Organic Feng Shui in a Synthetic World

This is the first time I have paired the word “organic” with my area of expertise, but I’m having a realization about the way in which the modern day Feng Shui practitioner approaches their assessments and applications.

In classical Xuan Kong Flying Star schools, understanding and use of Five-Element Theory is crucial. The Five Elements, sometimes referred to as the Five Phases or Transformations (because they are in state of relative flux and not stagnant), are categorized initially as Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal.

These Elements can manifest in a number of ways and they can take on some very abstract meanings. And yet, for the purposes of this article, I just want to relate to the more literal manifestations of these elements in nature as well as when we replicate them in someone’s home or business.

For example, the influence of the earth element could be naturally occurring on someone’s property in the form of a hill or boulders in the landscape or a brick wall. In the house, the earth element can manifest as a stone façade on the fireplace or the granite counters in the kitchen. An earthen object may be placed in a room that has been devoid of the element through some clay or ceramic art object.

When I think about these elements as natural materials or substances in our environment, I wonder just how much qi (life force energy) they are emanating given the amount of pollution in our world today. Let’s face it: water is polluted, land and plant life are depleted, air is polluted. Has the power of any of the elements been reduced by any percentage due to pollution or any other intrusion of chemicals? Not only that, but our seasons and climates are taking on strange variations and this can also upset the quality of the elements as they occur in nature. If a certain flower normally blooms in April, but now it has an erratic schedule due to global warming or something else off kilter, then we have to assume there is a trickle down effect on us humans. This might be on par with the disappearance of bees and how that is having an enormous effect on our food supply. Another disturbing and continuing trend is for boys and girls to hit puberty faster, in part because of the hormones consumed in factory-farmed meat.

So, as Feng Shui practitioners, when we ascribe certain elements as “remedies” or adjustments to a certain location for a certain reason, are the elements we are working with “organic?” I mean this in the sense of whether or not the elements resonate with the same level of energy as they did a thousand years ago? Can we expect the same result or will it be weaker? Will the result take on a mutated effect that we can’t even recognize? Does the water in our fountain (small Tai Ji) or the ocean (big Tai Ji) have the same frequency as purer water from ages ago?

I know that my clients have big expectations for what a Feng Shui assessment can do for them, especially if they follow through with 100% of the recommendations. But I have to also wonder, what is the condition of the raw materials that we are working with to help people? In the same way that people decide to take extra vitamins and supplements because our food is so depleted, perhaps the volume or dosage of our element recommendations needs to take into account their depleted nature as well?

A related area could be the fact that we live with so many synthetic materials around us, possibly blocking the otherwise porous relationship between the human aura and natural elements. If we hope to have the raw organic elements strengthen or balance us, what might be impeding that goal? And could it have anything to do with the synthetic fibers and materials we surround ourselves with? In the culture of macrobiotics, there is a recommendation to not only eat pure food, but to also wear all natural clothing. Can we then at some point talk about whether or not a house has “good” Feng Shui based on the percentage of raw versus synthetic materials used for the structure, the contents inside, the pesticides used to maintain the landscape and even the interior cleaning solvents used?

Spiritual Evolution is the SOULution

Feng Shui is about living in harmony with nature and though this has been used as a sound bite or cliché, the real ramifications are there when the “harmony” has been disturbed.

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