Chinese philosophy believes that man stands between two divine forces – heaven and earth. Heaven represents man’s destiny while earth represents man’s effort for personal growth and transformation. Learning to live in alignment and harmony with these forces is the study and aim of feng shui.
To understand the will of heaven, feng shui practitioners seek guidance from astrology and I Ching (a tool for divination). To harness the forces of earth, feng shui adepts assess the environment in which man lives and works.

To the Chinese, earth is a living and breathing organism. The flow of her energy is expressed in the terrain – the slow, steep climb up the mountains, the rushed descent down the ravines and valleys, the smooth flow through the plains and the gentle pause for rest and nourishment on the banks of a river.
Extreme environment produces extreme people. It is not difficult to associate the aggressive mountains of Afghanistan with the rebels and terrorists who seek its refuge. It is equally easy to see how almost every ancient civilization was born and flourished along the calm and fertile shores of a river.
In the microcosm, the flow of earth’s energies can be assessed in the buildings that we live and work in: their shape, external surroundings, internal layout, compass alignment, road formations, presence of water and many other factors help in determining whether the structure is in harmony with nature or not.
Whilst swimming, it is necessary to understand the current of the water and to go with the flow. If aligned correctly, the force of the water guides and supports you in moving towards your goal. However, if you disregard the current and try to swim against the flow, the result is invariably a struggle and frustration.
Similarly, a building that is aligned with the cosmic forces is able to support its occupants far better than one that ignores it. Authentic feng shui is based on Taoist principles, the root of which is learning to “Go with the Flow”.
In recent years, Feng Shui has become popular as a tool for attracting and enhancing wealth, health, relationships, power and prestige. Unscrupulous feng shui practitioners would like us to believe that all our worldly problems are a result of ‘bad’ feng shui, which can be easily remedied by placing 3-legged toads, wind chimes and Chinese gods in precise locations.
However, authentic feng shui teaches us that our outer world is merely a reflection of our inner world. The cause of our problems is not the mis-alignment of the building, rather we are attracted to a particular building because it resonates our own mis-alignment! In the eyes of a skilled feng shui practitioner, the building where we live and work describes the inner struggles and blockages of the occupants. By treating and remedying the outer world, we receive the strength to re-align ourselves in our inner world. Feng shui is therefore often described as acupuncture in space.
It is only when our outer and inner world are in harmony, that true balance is achieved. From this balance arises lasting joy, beauty, creativity, love and abundance.