Feng Shui and Sustainability
By Judy Morris
Master of Feng Shui, FSRC
Feng Shui in its purest application is a powerful technique that has a major impact on the balance of the environment with human purpose and balance of human purpose with the environment. Feng Shui evolved over thousands of years, starting in China, as people observe how the seasons, climates, position of the stars in the sky, location of mountains and bodies of water, animals, and growing seasons (just to name a few) impact the quality of their lives. They have noted how these various events and sequences have on people and what people care most about – good relationships, personal health, longevity, wealth, fertility, healthy and intelligent children, comfort, and power.
The ancients recognized the fundamental life force and called it “qi.” They distinguished the tai chi (yin and yang), then the five types of qi and their multitude of combinations. Through observation they distinguished the phases of strength and how the types of qi could best be used at different times and in various locations. They applied this to living conditions for individuals, communities and empires. As they applied these distinctions to people and events, the ancients began to master the art of creating environments that fostered harmonious living.
Of course, everyone didn’t know how to do it. Feng Shui was for the very wealthy and powerful. Ordinary people were not allowed access to this information. In order to keep the secrets secret, the people were misinformed. This is why we have so many different schools of Feng Shui. Those guys were cunning. They understood that people would be happy with the simplest systems. For the majority of people, if they could see any improvement, they were happy and rarely looked for more. Besides that, if they made some changes and their money got better but their health got worse, they just figured that’s how it was supposed to be.
Unfortunately for all of us, the well-kept secrets along with the abundance of misinformation tipped the balance scales in the direction of misuse of earth’s resources and poor urban planning.
Today we have many wonderful people looking at all the same issues the ancients looked at – and more. Looking at the myriad environmental issues like global warming, air quality, water quality, food supply, housing, birth defects, and disease (just to name a few) it is easy to be overwhelmed and resigned that nothing can really be done. In response to these issues groups of professionals dealing with environmental and human issues came up with a new term: “Sustainability”. This word indicates a lifestyle involving the use of methods of harvesting or using our resources so that the resources are not depleted or permanently damaged.
The Sustainability movement works hand in hand with Xuan Kong Fei Xing (Time-Space Feng Shui). The basic principles of this system developed over 10,000 years are at the heart of sustainability. Feng Shui focuses on the physical and intrinsic appearance of the environment, the distance, direction and appearance of the mountains or hills, direction, shape and flow of the waterways, rivers and roads as well as the location and direction of buildings. Feng Shui also employs techniques to measure the quality of qi in any given period of time. In planning the structure and design of buildings the time techniques are invaluable in their ability to give the designers subtle information that helps to ensure quality environmental influence for the future as well as the present.
Two years ago I had the great pleasure to work with a family to build their dream home on a raw piece of land with 100+ year-old oak trees. We designed the home using all the Feng Shui principles given in Xuan Kong, Da Gua and Water Methods, then tailored it to the BaZi charts of the owners. The designers, builder, contractors, landscape architects and I worked together with the clients to build a beautiful home that nestled into the land and her abundant growth in a totally sustainable fashion. The contractors even calibrated their measuring devices to my Luo Pan so that our measurements would be in exact coordination. Today, this family continues to live in a home that nurtures them and has had a dramatic impact on the quality of their lives. They, among others, continue to validate the importance of conscious building and including Feng Shui principles that have been proven effective over the millennia.
Merging Feng Shui with today’s finer distinctions of Sustainability creates a unique opportunity for optimal living and working. And, I bet that the combination of all the talent will make the work at hand much easier and a lot more fun.
About Judy Morris
Judy Morris is a Master of Feng Shui designated by Master Joseph Yu of Toronto, Canada (originally Hong Kong). She owns the Feng Shui Research Center (http://www.fsrc.net) in Austin, Texas, She is highly trained in Xuan Kong (Time-Space) Feng Shui. She has designed an elder housing community in Austin, Texas, with an architectural firm; custom homes; remodeling private and business structures; chosen sites for development; master planned small community development; provided feng shui services for individuals, banks, attorneys, health care professionals, schools, hospitals, mental health care professionals, and physical fitness facilities.
Judy Morris’s Specialties:
Site selection for single or multiple structures. Work with architects, designers and planners to develop high quality buildings for all purposes. Work with landscape professionals to provide the healthiest and most prosperous environments for clients.
Contacting Judy:
Tel: (512) 252-9534
Website: (http://www.fsrc.net)
