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Feng Shui Power Principle - Chi
[NOTE: The Feng Shui For Real Life spelling for the first Power Principle of Feng Shui is “chi.” For this article, written at the request of Qi Journal (www.qi-journal.com), the author uses that publication’s preferred spelling “qi”.]
Qi (pronounced chee) is the constantly moving and changing force around you, making you feel either good or bad in a certain location. The goal of Feng Shui adjustments is to stop qi from rapidly leaving your space, and keep it flowing gently throughout every inch of your indoor environment. Qi is the vital energy that comes from nature, and every person, object, and environment has the living energy we call qi. Chi is always in motion, swirling around people, and around the objects people place in their surroundings.
Outside in nature, everything flows and moves like wind and water, which is the translation of the words Feng Shui. However, in our indoor or “built” environment, we are all too often surrounded by sharp angles and straight lines, or by objects placed in the locations that don’t support what we want to attract. All of this can block the positive flow of qi energy.
In your home or office, the qi will flow in through the front door and head straight out the first window or door in its path. Qi can be either positive or negative. Consequently, it is often necessary to move objects or add new ones to bring about a change in the qi around you. Like goldilocks, you instinctively know when the qi is not too strong, not too weak, but feels just right.
To better understand positive qi, think about your favorite Italian restaurant where you feel at home and linger over your meal. Can you remember the layout, colors, fabrics, the decoration on the walls, and the aromas that made you feel happy and welcome? Perhaps there are small tables arranged strategically to suggest intimacy, fresh cut flowers and candles on the tables, and inspiring artwork that transport you to the Italian countryside, all of which contributed to the positive qi that attracted you to the spot.
By contract, think about an indoor space, such as an office, where you have felt uncomfortable. Remember the layout, colors, fabrics, walls, and aromas to get a sense of what aspects created its negative qi. For example, there may have been stark white walls, angular metal desks, harsh fluorescent overhead lighting, split-pea-soup-colored carpet, and generic or no artwork, all making you feel alienated, unwelcome, and unhealthy. You watch the clock all day and can’t wait to go home. That’s how it feels to be in a location that has an overabundance of negative qi.
In situations where qi gets stuck or blocked, it can have extremely negative effects on your surroundings and on your everyday life. We call this negative condition “sha” qi. You can be emotionally, physically, and spiritually affected by the negative energy of a home of office that is filled with sha qi.
There are three major conditions of negative qi that can upset the balance and harmony of a space:
1. Things You Don’t Like
2. Things That Are Broken
3. Things That Are Cluttered
Once you identify these negative conditions in your home or office, you can correct them by using the “Rule of 3Rs.” That is, Replace, Repair, or Remove all items creating negative qi as soon as possible.
When you furnish your home with objects that have negative emotions and attachments, you are living with all of their negative qi no matter how valuable they are. If you are surrounded by items that create negative qi, I urge you to move them out of your home and get rid of all the sha qi that goes with them.
Go through the rooms of your home with a pen and paper in hand and make an inventory of the objects and furniture you no longer like or that have negative associations. Then decide how you want to get rid of each object – either by donating, recycling, selling, or disposing of it – and replace it with something you love.
Qi (pronounced chee) is the constantly moving and changing force around you, making you feel either good or bad in a certain location. The goal of Feng Shui adjustments is to stop qi from rapidly leaving your space, and keep it flowing gently throughout every inch of your indoor environment. Qi is the vital energy that comes from nature, and every person, object, and environment has the living energy we call qi. Chi is always in motion, swirling around people, and around the objects people place in their surroundings.
Outside in nature, everything flows and moves like wind and water, which is the translation of the words Feng Shui. However, in our indoor or “built” environment, we are all too often surrounded by sharp angles and straight lines, or by objects placed in the locations that don’t support what we want to attract. All of this can block the positive flow of qi energy.
In your home or office, the qi will flow in through the front door and head straight out the first window or door in its path. Qi can be either positive or negative. Consequently, it is often necessary to move objects or add new ones to bring about a change in the qi around you. Like goldilocks, you instinctively know when the qi is not too strong, not too weak, but feels just right.
To better understand positive qi, think about your favorite Italian restaurant where you feel at home and linger over your meal. Can you remember the layout, colors, fabrics, the decoration on the walls, and the aromas that made you feel happy and welcome? Perhaps there are small tables arranged strategically to suggest intimacy, fresh cut flowers and candles on the tables, and inspiring artwork that transport you to the Italian countryside, all of which contributed to the positive qi that attracted you to the spot.
By contract, think about an indoor space, such as an office, where you have felt uncomfortable. Remember the layout, colors, fabrics, walls, and aromas to get a sense of what aspects created its negative qi. For example, there may have been stark white walls, angular metal desks, harsh fluorescent overhead lighting, split-pea-soup-colored carpet, and generic or no artwork, all making you feel alienated, unwelcome, and unhealthy. You watch the clock all day and can’t wait to go home. That’s how it feels to be in a location that has an overabundance of negative qi.
In situations where qi gets stuck or blocked, it can have extremely negative effects on your surroundings and on your everyday life. We call this negative condition “sha” qi. You can be emotionally, physically, and spiritually affected by the negative energy of a home of office that is filled with sha qi.
There are three major conditions of negative qi that can upset the balance and harmony of a space:
1. Things You Don’t Like
2. Things That Are Broken
3. Things That Are Cluttered
Once you identify these negative conditions in your home or office, you can correct them by using the “Rule of 3Rs.” That is, Replace, Repair, or Remove all items creating negative qi as soon as possible.
When you furnish your home with objects that have negative emotions and attachments, you are living with all of their negative qi no matter how valuable they are. If you are surrounded by items that create negative qi, I urge you to move them out of your home and get rid of all the sha qi that goes with them.
Go through the rooms of your home with a pen and paper in hand and make an inventory of the objects and furniture you no longer like or that have negative associations. Then decide how you want to get rid of each object – either by donating, recycling, selling, or disposing of it – and replace it with something you love.
