Feng
Shui, like any other science, evolved from its infancy,
into a multi-dimensional application tool with various
branches taking offshoots from the basic principle of
Yin-Yang balance. Hence, while at the applied level,
one may notice a particular system of Feng Shui being
deployed; the bottom line of each such system is to
attain the Yin-Yang balance.
Almost
all Traditional Feng Shui schools or systems can be
classified under two main ideologies: San He
(Three Harmony) and San Yuan (Three
Cycles). Both the ideologies dwell over land formation
and chi distribution. The KEY difference being, San
He lays more stress on land formation, while San Yuan
focuses more on the chi distribution over a period of
time. Though the popular feeling is that only San Yuan
considers the influence of TIME, it must be stressed
here that both San He and San Yuan have accurate methods
of measuring time and their influence on chi, albeit
differently.
THE
BIRTH OF POP-FENG SHUI
While speaking on the traditional schools of Feng Shui,
one must also take adequate precautions not to be swayed
by the current wave of pop Feng Shui. Pop Feng Shui
has been a result of aggressive commercialization, world
over, of Feng Shui as a fashion statement, a quick fix
tool or a tool for interior decoration. The methods
used in this commercialization also target the human
psychology by using recommended good luck items or charms.
I would want to stress here in the firmest manner possible,
that good luck charms or symbols are part of the Chinese
culture and NOT part of Chinese Feng
Shui.
Classical
Feng Shui was initially relegated only to the elite,
since many ancient masters never easily revealed the
“Heaven’s Secret”
to change a person’s destiny. As a result, many
Feng Shui enthusiasts and practitioners found it difficult
and obscure when it came to applying Feng Shui principles.
This led to a situation, where even though many practitioners
acknowledge the existence of Classical Feng Shui, they
resorted to recommending and selling quick fixes which
eventually attracted big business houses to start merchandising
these items. The only good thing that evolved, if any,
own to Pop Feng Shui, is that it helped spreading the
word about Feng Shui around the world, though an altogether
different aspect got communicated.
It
would be a worthy exercise to educate masses about such
pop age Feng Shui misconceptions or the proliferation
of commercialization into an Authentic discipline of
meta-physics and guide them towards genuine and traditionally
practiced methods of applying Feng Shui.
WHAT
THEN IS AUTHENTIC FENG SHUI
A true Feng Shui practitioner, who is following either
the San He or the San Yuan system, will consider the
following variables, when (S)he is doing an audit of
your house, office or a property:
