A perfect balance of yin and yang

For more than 2,000 years, the Chinese have always practiced Feng Shui to bring harmony, happiness and prosperity. Feng Shui means 'wind and water', and refers to natural surroundings and how they can be manipulated to produce a healthy environmental balance to give you the things you want most in life. Feng Shui involves an understanding of chi (positive energy) and sha (negative energy), yin and yang, the five elements of Chinese philosophy, the meaning and value of numbers, the importance of directions, and the pakua.

Chi and sha: The ancient Chinese considered chi as an invisible flow of energy that swirls throughout the earth and the sky and brings a life force with it. The Feng Shui masters call chi the 'cosmic dragon's breath of the universe,' and nothing can flourish and prosper without a good supply of smoothly flowing chi.

A negative chi flow, which may either be excessive or insufficient in amount, is known as sha. Sha's energy is unhealthy, creates disharmony in relationships, and upsets the natural balance that is necessary to prosper in an environment. Sha energy may manifest as physical, mental, or emotional illness.

In Feng Shui, positive chi will not enter narrow doorways and hallways and thus cause the stale, negative sha chi to be created. Sharp corners and angles also cause the sha situation in the environment that gives rise to arguments, business difficulties, and general bad luck. You can attract positive chi to those areas by hanging crystals, placing live plants, or displaying auspicious paintings or pictures.

Yin and Yang: In Feng Shui theory, yin-yang is the balancing force of the universe. It is a law of opposite energies that complement each other. Yin is water, yang is fire. Yin is night, yang is day. Yin is feminine, yang is masculine. Yin is receptive and retiring, yang is active and aggressive. Yin is lunar and yang is solar.

In Feng Shui, the most desirable living conditions derive from the balance of yin and yang in the environment. For example, too much light in a home results in an excessive yang energy, which calls for modifications in lighting with shades and balance. Because yin and yang are complementary, if one overpowers the other, their link is so strong that both forces are destroyed. One must, therefore, strive to



create the right balance of yin and yang in your living environment to benefit from the results of positive and harmonious Feng Shui.