|
Whether or not we are conscious of it, our surroundings influence
us continuously. Even when we don’t realize it, we experience feng
shui (pronounced fung shway). When we walk into an unfamiliar space
and feel welcome and at ease, we are responding to skillful feng
shui. On the other hand, when we are in a place with unfortunate
feng shui, we usually find ourselves looking for the nearest exit.
Feng shui, the Chinese art of placement, evolved from the observation
that people are influenced by their surroundings. More than five
thousand years ago, perceptive people realized that everything in
the environment had an effect. The search for antidotes to the problems
encountered in certain places fueled the development of the art
of feng shui, which was used to maximize the effect of positive
influences and minimize or deflect negative influences.
Feng shui uses a variety of solutions to alter, moderate, or enhance
place energy. Mirrors, used so often that they are called the aspirin
of feng shui, work with the energy of light and have the potential
to reflect or attract energy, open up space, and give the illusion
of expanse. We gain opportunities of all kinds by hanging mirrors
in our space to augment the natural views that come in our windows
or doors. Mirrors may be used to draw in auspicious energy, like
a water view. Water represents wealth, so mirroring any water we
may have in our view effectively brings that wealth into our space.
Mirrors also have a transmitting effect, providing a way through
something difficult. An unfortunate design feature in some homes
causes us to face a wall when we walk in the front door. This blocking
wall frustrates our sense of arrival because it demands an immediate
change of direction as soon as we enter. A mirror hung on the blocking
wall can both absorb and send energies at the same time; the mirror
absorbs natural views when the front door is open, and provides
a symbolic window through the blocking wall we face when we enter,
thus allowing the energy to penetrate a space that otherwise feels
closed or obstructed to us.
Mirrors can also enlarge our perspective and expand an area. Mirroring
conference or meeting rooms helps to amplify the perspective and
perception of participants. Placing mirrors across from each other
in a narrow hall expands the space and clears our minds each time
we pass between them. Mirroring small areas we must frequently pass
through helps to align or clarify our personal energy and keep us
from feeling constricted as we negotiate these narrows.
Mirrors are used to deflect killing energy—the kind of energy
received by a home located at the end of a T-junction—or push
back energies, like the mirror hung on the outside of the bathroom
door to keep the energy from going in and down the drains. The powerful
bagua mirror, a common fixture on homes in Hong Kong, consists of
a round mirror one or two inches in diameter mounted in a painted
octagonal wooden frame. Placed halfway between the eave or porch
roof that is above the front door, this mirror is used to deflect
a host of potential negative neighborhood influences.
When Kim put up a bagua mirror, it was for a dog problem. Kim liked
gardening, but avoided going into her backyard when her neighbor’s
dog was out because it would bark and run at the fence each time
Kim appeared. Kim hung up a bagua mirror and visualized that the
angry dog energy was deflected up into the sky. Thereafter, she
could go into her backyard when the neighbor dog was out and the
dog no longer barked and ran at the fence. Kim was pleased that
she could finally plant and enjoy a garden in her own backyard.
A well-placed mirror gives us the security of being able to see
who might be coming up behind us if we aren’t able to turn our desk
or bed so that it faces the door. A feeling of security is also
created by placing a mirror behind our cook stoves to allow the
person working at the stove to see what is happening in the room.
When we put a mirror in place for a feng shui solution, the following
guidelines apply. Use big—the bigger the better—high quality mirrors
placed well, not too high or low; it is especially important to
hang the mirror so as not to cut off the top of people’s heads—we
don’t want to give anyone a headache. Mirror tiles are unacceptable
because they break the image up and confuse the viewer. Clarity
is a necessary and significant element of the mirrors we use in
feng shui to solve home energy problems.
Adapted from Lindsay’s book Placement Art: A Beginner’s
Guide to Feng Shui, published by Weatherhill, 1998. Lindsay,
feng shui consultant, writer, and educator lives in Western North
Carolina and can be reached at PlaceArt@aol.com
or (828)645-1071.
|
