What is NOT Feng Shui?

Since I've posted up questions on GK Ham International Feng Shui Consultant Facebook page, I receive request to write about what is and what is not Feng Shui.

My experience with new clients nowadays, 99% of them are able to differentiate 'trinket' Feng Shui and real Feng Shui.

'Trinket' Feng Shui is when the ‘Feng Shui consultants’ ask you to purchase 1 or more statues/ornaments to place in each corner of your house. For romance, maybe you would require to buy some items that have shapes or imagery that reminds you of couple, togetherness etc. For support, mountain pictures, fibre/steel or wood base material to represent mountain and place it at your back.

These are all classified as Trinket Feng Shui - which is NOT Feng Shui. If having all these trinkets can change a person's life in their environment- then the shop that is selling it must be enjoying the best Feng Shui - which sadly in reality is never the case.

Then why do people still buy those trinkets home and place it year after year?. Additionally there is always a new batch of people every year who are really interested in improving their life with Feng Shui but somehow not having enough merits in their destiny, therefore leading them to read the wrong books and unknowingly lead them to a road of endless trinket buying spree!

Trinket Feng Shui have ideas similar to modern medicine, something wrong with your body and surely the doctor would have a pill to fix it. In this case, something inadequate in your life, there's a Feng Shui item that can fix or help you.

If you are really wanting to know what is real Feng Shui and want to use Feng Shui to assist you in your goals in life, the first thing you have to wake up from is the trinket Feng Shui dream. If you are able to pass that- then you might just have enough merits in your destiny to know what is real Feng Shui and how it can help improve your life for which the system has been improving others destiny for many centuries before us.

So what is real Feng Shui? Feng Shui is using the energy of your environment to balance YOUR destiny. Whenever there is balance, there is harmony, and where harmony exist - prosperity comes naturally and easily. You are in flow with your destiny - things that you willed, objectives that you set are easily put into motion and achieve without much obstacles. What I described seems like fluff and above the air. Prosperity does not mean money will fall from the sky, or just wait and someone will knock at the door and give you a big chunk of money.

Some term it as Classical Feng Shui, following the Classics that was written by previous practitioners. Even within classical Feng Shui there are differences in the system that is used and of course the variations of result.

One of the WORST beliefs to adopt in Feng Shui is to think that it is a Do It Yourself (DIY) hobby. Hence many would think that a How To Feng Shui book costing less than USD100 will be able to help their destiny and improve their life, if only they follow it to the dot. Would you DIY surgery for your own medical condition?

The major difference of ancient Chinese authors and Western authors is that, for Chinese practitioners who are forefront in their field, their writings of books most of the time is published to impress their peers of their capability and knowledge findings. Rarely are those books being published to be How To or Guide books of DIY Feng Shui. Readers who are not familiar with this would then take these books as self-learning books of Feng Shui.

Some Western authors would then translate these early classics or make interpretations on those classics. BUT are those interpretations or translations useful? Applicable in modern household? Or even correct?

So how do we determine the classics are correct? It is through experience gather from many case studies through time back by logical principles and interactions of the 5 elements. Is an experience of a person enough to render a principle useful or applicable? NO definitely NOT, you need a group of people through generations to apply, validate, re-assess and finally render that principle useful.

This is where a REAL Feng Shui Master needs to be able to tell others the name of their teacher or Master, their grand master and great grandmaster. Not because they can show off, it is so that we can trace their line of knowledge, collective experiences and also the effectiveness of their work. You MUST place an importance on this if you ever want to experience the effects of Feng Shui.

When a practitioner put their Feng Shui consulting name as ‘research for Feng Shui’ it always gives me a big doubt in my mind. Because there is NOT even a remote possibility within a lifespan of ordinary human being to be able to research anything out of Feng Shui. Lets look at the figures, BaZi possibility runs in millions of possible combinations, not encompassing the background, place of birth and locality of the person. Then with house and environment, there are almost infinite possibilities of external environment, internal layout.

If the person’s foundation knowledge of Feng Shui principles are not strong, in which they are just experimenting here and there, points pick up from books and short seminar here and there. Do you think they would ever research anything from it? And you let them CHARGE you money for experimenting on you.

For example Chinese martial arts, famous Wing Chun practitioner Ip Man. His Master or Shi Fu is Chan Wah Shun and from him we can trace it all the way back Wing Chun. Now famous globally is Samuel Kwok, his master is Ip Ching and Ip Chun, sons of Ip Man. And wherever you go to learn Wing Chun in the world – those masters are able to tell you their lineage. Even Bruce Lee the founder of Jeet Kun Do is able to tell you his master is Ip Man, and from it he refine it further. All these legends of our time, do not tell people I study it from books or I am doing some research in Wing Chun on my own. Why? Because it takes a person a lifetime in order to refine the skills of their lineage.

Author's partial collection of Feng Shui Luo Pan

Feng Shui is field of knowledge by itself, and within it have few systems that are being used. Studying Chinese Traditional Medicine takes 5 years of theory and 2 years of recognizing herbs. For Feng Shui each system will take 3 – 5 years to familiarize for a student, refinement will take 1 decade or more.  If you are willing to invest the time and effort, then practicing Feng Shui as a career may suit you. If you just want the results, by all means hire a professional who have gone through the required learning and just pay his fees. DIY? Why don’t you opt for clay craft instead :)

Major points of the article

1. Product placement is not Feng Shui.
2. Feng Shui is not a Do It Yourself (DIY) subject.
3. Feng Shui is managing the energy in your environment to balance YOUR destiny.
4. You cannot learn Feng Shui from books. Feng Shui Classics are extended papers published to impress their peers. They are not meant to teach a layperson on Feng Shui.
5. If you want to learn, learn from someone who can name you their teacher and also teacher’s teacher.
6. It takes 3 – 5 years to learn Feng Shui.
7. If you want immediate results, hire a professional.