Feng Shui 101
Laura Benko, Feng Shui Consultant
In 2001 I came down with a bad upper respiratory cold and upon a routine doctor visit, my blood work indicated something more serious was going on. After quickly being diagnosed with a rather grave prognosis, my head was in a WTF spin when 24 hours later my primary care physician was suggesting an “inevitable” bone marrow transplant. Three other opinions and extensive tests all later confirmed a different type of bone marrow cancer with a more hopeful outcome and an indolent, slow moving trajectory: Polycythemia. My next step was leaving my job at a company that represented film directors to think about my health and focus on a plan.
Days later, while in a bookstore, a book about Feng Shui and health fell on my head. Yes, it literally fell on my head. A ray of sunlight beamed upon it too, but each time I have relayed this story I have left that part out because it really sounds so incredibly hokey – but it’s true. I always had an interest in this topic, so I bought the book, made some changes in my home and immediately felt a difference. When I heard that the author was giving a lecture in New York, I ran to attend and left feeling so impressed by the depth and interconnectedness of this ancient art of placement. I called up the author’s office and asked if I could work for her in exchange for going through her training program. As luck would have it, she happened to need someone that week. I ended up helping run her business, graduating from her training program, studying with other Feng Shui masters and then eventually leaving to start my own Feng Shui consulting business.
Early in my wellness journey I began to shed some of the suggested, traditional plans of attack and found solace in alternative therapies that just made sense to me. While zoning out in acupuncture, I realized that Feng Shui works in the same way. Energetic pathways run throughout our bodies in the same way they run throughout our homes. Whether blockages are emotional (feeling jammed up, stuck, can’t move on) or physical (high blood pressure, stroke, tumors, cysts, sluggish organs, artery plaque) clearing the clutter in your environment and letting go of things that no longer serve you can have an enormous impact in allowing the fresh pathways of chi (or energy, or life force) to flow.
Need to speed up or slow down the flow of energy in your body? Look into the colors that you’re surrounding yourself with. Red is a stimulating color and considered auspicious in Feng Shui but an abundance of it is not recommended for proliferating cancers or those prone to stress and anxiety disorders. Do you have challenges with certain organs? Tap into the energetic properties of particular elements. The water element connects to the kidneys, the wood element to the liver, the fire element to the heart, the earth element to the spleen and the metal element to the lungs. Each element can be represented in your home in literal and symbolic ways and when there is a great imbalance of one or all elements in your surroundings, chances are you will experience imbalance too – especially if there is a pre-existing condition or a propensity for a particular organ weakness.
One important thing to remember is that each individual has different needs and what might be considered a balance for one home might not be the necessary balance for another. That is why before I start a consultation, I need two things from the client: a hand drawn floor plan and 1-2 written pages about what is currently going on in their life. When I enter a home, I first sit down with the individual or couple or family and discuss those specific challenges in detail before I walk through the home and make recommendations.
Even though a great amount of Feng Shui information is based upon thousands of years of ancient Chinese information, it’s also blended with modern psychology, urban planning, interior design and science. My favorite layer in this ball of wax, under the psychology category is symbolism. Symbolism often clearly illustrates how the emotional underpinnings of our issues come to the surface in our surroundings. I see it in nearly every single consultation I do. Sometimes it’s a subconscious manifestation, like, the frazzled client who “couldn’t get a handle on things” and yet there were literally no handles on any of her cupboards or drawers. That constant, day-to-day grappling without knobs in her home eventually took its toll and exacerbated the struggle that pervaded every area of her life. Another example is the blended family that was trying to create unity among their children yet had “his children” on one side of the dinner table and “her children” on the other side, with divides in their sleeping areas as well.
Couples struggling with marital discord who have pushed one side of their bed up against the wall will create a feeling of one person being trapped and unheard. An imbalance of “his” furniture or collectibles vs. “hers” is sure to cause an imbalance in other dynamics as well. And to all the people who can’t sleep at night, for goodness sake, get the treadmills, piles of work and pictures of crashing waves out of your bedroom. Once these associations are brought to light, a new intention is set in place and these no-cost recommendations are made, you are shifting the energies in your environment and therefore, in yourself. It’s by looking deep beneath the surface that we really start to see the connections between our external and internal lives, which then allows the best in both to unfold.
