http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Malaysia/Story/A1Story20110205-261997.html
Sat, Feb 05, 2011
The Star/Asia News Network
Feng shui: Fact vs fiction
It's that time of the year again when my mother gives her home a good, old-fashioned dusting down.
Like most Chinese, she considers it very important to give the house a thorough cleaning to dispel any bad luck that may have accumulated over the past year. However, things are different this year because she's caught a bug - a feng shui bug.
On the cusp of the Chinese New Year season, she hit overdrive. Not content with just sweeping the floor, she has also rearranged the furniture, broken down bathroom walls and adorned the home with ghastly-looking curios that would make even Lady Gaga recoil in horror.
While it occurred to us that she might have taken her new hobby too far, all we could do was watch helplessly while she lovingly arranged miniature bronze dragons on the windowsill.
"These are feng shui enhancers for a peaceful home," she retorted, when I asked what she was doing. "It's all about harnessing the chi."
Before you get the wrong idea, my mother is not a mental patient on the loose. An MBA student at 40, she now runs a successful business and has got a good head on her shoulders. She's just one of the millions of amateur practitioners who subscribe to the belief that feng shui changes with each lunar calendar.
According to one feng shui website, these stars move to different sectors of the house each year. Some stars bring forth favourable circumstances while others are unfavourable. If a certain sector is made up of only good stars, we can activate good luck by using a feng shui enhancer. When there are bad stars, however, its occupant should install feng shui cures and remedies to avoid them wreaking havoc in your life.
After attending a nine-hour feng shui workshop, my mother is more convinced than ever. She has just splurged thousands of ringgit on seemingly random thingamajigs and is holding out one of them for me to examine.
"See this . . . this is to suppress your illness star so you won't get sick," she gushes, toying with the golden tassel with her fingers.
It is such gullible behaviour that gets feng shui master Prof David Koh fuming. Koh - whose clients include senior execs and CEOs - believes that this ancient practice has become a hodgepodge of superstitions and unverified notions over the years.
"I know a guy who has 60 pairs of mandarin ducks at home because he thinks they bring him luck," he said. "There's nothing in feng shui which states you have to add this or that to your home. What's the logic behind that?"
A sucker for magic
In my quest to separate fact from fiction, I decide to speak to other amateur practitioners. Alice Heng and her husband, Chua Kok Boon, both 47, were more than happy to give me a quick tour of their corner link house when I paid them a visit. Before buying their property back in 2007, the couple had consulted Koh on the feng shui of the house and its immediate surroundings.
"He said everything was in the right position - the main door, the master bedroom and the kitchen. The only problem was the position of the toilet, so we had to spend RM15,000 for a major overhaul," says Heng, adding that heeding his advice was one of the best decisions she's made.
"We used to live in a small apartment, but as you can see, we're much better off right now, thanks to feng shui," she says, gesturing to her sprawling garden.
"I don't face as many problems at work. I'm not as stressed as I used to be. Maybe it's partly psychological, but it seems to be working."
Nodding, Chua quips, "Feng shui has been in our culture for more than 5,000 years. There has to be a reason why it has lasted so long."
Although both are huge advocates of this ancient practice, you'd never be able to guess just by looking at their living space, which is beautifully decked out in teak furnishings, throw rugs and, more recently, Chinese New Year decorations. No strange-looking paraphernalia or awkwardly placed objects are visible. Of course, it helps that Heng works as an interior designer.
"We don't want to live in a home that screams feng shui," says Heng. "We love entertaining at home and we don't want our guests to be uncomfortable."
Chua, an Amway distributor and feng shui student for more than 10 years, says that he does not see how placing certain items at certain corners in the house could affect feng shui.
"Yes, I admit we've gone out and bought some items to enhance the chi of our home. But the more I learned about feng shui, the more I realised that there's nothing in the old texts.
Heaven knows
When I first meet entrepreneur Stephen Chin, 45, he is quick to stress that feng shui has no basis in religion. The staunch Catholic, who also practises feng shui, says that there's nothing in this ancient practice that goes against his belief in a higher power.
"It's when people believe that by doing such and such, money will start falling from the sky. That's when it's wrong," he says, before moving onto a conversation about the Bible, among other things.
"If feng shui isn't important, why was Noah given the exact dimensions for the ark?" he remarks cheekily.
We are in Chin's living room, which he renovated extensively several years ago. A modest version of Heng's home, it is furnished with a functional, rather than an aesthetic purpose, in mind. When he says he isn't doing anything (for fun or feng shui) this year, he means it: the only New Year decorations evident are the two scarlet lanterns hanging above the side grille-cum-main entrance.
"Lantern hanging is just a cultural practice, it has nothing to do with feng shui. The entrance, however, has been moved from the front to the side as my sifu has advised," he says, before telling me that his interest in feng shui did not begin until three years ago.
