mindfulness in everyday magic
Feng shui is a kind of everyday magic and anyone can do it. You don't need special abilities. The magic of feng shui is not about having psychic abilities or superpowers. It is about being in harmony with the world and your surroundings, |as well as your connection to self and others. Feng shui offers practices to cultivate your life-force energy, known as qi, so you can become more aware and sensitive to the world around you. It also offers guidance to attune you with the energy of the Earth, nature, and seasonal cycles. Feng shui has frameworks, systems, symbolism, and language that allow all of us to divine and interpret this unseen energy.
Like the everyday magic of many cultures, feng shui is grounded, practical, and simple. It is a life view that connects heaven and Earth, the esoteric and the mundane, with humans standing in the middle. With it you can understand your home, nature, and the tangible world, tapping into something even bigger. These practices offer opportunities to awaken, create awareness, and highlight stuck patterns and perceived limitations. Feng shui allows us to hear what the universe is saying if we can open up and listen.
what is feng shui?
We often define feng shui as the mindfulness practice of paying attention to the details of our spaces. Feng shui presents simple techniques and adjustments to create mindful opportunities for everyday magic. Mindful intention, ritual, and awareness have the potential to transform rushed and thoughtless tasks into magical, healing, and insightful teachings. When you practice feng shui this way, blending the everyday with the metaphysical, the two realms become intertwined. A quiet change in a home can be so much more with the mindful application of feng shui.
When you tap into the invisible and energetic side of your home, you become conscious of much more. Everyday feng shui practices can also become deeply personal and transformative. There is true magic in creating a mindful and intentional friendship with your home. Not many people realize that a huge part of feng shui is becoming attentive to how your space makes you feel. As you move through this book and begin to play with this everyday magic, try to notice how your home feels and how you feel. You may notice you are lighter and happier; maybe you even experience tingles and sensations as you perform an adjustment. Or you might have new glimmers of insight and "a-ha" moments. No matter what you feel (or don't feel) our aspiration is that you will be more connected to your home and environment after exploring the ancient practice of feng shui.
A simple flower arrangement can inspire a moment of contemplative reflection.
the "yes/and" paradox
The philosophy of feng shui is both inviting and accessible, while at the same time complex and intricate. Feng shui examines how humans live with and experience the world. The teachings explore the visible parts of your home and environment to reveal the invisible and perhaps hidden aspects within your life. Your living space can be a path toward transformation. Your home is a container for energy. It is also your companion and guide. The feng shui of your home can teach you how to recognize and give shape to this energy. Feng shui challenges us to view the world using both yin and yang, by seeing below the surface and reading the energy through the physical space.
What does it mean to see the world with a "yin and yang" view? Yin and yang are often defined as two opposing forces that combine to create everything in the whole world. Basically, two fundamental types of energy mixing together in varying degrees to create all things everywhere-pretty important stuff.
The physical and tangible realm is considered yang: what you can see and touch. Yin refers to the invisible side of things, that which is below the surface or unseen. While this is true, we also take great care to emphasize the importance of stepping beyond conventional or superficial definitions in feng shui. Instead, the principles of yin and yang skillfully teach us that there is an opportunity to reconsider fixed or narrow points of view.
Everyday objects in our home offer opportunities to explore the nuances of yin and yang. The black yin color of the coffee contrasts with the white yang color of the cup.
For example, a cup of freshly brewed espresso may be described as yin because coffee is wet, black, and has steam rising from it. These are all so-called yin qualities. However, there are yang aspects at play here as well: the demitasse cup is hard and white, and the liquid is hot. The cup receives and holds the coffee, which is yin. The coffee fills the empty cup, which is yang. Therefore, this situation is both yin and yang. Yin and yang is an exploration of the non-binary. It's yin. It's yang. It's "yes/and." Both can be true, and something can be yin and yang at the same time.
This "yes/and" paradox gives us more flexibility and space to understand feng shui. Yes, feng shui is about making changes to your home. And yes, it's also a personal journey. It's both at the same time! Feng shui principles can be applied to your home, but also to your life and your mindset. You can implement feng shui changes to your bedroom, whole home, neighborhood, city, and beyond. Feng shui holds within it many layers and nuances.
Let's open up to the wisdom of yin and yang and relax our preconceived notions of what we think is graspable, solid, and unchanging. Instead, "yes/and" teaches us to open, receive, and challenge our rigid expectations that can create fear and stagnation. Just like water, how can we flow, transform, and offer more kindness and acceptance to ourselves and others?
yin and yang qualities
Here's a short list of yin and yang qualities. In reality, this list is positively endless!
yin
yang
moon sun feminine masculine right brain left brain soft hard black white midnight noon empty full cool warm death life small big wet dry interior exterior low high quiet loud
qi: wind and water
Feng shui is an ancient Chinese wisdom tradition that is over 4,000 years old. The words feng and shui translate to "wind" and "water," two elements that are essential for human life on Earth. Breath and hydration sustain our human bodies as well as the planet. Wind is our breath, and science tells us that we are comprised of over 60 percent water.
Together, wind and water create motion. The great ocean currents stream, flow, and connect the globe, sustaining entire ecosystems. The symbolism of wind and water is at the heart of feng shui. Wind is movement and flow. And in stillness, wind ceases to exist. Similarly, water must flow and move to maintain vitality, to stay clean and useful. Still water becomes stagnant and lifeless. Therefore, the words "feng shui" point to life-giving movement and flow.
Qi is this life-giving source. Qi is life-force energy and is the foundation and everyday magic of feng shui. It is the feeling of vigor walking through a lush, green forest as well as the sense of ease and serenity while sitting on an empty beach watching the sun set. Sometimes qi may show up as a tingling sensation; other times it may be expressed by a bird flying across the sky.
While we believe it is not something easily defined, you can think of qi as vital energy, a life force that flows through everything. Early Taoist texts advise on how a person can improve their good fortune, resilience, longevity, and health. The strength of your life force depends on your qi. Your qi must flow freely within your body as well as throughout your environment, unencumbered and without blocks. Like wind and water, we look toward the movement of qi. Ideally, the feng shui of your home protects and supports the qi. A home's qi is most desirable, healthy, and happy when the energy is flowing, inviting, and active.
A colorful and whimsical arrangement of meaningful treasures is one way to lift your qi, and in turn, cheer you up.
exploring the qi of your home
In feng shui we see no separation between the outer environment and one's inner being. Therefore, your home influences you as much as you influence it. Many people don't realize the potential of feng shui as a healing opportunity. As you begin to implement feng shui in your home, you might be surprised that feng shui is also a divination practice. Our physical spaces are symbolic and have deeper meaning. But don't forget the "yes/and" paradox. When you see "bad feng shui" in your home, it may correspond to good news. Perhaps your non-conscious mind has invited that feng shui detail into your home because you're at an opportune time in your life to unpack, explore, and heal that wound.
Divination might sound exclusive or extraordinary, but the way we are using it here is connected to the notion of...
