In the last post we looked at an overview of Feng Shui and some of the basic principals associated with the practice. Did you know Disney gave a lot of consideration to the principals of Feng Shui when it built Disney Hong Kong?

There is some common sense that goes with this considering the history of Disney and when it opened it Euro Disney in Paris. Turns out Disney did not impress Europeans as they neglected and ignored a lot of local traditions. When building Disney Hong Kong, they learned from their lessons and hired Feng Shui experts to consult and advise them on the building of the park. Disney really tried to pay attention to cultural influences and Feng Shui played a big role. In fact, Disney made modifications to existing designs in order to include these Feng Shui suggestions so it cost them money as well. Here is what they did to implement Feng Shui and respect local traditions:

• One of the park’s main ballrooms measures 888 square meters because 8 is a number of fortune
• In Chinese, 4 is bad luck, because it is pronounced like the Chinese word for death, so there are no fourth-floor buttons in the elevators at the park hotels.
• Cash registers are close to corners or along walls, where their placement is believed to increase prosperity.
• In the park’s upscale restaurant, Crystal Lotus, Disney installed a virtual koi pond where virtual fish dart away from guests when they walk on a glass screen. The pond is one of five Feng Shui elements in the restaurant, including wood, earth, metal and fire, which glows on a screen behind bottles in the bar.
• Disney shifted the angle of the front entrance gate by 12 degrees to ensure prosperity for the park.
• They put a bend in the walkway from the train station to the gate, to make sure the flow of positive energy, or chi, did not slip past the entrance and out to the China Sea.

It is clear Disney put a lot of emphasis on Feng Shui but it is also clear that was to respect local tradition and culture. Those same Feng Shui techniques are not be implemented back here in the states…at least not to my knowledge.

So know that you know about Feng Shui and how it applies to business, what about your own home? Ever think about implementing some aspect of Feng Shui ? For me, Feng Shui is less about respecting ancient Chinese culture but more about creating positive energy. To me, do what works best for you to create this positive energy, even if it doesn’t involve the 5 elements or the bagua. We will close out this topic next time with some simple things you can do in your home to create some positive energy as it relates to Feng Shui.

Resources:

• Wikipedia and Feng Shui -
• For more in-depth reading on how Disney “bowed” to Feng Shui, read this article by the New York Times

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Happy new year everyone. Hope 2010 is off to a great start. Sorry for the long holiday delay in posting material. Back to being a more efficient person and better organized! Much is made of the need to be organized. Regardless what you think it means and the level you want to achieve, there is an overall goal that is targeted to your personal health and well being. There is no argument that a clean and organized home creates positive energy. Conversely, a cluttered, dirty home makes us feel bogged down and trapped.

When I talk about the positive energy we want to create in our homes when we are organized, I cannot help but think about Feng shui. This practice is centered on creating positive energy and today, is frequently linked to many topics on organization

Feng shui 101

Most of you have heard of Feng shui but what does it mean? Feng shui literally means “Wind” and Water” is and ancient Chinese art form designed to connect humans (the physical world) with heavenly or astronomical laws in order to enhance “qi” or energy flow. The ancient Chinese (as many primitive cultures) derived much from astronomy and the vastness that surrounds us due to curiosity and the unknown. The entire origins of Feng shui are built on this connection to the universe. Specifically, the connection and energy that is generated when objects and structures are built – and how they are positioned to the heavens – directly relates to it energy flow.

To be exact, Wikipedia and its authors describe modern Day Feng Shui as ” The goal of feng shui as practiced today is to situate the human built environment on spots with good qi. The “perfect spot” is a location and an axis in time.^”

There are many principles and theories of Feng shui depending on the source but there are a few fundamental basics that are consistent.

1. Yin/Yang – the two polar energies. Yin is bad, Yang is good.
2. The Five Elements –a. Fire; b. Earth; c. Metal; d. Water; e. Wood
3. The Eight Trigrams – or eight symbols that represent fundamental principles of reality.
4. The Directions – North, South, East, West, Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, and Southeast (compass directions).
5. The Solar System – Who do objects relate to what is happening with celestial bodies and the solar system.
6. The Environment – What is happening during certain phases of seasons.

Can Feng shui benefit you?

All of these principles briefly described above interrelate in different ways and at different times to produce positive or negative energy. When you start to explore, Feng shui can get pretty complicated. Learning to understand how all of the principles relate requires a good bit of research so it is easy to understand how Feng shui practitioners have made a name for themselves.

Over the years, Feng shui has grown in popularity and has crept into home design and organization. Making our homes a source of positive energy is a big deal and many have tried to accomplish this. Although I do not practice Feng shui I do believe positive energy is created when order exists. I also believe that positive energy is created depending on color and placement so perhaps I will explore Feng shui more. After looking into this more I wonder if there are greater powers at work or are we just programmed for order rather than chaos…or both?

In the next post we will take a look at how businesses use Feng Shui to increase their bottom line and what Feng Shui means to you and how you organize.

Other Quick Resources

Wikipedia on Feng Shui – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feng_shui

American Feng Shui Institute – http://www.amfengshui.com

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