Feng Shui?

[coyote]

Raised in another thread, this topic fascinates me. I've seen so much great stuff emerge from feng shui; I've also seen an enormous amount of rubbish.

 

Here's an example of excellent thought: Arrange your furniture to enhance the flow of energy through your home or office. Keep entryways clear of clutter.

 

Here's another good example: Color makes a difference. Paint your room in a way that its energies are in line with the purpose of that room. A Ferrari-red dining area is likely not conducive to good digestion.

 

Here's an example of rubbish: Hang chimes and a crystal in the _______ corner to ward off bad luck.

 

That's just my opinion of course. Whaddya all think? Any validity to this stuff?

[Dave Horne]

I'm tired from the numerology nonsense ... maybe there should be yet another forum to discuss things that are on the fringe.

 

Interestingly enough, Albert Einstein was a true believer in feng shui and had his living room furniture arranged accordingly. Go figure.

[doug osborne]

People desperately do not want to trust their own hearts and heads. We constantly search for a new pill, new song, new messiah, new girlfriend, or new car that will finally complete us.

 

If we choose not to depend on a particular alignment of stars, numbers or furniture, we can start on the journey to live our lives built on a solid foundation, whether we choose that foundation to be humans, the universe, or God.

 

I still have a blue Lava Lite, though.

[Thomas Wilburn]

Funny example: The city of Beijing, like many Chinese cities is laid out according to the principles of Feng Shui. When Mao died, he wanted to be cremated or buried elsewhere, but a successor official decided that it would be much more impressive to enshrine Mao a la Stalin. They put his tomb directly to the South of Tiananmen Square and the Emperor's palace, breaking the North-South line that had previously run through the city. Since then, whether there's truth to it or not, Mao's Tomb has been blamed for bad weather and bad energy in the city.

 

I don't believe in it myself. But I might just be too messy for it to personally work. I do know that many of the color/ergonomic principles of the art are underlaid by modern scientific findings, such as how color affects us.

[Botch.]

Originally posted by Doug Osborne:

People desperately do not want to trust their own hearts and heads. We constantly search for a new pill, new song, new messiah, new girlfriend, or new car that will finally complete us.

You said a mouthful there, Doug. You're also threatening the livelihoods of many hucksters throughout the world!

[doug osborne]

Originally posted by Botch.:

Originally posted by Doug Osborne:

People desperately do not want to trust their own hearts and heads. We constantly search for a new pill, new song, new messiah, new girlfriend, or new car that will finally complete us.

You said a mouthful there, Doug. You're also threatening the livelihoods of many hucksters throughout the world!

Can I still sell 'ya a new song?

[AKA]

I cant defend Feng Shui with logical arguments, it just works.

 

You dont have to believe in it for it to work.

 

Best thing is to read about it and try ONE "cure" at a time and wait for a positive

"coincidence" to happen in your life.

 

DON"T EXPERIMENT on your own!!! Try only the cures you read from books.

 

I put this spinning crystal ornament in the wrong corner in my room and

in a couple of days I lost an important gig I was going to do and the pipe

in my bathroom broke and ruined my entire carpet. It happened in less than a week

of putting up that crystal ornament.

 

On the other hand, Ive had good things happen in my life after implementing a cure

in the right way.

[Slowly]

I don't know about Feng Shui. But during the trying times in my house I rearrange the furniture so we can pass without the usual pleasantries. Cause one good "Move woman" and I'll be on the couch! Kcbass

[stanner]

funnee thing-fung shua...

the band i work w/ were stayin @ a friends house after a show over the 4th wknd and i think we stayed up all nite in the living room tryin to decide whether we should sleep w/ our heads toward the door or away from the door-ya know feng shwa stylee et al....

i think it was decided either way wouldnt affect anything

s

[Phait]

Funnee thing-fung shua... the 4th wknd.. know feng shwa stylee et al....

i think it was decided either way wouldnt affect anything

You sure?

[coyote]

The most interesting feng shui observation I've ever made was at a previous employer. Each of their regional offices was set up in such a way that most people worked in cubicles, with their backs to the cubicle entrance. One of the fengshui axioms is that you NEVER do this, as it invites backstabbing.

 

Sure enough, that company sabotaged its subcontractors and even itself. Various divisions of the company got into bidding wars with each other, thereby driving down potential profits. It was quite bizarre.

