Enhancing the flow of chi

Today's task is to take a leisurely walk through your home and try to visualize how the chi flows. Take a pencil and paper with you and make note of the changes you might want to make.

Wherever the chi flow in a room is disrupted, difficulties occur. Anyone who has ever walked down a windy street flanked by high buildings will know that the gusts are always worse at the corners of buildings where the wind whips up into a spiral.

Where there are edges, we should aim to soften them. Plants are one solution and fabrics are another. Wherever possible, make columns rounded. Square columns are not conducive to the free flow of chi because their four corners point knife-like into the room.

Having the edges of furniture pointing at us can make us feel uncomfortable, as can the edges of shelves and fireplaces. We can use plants to soften shelf edges near where we sit.

Corners of rooms are often dark, so it is a good idea to place something colorful there, like a vase of silk flowers for example. Alternatively, you can use something that moves, such as a lava lamp or a water feature. Putting plants in dark corners where stagnant chi accumulates will help the chi to move on. Spiky plants are particularly good provided they are away from chairs where they could direct "poison arrows" upwards toward the occupants.

Alcoves filled with shelves on either side of a fireplace help prevent a stagnant area there, provided they are not crammed full, and some gaps are left.

Does your home have an attic room with a sloping ceiling? Sleeping or working under a slope depresses personal chi and these areas do nothing to aid the regenerative process of sleep nor creative process during the day. Use such rooms as hobby, or play rooms, or for any activity of a temporary nature. Use mirrors and lights to create the illusion of lifting the slope.

Beams are not recommended in Feng Shui because they can be oppressive when positioned over a bed, stove, or desk, and suppress the chi of the people beneath them. Move the dining table, desk or bed if it sits directly under a beam. You can reduce the effect of beams by hanging small light colored objects from them, and/or painting them a light color. Do not hang large heavy objects below a beam or anything that collects dust.

Doors represent our freedom and our access to the outside world; they are also a barrier, acting as protection, supplying support and comfort. Doors which squeak, stick, have broken latches, or handles too close to the edge so we scrape our knuckles whenever we open them should all be repaired. Keep a wedge close to the doors that might slam irritatingly in the breeze.

Windows act as our eyes on the world. If our access or vision through them is impeded in any way, we may suffer problems as a consequence. Everyone should have a view of the sky through the seasons or they will lose their connection with the natural world. Stained glass panels in doors permit light and lift the energy in dark spaces. Adding an attractive stained-glass hanging can offer some privacy while creating a lively energy in the room.

from The Practical Encyclopedia of Feng Shui by Gill Hale
the art is from All Posters and is by Rick Bostick and Carol Saxe