"God made man like his Maker"
Humans should build houses that resemble their own image. For example: Symmetrical exterior – main entrance should be in the center Asymmetrical interior – interior rooms should be laid out asymmetrically Opening (eyes, mouth, nose) in front – should face a nice open space Support (spine) in back – should back up to a mountain Protection (arms and legs) from both sides – should have nice neighboring houses on left and right.

– Dr. Shan-Tung Hsu

Feng Shui is an ancient tradition that provides guidance for human beings to live in harmony with the laws of nature. In our modern world, many of us feel removed from these natural laws. Having heard that understanding the wisdom of feng shui enables us to enhance prosperity, health and loving relationships, we seek to apply it to our lives. As feng shui has gained popularity in the Western world, more books and classes are available than ever before. But people often find that the more feng shui books they read, the more confused they become. The first book sounds interesting, the second one contradicts the first, and the third one doesn't make any sense at all. At this point, many people simply walk away, rejecting feng shui as a fad or Eastern mysticism. How can we tell what is real feng shui?

A Universal Approach to Living

Although it was developed in China, feng shui is in fact the same knowledge that was applied by people in different traditional cultures all over the world throughout history. In modern times, we have grown apart from this simple, common sense approach to life; all our choices easily lead us astray. If we want to blast a tunnel through a mountain or build on a flood plain, we can, but we have lost our instinctual sense of the balance between the human being and the natural world and are often faced with consequences different from those we intended. True feng shui offers a return to this understanding of natural balance as well as methods for applying this ancient wisdom to modern life. Because feng shui is in tune with natural principles that are universal, it rises above religion, belief systems, or cultural differences. Feng shui is open to everyone and universally relevant.

Philosophy, Science and Art

One way to express the philosophy of feng shui is the saying, "Live in harmony with nature; live in tune with the heart." This is the core concept of feng shui knowledge. It stresses that human beings are living in the way that is best for them when they are also living in a way that accords with natural energy that follows the same patterns everywhere.

Feng shui can be regarded as a science, because the knowledge it provides can be verified by experience. It requires no "suspension of disbelief" or faith in magic; rather, the principles can be studied and applied, and the results evaluated to see if they are in accord with what was learned.

Feng shui is also an art. Rather than a rigid collection of rules to be followed, it is a way of seeing a set of tools which can be used in a myriad of ways. It is like the single tree that supports the growth of a hundred different blossoms. Instead of a "paint-by-numbers" kit which defines not only the outline of the picture, but also the locations and boundaries of every individual color, feng shui provides the paint box full of colors to be used according to the individual artist's choice.