Feng Shui: Natural Law

Many people are interested in Feng Shui because they are attracted to the idea of living in harmony with nature, for reasons of health, prosperity and overall well being.

People will generally agree that we are strongly affected by various environments: our country, our geographical region, our neighborhood and our home. And the idea that we can build a more healthful and helpful environment around us has become popular. But in the United States today, the most common presentation of this idea seeks to improve people’s lives with remedies and gadgets like hanging up wind chimes and bamboo flutes, using mirrors in certain places and adding a fish tank to the living room. Unfortunately, these practices are merely superficial gimmicks, and they wander far from the core principles and traditional methods of authentic Feng Shui.

Close study of the ancient Chinese concept of Feng Shui reveals that “living in harmony with nature” does not necessitate sharing one’s living room with a school of angelfish. Rather, Feng Shui recognizes that we live under the same laws that apply to the rest of nature. These laws, generally expressed as the Yin-Yang and Five Element theories, are the result of long observation of the natural patterns of every aspect of experience: animal behavior, plant growth, geographical and geological structure, and human life during times of both peace and war. In short, these laws affirm that everything we do, we do best within the natural patterns governing our world.

The concept of harmony is actually at work whenever we approach something or someone with respect and understanding. Building a house requires permission not only from the local zoning board but, first and foremost, from the piece of land on which the house will rest and then from the neighboring structures and geological features. We must ask whether the structure we intend to build will be acceptable to them. And we must be sensitive enough to hear their answers.

But how does one get permission like this? And isn’t this just more New Age mumbo-jumbo? It may surprise you how much information you can get just by asking. Nomadic people, such at the Mongols and the Native Americans, show their respect for the land by asking just such simple questions of the land they seek to settle on, and by doing so, they avoid violating the natural laws of the place. They are therefore more likely to achieve a harmonious relationship with their environment.

In the process of “civilizing” ourselves, and concerning ourselves with “modern” matters, we have dulled our intuition. Many of our expectations and reactions have to do with fads and styles, keeping ahead of the market or making shrewd investments. We have lost touch with the fundamentals of nature. We may observe, but we are less aware.

And so we do things like perch otherwise architecturally sound houses on steep bluffs such as those on Perkins Lane in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood. Each place has its own internal structure, which determines how best to live in, and with, it. When we fail to ask the land what its patterns are, or choose to go against those patterns or ordinary common sense, we inevitably suffer the consequences.

A purely academic understanding of Feng Shui, or a familiarity with “remedies,” no matter how extensive, cannot serve the intended purpose of Feng Shui. A superficial approach can never reflect a respect for the internal structures and states of the universe and will not precipitate harmonious living.

Feng Shui is not merely the study of the correct placement of objects in the home. It is a broader concept that is based on respect for the laws of nature. How and where we design and build reflects what is in our hearts. If our hearts are cold, arrogant and mercenary, then our relationship with the environment will be cold and even hostile. If our hearts are open, respectful and humble to the input from our environment, then our relationship with it will be harmonious and warm.

Feng Shui is a matter of mutual relationship. It seeks to balance and blend people with their places, and requires input from both. In this way, we can truly live in harmony with nature and fulfill our desires for health, prosperity and well being.

Dr. Shan-Tung Hsu