[Super 8]

When people ask me; "So, what do you do for a living", I always tell them I'm a Feng Shui Consultant.

That usually stops the line of questioning dead in it's tracks.

 

Yup! Feng Shui has always worked for me!

[robmix]

Wow, I'm surprised at how many of you seem to have no believe whatsoever in Feng Shui, even calling practitioners of the philosophy "hucksters". I'm a martial artist and have a keen interest in eastern philosphy and religion. I've read many books on the subject but have never hired an experienced Feng Shui practitioner. I can only relate my experience with Feng Shui:

 

So about four years ago, my girlfriend of 5 years and I broke up. Work was slowing down to the point of being scarey and I was in severe debt. We lived in a terribly opressive apartment in San Fernando valley. I took the opportunity to move out to the beach. After being in my new place for about a month things became even more hopeless. I wasn't meeting anyone, work was at a standstill. I picked up a Feng Shui book and decided to give some of the ideas a try in my new place. Moved the bed out from the corner, put up some red curtains. Within a couple weeks I had more dates than I could handle. Hmm . . . . . . let's try the fish tank in the north, chinese coins in the northwest. Work starts to pick up. Looks good so far. Wooden wind chimes, starting to feel better about myself, relationships get better. Crystal in couple windows, metal windchimes. Ex-girlfriend moves down the street from me. Within months we get back together and get married. One day I decide to clean out the garage, I give away every piece of furniture to all the starving artists we know. Within an hour a major recording artist we know calls and tells me she's recording some of our songs and we're producing them.

 

There's even more amazing "coincidences", too many to even recall. We honestly don't go crazy with the stuff but if there's an option about where to hang a windchime or what color to paint a wall why not consulate a 4000 year old art. At the very least your furniture will have good flow and that alone can increase your productivity and sense of comfort. I have seen people unknowingly make some pretty big Feng Shui mistakes and their lives have a taken a turn for the worse.

[Dave Horne]

I cant defend Feng Shui with logical arguments, it just works.

 

You dont have to believe in it for it to work.

The problem is, how can you test the effectiveness of something when the customer has been told in advance that the treatment in question will provide a positive response. You are already influencing the outcome by telling the customer what to expect.

 

This is the same way 'aroma therapy' works - the customer is told in advance that a certain product will generate a certain result. Sure enough, the easily influenced customer agrees after trying the product.

 

The only effective way to test anything is a double blind test. There's a lot of money to be made with people who are easily influenced.

[Dave Horne]

Wow, I'm surprised at how many of you seem to have no believe whatsoever in Feng Shui, even calling practitioners of the philosophy "hucksters".

How would a lawyer prove a malpractice case?

 

Your Honor, I followed the recommendations of this expert and with three weeks, my TV stopped working, my wife left me, my writing block got even worse and my cat died - I want my money back with compensation.

 

Sigh.

[coyote]

Yeah, but how do you set up a double-blind fengshui test? There are too many variables.

 

Therefore, it's almost reasonable to simply go on a case-by-case basis. And like the placebo effect in which the act of taking the pill produces the desired effect even though the pill itself is inert - if it's merely the positive thinking which comes from being told that this will have a positive effect, isn't it actually working?

 

I see fengshui as three things: placement, color, and totem. The first two can be demonstrated to have certain actual effects. The third has been used by humanity for all recorded history. So you paint a room in gentle colors - this soothes you. You unclutter the room and re-orient it - this removes physical obstacles and therefore mental obstacles. You hang a crystal over there - the act of hanging this totem gives you the feeling of doing something positive for yourself and get that feeling every time you look at it and you carry that feeling with you into other endeavors.

 

Originally posted by Dave Horne:

I cant defend Feng Shui with logical arguments, it just works.

 

You dont have to believe in it for it to work.

The problem is, how can you test the effectiveness of something when the customer has been told in advance that the treatment in question will provide a positive response. You are already influencing the outcome by telling the customer what to expect.

 

This is the same way 'aroma therapy' works - the customer is told in advance that a certain product will generate a certain result. Sure enough, the easily influenced customer agrees after trying the product.

 

The only effective way to test anything is a double blind test. There's a lot of money to be made with people who are easily influenced.

[boosh]

I had a terrible case of Hah-Shui a minute ago,...My monitor is covered with green particles.

 

I don't know if they're all in the right position to bring me good luck.

