subject: Achieving Harmony With The Power Of Chi [print this page] Karma is about facing up to actions that must definitely be taken in this life, as a result of past actions. Chi is about flow, the natural flow of wind and water the literal translation of Feng Shui.
There isn't any equivalent word in English for Chi. If you concentrate on yourself, and everything, without the tangible trappings of life, the mechanism of existence, the past, the present, the future, desires, wants, needs what's left that supports you and all life? Now you may come close to understanding Ch.
Chi flows thru everybody, and all of nature, and all of our human works as well. That Native americans call it Spirit, though that's also not an acceptable translation of a concept that's sometimes as hard to grasp as air itself. Chi wishes uninterrupted flow, to be in a position to pass delicately and freely through curving space. If it is encircled, or forced in freakish lines, it becomes stagnant or disruptive. This is the accepted principle of Feng Shui.
In the west, we almost appear to be at war with Chi. We do not permit it straightforward access or departure or permit it to flow naturally and gracefully thru our antagonistic buildings and box like homes. Built to a firm pattern, our homes reject and confuse the flow of Chi.
Chi comes in at the front door. The front door is the mouth that opens and breathes in the flow of Chi. But what takes place when Chi enters most houses? In some, it stagnates in a stuffy, closed off box called a corridor, in others it rebounds off hard bright shiny surfaces and mirrors and goes right back out again. What it should do is find a softly curving path to flow easily through the rooms and noiselessly exit to freedom again.
Dust, litter, and too much hard bright glossy stuff distracts Chi, leading it to settle and stagnate in odd corners. Alternatively, too much empty minimalist space, too many straight lines, makes it rush through the house, leaving a sense of emptiness and loss.
If you want to know how Chi operates, it's not difficult to do so. You don't have to know about baguas, cures or where to hang wind chimes just be the Chi. Flow into your place thru the front door, move gently and simply around and see where your trail takes you. You will quickly see, thru the eyes of Chi, where things go screwy, where you run up against upsetting obstacles, stumble over badly places objects and run right out of pleasure.
If you can walk straight in the front door and straight out the back door, so can Chi. If you get blocked, irritated or rapped, so will Chi.
The other way you can understand Chi is just to sit, noiselessly, in a chair or on the settee and open your senses to everything around you. Can't relax? Too much mess, too much to be done? Do dark corners and shadows cause a sense of unease? Or do you all of a sudden feel depressed and lacking energy? Would more light, warm bright colors or freshly cut flowers lift your spirits?
Your own instincts will tell you what needs to be done to 'cure' your house.
