20 MINUTES TO MASTER ... FENG SHUI

IN THE SAME SERIES

20 Minutes to Master Buddhism

20 Minutes to Master Meditation

20 Minutes to Master NLP

20 Minutes to Master Past Life Therapy

20 Minutes to Master Pilates

20 Minutes to Master Stress Management

20 Minutes to Master Wicca

20 Minutes to Master Yoga

20 Minutes to Master Your Psychic Potential

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

The Feng Shui Bible

The Feng Shui Life Coach

Practical Feng Shui

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Simon Brown is trained in many aspects of Oriental medicine, philosophy and design. He is an international Feng Shui consultant and his clients include celebrities such as Boy George and multi-national companies including the Body Shop and British Airways. Simon has worked on various large public buildings including airports such as T2G in Paris and the town of Congleton. He has written over 18 books and helped thousands of people around the world with Feng Shui, whether for studio apartments or large homes.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

This book is split into two parts. The first part, Principles of Feng Shui, is an original, previously published work from an expert in the field. It’s a comprehensive and insightful introduction to the subject, explaining the ideas and techniques that will allow you to develop a true understanding and practise it every day.

The second part is 20 Minutes to Master Feng Shui, which you’ll find here. This is your Feng Shui cheat-sheet – a short and lucid look at the ideas and techniques covered in the first section, which will only take you 20 minutes to read. It’s a powerful and invaluable resource that you’ll return to again and again.

If you want to truly master Feng Shui – in both the short term and the long term – look no further. The answers are here.

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

In the Same Series

About the Author

About this Book

PRINCIPLES OF FENG SHUI

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1 Chi

2 Yin and Yang

3 The Five Elements of Chi

4 The Lo Shu

5 The Eight Directions

6 Using the Compass to Align the Eight Directions

7 The Shape of a Building

8 The Features of a Building

9 The Direction and Timing of a Move

10 Feng Shui Solutions

11 Typical Problem Areas and Feng Shui Solutions

12 A Checklist for Buying or Surveying Your Own House

13 Guidelines for the Practice of Feng Shui

14 A Feng Shui Consultation

15 Finding a Feng Shui Consultant

Additional Information

20 MINUTES TO MASTER FENG SHUI

Introduction

1 Chi

2 Yin and Yang

3 The Five Elements of Chi

4 The Lo Shu

5 The Eight Directions

6 Using the Compass to Align the Eight Directions

7 The Shape of a Building

8 The Features of a Building

9 Feng Shui Solutions

Simon G. Brown

Copyright

About the Publisher

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to start when I began and thank my mother and father for giving me so much of their love, enthusiasm and care throughout my life. Dragana for all her passionate love, for bringing me down to earth when I needed it and then picking me up again. I also thank her for spending so much time cooking the most incredible macrobiotic food for me, taking such good care of me and creating a wonderful home for us. Without all this I could not have written this book. My children Christopher, Alexander, Nicholas and Michael, for being so affectionate and so much fun. They have given me the chance to relive my childhood with them. My brother-in-law Denny Waxman, who first introduced me to what was, then, a whole new world of eastern wisdom, for all his help throughout the years, his excellent lectures and most valued friendship. My sister Melanie who introduced me to macrobiotics, invited me to the USA where I met such inspiring teachers, and for taking such good care of me. I wish to thank the rest of my growing family, Adam, Angela, and all my nieces and nephews for giving me so much joy.

Over the years I have met so many teachers who have helped me along this path, and I thank them all. In particular I wish to thank Michio Kushi for inspiring me to make so many positive changes in my life, and all his profound teachings on oriental philosophy and medicine. Shizuko Yamamoto for training me so well in the art of shiatsu, and keeping me focused on real life practical matters. Patrick McCarty, Rik Vermuyten, Patrick Riley and Saul Goodman for being such good teachers in class and so much fun out of class. I have always benefited from and enjoyed my time spent with Marc Van Cauwenberghe, Bill Tara and William Spear.

The aspect of my work I find most enjoyable is the people I meet. Over the years so many of my clients have become good friends. I wish I had the space to mention them all. I would like to give my special thanks to Boy George, Michael Maloney and Kim Andreolli for making my work so exciting and being such good friends. In the same way I have greatly appreciated the company of Bruce Stonehouse, and I would like to thank him for reading the drafts of this book.

I also wish to thank Gina Lazenby and Heidi Gough for their much appreciated work in organizing lectures and clients for me through the Feng Shui Network International. Harriet McNeer who has supported me so much during my visits to the USA, along with Krista and Reid Berman.

I wish to thank all my clients for giving me the benefit of their experience.