"Before, my wife and I argued a lot. The children would also fall sick often, one after the other. Things have improved tremendously since then," says Chin.
"My wife, who was uncomfortable with what I was doing at first, is going along with it because she sees the results."
Living with a sceptic has also forced Chin to see the more pragmatic side of things. He claims that feng shui is all about common sense, rather than the lack of it.
"Each time I speak to my sifu, I would insist on a more logical explanation," he says. "After all, a lot of it is plain logic, like why it's not a good idea to buy a house near the T-junction. You'll be disturbed by the headlights of passing vehicles."
Like Koh, Chin also believes that feng shui can be scientifically explained. He cites the golden mean - a term invented by the Greeks - as an example.
"The golden mean is a mathematical ratio commonly found in nature, from the size of the leaf to the shape of our ears. The Pyramids of Giza and the Vitruvian man also follow this exact proportion. This divine proportion, when applied to a building, brings harmony to its inhabitants," he says.
Koh claims that, while many historical buildings were constructed according to this golden mean (including pre-war shophouses in Penang and Malacca), more and more modern developers are shunning this concept in favour of higher profits.
"Therefore, you have to take it upon yourself to configure your home, make sure that the subliminal energy rebounding off the walls do not affect your well-being," says Chin, adding that the only exception to this rule are places of worship as "they can do well under any circumstance." ("God is immune to feng shui," he says, smiling.)
The artificial barrier in his home came in the form of a vertical glass case.
"I've put this here so that the energy meanders nicely from the stairs to front door," he says.
On display are several bronze figurines, which were once thought to serve as feng shui enhancers.
"They didn't do anything for me," he says. "Now, I wonder how a piece of plastic or wood can redirect energy flow. The same goes for a feng shui painting, which is essentially made up of colour pigments. How does hanging it on your wall change anything?"
Sounds sensible enough. However, what strikes me most about my conversations with Heng, Chua and Chin is how they've all fallen into the same commercial trap during their first few years of practice.
This gives me hope. It seems like my mother has to learn it the hard way as well: through years of trial and error. I wish her nothing but the best.
"Feng shui is really complex," says Chin. "It takes years and years of learning. We can peel off layer after layer and still be taken completely by surprise."
Now, where's my feng shui compass?
Follow Louisa Lim at www.twitter.com/lolibites
- The Star/Asia News Network
Sat, Feb 05, 2011
The Star/Asia News Network
Feng shui: Fact vs fiction
It's that time of the year again when my mother gives her home a good, old-fashioned dusting down.
Like most Chinese, she considers it very important to give the house a thorough cleaning to dispel any bad luck that may have accumulated over the past year. However, things are different this year because she's caught a bug - a feng shui bug.
On the cusp of the Chinese New Year season, she hit overdrive. Not content with just sweeping the floor, she has also rearranged the furniture, broken down bathroom walls and adorned the home with ghastly-looking curios that would make even Lady Gaga recoil in horror.
While it occurred to us that she might have taken her new hobby too far, all we could do was watch helplessly while she lovingly arranged miniature bronze dragons on the windowsill.
"These are feng shui enhancers for a peaceful home," she retorted, when I asked what she was doing. "It's all about harnessing the chi."
Before you get the wrong idea, my mother is not a mental patient on the loose. An MBA student at 40, she now runs a successful business and has got a good head on her shoulders. She's just one of the millions of amateur practitioners who subscribe to the belief that feng shui changes with each lunar calendar.
According to one feng shui website, these stars move to different sectors of the house each year. Some stars bring forth favourable circumstances while others are unfavourable. If a certain sector is made up of only good stars, we can activate good luck by using a feng shui enhancer. When there are bad stars, however, its occupant should install feng shui cures and remedies to avoid them wreaking havoc in your life.
After attending a nine-hour feng shui workshop, my mother is more convinced than ever. She has just splurged thousands of ringgit on seemingly random thingamajigs and is holding out one of them for me to examine.
"See this . . . this is to suppress your illness star so you won't get sick," she gushes, toying with the golden tassel with her fingers.
It is such gullible behaviour that gets feng shui master Prof David Koh fuming. Koh - whose clients include senior execs and CEOs - believes that this ancient practice has become a hodgepodge of superstitions and unverified notions over the years.
"I know a guy who has 60 pairs of mandarin ducks at home because he thinks they bring him luck," he said. "There's nothing in feng shui which states you have to add this or that to your home. What's the logic behind that?"
A sucker for magic
In my quest to separate fact from fiction, I decide to speak to other amateur practitioners. Alice Heng and her husband, Chua Kok Boon, both 47, were more than happy to give me a quick tour of their corner link house when I paid them a visit. Before buying their property back in 2007, the couple had consulted Koh on the feng shui of the house and its immediate surroundings.
