Defining Feng Shui: Having practiced and taught Feng Shui for only fifteen years, I still find the question, What is Feng Shui, to require even more precision than helping someone Feng Shui design their entire home and/or office. The longer I practice and learn, the more Feng Shui expands, the more exciting and life-transformational it becomes.

Todays Definition: Feng Shui is a tool that supports you to live to your maximum capacity of joy and success while enhancing the function and beauty of your environment.

Feng Shui literally translates into wind and water. It is the Chinese art of placement that has been practiced as long as man has needed shelter. Not exclusive to the Chinese, all indigenous people practiced some form of what I call Earth Design™ by observing and applying the energetic effects of the sun and moon, light and heat, atmospheric conditions, wind direction, magnetic field, and gravitational force.

There are many schools of Feng Shui that evolved over the past 5,000 years that are being applied today. Having provided hundreds of consultations, I have found that by holistically using the most effective concepts from all traditions, there is increased Feng Shui success. When you look at all the most valuable Feng Shui aspects together through compromise and creativity, by placing one functional and beautiful item, you can solve a multitude of Feng Shui conditions in an uncluttered, decorative, and life-enhancing way.

The holistic approach to Feng is easily understood through your relationship with your body (HUGE Feng Shui TIP: When you apply a Feng Shui concept to your body and/or pay attention to how your body response to a space - do you get a headache, queasy feeling, feel constricted, etc. - you will get profound insights) What happens when you pull a muscle in one of your legs? As you favor it to protect yourself from further injury or the pain, after several days, doesn't something else get out of whack? Perhaps your other leg or back hurts, yes?

In Feng Shui, with many practitioners understanding only one school or if you follow a quick tip that is read or heard as an absolute, without considering the combined aspects, Feng Shui can hurt you as much as it can help you. So be careful! It maybe suggested to place water (such as a flowing fountain that you can get at almost any department store) at your front door. Sometimes, that is a perfect solution specifically when your front door faces north - it will enhance your Career! But if your door faces south, the same water fountain would extinguish the Fire of your Fame and Recognition potential - and that is just on a beginner level!

Feng Shui is Good Design that follows the integrated and most effective techniques from all schools. Feng Shui is logical, practical, and appropriate to functionality as well as modeling your environment with the energies of Heaven and Earth.

Holistic and Integrated Feng Shui: So how do you know what Feng Shui you are getting? That is easy! The "Real McCoy" is based upon science and mathematical formulas derived from the natural laws. The concepts are the same heavy stuff and wisdom given to us by Plato, Pythagoras, Einstein, and all historical earth metaphysicians.

The universal workings of nature and the source of all Chinese medicine including Feng Shui and philosophy is described by ancient Chinese scientists and philosophers in the brilliant text called the I-Ching. (There are many translations and versions that may be purchased in any bookstore. If you are interested in getting to the roots of Feng Shui, make sure your copy includes the "first part" that explains Yin/Yang, The Five Elements or Phases, Seasonal Flow, Magic or Lou Shu Square, etc. not just the (also very exciting) "second part" which has the 64 Trigram descriptions that are used as a divination or life- guidance tool)

For the purpose of reminding you to take best advantage of the monthly forecasts in your home, I have broken down the holistic and integrated method of Feng Shui into three layers using I-Ching philosophy. They are three types of energies to harness in your environment to enhance the quality of your life: Heaven, Earth, and Man Energy. Even though much more good Feng Shui will be explored in future issues, our next issue will provide you with a quick and simple lesson...