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Feng Shui For Today: Arranging Your Life For Health & Wealth
Introduces the ancient Chinese art of location and orientation, and tells how to redesign one's home to improve comfort, security, and peace of mind
- GenresNonfiction
120 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 15, 2021
Feng Shui for Today was a fairly simple and succinct beginner's guide to the art of feng shui.
What is feng shui?
"This book is concerned with the Chinese folk art of arranging objects to enhance harmony and good luck, called feng shui. This ancient knowledge enables us to seek peace and new growth through our relationship with the objects around us..." pg 11
When was this art form started? No one knows! As the author points out in the section entitled, 'A brief history of feng shui':
"... (feng shui's) close association with the ancient Chinese lodestone compass has led some to think it may have begun around the time the compass was invented, an accomplishment traditionally credited to the Yellow Emperor, the great mythological hero-priest-ruler of ancient China, who is supposed to have lived around 2700 b.c. There is no historical proof for this attribution..." pg 17
Despite not knowing its origins, historians can tell the art has been around for so long because so many buildings were built facing the south which is considered the "most auspicious direction."
"Traditional Chinese walled cities, temples, and other important structures were usually oriented to face the south. The Forbidden City is Beijing was built on a precise north-south axis, with all its major halls facing the south." pg 34
Kwan Lau goes on to explain feng shui's ties to mythology, the elements of traditional Chinese medicine, the four directions, and the stars.
It was surprisingly complex.
"Readers should not be dismayed by the complex interplay of all these symbols and associations. The folk art of feng shui draws information from a wide range of sources and a rich tradition of ancient cosmological thought, and for this reason it can be daunting for the beginning practitioner." pg 48
There's way too much to incorporate all of the information I learned in this book all at once. I think the aspect of feng shui I'll start with in my own life is furniture placement.
I was dismayed to discover the couch I was sitting on while reading this book was in the "death" region of the feng shui layout of my front room. However, on a positive note, it faces south, which is very good and has a wall instead of a window behind it.
Perhaps some furniture moving is in order.
The world is a less threatening place with a happy, well-balanced home at the center of it. And sometimes, moving your furniture can change your life." pg 108
Recommended to readers interested in the art- both newcomers to the topic as well as practitioners who want a reference book on the 'Nine Stars, Eight entrances, and Bagua Combination Method' of feng shui.
What is feng shui?
"This book is concerned with the Chinese folk art of arranging objects to enhance harmony and good luck, called feng shui. This ancient knowledge enables us to seek peace and new growth through our relationship with the objects around us..." pg 11
When was this art form started? No one knows! As the author points out in the section entitled, 'A brief history of feng shui':
"... (feng shui's) close association with the ancient Chinese lodestone compass has led some to think it may have begun around the time the compass was invented, an accomplishment traditionally credited to the Yellow Emperor, the great mythological hero-priest-ruler of ancient China, who is supposed to have lived around 2700 b.c. There is no historical proof for this attribution..." pg 17
Despite not knowing its origins, historians can tell the art has been around for so long because so many buildings were built facing the south which is considered the "most auspicious direction."
"Traditional Chinese walled cities, temples, and other important structures were usually oriented to face the south. The Forbidden City is Beijing was built on a precise north-south axis, with all its major halls facing the south." pg 34
Kwan Lau goes on to explain feng shui's ties to mythology, the elements of traditional Chinese medicine, the four directions, and the stars.
It was surprisingly complex.
"Readers should not be dismayed by the complex interplay of all these symbols and associations. The folk art of feng shui draws information from a wide range of sources and a rich tradition of ancient cosmological thought, and for this reason it can be daunting for the beginning practitioner." pg 48
There's way too much to incorporate all of the information I learned in this book all at once. I think the aspect of feng shui I'll start with in my own life is furniture placement.
I was dismayed to discover the couch I was sitting on while reading this book was in the "death" region of the feng shui layout of my front room. However, on a positive note, it faces south, which is very good and has a wall instead of a window behind it.
Perhaps some furniture moving is in order.
The world is a less threatening place with a happy, well-balanced home at the center of it. And sometimes, moving your furniture can change your life." pg 108
Recommended to readers interested in the art- both newcomers to the topic as well as practitioners who want a reference book on the 'Nine Stars, Eight entrances, and Bagua Combination Method' of feng shui.
December 30, 2022
This is a useful starter guide to Feng Shui but what I find missing from books like this is evidence that suggests it actually works. That, of course, would be some pretty large undertaking but , as a westerner, you’re left wondering whether it’s eastern superstitious nonsense or an ancient wisdom that should not be taken lightly.
I’ve always been very open to the wisdom of our ancestors and of other cultures. So, overall I found this book interesting and enlightening. I didn’t appreciate that Feng Shui is guided by astrological knowledge. That in and of itself is up for much debate amongst current living Homo sapiens but , there’s no doubt astrology has served as a guide throughout human history.
There were a few conflicting pieces of information in this book that left me a little confused by the finish. It may have been my reading of the examples but there were two figures in the book that directly contracted one another - figures 15 and 32. If someone can enlighten me, as they seem to be polar opposite interpretations of one another despite the same orientation.
I’ve always been very open to the wisdom of our ancestors and of other cultures. So, overall I found this book interesting and enlightening. I didn’t appreciate that Feng Shui is guided by astrological knowledge. That in and of itself is up for much debate amongst current living Homo sapiens but , there’s no doubt astrology has served as a guide throughout human history.
There were a few conflicting pieces of information in this book that left me a little confused by the finish. It may have been my reading of the examples but there were two figures in the book that directly contracted one another - figures 15 and 32. If someone can enlighten me, as they seem to be polar opposite interpretations of one another despite the same orientation.
September 14, 2024
Ok now I officially entered my Feng Shui era
October 16, 2013
It was a really great introduction book about feng shui, perfect for those people who want to start into this and don't know how :)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews