100 Feng Shui Tips

I've always been fond of feng shui. I try to implement applicable feng shui tips I receive from SMS, friends and what I've read in books. Feng shui recognizes that small problems can have a major effect on one's life. One of the objectives of feng shui is to create a smooth gentle nurturing flow of chi through one's home. A well-kept home will always have a better chi (one can liken chi to a VIP to be welcomed).

Despite the long post, I believe feng shui tips recently consolidated for our business, relationships, family life and home (thanks to SMS recent update on feng shui!) is worth sharing to the blogging community. Read on the hundred tips I've initially gathered applicable to almost anyone:

1. Do not place an empty vase next to the main door as the new chi once it enters your office will be sucked into the vase causing nothing much left for the environment.
2. Do not allow children to sleep on double-decked beds. The child sleeping underneath will not have fresh chi and his health might be affected. If you need to use bunk beds due to space constraints, add in a metal 6-rod wind chime or a crystal sphere to break up the stale chi around the bed.
3. The company signboard should be in the wealth area so that no other competitors can be strong enough to beat you at your game.
4. Place a hanging crystal in your window as this will activate positive energy apart from looking great when the light hits them to most amazing rainbows.
5. A crystal ball can be placed on top of the phone to encourage more business calls and also to attract wealth.
6. Three-legged Toad God is a figurine used to attract wealth and abundance. Place this near your front office entrance, facing into your office for luck and wealth.
7. Don’t place a paper cutter machine next to the main door. It might cause workers to back stab/fight with each other.
8. If you wish to be a leader in your industry, place a dragon on the right hand side of your desk facing towards the window or the door. The dragon can also look into your water fountain.
9. Hanging a chandelier or crystal sphere ball in the southwest corner of your home is wonderful for activating the chi energy that stimulates romance.
10. Candles in all shapes, sizes and color are suggestive of love.
11. Make sure your child is not sitting with their back against the door if this is the only way of arranging their room, place a mirror so they can see the door behind them.
12. Make sure that nothing piercing is directed towards the chair, as this will create bad energy. Even a poster with arrows or airplanes with weapons pointing towards a room causes bad energy.
13. The laughing buddha is a symbol of health and happiness. If you stroke his belly daily, he will bring good luck. Place him anywhere in the house or place of work. Good for children’s bedroom too.
14. An ancient chinese way to good health - the 2 metal balls with high and low sound plates inside. Used to build strength and remove diseases.
15. Amethyst possesses the strongest spiritual energy.It is a remarkable stone as meditation and concentration support. Amethyst also stimulates the intellectual side of your life.
16. Round and oval-shaped mirrors in the bedroom are ideal. Full length dressing mirrors can be cleverly concealed inside a wardrobe. There should be no mirrors opposite your bed or at the side of your bed. Mirrors opposite the bed can attract a third party to the relationship.
17. In your kitchen, ensure that opposite your stove, there is no refrigerator, washing machine, washbasin and toilet. The fire and water crash causing family members to have disagreements.
18. Try not to allow children to sleep on mattresses on the floor. It causes young children to fall sick frequently. (Reason:chi will not be able to flow underneath the bed). It is also important to note that the gap between one's mattress and the floor needs to be kept clear. Sleeping directly on the floor is not ideal as it does not allow Chi to circulate below. Mattresses have the habit of absorbing Chi and need to be replaced regularly, turned regularly and given a good few hours in the sunshine every few months.
19. There should be no beam on top of your bed. The beam above causes chi to be pressured thus enabling you to have pressures in life. Also avoid sleeping under shelves heavily laden with books and old magazines. Overhead beams can be made to "disappear" by painting them the same color as the ceiling or installing a false ceiling.
20. If your child usually falls sick in the bedroom, hang a 5 rod metal wind chime as the metal element will break all the earth energies in that room.
21. Always open your bedroom windows at least once 20 min a day to allow fresh chi to come in.
22. Never give your loved one white roses. Reserve these flowers for mature people only.
23. For lovers, display a pair of mandarin ducks to symbolize happiness and fulfillment. If you are single, never display a pair of mandarin duck as this implies you wish to be single forever. Also make sure that the corners in your home is not excessively feminine.
