you and the right hand side means challenges. This is a less known Feng Shui office tips that not many people know.

Wait… Here’s More

The above are only a few of the many Feng Shui methods you can apply to your workplace. There are more methods, including Flying Star and Ba Gua Feng Shui, which could sharply increase your career luck. I have written detailed report, Feng Shui Office: Your Quick Start Guide explaining almost everything you need to know to Feng Shui your office. Want to read this book? Click the link below to learn more.

>> Feng Shui Office Guidebook <<

Welcome to Feng Shui DIY

Welcome to Feng Shui DIY! This web site is where I share my experience and ideas about Feng Shui. All posts in this blog are specifically written with beginners in mind. I believe that Feng Shui is not difficult at all. Without expensive Feng Shui accessories, no need to find a Feng Shui expert, everyone can do good Feng Shui for their homes and offices.

I hope you like my Feng Shui posts. Enjoy!