Feng Shui 101 - A Modern View

We've all heard about it and some think it is a superstition. But Feng Shui (literally "Wind" and "Water" in Chinese) is the science of managing your environment and how to make the flow of energy around you work toward your benefit. In Asia, people pay professional consultants up to thousands to tens of thousands of dollars per consultation to assess the Feng Shui and make their workplace and home benefit their health, success, and other life factors. But there are many simple daily things that you can do yourself that can be a quick fix to make your living and work environment full of positive energy. After all, it doesn't hurt to move a few pieces of everyday furniture in the home or workplace and give yourself a little push in the right direction of positive energy. Why and how Feng Shui works.

Aside from the lack of scientific evidence or superstitious proof, people that follow Feng Shui concepts just have to experience the positive energy around them at work or at home which benefit them in health, success, and a variety of other things about life to know it is working for them. Because there is a lot of scientific empirical evidence that proves a person's environment affects the individual's attitude and outlook on events which act as a "self-fulfilling prophecy" in determining their future events. Scientifically, this has been officially studied in psychology by experts that have proven in many studies that environmental and social settings affect the roles and attitudes people take in each particular situation.

After 5000 years of Chinese history in the art of Feng Shui and life culture, the basic conclusion on the factors that affect a person's life revolve around (in order of high to low importance):

* Life and attitude

* Luck and Chance

* Feng Shui

So, if you are born into a life (with the right attitude) that allows you the chance (of which you can't control) to do the things you want, then Feng Shui is the last factor that can be controlled by you to manage the environment on how it affects you to guide the right attitude and roles, both mentally and physically, to achieve and acquire the things you desire. Feng Shui is an art, not a religion, so anyone can practice these methods for a positive, healthy, successful, and fulfilling life. A 5000 year old art, Feng Shui can be the method on situating your environment that guides you toward an ever improving life.

One's individual attitude toward life is very important. When you want something to improve or happen, everyone and everything around you encourages you by being positive and having the right attitude. Thus, with the right mindset, one can then be able to clear-mindedly identify opportunities and take up the right chances in life. Overall, Feng Shui works because it just supports the two main things that direct your life, attitude and opportunities, by managing the environment that affects both factors. Feng Shui for the office. Mirrors

Mirrors have a double edged sword effect. Some business owners place mirrors next to cash registers to "double up" the income. However, this doubling up effect can work to your disadvantage by amplifying negative energy. For instance, corners, edges, and blank walls are symbols of disrupted flows of energy, so placing mirrors that face these areas just make it worse. So, the use of mirrors should be carefully considered, as you should pay attention to the things that a mirror is facing that you want to "double up" on. Doors

Depending on where you sit in your office, do not have your back facing the door. This will affect your psyche because you will always subconsciously be insecure of what is behind you entering and exiting the room. And the energy that flow into the room will "backstab" you in a negative way. Positioning your back to a wall will be best, because your mentality will feel more secure as to what is going on around you and manage the positive flow of energy to surround you instead of attacking you. Everyday common sense already tells you that you should not have your back to anything in case something may attack or endanger you; the same goes for doors in Feng Shui where you should always have control and optimal awareness of your surroundings. Clutter

Circular and positive flows of energy is what creates balance and harmony for your surroundings. Thus, clutter is like jagged edges that cause energy flow to be haphazard and negatively affect your environment. Psychologically symbolic, clutter is like the unfinished things on your mind overflowing onto your desktop or office. Being able to have a clean and uncluttered surface promotes the flow of positive and smooth energy, and also symbolizes that you have a clear mind and can focus on the task at hand, without all the clutter on your mind that distracts you. Feng Shui for the home. Staircases

Staircases should not be directly facing your front door or any entryways. This causes energy to both attack the person entering the room and positive energy to flow outside of the home. Many old homes were designed where the door faces directly toward the staircase, of which a remedy would be placing a tall live plant or fish tank in between the staircase and door to divert the negative flow of energy. This will help to keep positive energy in the home and divert energy from attacking people entering the room. Further, do not keep important or significant things underneath a staircase, because the everyday stepping and pounding on of daily use on the stairway beats whatever is underneath to death. So just keep things underneath a staircase to a minimum to avoid any negative effects on things important or significant to you. Entryways and Exits

Doorways for entering the front of the home should not directly face the back door exit to the backyard. Because a circular flow of smooth energy is always encouraged in Feng Shui, so the disadvantages of having direct facing entries and exits symbolize a straight and direct path of energy entering the room and exiting it immediately. Think about it, if you have good luck energy coming into the home, it will go right out the back door because it just enters in and then instantly exits. Kitchen

In the kitchen, try not to place fire and water objects next to or facing each other. Such as a dishwasher (water) right next to the stove (fire). Because positive energy flows are disrupted and will negatively affect the environment of which a person is in and conflicts easily arise with conflicting energies. Thus, in the kitchen, it is best to keep fire and water aspects separate to avoid conflicting energies since the food and dining you get from your kitchen is more than half the time of your life you spend. It's all about you.

Your life is yours already because you were born into it. So keeping a positive attitude in life and taking the right chances will define your success and the things you achieve. Only you yourself will know if Feng Shui is working for you when you see things improve by the Feng Shui concepts you apply that bolster your positive attitude and take on life. As with all things in life, if you stick to something you believe in will work, it will always succeed. This is the same for Feng Shui where giving up on it before it is working for you will obviously allow it to fail. Thus, you should allow patience in your attitude that will help towards the concept of which will support your positive attitude. Feng Shui will be a self feeding cycle with the right ingredients of attitude and concepts applied with patience and perseverance. Feng Shui found in everyday common concepts.

Feng Shui is an art that will help you realize the benefits of managing your environment where having the right attitude to maximize opportunity is what directs the success you can achieve in life. This is no new thing, but just a different point of view of looking at being positive and having the right attitude to experience a better and fulfilling life. You can find these concepts taught and studied in science (environmental psychology), religion (Jesus and the Bible), and new age concepts (i.e The Secret by Rhonda Byrne). But Feng Shui is time tested, thousands of years old, concept that can be followed with simple rules and structure. I hope this article has given you some modern insight into an age old concept, and most of all can help you realize that there are factors you can control in life and constantly improve upon.

Inspiration for items and topics in this article was taken from a variety of furnishing products that range from sofas, kid furniture, to kitchen dinette sets. Furniture may be a drab topic, but all things furnishings are a part of our life everyday and it helps to pay attention to the things you use everyday to make life better.