"Feng Shui teaches us how to create harmony and balance around us," says Stanley Bartlett, who uses the centuries-old art to design homes and businesses. The ideas date back at least 3,000 years, yet a growing number of architects and decorators are integrating feng shui ideas with contemporary building design. Feng shui (pronounced fung shway) is an intuitive art. Designers and decorators claim that they can "feel" positive energy -- called ch'i. But architects who incorporate the Eastern philosophy are not guided by intuition alone. The ancient art prescribes lengthy and complex rules that may strike modern homeowners as quirky. For example, your home should not be built at the end of a dead-end road. Round pillars are better than square. Ceilings should be high and well-lit.

To further confuse the uninitiated, there Yet even the most baffling practices have a basis in common sense. For example, feng shui principles warn that a kitchen door should not face the stove. The reason? A person working at the stove may instinctively want to glance back at the door. This creates a feeling of unease, which can lead to accidents. Feng Shui teaches us how to create harmony and balance around us. We say "as goes our environment so goes us" and vice versa. This means that if we pay attention to our environment then we will find ways of creating different realities in our lives. Literally translated from Chinese , Feng Shui, means wind and water.

This is actually an inadequate interpretation due to the complexities of translating Chinese calligraphy into English. A few symbols in Chinese can tell an entire story. Upon further study we find that Feng Shui is an expression of the oneness and interconnectedness of all things on all levels and all dimensions. This is a key concept in understanding how our essence relates to everything else around us including our environment. As one begins to sense this oneness we then find that it is possible to gather insight from looking at our environment with "larger eyes". We often say that Feng Shui teaches us what we already know. One powerful way to start using the principles of Feng Shui is to first hold the image of the perfect environment in your mind.

Such an image might elicit a feeling of love, protection , and perfect harmony all around you. When you near the entrance to your driveway you begin to get this feeling that it is really good to be coming home. Notice how beautiful all the trees and animals are--so free and happy. Upon opening the front door your heart opens wide with this overwhelming feeling of love and harmony. The inner entrance contains a beautiful fountain with the sound of gentle flowing water. A place for everything and everything in its place takes on newmeaning as you realize that you have completed the process of freeing yourself of everything you no longer need and want.

The beautiful balanced use of colors throughout resonates with the gorgeous plants welcoming you as if they are truly happy that you are home. You realize that this place you call home has become so nurturing to you that you now carry this memory in your consciousness with you even when you are away traveling. It has given new meaning to the phrase home is where the heart is. Feng Shui also has a way of using colors to create balance. There are several philosophies about color but they are all based on the principle that every color has a unique vibrational frequency. Feng Shui seeks to have all colors in harmonic balance with a representation of each of the primary colors in your space.

This might be thought of in a similar way to the 7 colors of the chakras, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple. It is fine to have white walls and then balance out the colors with the rugs, pictures chairs etc. Avoid too much of any one color such as brown floor, brown walls, brown ceiling. Feng Shui stresses the importance of integrating the practical/tangible issues with the transcendental/intangible aspects. The practical/tangible aspects include such issues as color, placement of furniture, lighting, doorways, floor plans, electrical pollution, air quality etc. Simply said, feng shui means living in balance with nature.