"He said everything was in the right position - the main door, the master bedroom and the kitchen. The only problem was the position of the toilet, so we had to spend RM15,000 for a major overhaul," says Heng, adding that heeding his advice was one of the best decisions she's made.
"We used to live in a small apartment, but as you can see, we're much better off right now, thanks to feng shui," she says, gesturing to her sprawling garden.
"I don't face as many problems at work. I'm not as stressed as I used to be. Maybe it's partly psychological, but it seems to be working."
Nodding, Chua quips, "Feng shui has been in our culture for more than 5,000 years. There has to be a reason why it has lasted so long."
Although both are huge advocates of this ancient practice, you'd never be able to guess just by looking at their living space, which is beautifully decked out in teak furnishings, throw rugs and, more recently, Chinese New Year decorations. No strange-looking paraphernalia or awkwardly placed objects are visible. Of course, it helps that Heng works as an interior designer.
"We don't want to live in a home that screams feng shui," says Heng. "We love entertaining at home and we don't want our guests to be uncomfortable."
Chua, an Amway distributor and feng shui student for more than 10 years, says that he does not see how placing certain items at certain corners in the house could affect feng shui.
"Yes, I admit we've gone out and bought some items to enhance the chi of our home. But the more I learned about feng shui, the more I realised that there's nothing in the old texts.
Heaven knows
When I first meet entrepreneur Stephen Chin, 45, he is quick to stress that feng shui has no basis in religion. The staunch Catholic, who also practises feng shui, says that there's nothing in this ancient practice that goes against his belief in a higher power.
"It's when people believe that by doing such and such, money will start falling from the sky. That's when it's wrong," he says, before moving onto a conversation about the Bible, among other things.
"If feng shui isn't important, why was Noah given the exact dimensions for the ark?" he remarks cheekily.
We are in Chin's living room, which he renovated extensively several years ago. A modest version of Heng's home, it is furnished with a functional, rather than an aesthetic purpose, in mind. When he says he isn't doing anything (for fun or feng shui) this year, he means it: the only New Year decorations evident are the two scarlet lanterns hanging above the side grille-cum-main entrance.
"Lantern hanging is just a cultural practice, it has nothing to do with feng shui. The entrance, however, has been moved from the front to the side as my sifu has advised," he says, before telling me that his interest in feng shui did not begin until three years ago.
"Before, my wife and I argued a lot. The children would also fall sick often, one after the other. Things have improved tremendously since then," says Chin.
"My wife, who was uncomfortable with what I was doing at first, is going along with it because she sees the results."
Living with a sceptic has also forced Chin to see the more pragmatic side of things. He claims that feng shui is all about common sense, rather than the lack of it.
"Each time I speak to my sifu, I would insist on a more logical explanation," he says. "After all, a lot of it is plain logic, like why it's not a good idea to buy a house near the T-junction. You'll be disturbed by the headlights of passing vehicles."
Like Koh, Chin also believes that feng shui can be scientifically explained. He cites the golden mean - a term invented by the Greeks - as an example.
"The golden mean is a mathematical ratio commonly found in nature, from the size of the leaf to the shape of our ears. The Pyramids of Giza and the Vitruvian man also follow this exact proportion. This divine proportion, when applied to a building, brings harmony to its inhabitants," he says.
Koh claims that, while many historical buildings were constructed according to this golden mean (including pre-war shophouses in Penang and Malacca), more and more modern developers are shunning this concept in favour of higher profits.
"Therefore, you have to take it upon yourself to configure your home, make sure that the subliminal energy rebounding off the walls do not affect your well-being," says Chin, adding that the only exception to this rule are places of worship as "they can do well under any circumstance." ("God is immune to feng shui," he says, smiling.)
The artificial barrier in his home came in the form of a vertical glass case.
"I've put this here so that the energy meanders nicely from the stairs to front door," he says.
On display are several bronze figurines, which were once thought to serve as feng shui enhancers.
"They didn't do anything for me," he says. "Now, I wonder how a piece of plastic or wood can redirect energy flow. The same goes for a feng shui painting, which is essentially made up of colour pigments. How does hanging it on your wall change anything?"
Sounds sensible enough. However, what strikes me most about my conversations with Heng, Chua and Chin is how they've all fallen into the same commercial trap during their first few years of practice.
This gives me hope. It seems like my mother has to learn it the hard way as well: through years of trial and error. I wish her nothing but the best.
"Feng shui is really complex," says Chin. "It takes years and years of learning. We can peel off layer after layer and still be taken completely by surprise."
Now, where's my feng shui compass?
Follow Louisa Lim at www.twitter.com/lolibites
- The Star/Asia News Network
