Qi

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After the disaster which was my first attempt at home ownership, my wife and I decided not only to wait a little while before we considered buying another home (losing our life savings in repairing the old house also was a factor). We also agreed that we had not considered enough information before we bought our first house, and so decided to keep an open mind to anything which might help us make sure we get a good house next time.

Along the way of getting information for our next try at buying a house, we started with a clean sheet of paper. Old houses were considered, so were new. We quickly learned the obvious limits. We didn’t have the money to have a home custom built, and some of the more affordable homes were too far away to be practical as a choice. As we looked at the available choices, we realized that we really needed a new home, and one with good access to major roads, not too far from where we worked, and so on. And along the way, I discovered Feng Shui.

Westerners really misunderstand Feng Shui. Some on one side of the matter think Feng Shui is a simple art of balancing room set up, and some on the other side think it’s superstition, even sinful for attempting divination. I had to weigh the matter carefully; I am committed to serving the LORD, and not putitng Him behind anything. However, I also know that the LORD makes all manner of tools available to man. See how Solomon laid out the Temple, for example. In reading about Feng Shui, I quickly learned that there are two broad classes of thought. Essentially, the newer “Black Hat” or “Black Sect” practitioners talk and write a lot about applying Feng Shui “Cures”, and in addition to proffered charms and mantras recommended the placement of “household gods”. Yep, that crosses the line. If that had been the first thing I read, I would have thrown out the whole thing right there.

Fortunately, before I heard about the “Black Hat” practitioners, I had already studied the Classical Feng Shui, its history and the basic principles, and that is much different. Many Masters have no use for Feng Shui practitioners whose principal motive is to sell merchandise, or who think that a trinket hung on a wall can override powerful forces. Also, the discovery that Feng Shui goes back at least five centuries before the birth of Christ, indicates to me that there is something more substantive than just a few tales strung together. So, without dragging the matter out further, here’s what I have learned about Feng Shui.

It’s about Qi, pronouned “Chee”. There is a lot of argument and disagreement about what Qi is, exactly, which I found intriguing. The Chinese figured out long ago, for instance, that people are affected by magnetic waves and resonance. The Western world only began to discover that in the past 50 years. But there’s more, related to temperature, air circulation, water, and many other factors. It’s really complex in total, and it takes a lot of study to consider all the things involved.

With that in mind, Feng Shui makes a whole lot more sense. Where you live is obviously going to affect your life, and it’s just reasonable to consider things which affect how much light your house gets, how much heat, whether the air moves freely in the house, and so on. Also, one must consider Yang and Yin, or balance. For example, a house which is too dark is not going to be right, but bright lights all the time would be stressful. Feng Shui considers the balance of all the factors in your home life. And from that, the principles of balance and energy are not only reasonable, but a critical reminder to consider in so major a choice as buying a house.

Now, there’s more to Feng Shui, but for here I will leave that to your own investigation, should you find it worth your time and attention. I would remind you, though, that when He prayed, Jesus went to a private place appropriate for his purpose. So also, Jesus preached in locations correct to the purpose. If you pay close attention, the practice is clear. And the flow of Qi, I would also submit, is a thing God wishes us to understand, for our own benefit.