When a palm reader looks at your hand, she sees your life reflected in the lines and mounds on your palm and fingers. Each mark says something about you—your personality, your experiences, your attitudes, your health. A feng shui master sees you mirrored in your home; they can tell what’s going on in your life simply by examining the condition of your living space.

Clutter, as I mentioned before, is synonymous with confusion and blockages. Broken furniture can signify broken dreams, physical injuries, or breaks in communication between family members. Doors or windows that stick may represent areas of your life that are stuck.

In feng shui, each sector of your home corresponds to a particular part of your life. The condition of the different areas will show which aspects of your life are in good shape and which ones need a little TLC. For instance, your living room may be quite clean, orderly, and inviting, but your study is piled high with clutter. A feng shui master might interpret this to mean that you are content with your social life, but are having problems with your career and/or finances. You can correct any areas that aren’t functioning smoothly by applying the appropriate feng shui cures.

Here’s a personal example to illustrate. I once moved to a new town and felt lonely and isolated. I wanted to meet new friends and expand my social circle. At that time, the sector of my home that relates to friendship contained an artfully arranged cluster of dried tree branches—an apt symbol of my rather barren social life. To remedy the situation, I replaced the dead, leafless branches with a large, live plant. Before long, I began meeting new people. I now enjoy rewarding friendships with a diverse and interesting group of men and women, and entertain in my home often.

Feng shui considers our homes and workplaces to be living entities. Each feature in a building corresponds to a part of the human body. The front door, for instance, is the “mouth” of the building. Windows are its “eyes.” Ch’i enters through these openings. Halls and passageways in a building can be likened to the body’s veins and arteries—they are the conduits through which ch’i travels as it circulates from room to room. A building’s electrical system is similar to the human nervous system. Plumbing is the functional equivalent of our elimination system. Wall studs, beams, and other structural supports relate to our bones. When one of these features in your home is damaged or malfunctioning, it can signal problems in the corresponding part of your body.

ANALYZING YOUR HOME

Feng shui has many schools of thought and each one approaches the subject somewhat differently. Consequently, there is much debate about which version of feng shui is best and this results in a great deal of confusion. However, these systems are somewhat complex and can be difficult for some people to grasp. Because the objective of this book is not to comment on the validity of one school or view over another but to demystify feng shui and make it accessible to everyone, I offer a less complicated yet still effective method for applying feng shui in your own home or workplace. This easy system links each room of your home with an area of your life, based on the room’s primary purpose. For example, the living room is used for socializing, so it corresponds to your social life, friendships, and leisure activities. The bedroom is a place for privacy and intimacy, so it’s associated with love relationships. The study, where work is performed, relates to money and career.

Undoubtedly some readers and feng shui practitioners will disagree with the ideas and methodology I present here. I urge you to experiment to see what works for you, while paying attention to your feelings and impressions. Your increased awareness over time will help you understand how ch’i operates in your own environment, so you can put into place the feng shui adjustments and cures that are right for you.

Front Entrance

The front door of your home is its mouth. Ch’i enters here and nourishes your home, in much the same way as food is taken into your body as nourishment. A large, distinctive, easily accessible front door allows more ch’i into your home than one that is small, dark, or difficult to find. Have you ever noticed how mansions usually have grand entrances? They welcome positive ch’i to come inside, filling the home with abundance of all kinds.

An attractive entryway not only invites ch’i and visitors into your home, it also gives the public a favorable image of you. Therefore, it’s important to make the entrance to your home—including the sidewalk, porch, front steps, yard, et cetera—as appealing as possible. Because this is the point at which ch’i first enters your home, problems with your entryway that limit ch’i’s access will adversely affect all areas of your life.

Common Sense Feng Shui Tips to Improve Your Front Entrance

• Clear away any clutter or obstacles that could obstruct access to your front door.

• Install adequate lighting so your entrance is clearly visible.

• Keep your entryway in good repair—fix loose steps or a broken doorbell and make sure the door opens easily.

• Paint your front door an eye-catching color and attach shiny brass numbers and hardware to it.

