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Feng Shuii & Chinese Astrology:
Inside Chinese Metaphysics
How To Be A Careful
Feng Shui Consumer
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by Barbara Finch |
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I am often asked exactly what is feng shui, and how a person can wisely choose a good feng shui practitioner. Unfortunately I have heard about negative experiences people have had with their feng shui consultants. There is a great deal of misinformation about feng shui and what it can do for you. I am happy to clarify its potential and give some suggestions on how to choose a consultant and what to expect.
Feng Shui is the study of analyzing, choosing and creating the best environments possible for ourselves. This includes not only the external form (land/water formations, slopes and other buildings around us), but also the internal (where the door or “qi mouth” to a building is located, its floorplan layout and more). Feng Shui can also determine the likelihood of success or injury, thus good feng shui can help improve our ability to reach our highest potential by optimizing positive energy and minimizing negative influences. My advice on remedies varies as each house and each person is different. It may be a simple as installing a small remedy to as complex as discussing landscaping or other changes.
There are various methods of feng shui, some sound and some not. This is where it gets tricky for a consumer to know if they are hiring a good practitioner.
Choosing a Consultant
First, the bad news: there is no nation- or statewide certification of feng shui consultants in any place that I am aware. This means that anyone can print up business cards proclaiming themselves to be a feng shui master, and many do. There are disagreements within the feng shui community on what a feng shui master is. Some say that acquiring the title “master” requires your peers to proclaim you as a master. Others say it is a title you can bestow on yourself. Some teachers give their students the title of master after they complete a certain number of classes. Because of this, the title does not mean much to me and many of my colleagues.
“There should be certification of feng shui consultants!” I hear this regularly. The problem is that there are so many methods and approaches to feng shui that not everyone can even agree on what feng shui is. Feng shui has become a buzzword for anything that is pleasing or harmonious, with people selling feng shui cosmetics, clothing, and more. But feng shui itself truly has to do with buildings and land, and their impact upon us. Some private feng shui schools offer their own certification, which gives you a little insurance, but this still gives no guarantee of finding a competent consultant.
The kind of feng shui that I study is often called traditional or classical feng shui. It involves what is called Form School (analyzing and correcting external/internal form as needed) and Compass School (using the luopan or Chinese geomancy compass).
Here are suggestions on choosing a traditional feng shui consultant:
* Talk with a few consultants. Everyone has his or her own particular style and method. Ultimately it is best to go with the person with whom you feel most comfortable. Some personal issues may come up during your consultation, so you want to feel as safe as possible in your conversation.
* Be cordial but cautious. Don’t necessarily believe everything you hear. Remember, anyone can claim to be a master. Ask yourself if what the consultant is saying passes your “gut check”. Does what he/she says sound believable?
* Ask how long the consultant has been practicing professionally. Feng Shui is a never-ending study. You want someone with a number of years of experience under his or her belt.
* Ask if the consultant uses a luopan. A classically trained consultant will use a luopan to determine your home’s exact sitting and facing directions, as well as very specific directions for various remedies.
During feng shui consultations I use a luopan, or Chinese geomancy compass. The luopan is not just a compass, but a complex metaphysical tool that contains information on various feng shui formulas and much more. The formulas vary depending on the luopan designer’s preference. Some formulas include “Five Ghosts Carry Money”, “Castle Gate”, etc.
* Consider asking for references. You can call their references for more information.
* Ask about their training in Water Methods. Water methods use various formulae to analyze and treat a property.
This last suggestion is important because, over the past several years, many feng shui consultants have been recommending that their clients put water outside the house for money, without realizing that water misplaced can cause serious problems and harm.
For example, I was brought in to give a second feng shui opinion for a house where the owners’ second son was very ill. Their child was born prematurely and had lived the first five months of his life in the neonatal intensive care unit. He had been home about one week when I came to consult. The first thing I noticed was a large water fountain the front yard. My client, the male owner, said that their previous feng shui consultant had pressed them to install the fountain, telling them that water in this direction of the house would enhance money.
The young couple’s first son was delightful, full of energy and enthusiasm. Their second son, the infant, was still very ill and will need further surgeries for many serious health problems.
In feng shui, the front door is extremely important as it is considered the “qi mouth” to the house. In other words, this is where new, fresh qi enters the house, influencing the occupants for good or bad. Using water calculations, I found that the water fountain in the front yard in relationship to the front door indicated miscarriage of the second son, or a very sick second son. Using another calculation, I found that the couple’s master bedroom indicated bleeding and miscarriage during the previous year. As I explained this to the couple, the wife told me that she had nearly miscarried her second son during her pregnancy, and it was a miracle that he was alive at all.
One can ask, would the child have been born ill if the fountain had not been installed and the miscarriage energy in the master bedroom been remedied earlier. I am not a fortune teller, but have seen enough houses over several years where the house’s form or energy did reflect the inhabitants’ experience. It is this kind of sad situation that I strive to help my clients avoid.