Laura Benko is the Feng Shui Correspondent and Home Expert for the television show Live It Up! on WLNY every Friday morning. She lectures around the country and writes for various home and design magazines.
For more information: www.BenkoFengShui.com
17 Comments
How about husbands & wives who sleep in different rooms? In my case, the emotional/psycological crap in the marriage came LONG before his move to the guest room in the basement (not the other way around!) Hmmmmm…food for thought! I think I’ll start looking into this topic and exploring my world. Awesome story about the book hitting you on the head and the beam of light – I truly believe that sometimes we need that kind of “ah-ha” experience to realize what God really wants us to do!!
Thanks =)
Becky, you bring up a great point! Sometimes problematic life issues arise first, then they physically begin to manifest in the home. Other times, specific feng shui challenges are in the home first and then over time, that can lead to an unsupportive environment for that existing issue. I find the connections are always so fascinating and however they show up, they certainly tell our stories.
Aside from using your own intuition, what qualities would you recommend to look for in a good Feng Shui consultant. I live in CA. Thanks.
The International Feng Shui Guild is a great place to start your search for a credible Feng Shui Consultant. They have high standards and certain criteria that I believe, attracts a high caliber consultant. http://www.ifsguild.org/Home.php
I suggest briefly interviewing each prospective applicant over the phone. Questions to ask might include: How long have you been practicing? Do you have an area of specialty (organizing, relationships, health, etc.)?, Do you have any published articles or books?
Once you start a conversation, your intuition – as you mentioned, which is very important in this process – will hopefully guide you in the decision process.
Nearly all my clients have come word of mouth from people who have used my services. Don’t hesitate to ask around, you never know who might have had a positive and transformational experience by a talented and professional Feng Shui consultant in your area.
You rock it out girlfriend!!! xxxooo
What a great blog – I can feel that Laura puts her heart in what she writes and shares…Hope to see more!!!!
Talk about taking a knock on the head to change direction. I love this. The blog has also made me much more interested in getting my home in order. We have put off moving for so long and I have often felt that living where you work really makes things tough. You never rest and the door is always knocked upon. I have been on a little venture Duncan calls throwing away everything I touch. But enough with the stuff. I love wood and white and quiet all of those I dont have so time to get in the groove thanks for the kick in the pants. I cannot wait to read more thing you write. Callie
Thanks for illuminating the connection between the elements and health issues. I never realized the influence the elements can have on the physical world. (I live on the water & have Kidney issues).
wow i find this so interesting. do you have any specific books to recommend on the subject? i find it so weird after reading this entry, i myself suffer from an anxiety disorder and surprise of surprises – my kitchen (which is the biggest room in my appartement) is painted in red! hehe. i would love to read more on the subject, anything to rebalance my life! thank you!
Laura,
This was an interesting article. Thanks so much for sharing it with everyone.
Jennifer
Whats a grate post i read this blog many time it is so nice, thanks for share its wonderful information.
Nice post Laura,feng shui might influence our health too so we need to give attention to our home feng shui
This is a good post and it’s good to have you to share it to us,thanks Laura,I’ll be subscribing in all your post
Thanks for the feedback Laura!
Michalene
I really enjoyed reading your blog. You have motivated me to make some changes in my surroundings, and in turn, my life. Thank you
Thank you, Dominique. For starting out on learning the Feng Shui basics, I recommend Feng Shui for Dummies by David Daniel Kennedy. For clearing the clutter, the best book out there is Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui by Karen Kingston. A beautiful, well written book from an architectural perspective is RD Chin’s Feng Shui Revealed. And the notorious book that fell on my head and started it all, Feng Shui and Health by Nancy Santo Pietro, gives great insights on disarming illness.
thank you very much, i will be sure to check them all out!!
Ping! You just made a light bulb click on in my head. My mom always complains about not being able to sleep, but she also does all her sewing in her bedroom. Her other complaint is that she can never get up to date with the sewing. Now that you mention it, I can totally see how these two things are connected!
June 22, 2009