Ode to traditions: A take on Feng Shui for a fiery Chinese New Year!

Modern living has brought about a myriad of changes in home design, bringing into mind more awareness on the stresses and strains that one is faced with everyday, including the effects they have on our bodies. Convenience and practicality have overtaken the essentials of what a space, specifically, a home should be-a cozy sanctuary.

Nowadays, the paranoia on beliefs, faith and traditions are sometimes reduced down to a simple decision on efficiency and adaptability. Interestingly enough, Feng Shui has lasted for so long that there are still a few who are perpetually devoted to it, even with the many skepticism modernity has placed on it. Feng Shui literally translates as "wind and water." It is an ancient Chinese science of manipulating and enhancing one's environment, maximizing the chi (energy) in one's surroundings while focusing on living in balance and harmony with nature. Its principles are applied in home design, serving as aid in achieving a tranquil place, providing shelter and giving the dweller an oasis of calm. Feng Shui can be applied on choosing a location, rearrangement or positioning of furniture, colors and textures, lighting, as well as locations of different elements to drawing out the plan and avoid energy blocks within each space.

In terms of design, there are a lot of aspects in which certain principles of feng shui or as most of us understand it in context, can be used, by utilizing modern examples of its implementation alongside the ancient ones. A few examples of these theories in design include: the avoidance of doors opposite each other; if so, an obstruction will be placed, such as a table, so as to slow down the chi; or the placement of unobtrusive beams running across a room; the use of sloping walls and beams across a bed making an inauspicious bedroom; the bagua mirror; edges, corners, slanting walls; the bad mantra of the colour peach in bedrooms. All these have significant effects on the overall balance and harmony of a space.

It has been recognized that one of the factors affecting our health and general well being these days is stress and I'm pretty sure just about everyone has felt its effect sometime in their lives; our bodies strive to obtain a sense of peace or a state of equilibrium while we constantly struggle with our hectic schedules and itineraries. Health is usually linked to healing, the feeling of being whole, at peace, content. Feng Shui gives a whole new meaning to living in balance and harmony, at the same time contributing to a prosperous future, truly understanding the underlying principles of knowing how and when to apply them in a particular situation.

Embraced and celebrated by mainstream devotees in the past decades, the 4,000-year-old Chinese science has proven its staying power. With the current economic uncertainty and the steady accurence of global crises, it doesn't hurt to enlist a bit of help to counter all that bad energy. In addition, while feng shui predictions change every Chinese calendar year, experts say investing in lucky charms need not be an annual expense as these only need to be placed in their proper directions.

Beyond all concepts, what matters most is that the house provides a shelter for the occupants, to nurture their aspirations, suit their lifestyles within a built environment, expressing its uniquene aesthetics and adaptability in any locale. A house that is constantly renewing itself for the present and future. (Sources/Bibliography: 1) Gale Hale & Mark Evans' "Feng Shui: Mind & Body, Spirit & Home", 2) Allen, Marites. Feng Shui consultant. World of Feng Shui, Philippines)