24. Skylights are useful to bring in the extra light but there are also situations where they are best avoided. It is a feng shui no-no to include placing skylight over the cooker as this symbolizes losing your chi and losing the essence of your food out on the roof. Windows or skylights over your bed are not recommended as well since your chi is likely to be dispersed through them. This can also leave children feeling tired and drained.
25. Long straight roads generate plenty of negative chi. If this is being aimed directly at your front door, you need to screen it or deflect it. The path leading up to your front door needs to slow down the chi as it enters your home. A solid front gate can help slow the movement of negative Chi too.
26. Never place a water feature such as an aquarium or desktop fountain in the bedroom.
27. Peonies symbolize a happy love life and marriage luck. For a harmonious relationship between couples, display images or real bunches of peonies in the living room.
28. Fresh flowers in the bedroom is not conducive to harmony and love. Put them elsewhere outside the bedroom
29. Hang a painting of a phoenix to activate career luck.
30. Sleeping with the legs pointed towards the door symbolizes being carried into the “netherworld”.
31. Never sit with the door behind you in the office.
32. Display calligraphy of prosperity, good luck and fortune in the east, southeast, north and south areas.
33. A huge pile of papers on your work table symbolizes a mountain obstructing good Qi from coming to you and your work.
34. Tuck chinese coin tassels in books and ledgers to stimulate good business.
35. Place a picture of a mountain behind you in the office.
36. Tortoises are know as symbols of longevity and good health. Place tortoise items in the bedroom by the bedside.
37. There shouldn’t be any stairs at the entrance area of the home. Incorporate ascending steps towards the entrance door. A round rug at the foot of the stairs will allow the chi to circulate. If your doorsteps follow downwards instead, hang a wind chime between the door and stairs. In addition, stairs are best if they are solid. Openings at the back of each step allows the Chi to escape and hinder it from rising upwards. Spiral staircases on the other hand are feng shui no-no as they tend to dissipate and confuse the chi as it tries to rise or fall in the stair well.
38. Avoid putting in dirty linen basket in the southwest section of your bedroom. Current happy photos of you and your partner and symbols of relationships in the sector is ideal.
39. The best position for the main bedroom is furthest away from the front door, preferably diagonally opposite the entrance. Bedrooms positioned above garages are not adviseable as the dead space below you gives the bedroom a lack of support.
One needs to color the room wisely as well. Do not use harsh colors or colors opposing the furniture or artworks in your room. Where possible, derive the colors from your artwork to help create harmony. In your bedroom, blue while relaxing can be a little too cool. Yellow is very stimulating for the mind and you may become restless or spend hours each night reading. Peach-colored walls and furnishings are said to encourage affairs. All shades of red, including pink and salmon encourage romance.Sunny Yang colors are not good for bedrooms since its strong properties will make it hard for you to sleep. Use pastel colors instead.
40. Put your aquariums only in living rooms, offices and studies not in bedrooms, kitchen or bathrooms. If you have an aquarium, get some goldfish as they bring prosperity to your home or business. Keep your fish in quantities of three probably a total of nine.
41. Fresh air and sunlight are the best cure for moldy stale chi in the bathroom. If you have windows, open them daily and allow the sunlight.
42. Always have a wall behind your back and avoid a desk with windows behind you. This ensures that you are supported in all your career endeavors.
43. Beware of sharp wall edges directed at you or your child in the bedroom. Cover them up with curtains.
44. Hang a crystal by the window in your office or place on your table to activate positive chi as well as disperse negative ones.
45. Cranes are auspicious images of a long, fruitful life. Pace a crane figurine in areas where you and your family spend most of your time together.
46. Don’t install any water features and spiky plants such as cactus in sleeping areas as the are considered bedroom feng shui no-nos.
47. Furniture arrangements in the office should be in a neat position so the chi is able to flow smoothly. No odd angles and protruding anomalies.
48. Make your own wealth pot for wealth luck - fill a pot with coins, crystals, animal figurines and rice. Hide the pot in a cupboard.
49. There should be no tapering walls along the driveway to your home. A depletion of finances is bound to occur.
50. Keep your beds in a position that provides a solid wall behind you for support. Using this position puts you in visual command of the space and allows you to face life directly.
51. Never keep your working desk or computer in your bedroom. The logic behind this is that the energy of computer (work) and that of your rest (bed) are incompatible with each other.
