Feng Shui For Dummies®, 2nd Edition
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2019945793
ISBN: 978-1-119-64316-6 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-64313-5 (ebk); 978-1-119-64317-3 (ebk)
From the time I was about 15 or 16 years old, I began studying with Black Sect Tantric Buddhist masters Hui Chieh-fu and Cheng Kuei-ying. In addition to spiritual studies, meditation, calligraphy, poetry, painting, secret cures, holistic healing, and divination, I was most captivated by the study of Feng Shui. In later years, I spread the teaching of Feng Shui to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Europe, the United States, and other parts of the world. In the last 40 years, I have combined the knowledge of modern architecture, space design, psychology, medicine, spirituality, healing, folkloric cultures of China and Taiwan, Chinese philosophies, Buddhism, and the knowledge of traditional and modern Feng Shui schools and theories to establish a new school in the study of Feng Shui, which is the Black Sect Tantric Buddhist Feng Shui school*. From 1973 to the present, I have been lecturing, teaching, and providing Feng Shui consultations and spiritual guidance in Asia, Europe, the United States, Australia, and Africa.
Many books are now available on the study of Feng Shui, and each one has its own specialty and value. Now that I have read David Daniel Kennedy’s second edition of Feng Shui For Dummies, I feel that this guide is like an instamatic camera, readily usable and easily understood by anyone and everyone without the need for a teacher.
I am truly happy to see that the second edition of Feng Shui For Dummies is coming out. That proves the wide circulation and popularity of this book. From reading this book, the reader can completely understand the true meaning, explanation, techniques, and applications of Feng Shui through the Octagon, Five Elements, Methods of Minor Additions for Adjustments, and the power of the Three Secrets Reinforcement. This book also places special emphasis on the visible elements of Feng Shui, namely the chi (or energy) of the land, the shape of the land and/or lot, the shape of the house, the floor plan, the interior factors, and the exterior factors. Furthermore, the reader can understand the Five Elements and how to apply them to the Feng Shui adjustments, how to use the Methods of Exterior and Interior Chi Adjustments to bless a house, and the Method of Minor Additions to make modifications and improvements to his or her living and working environments. There are more features adding to the second edition of the book, which makes the book even more instrumental, such as Feng Shui for multifamily living; Feng Shui adjustments and transcendental cures for wealth, health, and relationship issues in our daily lives; an action plan for Feng Shui in your house; information on selecting a new home by using Feng Shui principles; and tips for finding a qualified Feng Shui consultant.
The publication of the second edition of Feng Shui For Dummies is much anticipated. The author, Mr. Kennedy, has a smooth penmanship and clear, precise ideas. His writing style and concepts are concise, refreshing, and easy for the reader to understand and accept. This book contains the theories from the Black Sect Tantric Buddhist Feng Shui perspective as well as meditation methods to improve one’s spiritual powers, practical applications, and both mundane and transcendental solutions. Through this book, the author has made great contributions to society. These contributions can help many people who feel at a loss, and they can strengthen the stability of society, increase the well-being of the nation, and create happiness in mankind. Therefore, the publication of Mr. Kennedy’s new book is indeed a great and joyous event for the Black Sect Tantric Buddhist Feng Shui school.
By His Holiness Grandmaster Professor Lin Yun
Translated by Crystal Chu and Mary Hsu
* Referred to as Grandmaster Lin Yun’s Feng Shui school in this book.
Take a look around you. What do you see? Whether or not you’re aware of it, your environment is profoundly affecting your health, wealth, family life, relationships, and even your destiny.
Feng Shui (pronounced fung shway) is the ancient Chinese art of improving every part of your life by enhancing your environment according to principles of harmony and energy flow. Since the mid-1990s, Feng Shui has rapidly gained popularity in the West. Today, more and more people from all walks of life are practicing Feng Shui and experiencing the positive benefits of auspicious placement. Many successful individuals now create harmony and happiness in their relationships; increase their prosperity; and dissolve chronic patterns of failure, difficulty, and stress by rearranging their living and working environments according to Feng Shui principles.