Michelle Pilley, from HarperCollins, who commissioned this book, deserves my warmest gratitude for believing in me and in Feng Shui.

Thank you all.

INTRODUCTION

The first time I had the opportunity to put the principles of Feng Shui into practice in a big way was when I bought an apartment in Primrose Hill, London, towards the end of the 1980s. I had already made sure that the direction of my move was favourable to me at that particular time. The apartment, however, needed considerable attention. Not only that but in terms of Feng Shui principles the bathroom was in the ideal location for the kitchen.

We renovated the whole apartment, building new kitchen, dining room and bathroom using as many of the Feng Shui ideas as possible. The end result was a home that was not only a joy to be in, but also a place that I lived in during a very happy phase in my life.

These are my subjective feelings, however they were confirmed when we came to sell the apartment in 1993. Having bought our home at the peak of the property market in London we were now trying to sell at the bottom of the market. People all over the country were experiencing huge losses on their homes. Repossessions by the banks were running high. Neighbours above our apartment had bought theirs at the same time and were also trying to sell. Their home had lost twenty per cent of its value, which was typical across the country. Amazingly three people expressed an interest in our apartment and were willing to pay fifteen per cent more than we had paid in the 1980s. This more than covered the expense of renovation and left us with a reasonable profit.

I followed the same process when moving to my current address. First I found the best directions available to me in that particular year, and then looked at numerous apartments in that favourable direction until I found one that I considered to have the best Feng Shui. One of the reasons for moving was that I had decided to have my office in my home. Since moving this has been very successful for me. My home is constantly receiving visitors and even people who come for the first time are surprised by the bright, sunny atmosphere.

My own definition of Feng Shui is the art of building design that is solely focused on the success of the occupants. Whenever I am involved in a building project or advise someone on improving their home, my main consideration is how I can help them realize their dreams and desires in their lives. My recommendations are designed so that, whenever they are at home, their environment is actually helping their prospects for the future. I apply the same investigation to their place of work. I focus on how to improve the layout of their workplace so that they can be more successful and have happy relationships with their colleagues.

There are many theories on when and how Feng Shui began. One of them is that the ancient civilizations grew along the banks of the River Lo in China. This area was plagued with destructive floods, which ruined the agriculture and buildings. Eventually, around the year 4000 BC, a man named Fu Hsi made many improvements to the river banks that prevented further flooding. He became emperor and the area began to prosper. The area that enjoyed the greatest success was located with the river to the east and protected from the north-east winds. Feng Shui literally translates to Wind Water.

One day, whilst meditating on the banks of the River Lo, Fu Hsi saw a turtle climb out of the water in front of him. Being a symbol of life-long happiness, the turtle has great spiritual significance. However, he was amazed to notice a pattern of black and white dots on the turtle’s shell. These dots were arranged in groups from 1 to 9. Not only that, but they were laid out in such a way that whenever they were added together, whether vertically, horizontally or diagonally, they always added up to 15 (see Figure 1). Today, this is known as the magic square, and is fundamental to many forms of Feng Shui.

My aim with this book is to explain the essential principles of Feng Shui, and then to show you how to apply them in real life. I began by studying Chinese medicine and philosophy. As time went by I concentrated more on shiatsu, which is a form of acupuncture using hands, rather than needles, to stimulate or relax acupressure points. This proved to be an excellent foundation to my studies as I could later use the ability I developed to feel the movement of energy in a person, to detect the flow of energy in a home. During the course of my studies I first heard about Feng Shui from lectures on oriental medicine and macrobiotics. Feng Shui is based on similar principles to oriental medicine, except that, rather than applying them to a person, Feng Shui applies them to buildings. These lectures and my discussions with masters in oriental medicine were a profound introduction to the principles of Feng Shui. I would like to take you on a similar journey, which eventually led me to becoming a Feng Shui practitioner. To really help you understand Feng Shui I will first explain a) the energy we are working with, b) the forces of yin and yang, c) the five transformations of energy, d) the eight trigrams, e) the magic square, f) the eight directions and g) the compass. Once I have explained these principles I can then go on to explain how to apply Feng Shui to your own home or place of work.

Feng Shui has been practised throughout China, Japan and Hong Kong over many centuries. Over such a large area different schools of Feng Shui have developed. There are four aspects popular in the west. They are the Eight Directions, the Eight Houses, the Flying Star School and the Form School. The Eight Directions, the Eight Houses and the Flying Star School methods of Feng Shui all use a compass as the basis for deciding how the energy in each part of a building will influence the occupants. In these methods, the earth’s magnetic field, the Sun’s solar energy, and the influence of the planets are all thought to have the greatest effect on the way energy flows through a building.