52. Avoid the overhead beams, low side of a slanted ceiling, sharp angles from interior corners, and an overhead fan in a room with low ceiling in your bedrooms.
53. Hang a pink crystal in the right hand corner of your home and your bedroom to bring back the old passion to your relationship.
54. Your office must be organized and arranged efficiently. Clutter stimulates negative energy and should be kept to a minimum.
55. Keep your desk in a commanding position where you have direct view of the door, a pleasant view out the window and a wall behind you for stability.
56. The shape of your desk can affect your mood and level of productivity in the workplace. Rounded curves are flowing, encouraging the flow of creativity.
57. A kidney shaped desk follows the natural curves of the human body and is said to give you a subconscious feeling of inner alignment.
58. Place plants in your work and help you stay connected to the natural world. SInce the green color spurs creativity and new ideas, it helps you to have creative element in the office.
59. The best light is the natural daylight so move your desk close to a window but never have your desk directly in front of a window or fluorescent lights that cast a glare causing eyestrain and exhaustion.
60. Keeping plants in the office helps to have positive chi flow in corners which otherwise are neglected spaced devoid of any energy.
61. If the southeast corner of your backyard slopes down away from your house, place a light fixture in the area. Shine it up the hill towards your house to direct your wealth in it.
62. Start a fish tank or bowl and place in the wealth corner. As you feed your fish, see your finances growing. Pictures of water flowing will do as well.
63. If you have a window or door that allows you to see the back of the house from the front door, you are losing money. Opportunity might come but it easily gets lost.
64. Figurines of turtles, fishes or frogs are excellent accessories facing your front door. For example, place a frog in a dish of coins with the frog facing the door to symbolize a money bag.
65. As a kitchen tip, clear, glass canisters filled with rice, cookies or other foods symbolizes abundance.
66. Identify power spots in your home. They are directly related to your key issues. MONEY power spots: home office (if you've got one), the kitchen, wherever you usually pay bills and manages finances. CAREER power spots: front door, home office, any space where you work at home, any space where you study if you are taking classes related to your career. RELATIONSHIP power spots: your bedroom, living room, any place where you and your partner frequently spend time together.FAMILY power spots: living room, dining room, den. HEALTH Power spots: bedroom, kitchen and dining room.
67. Doors that are difficult to open are bad feng shui. This makes us difficult to progress in life. Once you've got squeaking or hard to open doors, fix them instantly as these are feng shui no-nos. Also keep the door clean, freshly painted and the hinges and locks need to be regularly oiled. Also make sure that your front door bell works and is easy to locate.
68. A cracked mirror can result in a flawed perception of yourself or a situation.Anything reflected in the mirror will be cracked as well literally or symboically.
69. Windows are regarded as the eyes of the home . They need to be large enough to allow light and chi to infuse our rooms and not too small to leaving you feeling like a recluse. Too many windows relative to the size of your space will make you feel too active. It can also serve as a bigger problem with children making them hyperactive. Dirty windows makes it hard to see clearly. This can manifest as physical eye problems or psychological ones.
70. Burnt bulbs, fixtures that don't work and inadequate lighting contribute to lack of vision, energy and initiative in that certain area related to one's life.
71. Dirt and clutter are examples of negative chi (or Sha chi). There are also other forms of negative chi affecting one's home and life. Examples of sha chi are the following: exterior "secret arrows" aimed at the house from neighboring structures, interior "secret arrows" caused by angled walls and exposed ceiling beams. Secret arrows are caused when chi flows along a smooth wal or surface and comes to a sharp angle or corner as these create turbulent energy. Another example of Sha Chi would be "fighting doors" or those that touch when opened for it can lead to increased conflict and arguments at home.
72. Flow of smooth chi will also be disrupted by sharp corner of a table, sharp shelf edges, even points, angles on a lighting fixture or a piece of statue. A sharp angle can be "cured" by placing a large plant in front of it, drape a piece of fabric over it, hang a crystal ball or wind chime on top of it.
73. A good way to remove old and unpleasant energy from one's house is to use an orange peel cure. The aroma of fresh oranges is effective at removing negativity.
74. Energy should not disapper so quickly it has no time to do good. If your front door has an unimpeded view to the back door, block it with screens.
