Beauty is Good Feng Shui

Positive Feng Shui can be strengthened using beauty when working with any environment. Yet everybody has their own idea of what  beauty is, but not all spaces that an individual thinks beautiful have positive chi.  What makes the difference, what makes one space work while another does not?  Beauty can be in the eye of the beholder, how do we know when it’s working and when it’s not?
The answer lies in the principles of Feng Shui. Negative energy, or sha chi can remain on a site, and an energy clearing may be qrequirede. No matter what school is followed, the overarching guide is one of balance, harmony and the flow of positive energy. Engage the guidance of Feng Shui and any space can be made prosperous and peaceful.
A client approached me having purchased a long time dry cleaners and laundry business. It was being sold because the cash flow wasn’t sufficient.
Archie's cleaners T&C ext We looked at the location and found it was good, but needed to change the look and feel from industrial practical to efficient and beautiful.  This was accomplished by changing the front end of the business. The awning was replaced with one that balanced the yin and yang. Healthy plantings were added along the display windows.  Inside the clutter of hundreds of clean garments was taken from public view and the counters covered in hammered brass formica. Interior colors were kept to earth tones. 
The results made each customer feel not only welcome, but quietly showed them this cleaning service was going to be of the highest quality.  The simplicity of the public area  made the customer feel individually important. Soon after the completion of the renovation, the business became the profit center of the new owners, even though they had other branches in other towns nearby.
As time went by, the wife passed, and the widower began to become tired of carrying the whole load of the business. Many of the little touches, like the plants in front of the store, began to be neglected. T&C afterThe strip of ground between the sidewalk and the curb became full of weeds.  In other words, the ‘face’ of the business started to reflect the owner’s fatigue.  He would finally decide to sell the business and retire.  However, he was unable to attract a buyer and finally had to let the property be sold at a loss.
It was an unfortunate ending for the owner was a good man who had high standards for the quality of cleaning. But had had he paid the same attention to the physical appearance of his business he did to the cleaning, he would have potentially realized a profit not only the property but the business as well. Mies Van der Rohe, the famous architect, said ‘God is in the details.” A master Feng Shui practitioner keeps that in mind, bringing balance and harmony to each project. A refined sense of beauty is most often the result.

Is Feng Shui Satanic?

The Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon is not known for it’s progressive leanings (outside of the bubble called Ashland.)  And newspapers need to try to keep readers by sometimes going a bit far afield from news and features. But here’s one for the books, which appeared in Grants Pass Daily Courier October 16, 2009.  This from their “business journalist” Kathleen Alaks:

As an Interior designer, Catelin Hoover knows that the right placement of an object or color can make for a pleasing, comfortable, attractive home.

But as a devout Christian, she also believe that giving the placement of that object or color mystical or spiritual significant can be outright dangerous.

Hoover, who moved to Grants Pass a year ago and cares for her elderly father, has written and self-published a book, “Unmaking Feng Shui – A Christian Perspective,” in which she evaluates the ancient Oriental practice of feng shui and elaborates on how it is neither innocence or harmless.

“It is mostly base on superstition and divination, consulting the stars, the earth or some other force for direction,” Hoover says.  “And God forbids divination.  So this cannot be from the Lord.  It’s from Satan.”

Feng shui is an ancient system of aesthetics believed to help one improve life by receiving positive chi or life force.  In the traditional practice, specialists use compass-like instruments to determine the cosmic forces affect on a site and then align the construction of buildings and the placement of their contents with those cosmic forces.

Hoover first heard about feng shui in the 1980s while she was teaching interior design in Simi Valley, Calif.

“I saw this trend coming up which I couldn’t pronounce, got some books and read about it and thought it was strange,” she says.  “It never made sense to me.  I mean, just from an interior design sense, it violated everything I had ever been taught.  It’s just not sound decorating theory.”

She thought feng shui was a trend that would soon fade.  But as she heard more and more about it, she did more and more research.  And what she found was a philosophy that she saw as a subtle form of the occult and a theat to her religion. (underlining added)

It’s all passed off as innocent, but it isn’t,” Hoover says.  It started as a form of Buddhism, then pulled in ideas from Taoism, the I Ching, Confucianism, transcendental medication, which came from Hinduism and draws from the demonic world.  Many things have touched it.  There’s also a strong basis into paganism, holistic medicine and alternative therapies.”

Hoover contents that the practice of feng shui is dangerous to Christians and Jews because it brings the occult into the church and influences people to forego their faith.

“People read a magazine article or get a book about it and think, ‘oh, this will be fun.’ But if you do it for awhile, it becomes a habit.  And you begin to believe it instead of your faith,” she says.

Hoovers book also attacks many of the practitioners of feng shui as untrained and deceptive.

“There are no credentials for practitioners.  They have no background in interior design.  That doesn’t make too much sense,” she says.  “And some devotees of feng shui are quick to denigrate Christians and Jews and twist Bible passages to their own meaning.”

Whew!  That’s a full frontal assault. Suzanne Chavez of Grants Pas then wrote to the editor:

What credentials does feng shui critic have?

Thank you for printing the interviews with Catelin Hoover, the interior designer whose self-published book educates us about the satanic roots of feng shui.

I now know that Buddhism, Taoism, confucianism, transcendental medication, holistic medicine and alternate therapies are dangerous and evil.  I will now avoid my Hindu friends because I have learned they are closely linked to the demonic world.  Hoover says she is available of talks and seminars, so perhaps I should invite my Asian friends for a meeting with her.

I also leaned from this interview that all practitioners of feng shui are uncredentialed and have no background in interior design.  Maybe reporter Kathleen Alaks can interview Hoover again and ask what Hoover’s credentials ares, since the article did not make that clear.

I can see from the photo, however, that her philosophy of design is based on plastic bins with books shoved askew in them, chairs with ripped vinyl upholstery and desks with scratches gouged deep into the faux redwood finish.

A friend who works ow of Grants Pass writes, “the last word? We’ll see.”  What do you think?

Use Feng Shui to change you mood

The law of opposites works in many parts of Feng Shui. It’s something you can do whenever and wherever to change your mood.

Feeling down? Facing a tough day you’re not looking forward to? Dress up in vibrant cheerful color. A man might wear a bright shirt or some crazy socks. A woman might step out of her comfort zone and go on the bold side. Whichever, your mood and attitude will lighten.

Got an overly stressed out day planned? Try wearing calming colors, avoid big patterns or too much texture. Dress the way you WANT to feel and watch how it can help take you there.

This doesn’t mean you finish dressing and then forget about it. You keep checking in during the day reminding yourself why you dressed the way you did and checking in with you feelings. Watch that Feng Shui at Work!

Want other information? Check out the website.

Blessings

Feng Shui tuneup for you home

This month I’m starting a series of cures/changes that can positively affect your living space.  This will happen in my eZine, which comes out about the first of every month. I use appropriate photos as well as case histories to illustrate what I’m talking about.  These are things you can do without the services of a Feng Shui Master.  I’m also going over those indications where you will need help, so you do what you can, and if you want stronger results, you know who to call.  The issue will be out in a couple of days, so subscribe now so as to not miss the introductory issue.

Click here for your free subscription.

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