THE EIGHT DIRECTIONS, OR THE COMPASS METHOD

This method uses a compass to determine the location of eight different areas, each area experiencing a particular type of energy. The features of the house such as the doors, windows and stairs, the function of the rooms such as the kitchen, or the shape of the house, are examined to determine their influence on the home according to the direction in which they lie. In addition, a form of Feng Shui astrology, called Nine Ki, is used to understand and determine the influence of the date and direction of the occupant’s move to this building, as well as to establish the ideal time to implement any changes to the building, or to decide when the occupants might initiate important changes in their lives. In addition, the occupants’ own Nine Ki chart will influence the recommendations made for their home. Another common approach is to use a form of astrology know as the four pillars to take a reading of the five elements present as the time of birth.

THE EIGHT HOUSE METHOD

This system combines the position of the front of the building with its compass bearing to determine the nature of eight segments, known as houses, within the building. The occupant’s own birth date and Nine Ki information then determine the suitability of each of the eight houses within the building for the occupants.

THE FLYING STAR METHOD

With this school the position of the front of the building, with its compass bearing, is used to orientate a chart onto which the building’s own birth chart is superimposed. The building’s chart is determined by the date it was constructed. The features of the building and the surrounding landscape can then be examined, and their effect on the building’s birth chart calculated. In addition, at the beginning of each year, the Lo Shu chart of that year can also be superimposed over the building’s chart to provide insights into possible problems in that particular coming year.

THE FORM SCHOOL

The major difference with this method is that a compass is not used at all. The idea is that the way people enter a building determines the way the energy flows through a building. For this reason the main entrance of a building is used to orientate a grid of nine squares, known as the Ba Gua, which then provides information on how each area will affect the occupants.

Practitioners of the first three methods may use a sophisticated form of compass, called a Lo Pan, which is designed to provide extensive information on the eight areas of the building.

During the years I have been working as a Feng Shui practitioner I have been to hundreds of homes, offices and businesses. In each building I have made a floor plan, or used existing drawings, and carefully applied the principles of the compass style of Feng Shui. In each case I have listened to the history of what happened to my clients since they moved into this building. By repeatedly going through the same process with each person I have been able to establish in my own mind, how the timing and direction of a move to a new building, along with the building itself, affected the lives of the occupants. I have found that the more experience I gain with examining the history of a building and its occupants, the better I become at being able to advise people on when to move, which directions would be most favourable, and which building would most help them succeed in life.

No building is perfect and most people think there are areas in their life they would like to improve. Therefore a lot of my work involves going to existing buildings and advising the occupants on how to improve their living or working space. With each person I keep my own copy of the drawings, and my written report. This helps me keep in contact over the years and assess the effects of my recommendations.

People often ask me, ‘Does Feng Shui really work? What can I expect?’ In my opinion Feng Shui is just one piece of the jigsaw puzzle. It is not the jigsaw puzzle itself. I have clients who have experienced amazing results almost immediately. For other clients it has been one small stepping stone on the path to a better quality of life.

When I consider all the different people, their lives and the effects Feng Shui has had, it would be hard to simply answer the above questions. What I have learnt is that a lot depends on what astrological phase the person is in, the direction and timing of their moves, and the way Chi moves through the building they are in. If only one of these factors is not in someone’s favour and it is possible to correct this, then the person can expect much quicker results. For example, someone moves in a good direction to a home, and is in an astrological phase that is supportive to what they want to achieve, but there is a problem with their home. Their bed is in a room where the energy is working against them and the bed itself faces a direction that influences their energy in a way that makes it more difficult for them to succeed in life. Assuming the rest of their home is favourable, by moving their bed to a location that is helping them, they could expect to experience dramatic improvements in the quality of their life.

Much of my work is rather like that of a detective. To work out the best solution to help someone, I first need to find the cause of the problem. This involves a detailed investigation into a) each person’s Nine Ki astrological chart, b) their moves, c) the timing of important events in their life, and d) the building they live and/or, work in. Once that is complete I am in a much better position to answer the questions of whether Feng Shui can work for them and to what extent. At that stage I feel more confident about telling people what I feel they can expect and when.

In my opinion Feng Shui does eventually work for everyone. However, the real question is whether a person’s expectations of Feng Shui are realistic considering their own situation.

In writing this book I have taken the aspects of Feng Shui that I have found to be most important in my own Feng Shui consultations and concentrated on explaining these as clearly as I can. This book is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to all aspects of Feng Shui. There are many excellent books on Feng Shui available, and I would certainly recommend reading about the various approaches.

I have laid out this book in a similar way to my own Feng Shui consultations. First I will explain the principles of Feng Shui, then how to carry out your own Feng Shui detective work and finally I will describe typical Feng Shui solutions.