Entryway

The space just inside the front door is also important, for this area welcomes ch’i to flow into the rest of your home and fill it with positive energy. The entrance space, foyer, or mudroom operates in conjunction with the exterior portion of your home’s entrance, facilitating the movement of ch’i through your living space. If ch’i is obstructed or impaired at this point, its ability to energize every area of your life—health, wealth, relationships, et cetera—will be limited.

To understand how ch’i responds, pay attention to your own reactions as you enter different buildings. If a home’s foyer or front hallway is dark, cluttered, or claustrophobic, you’ll probably feel awkward, unsure about whether to retreat or continue on into the other parts of the home. But notice how a well-lit, cheerful entrance area makes you feel welcome and comfortable.

If you encounter a wall immediately upon entering, you’ll feel blocked. This is how ch’i responds, too. To correct the problem, hang a picture with a distant view there to symbolically expand the area beyond its confining, physical dimensions. Split-entry foyers, which feature a stairway going to an upper level and another leading down to a lower level, can be confusing to ch’i—it doesn’t know which way to flow. Direct ch’i into one area or the other by illuminating the path you want it to take or accentuating one stairway with artwork, plants, or other visually appealing cures.

Common Sense Feng Shui Tips to Improve Your Entryway

• Install adequate lighting.

• Paint your entrance area a sunny color such as yellow or peach.

• Eliminate any clutter that could impede progress into the rest of the home.

• Keep stairs, doors, and architectural features in good condition.

• Provide a convenient place for people entering and leaving your home to put their coats, keys, umbrellas, and other articles.

• Neatly organize your front hall closet, if you have one.

Living Room

In most homes that have a foyer, that space adjoins the living room. Many apartments and small houses, however, dispense with a separate entrance area so that you come directly into the living room upon entering the home. If the entryway into your home is clear and inviting, ch’i will naturally flow smoothly into this space. To keep ch’i moving freely, make sure the pathway into your living room is unobstructed by furniture, clutter, doors, or other barriers.

Because the living room is the part of the home where you usually entertain guests and where the home’s occupants tend to come together to socialize, this room is connected with your social life. The condition of this room will affect your friendships, social life, and relationships with people in your community. A cheerful, comfortable living room encourages positive social interactions and rewarding friendships. A barren, dark, or cramped living room limits your ability to make and enjoy other people’s company; a cluttered living area can produce confusion, obstacles, or disagreements with companions.

The “main” room in the home, the living room has a profound effect on the general happiness, good fortune, and well-being of its inhabitants. Therefore, it’s important to keep this area clean, orderly, and in good condition. Decorate it as attractively as possible so that it conveys a sense of comfort and ease, inviting guests and family members to relax here.

Common Sense Feng Shui Tips to Improve Your Living Room

• Arrange furniture so that, when seated, no one’s back is to the room’s main entrance. This makes it easy for everyone to see and greet whoever comes into the room, so that guests feel welcome.

• Don’t position a sofa or other large piece of furniture so near the room’s entrance that it blocks passage into your living area.

• Configure seating into “conversation groups” that enable people to communicate easily with each other, without having to shout or lean forward to converse.

• Keep passageways through the room clear so you can conveniently move about the space to open windows, access closets, et cetera.

• Provide a variety of lighting sources, for reading, ambiance, and other activities.

The Kitchen

The kitchen is the room where meals are prepared, so this area provides nourishment for the home’s inhabitants. From the perspective of feng shui, the kitchen is connected with your prosperity and its condition reveals a great deal about your financial situation. A clean, efficient kitchen suggests that you are comfortable with money matters and aren’t troubled by financial woes. A disorganized, dirty, or poorly operating kitchen indicates confusion, difficulties, or conflicts where money is concerned. Cures to attract wealth, therefore, are frequently implemented in the kitchen.

A large, well-appointed, and attractive kitchen is generally advantageous to the inhabitants’ wealth. But your kitchen needn’t be grand or filled with the latest high-tech appliances to have a beneficial impact on your finances. What’s important is that your kitchen is neat and orderly, and that everything in it works properly.

