Should I Buy into Feng Shui?

A guest once made a troubling observation in my home. I had just redone my kitchen as part of a larger renovation after a tree hit my house. Following a friend's advice, I'd removed a lovely original (1929) swinging door between the kitchen and dining room, opting for a wider opening. The idea was for it to line up perfectly with the French doors on the opposite dining room wall, which in turn, opened to the living room. Thus, from the kitchen I could see clear through to the other end of the house. Lovely.

Or so I thought, because subsequently another friend pointed out that this was against feng shui principles. She claimed that the lack of barriers from one room to the next made it too easy for evil spirits to float from one space to another (which explained why sometimes I have to wind around a labyrinth of doorways to enter a Chinese restaurant). I worried about my feng shui faux pas, as I do about everything. But the damage was done.

Hoping to allay my fears, I decided to learn more and see whether or not I should buy into feng shui. Having spent off and on nearly 5 years in Hong Kong and China, I ought to know a thing or two about feng shui, but I don't, other than that the Mandarin translation for feng is wind and shui is water. The idea is to achieve harmony and the flow of energy between you and your environment.

I figured my friend Ellie would tell me all I needed to know, since she's a spiritual vegetarian who uses healers and, therefore, seemed to fit the feng shui profile. But she also has a practical side as evidenced by her response, "Oh gosh, no! I don't like all the mirrors and rules." She went on to say feng shui might direct me to put mirrors in strategic places and orient my bed so that it provides a view of the door (which may be the only thing feng shui has in common with The Mob). This bed orientation gave me pause, because I feel harmonious when my bed faces the window, which I hadn't realized is in fact also feng shui desirable.

Next I turned to the Internet, where I found a March 2010 LA Times article that shed light on feng shui with concrete examples I could understand. The story was about fashion designer Vera Wang's new Los Angeles flagship store: "Wang . . . ensured all feng shui elements were present — water flows down a window fountain, fire glows inside a glass tube, stone fixtures represent earth, and air flows from the entrance toward an outdoor fireplace."

Oh dear, this was not getting any better. It may be my own quirk that I prefer silence or birdsong (from real birds) to the sound of moving water. And the thought of fire glowing inside a tube makes me think of all the little red electronic lights that glow like rat's eyes after I switch off my bedside lamp at night.

In situations like this, Amazon can be your friend, because that is where I found a review of Feng Shui for Dummies, which explained, "your environment profoundly affects your health, wealth, family life, relationships, and yes, even your destiny. . . . You can enrich every aspect of your life by applying Feng Shui principles to your home . . . and workplace . . . ." This sounded promising.

However, reader reviews suggested that the book offered little on the elements of water, fire, air, metal and wood. One reader commented that the book's suggestion of "hanging crystals everywhere is plain silly-looking."  Several reviews advised getting The Complete Idiot's Guide to Feng Shui. Apparently the title "Idiot's Guide" is misleading; according to reader comments the book is a comprehensive guide that offers much to a wide range of individuals.

I searched "feng shui" on Huffington Post and learned that, though in some ways I've failed at feng shui (I have a TV and DVD player in the bedroom, my kitchen counters are cluttered, I don't have a framed photo of a Porsche), in others I've unknowingly practiced some harmonious principles (my bedroom has non-depressing art in subdued colors and no mirrors, I make my bed each day, my bed is approachable from both sides, my home has lots of natural light and a pastel-colored—yellow—kitchen).

Maybe all a disorganized skeptic like me needs is the widely-touted book Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, which is apparently at least as much about decluttering as it is about feng shui. I've just ordered it from Amazon.

I'd love to know what harmony you have found through feng shui. Or have you tried it and ended up with feng shui folly? Please send a comment below to let me know.