I have been a part-time student of Feng Shui for over 10 years. At my last count I owned over 25 books on the subject. What draws me into the philosophy, art, science or practice is striving for the delicate balance of energy. I feel the majority of us are sensitive to energy. I know I am. I’m also a tad superstitious and like to feel I have some control over my surroundings so this exotic mentality is highly appealing. Although technically, superstition has no place in feng shui, it’s based on the ancient Chinese study of geomagnetic earth energies. It requires mindfulness and intention to everything. Every form, color, placement, and representation.Feng Shui can get extremely complicated but luckily I found the watered-down condensed version to begin my journey when I was a grasshopper and since then I have educated myself in the more traditional teachings but I am far from being a master or practitioner.

For beginners, I would recommend “Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life” by Karen Rauch Carter.

She uses the Black Hat Sect which uses a simple Bagua or grid upon the layout of your house. She is funny, lives in the OC and has been to my house twice! She describes the basics very well. Her book is highly entertaining, informal and friendly.

I learned from Karen’s book I was missing my money corner so I needed a ‘cure’, as it is called. We installed a water feature (fountain) and purple plants and when I say ‘we’, I mean Mr. P. M. . He has learned the most important feng shui lesson of all…
“Happy Wife ~ Happy Life.”
Mr. P. M. is a very wise, old soul. 🙂

Another story ~ my friend was going to put a fire feature in the children’s corner on her property. I showed her the skull and cross bones warning picture that says ‘no fire’ feature in this area. It is a water area. She changed her plans and put in a fountain. All is well.

Last story ~ my niece who was married last August ~ at the area that was to be the focal point of her outdoor make-shift altar, there was not going to be anything in these two enormous urns that were stationary. They would have been barren! I counseled this would indeed be an inauspicious beginning to their marriage so my SIL found some kangaroo paws plants in the bridal colors, of course, and we planted them in the urns the day before the wedding. Probably no one even noticed but they would have noticed if they were empty. It would simply have been ‘bad feng shui.’ I could not have lived with the knowledge of this and not done anything about it.

I know just enough to be obnoxious and to instill fear in those whom I love the most.
It’s a gift.

If you wish to explore more, because it really is fun, entertaining and on most levels makes perfect sense when you analyze why or how something in your environment makes you feel, another very good book is “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Feng Shui“. Mine is filled with colorful tabs sticking out in every which way as if it has accompanied me to Bible study or had been cramming for a final exam.

If you are still hanging in there you can graduate to the Chinese authors who take this very seriously. You’ll have a new addition to your hand bag arsenal – a compass – because there are also auspicious seating directions at work and for meetings.

If you have any feng shui questions I will be happy to answer to the best of my ability or to confirm why you never did like the picture of your in-laws on the bedroom dresser or in your relationship corner or looking down at you in bed but I think you can figure this one out yourselves, grasshoppers.

Happy Year of The Tigerrrrr.