[Jimbroni]

I'm not sure about the metaphysical new age stuff.

 

But my wife is a neat freak. She keeps basically no clutter in our living spaces. When we designed our decor we used a sort of feng shei type of design. Very open and minimal. Most people that come in breath a sigh of relief, and love the design, even though we hardly have any furniture and no color on the walls, its wierd. There is something to it. Like when you keep you're desk clear its easier to think. When our practice space is freshly cleaned and no cables and stomp boxes, or chord charts layin everywhere, we are more inspired. These are things I've noticed personally.

[Phait]

Like when you keep you're desk clear its easier to think. When our practice space is freshly cleaned and no cables and stomp boxes, or chord charts layin everywhere, we are more inspired. These are things I've noticed personally.

That does make sense actually... I bet my little studio needs a bit of cleaning hehe.

[doug osborne]

I don't mean to attack anyone's belief system. I have some of my own - I actually believe I can write songs, sing, play them...

 

I have an ex-girlfriend who buys-in to a lot of stuff. She paid good money to have her place Feng Shui'd (sp?). Within six months, she started a two year period of unemployment, and (cooincidentally) we broke up. Two years later, she is in a new un-Feng Shui'd place, earning mid six figures (OK, maybe an operational delay here), and has apologized for screwing things up.

 

For any belief-system success story, there will be an equal and opposite number of failure stories. As long as we are doing no harm, we should continue to believe what brings us peace.

[meccajay]

Didn't Bruce Lee's death have a Feng Shui connection of some sort?

 

Something I saw in one of the many documentaries about Lee's life & death mentioned a Chinese custom of having some crystals placed above an entranceway of the home(something like that). The day he died, the crystal was missing from his home...(due to a windstorm, or maybe removed??).

 

Anyone remember the full story?

[KenElevenShadows]

Originally posted by meccajay:

Didn't Bruce Lee's death have a Feng Shui connection of some sort?

No, it had nothing to do with it.

 

It is not New Age metaphysical stuff.

 

It is not hucksterism. There are, of course, Feng Shui consultants who may not know what they are doing, but this does not make the art/science of Feng Shui into something it's not.

 

It is a science/art that is very ancient. Even if you don't believe in the energy flow throughout your living space, something that I would find hard to believe that you wouldn't feel when you walk into someone's house, it is at the very least a reasonably practical guide to creating a living space that is effective, comfortable, and logical.

 

To call it New Age hokum or hucksterism indicates a lack of knowledge about the subject for the person stating so. You may not believe it's effective or whatever (which is sort of bizarre if you've never tried it or know anything about it), that's fine, but let's not call it something it's not.

[miroslav]

Originally posted by AKA:

I put this spinning crystal ornament in the wrong corner in my room and in a couple of days I lost an important gig I was going to do and the pipe in my bathroom broke and ruined my entire carpet. It happened in less than a week of putting up that crystal ornament.

Yeah...but how do you know it wouldn't have happened anyway...???

There is no way for you to go back in time and try it in the "right" corner...and then see if the same things happen or not.

 

I think there are probably some esthetic/functionality adjustments that we could all make in our lives...our environments...

...but a lot of that could be nothing more than common sense stuff.

 

Uncluttering a work space...DUH!...of course that will make you more productive.

 

In my studio...it is a never ending battle!!!

I start with everything in its place...guitars hung...cords all wound up...the mixer zeroed...etc.

And in no time...I'm stepping over everything...

...and I have to be careful when I have a guitar around my neck so I dont end up whacking one of the many mic stands that seem to grow out of the floor in no time!!!

 

HEY!!!...who put that gooseneck on my chair!!!

[I I mjrn]

The basis of this, like much old knowledge, is not as "magical" as many think or some have attached to it (so as to build their own "authority & the need for their expertise).

 

At root---& in effect---the point is to eliminate problems that arise from the arrangement of our houses & their furnishings. That's something that we all can realize form our own experience.

Think of it as "good traffic flow" or designing your home's location well rather than "good chi" & you'll be better able to see the point &, maybe, free yourself from some who seek to play this for it's "mystical" angles.

 

Colors? Anyone with familiarity with psychology can see the relevance to our moods---& thence to other aspects of our lives.

 

There will be some who dispute my version as simplistic or uninformed to the esoteric aspects of this but that's just not the case.

