By Maria McCullough

“Do what you can, with what you have, with where you are.” — Theodore Roosevelt

IN FENG SHUI THERE ARE NOT MANY HARD AND FAST RULES, but rather recommendations. The most important thing is that you live with what you love.

The exceptions are areas that can specifically drain your Chi, or vital life energy. For these areas there are a few rules that, when followed, create a more balanced environment, and hence a more balanced life.

In an ideal environment the Chi enters through the threshold (Mouth of Chi) and meanders happily and slowly through the house, moving in a circular direction through each of the Bagua areas back to the center and continuously around. It does not get trapped in closets, stumble over clutter or shoot through windows, down toilets or down stairways.

The Feng Shui Bagua (Ba-gua) Map is represented as a grid of nine sectors. The Bagua comes from the Chinese philosophy, “The I Ching,” and literally means “eight trigrams.” Learn all about it in my next class on Sat. May 18.

When structural imbalances occur there are specific Feng Shui cures and corrections that can keep the negative energy from wearing away at us like water dripping on a stone.

In this column I’ve chosen to focus on three common concerns that have arisen through a number of home consultations:

1) Stairways and Hallways

2) Large Windows Facing the Front Door

3) Beams

All three of these are referred to as “Rivers of Chi,” where the vital energy flows too fast and out of our lives.

If you have other concerns, you are welcomed to email me and they can be addressed in future columns.

Stairways and hallways — Raging rivers

We call stairs raging rapids and rivers because they can become powerful waterfalls of Chi, especially if they point out the front entrance. In this case the nourishing Chi pours right out the door, often taking health and good fortune with it. Rooms at the top of a staircase are continually pulled with the force of the descent, while rooms at the bottom are flooded with too much energy.

Corrections: The key here is to bring out balance of peaceful waters. When you’re working with stairways that face doorways, you need to do your best to stop the flow of Chi from rolling out the door by installing some kind of aesthetic barrier between door and stairs, such as a screen, plant, furniture or art. When this is not possible, hang a mirror above or next to the door facing the stairs, or hang a round-faceted crystal above the bottom step to catch and recirculate the Chi. Be careful not to accentuate the waterfall design by hanging art in a descending order. Use your art to uplift the energy by hanging it in a straight line.

Just like stairs, halls and long corridors in your home or office can act as raging rivers, moving the energy through too fast. Long halls speed people up.

Corrections: To balance, these hallways need to be broken up into human-friendly parts. To slow down a hallway, arrange art, mirrors, lights, furniture and carpets to suggest a series of niches to slow down the Chi. You can create points of interest by placing plants, furniture, art and statuary. Avoid placing a mirror at the end of a long corridor, as this doubles the size of the hallway; instead place mirrors on the side of hallways across from doors to rooms, which widens the appearance of the hall.

Windows — Pathway for escaping Chi

Windows are considered the eyes of the house. They bring beautiful natural light and nourish you with the energy from beautiful views. But as with stairways, when placed directly in front of the front door a pathway is created that pulls the Chi too quickly across and out of the room. Attractive as this may be, especially with expansive water views, this can leave the home “undernourished.” Remember that ideally, we want the Chi to meander slowly through the house.

Corrections: When you have a large window and a door lined up directly across from each other, place something between them, such as an aquarium, sculpture, plants, flowers or a piece of furniture. You can also soften the window with curtains or blinds. When there is no space for these things, hang a round-faceted crystal between window and door, or hang a small mirror above or beside the window to redirect the energy back into the room.

Beams — Channels for Chi

Exposed beams are a popular structural feature in Western architecture, and are often thought to add character to a room. The downside is that they can also add a troublesome sense of heaviness over people’s heads. Since they usually are meant to hold considerable weight as part of the structure, they can create strong lines of Chi as hallways do. The bigger and darker they are, the more they require Feng Shui balancing.

Corrections: To bring beams into balance, you can do a few things:

1) Paint the beam, as well as the ceiling, a light color to lift up its visual presence.

