Feng Shui Reflux

When feng shui first hit the western marketplace, the bookstores became inundated with books on what we all must do to get our energies lined up–that’s what the proper feng shui was purported to do. That sounded fine, so how to go about it? There came the first problem.

Of the half dozen or so books that I looked through while standing there in front of the bookstore display, I saw as many different approaches to center my life and feel my energy surging with rebirth. Most of it had to do with moving furniture, if re-building the house was not an option. But again, each book had a different idea on what was optimal. Just in my bedroom alone I could see a kaleidoscope of never-ending ideas of where to place the bed in relation to the door, to the mirror, to the windows, and to the corners of the room, not to mention the north, south, east, and west of it. It would have been impossible to adhere to all the rules represented in all of those books and still have had the bed in the bedroom. That’s when I gave up and wrote feng shui off as the latest fad that we Americans are so good at propagating.

But yesterday, there it was again, attempting a valiant comeback through the credibility of the Today Show…and if you see it on the Today Show, you know it has to be true, right?

Campbell Brown’s office was the test ground–or the make-over ground–and we all know how in make-overs are. And it was true that Campbell’s office was definitely in a state of feng shui distress–even I could see that.

So, the feng shui make-over people had 24 hours in which to do their thing. I was expecting the spectacular. Perhaps that was the problem.

The unveiling came with the usual fanfare and proclamations of miracles. But what had actually been done? You know what? They just cleaned! I mean, they did a good job and all–and they filed all of those messy stacks of papers, shelved all of the books that had been lying about in disheveled heaps, cleared the desk top, and otherwise generally straightened up, but that was it. Not one piece of furniture got moved–not one bit, although they did add a small bookshelf to accommodate the overflow of reading material–Campbell must be a bookworm.

So now I know what ‘feng shui’ means-it’s Chinese for ‘cleaned up.’ That’s easy enough. And the good news is that I’ve been practicing feng shui all my life and in the most unlikely of places. Like in clothing stores.

When I go shopping I just can’t stand to see clothes lying on the floor, having slipped from their hangers to get there. I always pick them up. Yesterday, armed with the knowledge of all the good feng shui I was creating, I really had a heyday–was it fate or karma (or are they the same?) that created so many opportunities? I re-file clothes too. More free feng shui for the stores. I really should charge. Some stores in particular are famous for having no rhyme nor reason for where specific sizes appear, regardless of the rack markers that lead you to believe otherwise. Lots to do in that department yesterday.

Then I came home and practiced feng shui in my back yard. I raked leaves and cleaned up the summer flowers to get ready for the fall ones–even planted a few of those. And that did have the sought-after effect. I felt calmer and more creative just for being able to look out on all that feng shui. Maybe these experts know what they are talking about after all. Feng shui de-mystified at last–and amazingly, it does work. No need to buy a how-to book or hire an expert–just clean up a bit and you’ll see for yourself.