Implementing the practical and effective Feng Shui methods in this book allows you to see your surroundings in a new light and notice how your home influences your job, your relationships, your personal health, and every other aspect of your daily experience. You’re able to make new connections between obstacles in your physical space and recurring difficulties in your financial, professional, emotional, or creative life. By following Feng Shui principles, you can have a home environment that helps you achieve success, happiness, and prosperity. In short, through Feng Shui, you can experience how a harmonious environment allows more positive energy to flow through your whole life. And most important, you can understand why Feng Shui has been practiced for thousands of years — because it works!
Feng Shui is neither superstitious magic nor a passing fad. The Chinese have known for millennia that your physical surroundings affect both your inner and your outer life. They recognize the relationship between good Feng Shui and success, prosperity, and happiness. For example, the location of your bed affects your marriage, and the position of your desk affects your attention and work performance — which can mean the difference between a job promotion or demotion. Used by emperors and sages of the East for thousands of years, the Feng Shui principles I present in this book are as effective today as ever. And now you can find out how to make them work for you, too!
Although many Feng Shui books crowd the bookstore shelves, finding the right one for you can be a real challenge. Some of the books are more suitable for advanced practitioners and scholars; others contain valuable yet highly complex details of historical, cultural, and theoretical significance. Trying to determine which ones actually work for you can sidetrack you from the pressing goal at hand — changing your home and life for the better.
Enter Feng Shui For Dummies, 2nd Edition, your do-it-yourself guide to no-kidding, cut-to-the-chase, hit-the-ground-running Feng Shui. I wrote this book with you, the on-the-go reader, in mind. In it, I guide you through the fascinating, mysterious art of Feng Shui and give you the practical information you need to improve your environment and life — starting now. I’ve shoehorned and packed every page with the most effective tips and techniques available — methods that address the issues and concerns you encounter in your daily life (don’t worry; I explain them clearly throughout this book). I’ve used these methods in my own life and have seen them work for many. So roll up your sleeves and prepare for action!
The easy, practical steps to effective Feng Shui involve
For each feature of your home environment that I address, I describe the ideal state and function of that feature. (When I use the word environment in this book, I mean your personal environment, not the rain forest or the ozone layer.) I then show you how your situation may vary from these ideal principles and explain the potential negative consequences. But I don’t leave you high and dry. Instead, I provide you with practical solutions for each problem and tell you which parts of your life benefit when you perform these solutions.
I use the following conventions throughout the text to make things consistent and easy to understand:
monofont.Some additional important conventions are as follows:
I like to think that you’re going to read every single word I’ve written in this book, but I also know that you’re busy and eager to start applying Feng Shui’s secrets right away. If you’re short on time, feel free to skip the sidebars (those gray-shaded boxes sprinkled throughout the chapters); they’re full of interesting information but aren’t essential to your understanding and application of Feng Shui.
In this book, I make several assumptions about you, the reader.
Feng Shui is action-oriented; you get as much out of it as you put into it. When you prime a pump, it takes a bit of initial effort before the water starts to flow. In the same way, after you prime your Feng Shui pump by arranging your spaces according to Feng Shui principles, the energy of harmony, creativity, and abundance starts to flow into every part of your life.
Like all For Dummies books, Feng Shui For Dummies, 2nd Edition, is organized to make tons of useful information easily accessible. This book includes five main parts. Here’s how I divvy it up.
Part 1 explains the basic Feng Shui principles you need in order to apply the practical methods found throughout this book. I explain what Feng Shui is — and what it isn’t. I also explain how the main schools of Feng Shui differ from each other and where Grandmaster Lin Yun’s Feng Shui school — the one this book uses — fits into the general scheme of Feng Shui. In addition, I define core concepts of Feng Shui, show you how to map the energy of your personal space by using the Feng Shui Octagon, and help you harness the energies of the Five Elements.
Part 2 deals with the great outdoors — the outside of your home, that is. Just as you live in your home, your home lives in the land or property it sits on. From your neighborhood to your street and right up to your front door, I show you how to align the energies of nature to assist your personal progress. In addition, this part explains how to recognize positive and negative home positions on lot and landscape, counteract nearby negative features, and use the beneficial effects of vegetation and flowing water.