2) Symbolically break the line of force by placing two pieces of bamboo at angles pointing up along each beam. This breaks up the Chi and recirculates it.

3) Literally lighten up a beam by stringing white tiny lights along them, or place uplighting directly beneath to lift them from below.

4) Balance and soften the beam by hanging swags, textiles ribbons or banners. Remember that most beams are made of wood, and to balance the wood you need to introduce the metal element through light colors or curves, circular shapes. See my column on balancing the elements at fengshuibymaria.com/newspaper-columns.html (September
2011).

“I’m always rushing. I feel like I can never catch up,” I heard someone say this the other day, and it made me wonder what was causing the energy to rush through her house, and what simple corrections she could make to slow it down. Our home and work environments are vibrantly alive and completely interconnected with the rest of our lives. When our choices in selecting and arranging our environments are focused on keeping the vital energy circulating throughout in a harmonious and peaceful way, there is a greater chance for peace, harmony and balance in our lives.

Affirmations and inner work

Beams symbolize burdens. Are you feeling overwhelmed or burdened by something in life? Face what is weighing you down and take steps to lift your spirits and bring joy into your life.

A possible affirmation that could be stated or written is, “All is well. Everything is working out for my highest good.”

Feng Shui at work

My daughter purchased a fourplex in Long Beach. At first she struggled with keeping the units rented and money from flowing out because of maintenance issues. While visiting I did a consultation on her building. The most glaring concern was that as you opened the front door, you were faced by a tall staircase leading right out the front door. Each of the four units was on either side of this staircase.

I immediately recommended that she place a mirror above the door facing the stairs, thereby keeping the energy within. Since this was the center of the complex, she grounded it with earth-tone art hung in a horizontal row on either side. She also slowed the flow of Chi by placing a gold and green flower-pattern runner on the stairs.

Now all units have been successfully rented, and all maintenance has been completed. She has made enough on this complex to be able to buy two more buildings.

A client had just moved into a new home after a stressful divorce and was concerned about the heavy beams in her master bedroom, which was also painted a dark shade of brown. It looked oppressive. I recommended she lighten and brighten the room by painting it a soft shade of cream with the beams to match. Being in her Love and Romance area, I also recommended accent enhancements in shades of reds or pinks, hanging romantic art and displaying pairs of objects (two candles, lovebirds, two statues, two hearts, etc.) On my follow-up visit the room had transformed into a light, airy boudoir and my client expressed that she loves the room and has started dating again.

Many houses in Benicia have sweeping water views. Unfortunately many are built so that when you open the front door you are swept away with the breathtaking view, and so is your Chi — swept away right through your house.

Clients with houses like these have experienced financial losses and suffered health issues. Without reducing the view, some have blocked the river of Chi from escaping by placing a piece of furniture or a beautiful plant between the front door and the windows. Others have hung decorative mirrors above or beside the glass, or hung a 30-mm, round-faceted crystal somewhere in the room between door and window. It’s important to find the barrier that best suits your taste and lifestyle, and yet keeps the vital energy within your home.

“Views are often more enticing when ‘discovered’ rather than immediately apparent.” —Terah Collins

Feng Shui on a shoestring

Feng Shui enhancements do not have to cost a great deal. Just moving a plant between an expansive window and a front door can work wonders in slowing down an otherwise damaging river of Chi.

Learn more

For questions or home consultations email me at mtmccull@aol.com and put “Feng Shui” in the subject line; visit my website, where you can read past columns; or Facebook “Feng Shui by Maria,” where I post pictures as examples to enhancements. You can also check out my blog — just go to the website and click on “Blog,” where you can view many pictures and where I will respond to your questions quickly.

Until then … Blessings!

Benicia resident Maria McCullough is the owner and founder of Feng Shui by Maria. She is a speaker and educator with more than 15 years’ experience specializing in residential, landscape and business consultations.