In feng shui terms, the stove is the focal point of the kitchen. This is where food is prepared and money is generated. If possible, position the stove so that the cook can interact with other people in the kitchen and his/her back is not to the kitchen’s entrance. Try not to cram the stove into a corner, where the cook will feel constrained while working as this can limit your money-making options. From a design perspective, it’s a good idea to configure the stove, sink, and refrigerator in a triangular pattern so that it’s easy for the cook to move from one work zone to the other as they prepare food.

Make sure your stove is in good working order. If the heating elements are burned out, your wealth-producing capabilities will be diminished and you may run into financial difficulties. When you clean your stove, you symbolically clear the way for prosperity to come into your life and demonstrate your willingness to invest effort and energy into improving your finances.

Common Sense Feng Shui Tips to Improve Your Kitchen

• Install adequate lighting as a safety measure as well as to attract ch’i.

• Use your stove regularly to generate wealth.

• Keep the passageways through your kitchen clear to prevent accidents and allow ch’i to flow smoothly.

• Organize cabinets and closets to improve efficiency and reduce clutter that can produce confusion or discord.

• Make sure all appliances are functioning properly to reduce frustration and waste.

• Keep your kitchen clean to prevent health risks and financial decay.

Dining Room

The dining room combines the qualities of the kitchen and the living room in practical as well as symbolic terms. In an obvious sense, we nourish ourselves and interact socially in the dining room. From the perspective of feng shui, the dining room’s condition provides clues to understanding both your social life and your finances.

If you don’t eat in your dining room very often, you may experience limited social activity or stagnant finances (unless your kitchen, living room, and/or study indicate otherwise). A cluttered dining room—especially one that is also used for other purposes—can suggest confusion, stress, or discord in both areas of your life. If your goal is to improve either your social life or your financial picture, you can apply feng shui cures in your dining room as well as in the kitchen and/or living room.

The dining room also affects your health, because food is consumed and digested here. A peaceful, congenial environment is conducive to good digestion; therefore some feng shui cures for your dining room are designed to promote harmony. A round table is a good choice if you want to encourage togetherness and cooperation among family members or to improve relationships with friends or business colleagues because circles represent unity and wholeness. Rectangles, because they are longer than they are wide, suggest movement and growth—use a rectangular table if your goal is to attract wealth or increase your vitality. (I’ll talk more about the symbolism of shapes in chapter 3.)

What you eat and how you serve meals are also important considerations. Pay attention to colors, aromas, tastes, and ambiance as all of these factors contribute to your health, wealth, and happiness.

Of course, many apartments and some small homes don’t have dining rooms. This doesn’t mean you won’t have any friends or money. Simply apply the appropriate feng shui cures in the area of your home where you eat meals.

Common Sense Feng Shui Tips to Improve Your Dining Room

• Don’t eat on the run or do work while you are eating.

• Avoid arguments during meals, which can upset digestion.

• Don’t watch TV or check your phone during meals—focus on interacting with your fellow diners.

• Clear away clutter that can undermine positive relationships with other people or inhibit the flow of wealth into your life.

• Repair broken furniture that could lead to breaks with friends or business colleagues.

Bedroom

Because we spend about one-third of our lives in our bedrooms, these are important parts of our homes and they have a profound influence on us. A bedroom reveals a great deal about the person who sleeps there—particularly regarding their private life, as the bedroom is the place where private, intimate activities (sleeping, dressing, making love) occur. A comfortable, attractive bedroom contributes to a happy love life. A cluttered bedroom suggests confusion or discord in a relationship. Broken or worn furnishings can signify breaks in communication, unfulfilled dreams, or a relationship that has lost its luster.

When I was in the process of getting divorced, one of the drawers in my bedroom dresser became stuck shut—I couldn’t even open it enough to fix it. Some time later, when I got involved in a new relationship, the drawer suddenly opened up on its own.