Although outside water features have become extremely popular over the last several years, I recommend them only rarely and only if I have looked over many water methods to be sure that the water features will not cause harm to the owners - or to their neighbors.
During the Consultation
While giving a television interview recently, the host asked me what kinds of problems am I asked to help my clients with. I would say that 80-85% of the time, a client calls for help with finances. Then there is an issue of relationships, such as a marriage in trouble, a misbehaving child, or a single person who wants to find love.
I do get questions about health; however, almost always, the client does not divulge a health problem until they have met me and we have discussed other issues, and often not until the consultation is over! Medical doctors call this “the doorknob phenomenon.” The consultation is ending, I am reaching for the doorknob when the client suddenly says, “Oh, by the way…” It may be a simple question or a much more serious one.
Be open and candid with your practitioner so that he or she can help you. You might make up a list of questions to ask. I also recommend that you take notes during the consultation.
Client Expectations
There have been so many fantastical stories about what feng shui can do. For example, one practitioner was advertising that in one week a client had met Brad Pitt, another had hit the lottery, etc. This would lead every client to believe that they were going to have an amazing experience shortly after their feng shui consultation. You have to be a careful consumer.
Feng shui is about helping to negative harmful energies in one’s home, and enhancing good energies. Feng shui is a powerful tool that you can use to enhance your life, but it will not fix every problem that you have. It is a piece of the metaphysical puzzle – just as astrology or acupuncture or space clearing alone will not save you, neither will feng shui. Feng shui can help you create a better life by harmonizing your home’s energy to benefit you.
Many problems I see have to do with good, common sense. As I mentioned, clients most often phone me because of financial worries. While I can make many recommendations to change a house’s energy for the better, much still depends on the client. For example, one client phoned me because he was very anxious about not having enough money. Once I was at his house, he confessed that he was actually making an excellent living, but then proceeded to tell me about his pool man, his yard man, and his interior decorator. He also showed me a catalog of very high-end furniture from which he was ordering. Another client claimed to not have enough money to pay my fee. However, she had a luxury car in the garage, and a very full wine cellar! Making enough money was not the problem, being able to stop spending and save money was. The first thing I tell a client in this situation is that they must “stop the bleeding”, i.e., they must control their spending.
Of course, not every client is like this. The majority of my clients are honest, hard working people who are truly struggling because of external forces. But if you are having financial problems, it is very important to be truly honest with yourself about how you are spending your money, and to consider areas where you can cut back. It may not be comfortable, but sometimes it is necessary in life. Likewise, if you are having relationship troubles, you must look honestly at yourself and be willing to change yourself, rather than trying to change your mate.
Change
This leads into the issue of change. If you want to hire a feng shui consultant, be clear that you really wish to employ this ancient, Oriental tool to improve your life. Are you ready and willing to change? Or are you passively hoping for the feng shui magic wand – that the consultant or the consultation itself will fix everything that is wrong? Fear of or reluctance to change – these are two of the biggest obstacles that hold back my clients.
I have performed many feng shui consultations where I offered several suggestions to a client on how to improve the feng shui of his or her home, only to have the client immediately give me several reasons why he or she cannot, or will not, do what is advised. It is difficult for us to be flexible when things are not going well in our lives. But keeping things the same will not fix the problems in our lives. It is flexibility, the willingness to change oneself or one’s home that will help bring about solutions to create a better life.
Feng shui is not a cure-all for all of life’s woes. It is a very powerful tool, however, that can help temper difficulties and change the tide of your life for the better.
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Barbara Finch,
Feng Shui &
Chinese Astrology
Consultant, Writer, Instructor, & Speaker
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Barbara Finch has been fascinated with metaphysics since childhood. Following a vedic astrologer's advice in 1995, she has studied feng shui and other Chinese metaphysics in earnest with Masters Larry Sang and Peter Leung, becoming an instructor for both.
Using both ancient and modern techniques and methods, Barbara has vast experience in residential and commercial feng shui consultations. She also teaches and writes extensively on Chinese Metaphysics.
Barbara is also a professional Chinese astrologer using Zi Wei Dou Shu, a form of Chinese astrology. Additionally, with Master Leung, Barbara has recently written a correspondence course on The Four Pillars of Destiny, another Chinese astrology. This course contains extensive and profound information on Four Pillars, much that has never before been available in the English language.
Barbara has lectured on Chinese astrology for the American Federation of Astrologers and various other groups.
Continually updating and expanding her knowledge of Chinese metaphysics, Barbara is committed to using this ancient wisdom to help those seeking assistance to best harmonize themselves with nature, time and space.
Have a question or comment for Barbara Finch? Contact her:
Email:
barbara@finchshui.com
Website:
http://www.finchshui.com
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