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When an art form has been around for more than 5,000 years, it is improbable to think that it can be added on to or improved. My contribution to this art is simply the arrangement of the information in a by-the-numbers system that is easy to understand, remember and apply, staying true to principle and steering away from what is perceived by us as superstition.
Shortly after arriving to the U.S. I found out that my degree didn't transfer and that I would not be able to practice Architecture here unless I was willing to go back to school for several years. I had already gone to school for six years, so I wasn't thrilled with the idea. I started looking for other things I could do, that were related to architecture and at the same time, fun, new and exciting for me.
While researching on Asian gardens, a friend of mine introduced me to the concept of Feng Shui, another friend brought me some materials to read and my husband gave me a subscription to a wonderful publication, the Feng Shui Journal [unfortunately this magazine is no longer in circulation]. My husband and I "won" our first Feng Shui book as a door prize, while attending a lecture at an Herbs and Music Festival! It was meant to be. I quickly developed a passion for this subject.
When I started the study of Feng Shui, I was surprised by the widely varying advice found in the different books available on the subject, sometimes the information was even contradictory. There seemed to be so many schools with different viewpoints it was hard to determine what approach to follow. Moreover, many of the cures suggested in some books had little to do with the reality of people raised in the Western culture and therefore appeared to be simple superstitions.
In an effort to reach a better understanding for myself I did some research and bought books, tapes and videos of representatives of the main schools of Feng Shui that have become acknowledged in the Western hemisphere (Traditional Form School, Black Hat Sect, Traditional Chinese Compass School, Japanese Nine Ki Compass School, Pyramid School, Intuitive School, Western School of Feng Shui, among others) and extracted first what they all had in common. All of these schools agree on the importance of an adequate circulation of the Life Force (Chi), the balancing out of the opposites (yin and yang), and the harmonizing of the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal and water).
They do not seem to agree on what areas in a building correspond to which areas of life (also known as the life aspirations). Even though they all use the Ba-gua (literally meaning ‘eight trigrams’) to map the Life Area allocations, some use the Former Heaven Arrangement (or Sequence), while others use the Later Heaven Arrangement. Some argue that the directions are essential and determinant when using the Ba-gua, while others claim that an internalized compass within the person’s mind and heart works more effectively. There are also many disagreements as to what should be placed in the center –the axis of this octagonal wheel of life. And finally, their use of symbology seems closely related to that of whichever their teachers’ countries of origin where.
I also came across some very cross opinions from Feng Shui masters regarding their competitors’s practices, especially from Traditional Compass School practitioners against pretty much everybody else.
I realized that what I needed to do was find out exactly which Feng Shui principles, when applied, healed the most homes and workplaces, and enabled people to live fuller, healthier, richer lives!
This was easier said than done. How to begin? To do this research empirically might take experimenting with dozens of homes and having perhaps a few fortunes affected adversely (if mistakes were made). Fortunately, Asian culture is “integrated.” The same basic principles of Oriental Philosophy are used and applied in disciplines like Martial Arts, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Flower Arrangement, Calligraphy, Landscape Painting ... and Feng Shui. While demonstrating which principles are the most effective would be harder to do in dealing with the Art of Flower Arrangement (and some may argue it is a matter of purposes or opinions), it is not so with Traditional Chinese Medicine – its rule of thumb is whether the patient’s health gets better or worse.
By an amazing convergence of lives, my dear friend Susana Kronfeld had by then established a successful practice as a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine in her native Uruguay, having been an avid student of Chinese culture, philosophy, language and art for years.
During our lengthy telephone conversations on the subject and exchange of materials through mail and e-mail throughout several months, she helped me grasp the concepts behind the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine and to discern which had universal application and which were effective only within certain belief systems. Armed with the new confidence these knowledge gave me, I started to acquiesce to my local friends’s requests for consultations – with wonderful results. This soon led to referrals to their friends and associates and the establishment of a successful practice of my own.
Now I work with architects, interior designers and landscapers, and help clients visualize their dream homes, businesses and gardens and have become a liaison that allows them to better communicate their needs and desires to design professionals.
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