Additionally, the bedroom is linked with health for it is here that we rest and rejuvenate ourselves each night, and where we retire when we’re ill. Therefore, some feng shui cures to improve health are implemented in the bedroom.

Screens—whether in the form of phones, computers, or TVs—bring influences from the outside world into your private space, creating mental clutter. Avoid keeping or even using them in the bedroom.

Ideally, the bed should be positioned so that you have a clear view of the door when you are in bed. Subconsciously, this makes you feel more at ease because you can see anyone who enters the bedroom. But if your bed is too close to the door, you may be disturbed by noises outside your bedroom or feel you don’t have enough privacy. Nor is it a good idea to place your bed directly under a window, where drafts can cause discomfort or illness.

Common Sense Feng Shui Tips to Improve Your Bedroom

• Clear passageways through your bedroom to enhance health and love relationships.

• Position your bed away from the door, but where you’ll have a clear view of the door so your sleep won’t be disturbed.

• Don’t store things under your bed, as clutter can have an adverse effect on romantic relationships.

• Repair broken furnishings to prevent breaks in a relationship.

• Install dimmer switches on lamps so you can adjust lighting to suit your mood.

• Keep screens out of the bedroom as much as possible.

Bathroom

The bathroom and your home’s plumbing system correspond to your elimination system. It is here that personal cleansing rituals take place and where wastes are flushed away. However, ch’i can also be flushed out of your home via the toilet and bathroom drains. Therefore, it’s important to minimize opportunities for ch’i to flow out of your home too quickly, taking your prosperity along with it. Faucets that drip or a toilet that runs aren’t just wasteful, they can cause money to slowly leak away. Feng shui practitioners believe that even open, visible drains tend to suck ch’i—and wealth—out of your home. To prevent this, close toilet lids and shower curtains.

A place for purification, the bathroom is also connected with your health. In an obvious sense, germs can collect in a bathroom that is dirty or in bad repair. In feng shui terms, your vitality can be sapped if ch’i disappears down the drain too quickly. The strong yin force that water generates is likely to dominate in the bathroom, producing an imbalance that can dampen your physical energy. Bright lighting adds the yang component and can help offset this imbalance, while also making it easier to shave, apply makeup, and perform other personal care functions.

Common Sense Feng Shui Tips to Improve Your Bathroom

• Keep your bathroom clean, neat, and orderly.

• Close toilet lids and shower curtains to conceal water outlets and keep ch’i—and money—from going down the drain.

• Repair leaky faucets, shower heads, and toilets to prevent waste.

• Install adequate lighting for convenience and yin/yang balance.

Study/Home Office

Offices and workspaces in the home have become increasingly common in recent years, as more people work out of their homes or bring work home with them. As you might expect, a study or work area in your home relates to your career and finances. From the perspective of feng shui, the condition of this room describes your attitudes toward money, your ability to attract wealth, your career goals, and your overall work situation. If you have a dedicated office outside the home, including a shared workspace, these tips apply to that space as well.

A cluttered, disorganized office suggests confusion, obstacles, or stress in connection with money and/or your job. If your work area is jammed with lots of “stuff” you may have trouble attracting new opportunities or money—there’s no room for anything more to enter your life. An office that is neat, clean, and orderly, on the other hand, indicates clarity regarding your career goals and finances. Broken or damaged furnishings or equipment can symbolize breaks in communication, deals that fall through, or financial losses.

Ideally, you’ll want to position your desk or work station so that when you are seated at it you can easily see the entrance to your office. If your back is to the door, you may feel uneasy or have difficulty concentrating because someone could come up behind you and startle you when you are working.

Common Sense Feng Shui Tips to Improve Your Study/Workspace

• Place your desk so you can easily see the entrance to your office. Even if you work somewhere other than a desk—whether it’s at the dining room table, on your couch, or at a coffee shop—you can still follow this principle when setting up your temporary workspace.

• Install good lighting so you can see clearly. This will also increase the amount of ch’i in your work area and enhance your vitality.

• Eliminate clutter to make room for money and opportunities to come into your life.