feng shui

[fengshuiarch]

Dear forum members,

I would like to offer my expertise in feng shui to assist all architects in its understanding. I am a registered architect in the USA and have studied extensively with a Taiwanese feng shui master.

Feng shui has been brought up as an aside in some discussions here but not as the main topic. Many are curious about it, feel unease about using it or its place in design – my goal is to assuage that unease.

First let me say that feng shui, as practiced over the centuries, is not related to religion, mysticism, - these are constructs of those who do not have a complete understanding of FS or have attached these beliefs to FS.

Over the past 30 years it has become ‘popularized’ and ‘westernized’ – simplified for the masses. On a positive note, this has brought about its awareness as a tool for the design community. My impression is that architects, business owners and developers really want to use it. However, they have been disappointed by misconceptions and misled by poorly trained FS consultants.

If you have any questions about traditional feng shui I would be happy to answer them.

Sincerely,

fengshuiarch

[csintexas]

So feng shui is science? Tell us about it and how it will make our built environment better.

[Madimel]

Feng shui is a philosophy based on the interaction of built environments to it's site and how it affects the occupants. If you look at it's core fundamental, it is about aligning magnetic points and not against it. Some of it's basic principals are the same as those of anthropological human inhabitation; ie., selecting sites with higher views (to see oncoming enemies), near water, etc.

[fengshuiarch]

Dear Chris,

There is art in science and science in art.

FS uses the laws of the physical universe. It has a methodology.

Everything is energy in one state or another: light, color, heat, motion, sound. You are energy, a rock is energy, so is a tree, and a building, and energy surrounds all of these things.

It can make our built environment better by using the best energy for the unique situation of each building. For instance, you would not use the same energy for McDonalds restaurant as you would for a French restaurant. You want to match the energies. When the energy matches then there is no imbalance, no struggle to bring in customers and therefore to make money.

fengshuiarch

[Madimel]

[csintexas]

Where can I buy one of these energy meters so that I can measure the energy of my designs?

Or is there like a chart which shows what the energy of standard building materials?

What kind of energy does a house have compared to a commercial building?

So McDonald's has good energy because it is successful or the other way around?

[JonBailey]

mcdonalds has nicotine in the burgers -- thats why theyre successful

[Madimel]

Game over for you Jon, now McDonalds is going to send over their FS ninjas to your house for disclosing their secret ingredient.

[fengshuiarch]

Dear Chris,

McDonalds does well because it gets the appropriate energy for a fast food restaurant. Their corporate headquarters probably has good FS too.

fengshuiarch

[Madimel]

[fengshuiarch]

Dear Madimel,

Education, training and experience.
I did not train in Taiwan. My teacher lives in the US.

fengshuiarch

[Madimel]

FSarch,
I was hoping that you can provide more insight of your expertise. As you've stated in your post, we are misled by poorly trained FS consultants. We've all heard claims of what FS can do for us, but what I'm interested in is how was your training any different from others. Please tell us what makes your training so different. You have to remember, others claim of experience, training and success is on par with yours.

[fengshuiarch]

Dear Madimel,

Quality comes from the master himself. The goal of my master was not to teach seminars ad infinitum, but to gather students to pass on the knowledge of the lineage. This is the tradition. It is an oral tradition – the useful information is not found in books. It is almost like the guild system of the renaissance – apprentice, journeyman, master. I learned in the classroom initially, and then days upon days over years learning through case studies with the master supervising. My training has included every type of building and landscaping that I can think of.

Most people learn new-age, or ‘westernized’ versions or learn from books - therefore, no connection to the generations of knowledge and experience that has come before. The information they are taught is superficial and simplified. Most people teaching do not understand the depth and true nature of feng shui so they mix in religion, Chinese cultural items and superstition along with western psychology, dowsing, bau-biologie, etc. These are fine studies in themselves but they are not feng shui, per se.

(There are no independent certification standards in feng shui – people are ‘certified’ by their teacher. At the beginning of my learning I attended a series of seminars (not from my master) that culminated in a test after the fourth class. The grade spread was 29% to 80%. Everyone who took the test got the same ‘certificate’.)

Part of the training is to know how to deal with the client – confidentiality, professionalism and thoroughness in all aspects of personality and business. Feng shui, as practiced over the past few centuries, was (and is) a ‘profession’, not a hobby or side-line. Many feng shui practitioners flout ‘cures’ and a variety of services. I would be wary of any practitioner who has products to sell. The only thing I have for sale is my service as a feng shui consultant.

fengshuiarch

[ArchiMotion]

It almost seems that Feng - Shui is to Architecture

as alternative "natural medicine" is to medicine.

Some accept the others, others don't.

There are good and bad professionals in both.

One big question however, is how one can be certain the positive energy points of the building are correctly established, considering magnetic areas, alignments to earth elements, proper methodology in the application of aligning the human habitat to the strategic elements of earth, wind, and fire....

All this obviously has a religious connotation. Take my link before on the study of Ether. It is portrayed as a science by some but it obviously has mythological and religious origins.

The same many believe pertains to Feng-shui. In the western world, what cannot be scientifically and empirically proven is not accepted as good science you see. This the reason why only the more "metaphysically", philosophically inclined minds of the Western Word will adhere to.

[Madimel]

FSArch,
Could you cite examples of cases that you worked on? The specific problems and how you selected the remedy? I think having an example will allow a better overall discussion. Otherwise, I might as well ask you "how does it work?" or some other broad and general question.