I've spent much of my adult life investigating areas of things like yoga, mysticism, etc., & have learned their bases & underlying principles well. I've also learned to see the ways they are "dressed up" to appeal to those who need those touches to swallow the kernel of truth (all religions & philosophies do this) & how they are manipulate by those who misunderstand them or seek to take advantage of others.

 

Here's a free tip (before it crops up in another thread ) that will illustrate:

Believe in reincarnation?

Want to know the truth & origin of it?

After death we all decay & become part of other life. It's a way of recognizing that & quieting the mind in face of existential angst that distracts many.

It's been made into much more, elaborate speculation.

This sort of thing is how Catholic liturgy, the Hindu pantheon, indeed all such conceptualizations, is built up into a system meant to appeal & illustrate deeper concepts to the mass audience.

 

It always starts with a basis in truth (as we may understand it) & becomes elaborated into what appeals to the most or is useful to some.

 

Mind your wants because there's someone who wants your mind. ---George Clinton

 

[edited only for typos]

[KenElevenShadows]

Yes, that's exactly right. There is nothing magical or mystical about it. Energy flows through your house. You arrange your house, your belongings, your furniture, and everything to maximize the energy (your energy and the energy that flows through your house). Easy. Simple. Logical.

 

If you don't believe that energy flows through your house, then you are basically denying hundreds of years of the study of astronomy and believe that you and other people do not possess energy.

[Dave Horne]

Originally posted by Ken/Eleven Shadows:

Yes, that's exactly right. There is nothing magical or mystical about it. Energy flows through your house. You arrange your house, your belongings, your furniture, and everything to maximize the energy (your energy and the energy that flows through your house). Easy. Simple. Logical.

 

If you don't believe that energy flows through your house, then you are basically denying hundreds of years of the study of astronomy and believe that you and other people do not possess energy.

I can easily measure the voltage in the wires going through my house, but the energy you are talking about, what exactly would I need to buy to measure it?

 

What is the nature of the energy you are referring to ... and how do I measure it? (I'm from the old school where if something can not be measured, it's pretty difficult to talk about it intelligently, ... but that's just me.)

[KenElevenShadows]

You give off energy. You have energy. That is measurable. There are dozens of various kinds of measurable radiation streaming through your house. There is sunlight. There is air. There is electricity. There are radio waves. There are cosmic radiation. Many are measurable. And that's only the stuff we understand.

[coyote]

This statement indicates that you subscribe to a fundamental flaw of those who "believe in science": that if something is not measurable, it does not exist.

 

To refute that, I will merely point to Marie Curie. Prior to her work, no one knew or understood the effects of atomic radiation - yet it existed and had effect all that time! And one need not always quantize things to talk intelligently about them from a conceptual standpoint.

Originally posted by Dave Horne:

I can easily measure the voltage in the wires going through my house, but the energy you are talking about, what exactly would I need to buy to measure it?

What is the nature of the energy you are referring to ... and how do I measure it? (I'm from the old school where if something can not be measured, it's pretty difficult to talk about it intelligently, ... but that's just me.)

[M Peasley]

Seems to me that if you live your life with a consistent, inspiring philosophy, and incorporate your philosophy into your physical surroundings (instead of just in your head), that you could perhaps "energize" your life to some extent.

 

Although people are generally shy to call exotic beliefs "superstitions" anymore (home-grown beliefs are another matter), I still can't help but think that a belief in simply arranging furniture, etc. in a "wrong" way will cause totally unrelated "bad" things to happen, is superstition, plain and simple.

 

It's not a convincing argument to point to "all the things we don't know and understand" to support a positive belief in anything in particular. That argument cuts both ways. Sure, being openminded is a valuable thing, but there's a big gulley between "possible" and "actual" that you shouldn't risk crossing on a flimsy bridge called "could be".

 

M Peasley

[KenElevenShadows]

Originally posted by coyote:

This statement indicates that you subscribe to a fundamental flaw of those who "believe in science": that if something is not measurable, it does not exist.

[/QB]

 

That is a huge flaw in logic, obviously, but a lot of people subscribe to it. That means that 200 years ago, microbes, electricity, some of our planets and solar systems, and so forth did not exist.

 

But really, I doubt that much of what I say about feng shui would change people's opinions about it. If they think it's New Age metaphysical stuff or hucksterism, I doubt their perception will change much when I point these things out, and that's okay.