Part I: Feng Shui and Better Paths
→ Quality and Movement of Qi
Form and Flow
Perception and Cognition
A few weeks ago, a bus hit a house located on a street that formed the base of a "T" with another street. The report mentioned that there had been other similar incidents involving this house. For people who know a little about Feng Shui they understand that houses at “T” intersections represent bad energy. A look at the internet and you find that along with “T” intersections, there are curves, angles, and hidden/poison arrows that follow "rules" of this Chinese art. For most people, this information seems sufficient.
However, there are beautiful houses in the same situations without buses invading them; and when you acknowledge that possibility, you need to take your search beyond the general rules of Feng Shui, and understand that each case is singular.
To begin, it is important to understand the difference between the types of vital energy known as Qi. First, there are three qi qualities that should be analyzed and according to his book, Feng Shui Clássico nos Novos Tempos, Mark Murakami explains that they are:
SHENG QI - vibrant, growing energy - yang energy.... having vibrant healthy energy flow. Feng Shui should encourage this type;
SHA QI - destructive energy – cutting, moving too fast, oppressive energy flow. It is also called the "assassin’s breath". Feng Shui should block or divert this type;
SI QI – dead energy - very yin, slow and decadent, stagnant energy. Feng Shui should disperse this type.
It is also important to analyze the movement of Qi. Murakami explains two types of movements like this:
CHENG QI - Great focus of movement and energetic stimulus, usually favored by topography, natural and artificial forms (buildings, space (being used) and structures, colors, and lights often recognizable for their intensity, wind flow and/or water (waterfalls, rivers, etc.). In urban areas, Cheng Qi can be found in pedestrian routes, traffic, and intense audiovisual stimuli.
JU QI - Points of vigorous energy accumulation (external) such as swimming pools, lakes, open parking lots, etc., or internal areas like large halls, ballrooms, bedrooms and living rooms, etc.
When we start looking at Qi flow in and around forms in cities and in nature in terms of quality and movement, we are on the way to understanding how the "rules" of Feng Shui came into being.
So what can you do with this information? Take a look around your home and work and decide what kind of Qi is moving in and around those environments - internally and externally. What is the quality: Sheng, Sha ou Si Qi? What about the movement and flow: is it Cheng ou Ju Qi? How do these two aspects of Qi integrate? Go beyond your environments, take a walk through your neighborhood, take a few pictures! In Part II, we'll take a look at how perception and recognition come into play.
