The Science behind Feng Shui
As Feng Shui has become more accepted in the western world, there has been a tremendous amount of information and mis-information that has been released regarding this most ancient of arts.
A Philosophy or a Science?
Feng Shui has been practiced in the east for millennia, and while it may seem exotic and mysterious to westerners, it is really based on the most basic of premises; the fact that energy is all around us, every minute, and that it has a physical impact on our environment.
While the ancients called these energies, collectively “qi” in the west we know them better by names such as gravitational and magnetic fields, or as electromagnetic energy. We acknowledge that they exist, and we don’t hesitate to use them when it comes to technological advancements, but we tend to downplay the impact that these sorts of energies have on every aspect of our lives, or at least we did until the introduction of quantum physics to the realm of scientific thought.
With the advent of quantum physics the idea of all things being connected, of their being underlying forces that impact the physical world began to be accepted, and as the understanding of how these forces play out not just in everyday life, but on time and space as well, the parallels between quantum physics and traditional Feng Shui became far more apparent.
For you see, Feng Shui isn’t a philosophy, or a belief system. It’s not some magical system that is the equivalent of waving a magic wand and getting what you want, it is about understanding how these most basic of energies impact our lives, and how to manipulate and control them in such a way as to bring balance and harmony into our lives.
If you want another similarity between western science and Feng Shui, you can look at the Ying and Yang concept prevalent in the art. Ying and Yang is very similar to the western theory of opposite attractions (for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction). Balance is the key, says Feng Shui, to maintaining a healthy environment; maintaining a balance of energy in one’s environment is detrimental to health, wealth and abundance in one’s life. But as we all know, life is not always balanced.
The art of Feng Shui is, quite literally, the ability to detect and correct the imbalances in the flow of these ancient energies through observation and repeatable calculations and the implementation of time-honored methodologies. Trained Feng Shui practitioners and masters go through intensive training to learn how to recognize imbalances and what to do about them when they detect them.
However, unlike many western scientists, Feng Shui masters and practitioners don’t stop with recognizing and understanding the physical effects of these energies, they also understand that energies such as this can have an emotional impact as well, and they study the effects balanced (and unbalanced) energies have on love, health, and even on wealth and relationships.
As more individuals are convinced of the effectiveness of Feng Shui and are delving into the art in order to turn their lives around, the more Feng Shui is becoming an accepted part of mainstream science and is being used to improve the lives of millions.