Feng Shui is the philosophy of arranging and colouring your living or working environment in ways that will contribute to your health, peace, and success. The practice of Feng Shui (meaning “wind” and “water”) is believed to have begun in Tibet over 10,000 years ago. It has been practiced in China for over 3,000 years and is a comparatively recent consideration in the western culture.

The main concept of Feng Shui revolves around the belief that there is a constant flow of energy in nature. This energy can be either good or bad or a combination of both. In order to deflect the bad energy and receive the good, we must take into consideration the arrangements and contents of rooms in order to maximize this energy flow on our lives. This concept is especially important for rooms that are focal points in our homes, such as the living room.

In using Feng Shui in arranging a living room, there are some very basic considerations to keep in mind. First of all, you need to get rid of clutter. If a room is cluttered it means that the mind is probably also cluttered. Clutter breaks energy flow and is counter-productive to relaxation and peace. Another area to evaluate in your living room is what you see upon entering your room. If you walk into your living room and face a wall directly opposite you, without anything to soften the energy that comes into that room, you may not be able to accomplish what you want to in life. If, however, furniture blocks the natural flow in a room, you’ll feel uneasy and you will probably be less productive and less successful. The idea is to control the energy flow so that it is not too fast and not too slow because either extreme can cause illness or unhappiness.

Some specific tips for arranging a living room under the Feng Shui guidelines would include making sure you don’t put a sofa directly in line of the door. If this happens, ‘qi’ will be directly aimed at you while you are sitting there and it will make you feel uncomfortable. Arrange your sofa so that you have the most expansive view of the room and the entry. Open up the space and you’ll have more energy flowing into your room and into you