Feng what? Sounds like a dirty word! That is what I first thought when I won a free beginning class in Feng Shui. Since it purported to help me understand how to bring my environment into balance, I decided to check it out. The history of this art is interesting. It dates back 3000 years to rural China where people observed the fluxes of the land and nature and knew about the fortunes and misfortunes of their neighbors. Out of this were born observations about siting a house, the way it is built, and how furniture and objects are placed in it. These form some of the basic tenants of what is known as the Chinese Art of Placement. Feng Shui which literally means wind and water is said to be the key to understanding the silent dialogue between man and nature, whispered through the cosmic breath which is known as ch'i. This ch'i expresses itself as the energies yin and yang. Both of these energies need to remain in balance for there to be harmony in a home and in a person. These principles are the very same ones that govern Acupuncture, Chinese medicine and the physical disciplines of Tai Chi and Kung Fu.

All of this fascinated me and I set out to explore whether I could gain any empirical evidence for this art. I started with a traditional method of Feng Shui which involved exacting calculations with a special compass and utterly depressed me. The entrance to my house was in the wrong place and solutions were to build another door or move. Furthermore with types of people both my husband and I were--we couldn't live in the same house let alone share the same bedroom. That was really disturbing and I couldn't find enough evidence in my own life that supported the theories even though that might have explained why it was so difficult for my hero and I to find a house that we both liked. Well, I decided to table the idea of Feng Shui unless I had a different experience. (Note: Since this time I have observed practitioners in the traditional methods that get very good results so I must chalk this antidote up to my inexperience.)

A few months later one, of my clients told me about the money that came to her as a result of Feng Shui changes. Always one to be fascinated with the lure of wealth and fame, I decided to read more and then study under her teacher. I learned that there are different methods of Feng Shui and some of them apply modern techniques to the practice--actually doing away with the compass and using more intuitive methods. I learned that Feng Shui uses proscribed ideas to place furniture and objects that give a natural order and balanced energy to a home and business.

This was something I could test. I made changes to my office and my business increased. I made changes to some other areas and found people going out of their way to help me. I decided if some is good, more is better so I took an intensive workshop to see what else was in store for me. When I returned from the workshop I made sweeping changes to my space. I cleaned out everything that I had been hanging onto for a rainy day and made other adjustments to our apartment with the intention of moving. We had been in the market to buy a house and had been searching twice a week for six months. Within one week, we were in escrow. As if that wasn't good enough, we received triple the amount of expected relocation money!

Armed with this confirmation I proceeded to help other people in making adjustments to their environments. One of my clients has met her own true love--finally one of the marrying sort. Many of my clients have great stories to tell about the major change in their businesses including my husband even though it is hard for him to believe.