Feng Shui originated in China over 4000 years ago and is an age-old practice that embraces the idea of living in harmony and balance with our environment. Feng Shui (pronounced fung schway) literally means wind and water and is the study of energy and how it affects people. Feng Shui teaches you how to harness and control the visible and invisible energies that surround us.

     The underlying premise of Feng Shui is that everything in your surroundings, down to the smallest detail of furnishing and décor can either further your goals in life or work against you. By understanding the subtle currents of energy that flow through your body and through everything in the universe, you can arrange your living and working environments to help you reach your goals.
      The arrangement of your home or office can affect your peace of mind and physical health. By applying the principles of Feng Shui, it is possible to make your relationships healthier and to create living and working environments more attuned to the life force that surrounds each of us.
      Feng Shui is a creative and intuitive science. The practice of Feng Shui represents a belief that there are subtle forces in our surroundings that can impact our lives. It provides a framework for understanding the secrets of how energy moves in our surroundings and how the landscape, the style of buildings, and their interiors affect us at a subtle level. Using Feng Shui, you can enhance your entire life and minimize obstacles and misfortune.

 The Four Methods of Feng Shui

      There are four methods of Feng Shui: The Form School, Eight Directions, Compass Method and the Black Hat. The teachings provided in this e-book are based on the Black Hat method, however an overview of the other methods are included below.
      According to the Form School method, Feng Shui has an “armchair” configuration. For instance, a hill or mountain behind the home on the northern side provides protection from cold winter winds, with lower hills along either side, the house facing south to catch the sun and a lake or stream in front to provide water for crops and livestock. This type of landscape configuration is still considered auspicious (lucky) today. In an urban environment, a larger building to the rear provides a similar kind of protection. Streets and highways act like rivers to provide pathways for chí.
     The Eight Directions are the four cardinal compass points-east, west, north, south–and the points in between–NE, NW, SE, SW. Based on your gender and year of birth, four of these directions will be auspicious for you, and four will be inauspicious and thought to bring illness or bad luck. According to this method of Feng Shui, the front door of your home should face one of your lucky directions. You should sleep in an auspicious section of the house, and face one of your lucky directions while you work, and so on. This approach to Feng Shui is very popular in Europe and is becoming more widely known in the U.S.
      The Compass method is a complex practice that calculates a detailed “star” chart for the home, based on the year of construction and the precise compass direction the building faces. This approach is comparable to having an astrology reading for your home.
      In addition to the basic chart, there are influences that change every day, month, and year. Some homes will have poor star combinations that will bring bad luck and misfortune to their occupants unless those influences are corrected through specific Feng Shui “cures,” such as placing metal or water in certain areas of the house. Other homes might have a good star chart, only to come under unlucky influences during a particular month or year.
       The Black Hat method is a contemporary Western style of Feng Shui. It addresses the need for a method that can be used where compass-oriented rules of placement are difficult or impossible to follow. It can also be used in combination with the other methods to provide a deeper understanding of the energetic qualities and influences of your space. In this contemporary approach to Feng Shui, the association of specific areas of the home with specific aspects of your life is based on position relative to the front door, also referred to as the “mouth of chí.”
     Furniture is arranged to create a safe and comfortable environment, and colors, artwork, and other imagery are chosen to reinforce desired changes. One of the most appealing aspects of this style of Feng Shui is the emphasis it places on the power of your intention to influence the energy of your home. This makes the practice of Feng Shui much more personal and unique to each individual, and creates the opportunity to use Feng Shui as a tool for increased self-awareness and personal growth.
      Black Hat Feng Shui teaches the principles of contemporary western Feng Shui in a way that is easy to learn and apply. And the best part of this type of Feng Shui is that anyone can use it for increased prosperity, success and happiness–starting right now, without special equipment or years of training.

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