75. Busy streets, train tracks generate energy that move too fast to enter your home. A wall, tree, shrub can slow down or screen out fast moving negative energy. If possible keep a bamboo plant near your front door. Bamboo is a symbol of good luck. You'll attract goodness within and part of it is financial security.
76. Intersections create lots of chi. If your front door is not well situated, it could become bombarded with energy making relaxation impossible.
77. Furniture should facilitate movement and conversation. SInce the living room is a yang area, add yin influences with plants, soft cushions and perhaps a fish tank. There should be an even number of seats in the living room and the most comfortable seat should be reserved for a guest and should never have its back facing a door. Seating in the living room should be placed in a way that breaks up direct pathways. Avoiding placing the back of a lounge chair directly towards a wall.
78. Always make chi's formal entry and access from the street inviting. Overgrown hedges, hidden doors and im lighting are all barriers to chi. In one's home, chi likes to flow in gentle curves and will exit through side doors and windows. Long straight corridors will funnel chi quickly towards what's at the end.
79. Mirrors should not face a bed because the spirit leaves the body at night and sometimes might get upset at seeing its reflection causing a disturbed sleep.
80. Round dining room tables are best since the circle symbolizes heavenly blessings. Similar to living rooms, chairs should be of an even number and should be comfortable.
81. Food represents wealth in feng shui. Therefore, the kitchen can generate general happiness. Kitchens should have a balance of fire and water elements.
81. The bathroom is the most yin room in the house because of the presence of water. Yang elements such as bright colors or candles may be added in the bathroom.
82. Gardens create a pleasant view. They should contain balance and have a natural look. Flowering plants will bring good luck.
83. In Feng shui, four is the worst number because in cantonese when spoken, this sounds like a word for death. Thirteen is also unlucky since if you add 1+3=4.
84. There should be no shoes or slippers lying around outside the main door of your house. Allow space at the main door to be free and clear.
85. Chi travels about in your house looking for water to stay. If there are no water fountains or fish tanks, the chi will be dispersed by the wind.
86. If after placing a fish tank in your home for about 4 months and you get lawsuits, bankruptcy, work pressure and other probels, shift your fish tank to another location.
87. For young children, try to have their back to the wall when they write. This allows the child support and avoid letting them move about and get distracted from homework.
88. Your bed should always have a solid wall behind you. It simply means that you can go into deeper sleep and therefore enable you to have a good rest.
89. If you have a lot of work pressure, maybe its the marble table in your dining room. Change it to a wooden one.
90. Do not use a red sofa set. The color red represents the elements of fire. Having a red sofa set may increase one's heavy work pressure, troubles and obstacles.
91. In feng shui, it is more recommended to use gas rather than electricity or microwaves in the kitchen, It will definitely change the chi for the better.
92. Keeping your cupboard and your fridge well stocked implies abundance. Doing this exudes the Chi of richness, generosity and hospitality.
93. As much as possible, avoid having the bathroom opposite the kitchen. The leap from the preparation of food to the elimination of food is too violent.
94. Avoid placing a toilet adjacent to the front door. The doorway is the mouth of our home whereas the toilet it at the other end of this process.
95. The worst location of the toilent is in the middle of the home. It is a feng shui disaster when it comes to your health and wealth as the toilet is associated with waste and loss. If a toilet is centrally located in the house, place a full length mirror on both sides of the door if you can't persuade yourself to use the room as a storage room.
96. Dripping taps encourage you to waste money, noisy plumbing are disturbing on a subliminal level. Keep the bathroom light, airy and well lit.
97. Place fresh cut flower in a vase in your peach blossom sector to attract lover. Your peach blossom sector is in the south if your animal sign is Snake, Rooster or Ox.
98. Every morning, we wake up to new possibilities. The image in front of our bed needs to bear this out rather than a blank wall or an image of struggle. It is a great motivation to be greeted by an image on the wall ahead of you. The image needs to be both tranquil and uplifting.
99. Sometimes we consider that we have 2 front doors. Having these can cause unnecessary bickering and arguing amongst the occupants. The size of the front door also needs to be proportional to the size of your home. You might lose opportunities if it's too big while occupants are most likely to argue if it's too small. In addition, if a front door is made up of 2 panel sections, they need to be identical in terms of color and design as irregularities can also lead to disagreements.
100. How you position the number of your house can also have a subtle effect. For example if your house number is 22, position the second number slightly higher than the first!