Five schools of feng shui focus on different ways the environment affects people's lives
By: Alexa Blatz
Posted: 10/24/05
Earth, metal, water, wood and fire are the five basic elements of nature. They are also what the ancient art of feng shui revolves around.
Connie Spruill of the Feng Shui Institute of America said that in Chinese, feng shui stands for wind-water.
"I know that (feng shui) works. There is some kind of magic to it. The magic is the mindset of the person." -Connie Spruill Feng Shui Institute of America
Feng shui is the science of person, place and connection, she said. It is how people connect with physical space and how it communicates with them.
"You can change any type of living space and make it feng shui; however, it doesn't work with cluttered space," Spruill said. "It can be used with any age group."
Freshman Aislinn Thompson said her mom got into feng shui about one year ago because her 60-year-old friend introduced her to it.
"She's kind of a worldly person who travels a lot," she said.
Thompson said she thinks feng shui is more prevalent among people in their 30s and 40s.
"I don't think many college students know about it," she said.
Bonnie Feltz, a registered interior designer at Department of Interiors Ltd., 4118 Birch Crest Lane, said feng shui is not a new trend. It has been around for a long time.
About 2,000 years ago, feng shui originated in China, she said.
"In the last 10 years, it's become more popular around here," Feltz said, and it's used worldwide."
There are four different types, or schools, Spruill said, including Pyramid, Compass, Forn and Black Sect.
Pyramid feng shui tests to see what type of elements are inside and outside the person in order to see what kinds of items would fit into his or her life, Feltz said. This type of feng shui is designed to help the person more than other types because of the testing system, she said.
Spruill said in the Pyramid school, it's important to find out what is missing in a person's life so that person can work with the physical environment to help his or herself.
"Forn school is the oldest of feng shui. It originated in the ancient times," she said. "It involves using surroundings to position things so they protect people from certain elements."
Another type, Black Sect school, originated from the Buddhist religion, Spruill said. Most of the symbols used come from that religion.
She said the Compass school is based on time, date and when a person was born. It's not about where a person is facing, but what he or she is
looking at.
"The meaning of all this is to help achieve the goals you are striving for," Feltz said.
For example, if people have hectic lives, they could create an environment in their bedrooms to help calm themselves down, she said.
"I know that (feng shui) works," Spruill said. "There is some kind of magic to it. The magic is the mindset of the person."
Feltz said people not only are making changes in the home, but they also are making changes toward a positive mental attitude.
"It's not what the person is doing, but what the environment is doing for the person," she said.
To some degree, Thompson said, the environment her mom creates at home does affect her.
"Our home is very inviting," she said.
An example of creating an inviting home would be having a chair on the right as a person enters the room, Feltz said. It shows people entering that they are welcome to come in. It is courtesy to offer them a place to sit down and take off their shoes.
"My parents sometimes strategically place their furniture in our house to evoke feelings of welcome-ness, inviting and comforting," Thompson said.
Feng shui can be compared to yoga in the sense that it could be either religious or simply calming, Feltz said. It depends on the person and which school he or she is using.
Spruill said in order for feng shui to work, people have to surround themselves with objects that have positive feelings. It's important to bring new things into life and let go of the old things.