HOW TO APPLY FENG SHUI IN OUR LIFE?
Jet Li. This infamous film actor, producer, Wushu Champion and martial arts expert from China is a legacy. His character and wisdom is not limited in the movies only. One quote that says many things about him is his quote about BALANCE. “Everything too fast is not good but everything too slow is also not good. You need balance… Balance can keep the world’s peace. I think that’s a very good thing.” The lives of the people on Earth have never been busier. With all the meetings, appointments, workloads, busy schedules, responsibilities, it is rare to find someone who is able to balance the three most important aspects- work, family, and life. But why is there a need to find our balance?
Charles Trivett from his blog entitled 5 Reasons Why Maintaining a Work-life Balance Is So Important mentioned some facts that verify the reasons why we need balance in our lives. One of the most important reasons mentioned is for the benefit of our mental health. This is something that most people disregard in the line of workplace; it is one of the major causes of physical and mental problems one may face also. Most Asian cultures are known to address this kind of issue. In one Asian culture, they have a practice of arranging the pieces in living spaces in order to create BALANCE with the natural world. This is called “Feng Shui.” This pseudoscientific traditional practice originated from China.
The philosophy of Feng Shui is traced from the Taoist belief. Taoism is the way of nature and all the basic principles of feng shui reflect nature. This is essentially the interactions of humans and their environment. The energy than feng shui strives to balance is called the “chi.” Feng shui works on the assumption that the world is driven by unseen forces. The idea behind it is to "unblock" the way, so the forces may flow freely and create balance in a space (or life). This belief has spread and many people and cultures readily accepted this already. The practice of Feng Shui is primarily observed in the places where we usually stay, specifically in homes, schools, and offices.
There is this thing called “Feng Shui Architecture.” This is essentially creating buildings governed by the principles and rules of Feng Shui. The main characteristics of this are the specifications regarding the placement of the building, where it faces, and so on. The goal is to maintain a good flow of the positive energy called “chi.” Anton Giurgiu, in his article called “Feng Shui Architecture 101 – Rules & Tips You Need to Know,” mentioned some basic architectural principles to observe if we are to make a building where the flow of positive energy will not be hindered. Firstly, one of the key things about feng shui is to construct buildings in such a way that its back is against the mountains and its front is towards the water. This lets the flow of positive energy in and out the building.
Second is Symmetry. Feng shui architecture stresses heavily on symmetry. Hence, ancient Chinese cities were constructed carefully with symmetry in mind. One of the most famous examples of that is China’s Forbidden city which is built in a bilaterally symmetrical fashion. At the core of its design is a north-south axis line around which the entire palace is built. Lastly, the curves. Curves also play an important role in feng shui architecture. It symbolizes vitality and that’s why you can observe curves in almost all Chinese architecture – bridges have arches, corridors are winding, and roofs have curves around the edges. The mausoleum complex of Qing Dynasty has small structures in front of large ones – often, south-north buildings constructed at the front or back of east-west buildings – to emulate some sort of a curve. There are still many things that needs to be observe if we are to let the positive flow of energy “chi” in our buildings and bring a good luck on it. A good sense of balance in things doesn’t hurt. As a matter of fact, it helps us mentally and physically.