In this part, I also delve into the vital matter of shapes. The shapes of your lot, your home, and even the rooms within your home powerfully influence your life path in that residence. Additionally, I show you how to make the most of your approach — the path by which energy (and money) either flows in to nourish your dwelling or is blocked, creating a lack of vitality.
Part 3 takes you indoors to consider your home’s interior. I show you how to read your home’s floor plan to see how the layout is benefiting or harming your life. I walk you through each room and give you practical tips for improving its energy. In addition, I explain the importance of features such as doors, stairs, windows, and beams. I also explain how to improve your home’s energy with lighting, color, and everyday maintenance. If you live in an apartment, condominium, or other multiunit structure, I provide special guidance for you in this part, too.
The last chapter in this part includes suggestions for creating the unfair advantage just about everyone can use at work. Whether you work at home or in a cubical on your office building’s 23rd floor, I show you how to apply easy Feng Shui cures to make the most of your work environment.
In Part 4, I start with a quick and effective action plan for using Feng Shui; then I provide tips for getting what you want with Feng Shui in the areas of wealth, relationships, and health. I also give you tips for selecting your next home with the help of Feng Shui.
Also in this part, I present ceremonies that help you clear unwelcome energies from your home and increase your good fortune. (And no, this isn’t a recipe for getting rid of your significant other!) In addition, Part 4 deals with a unique and effective branch of Feng Shui: performing special cures directly on yourself, instead of on your home, to enhance your personal energy.
The Part of Tens provides ten key principles for getting the most out of your Feng Shui cures. I also include ten hints for choosing a qualified Feng Shui consultant and ten pointers for selling a home with the help of Feng Shui. Closing out Part 5 is a special treat: ten calligraphy blessings for your home created by my mentor, Grandmaster Lin Yun.
In the margins of this book are several helpful icons that can make your Feng Shui journey easier:
If you want to tackle more-involved Feng Shui tips, follow the special cures given next to this icon. These remedies are some of the most potent solutions around.
This icon indicates a real-life Feng Shui story that illustrates some aspect or result of using Feng Shui. I share such stories because you can discover a lot from the experiences of others.
This icon sits next to key details you need to keep in mind in order to have success with your Feng Shui cures.
Text marked with this bull’s-eye icon gives helpful Feng Shui pointers and information.
This icon tells you when to sit up and take notice. Something in your environment may be harming you, and changing it can save you a heap of trouble down the road.
You may not choose to read this book from cover to cover, although you can read it this way if you want. For first-time Feng Shui-ers, Chapter 1 answers the question: “What is Feng Shui?” Its overview gives you the understanding you need to implement the practical suggestions found throughout the book. If you’re familiar with the basic concepts of Feng Shui, you can use the table of contents or the index to jump directly to the chapter that provides the information you’re looking for. Also, be sure to follow the references I provide within the book; they lead you to related material located in other chapters.
The helpful illustrations throughout the text clarify key points and demonstrate how you should perform specific cures. If an illustration differs from your particular situation, simply adapt the suggested remedy to fit your circumstances. On the other hand, in many cases, specific details can mean the difference between an effective solution and one that produces less-than-adequate results. For instance, if I recommend using a bamboo flute, don’t use a chopstick and expect to get the same result! When I emphasize particular details as being critically important, I recommend sticking with them to the best of your ability.
Part 1
IN THIS PART …
Feng Shui is the study of the interaction between you and your environment. Feng Shui in action is jumping out of your current mold and applying tips, tricks, and techniques to reform your living environment, forge a new relationship with your space, and become happier in the process. Intriguing, no?
To get started practicing Feng Shui, you need some of the basics. Then you can move on to the really heavy Feng Shui firepower. In this part, I give you the lowdown on Feng Shui and the key principles that make it work. You’re then fortified to move on and discover how to map the energy of your home (trust me, it’s easier than it sounds). You can also grab an armful of effective Feng Shui changes (also known as cures) that you can apply anywhere you want. Last but not least, I let you in on one of the biggest Feng Shui secrets around: how to use the inner power of intention and motivation to make your Feng Shui solutions zing!