Getting A Feel For Your Space

FS Case Study #1 - Good Feng Shui, Golden Intuition

Early in my feng shui journey, I evaluated nearly-identical villas in the same neighborhood. The client had sold her first home and moved to second home, and the key differences were a flipped floorplan with a better view from her patio. The home’s size, features and design were identical. The client made these choices not knowing anything about advanced feng shui methods. Instead, she made an intuitive decision that was spot on. She had asked me to evaluate the two properties, which ended up validating her choice to move. The client had a feeling that something was off about her original space.

I walked around the first property and noted her back patio had a small yard facing another home that sat uncomfortably close, and at a higher elevation. Anytime a building feels too close and is overshadowed by another structure, the occupants in the lower space will feel uncomfortable. Many of us enjoy the backside of the home as a quick, quiet retreat for chilling out after a busy day. The client felt hers lacked the peacefulness she desired, and it inspired her to move.

The second home was backed to a spacious, scenic area of a golf course. The fairway was far enough away to enjoy the view without worrying about her home being pelted with errant golf shots. The small change in scenery from her patio was enough to compel her to go through the hassle of selling, packing, and moving down the street.

What the client didn’t know was the two homes had the same energy blueprint. The energy blueprint is the map the practitioner calculates using the building’s sitting and facing direction and construction year. The key difference between these two homes was a flipped floor plan. This meant key rooms in the home would naturally fall into different areas the feng shui map, yielding different results.

In this example, the first home’s master bedroom and office were in the section of the map with strong influences for arguments, fights, and illnesses. Since most people spend time in these two areas when they are at home, these are critical spaces for a practitioner to evaluate and if necessary, offer a simple solution. However, she had already purchased the new home before my evaluation. She briefly shared her relationship troubles in her first home, one that ended not long before she moved. The client had made a better choice for her second home since her new master bedroom and office were no longer in the problem areas of the feng shui map.

The energy analysis taught in feng shui schools can come across as rigid diagnoses of a space. However, practitioners have to consider much more about the home and the client. If the same type of argument energy in this client’s bedroom existed in a lawyer’s office, it would be interpreted as good for the lawyer’s business. In this case, the rules are bent knowing a lawyer argues for a living. So, did the first home argument energy cause the relationship problem? If it were a rocky relationship already then perhaps it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. And if so, was it really a bad thing? Perhaps she needed that kind of energy to motivate a needed change. Feng shui has a lot of gray areas which don’t always come across in course instruction or do-it-yourself books.

I think the real lesson in this case starts with the client. She felt uncomfortable in her own home, and the backyard didn’t give her the peace she desired. Most people spend years leaving a mechanical life, falling into our daily routines, and failing to recognize when they are uncomfortable in their own space. We become so wrapped up in the course of “doing” that we never take time to really evaluate whether our homes are providing more than shelter.

I can hear my parents’ voices say, “be thankful you have a roof over your head.”  We can all show gratitude for the things we have and at the same time try to make the best of what we have, instead of throwing up our arms and surrendering to the cards we have been dealt. Sometimes you have to work with what you got, which is always better than giving up on the space.

Here's an experiment you can try at home or work. Sit in a specific room for a while and contemplate what it feels like. If it is an office, do you feel focused or scattered? If it is the back porch, do you feel refreshed or anxious? Does the area that is supposed to be “relaxing” actually feel relaxing? A bedroom is the dedicated space for rest and rejuvenation, but sometimes it does not feel comfortable.

If any area feels off, then ask yourself is it something about the space you can identify with your senses. If not, it could be the energy in space is off and might need a simple improvement. I am a big fan of rearranging furniture to see if the space feels better. Sometimes it works, and sometimes I just get a good workout after moving it back. But in all cases the exercise will help you feel the subtle differences in energy so you understand what feels right for the area.