Hello & Welcome to The Feng Shui Money Couch. Today I am talking about the Practical versus the Mystical aspects of Feng Shui. I want to begin by explaining what Feng Shui actually is so you have context around why it works and how it can serve you. Feng Shui is not just a Space Planning or Design Practice. It’s actually an Earth Science and energy practice that’s over 5000 years old and some form of it spans across all cultures. In China it’s called Feng Shui, in India it’s Vastu and in Western Culture, it’s Sacred Geometry. It’s largely based on our relationship with nature. At its core, Feng Shui is the study of how environmental patterns affect living systems, especially humans. The Ancient Chinese observers didn’t separate the “spiritual” from the “environmental.” They watched how landforms, water, sunlight, wind, and orientation influenced survival, health, agriculture, and social stability—and they recorded patterns that worked. The Energetic Map in Feng Shui called the Bagua was born of this. While Feng Shui predates modern geology, ecology, and environmental psychology, it overlaps with all three. The reason it still works to this day and perhaps is even more important in modern society and the buildings we now inhabit is because it addresses issues like: • Poor layouts increase cortisol • Lack of daylight affects mood • Noise disrupts sleep • Clutter impairs cognition • Disordered flow increases anxiety Etcetera, Etcetera…. So yes it’s super practical and imbued with health benefits, safety and really good common sense. All that said, I spent the early part of my Feng Shui career trying to demystify it and promote its practicality, but people still reacted to the idea of Feng Shui as Woo. And in truth they weren’t entirely wrong, it is Woo but that’s not the whole story. Dismissing the pragmatic benefits by solely focusing on the Woo is like throwing the baby out with the bath water. For years I tried to introduce Feng Shui to the corporate space and furniture world. I was met with a lot of resistance. It was frustrating because you can practice Feng Shui without applying any of the more mystical and transcendental adjustments or cures and still benefit greatly from it. In those terms it’s just good design and lifestyle choices. There are a number of different approaches or schools of Feng Shui and while they all work, they differ based on location, culture, training, and practitioner. What’s interesting is that For a long time Feng Shui was only available to Kings & Queens and the most elite in society. They didn’t want the masses to have this information. The most powerful teachings and transcendental cures cannot even be found in books because they are verbally handed down from Masters and Mentors to students. Much of this information is only to be shared through a sacred monetary exchange of value using red envelopes. For example I’m not allowed to share certain cures, adjustments, mantras, or meditations without such an exchange. Because it’s an energy practice and if the energetic exchange isn’t equitable the practitioner can fall ill and the person receiving the information will not access it’s full potential. Before I fully understood this, I was running around with my Feng Shui Tourette’s spewing my Feng Shui advice to anyone who would listen. I learned the hard way that this ultimately serves no one. A reciprocal exchange of worth should always be in place. I learned this from one of my mentors Kristina. Much of what is taught in Feng Shui is very practical and I can freely share it as content, and I do! I also no longer shy away from discussing its mystical and energetic qualities. In fact, now I do so with reverence and without fear of judgment. That which is sacred is verbally transmitted from Master to Student or Practitioner to Client with the exchange of currency using red envelopes in multiples of 9. The greater the depth of knowledge the more envelopes are shared. As someone who has been practicing Feng Shui for over 16 years, I can honestly say that the greatest transformational experiences that I have had with Feng Shui came through the mystical practices and with an exchange of the red envelopes. Listen, as mentioned I focused primarily on the practical for many years because I was operating in environments where the spiritual was frowned upon or mocked. I was working in corporate environments with various high end Furniture brands. It wasn’t until the Universe pulled me out of the corporate world that I was able to delve deeper into my Feng Shui education with an emphasis on mystical practices. I finally went all in on the Woo and worked with mentors and masters to operate with Feng Shui at an elevated level. That’s when my life dramatically improved. My finances, my love life, my approach to my business, everything. I invested in myself and it paid off handsomely. They say that when the student is ready, the teacher or mentor appears. When I was ready to go full Woo, my mentor Kristina Hollinger entered the picture! The truth is you need to do the practical stuff first before you can even truly apply the woo. You want to master that first. For example Chanting mantras in the middle of a hoarders home isn’t going to help them. They need to start with the practical stuff like decluttering and cleaning. We all need to learn to walk before we run! I had walked a certain path long enough and I was finally ready to run and that’s when Kristina Hollinger entered my life. I’m really excited to announce that Kristina will be making an appearance here on the pod on March 13th! Don’t worry we are recording it in the 11th but you get to watch it on Super Woo Friday the 13th. All right everybody, Cheers and Ciao for now! Laura’s Substack ~ Where Feng Shui Meets Fashion! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Laura’s Substack ~ THE FENG SHUI MONEY COUCH at thefengshuilady.substack.com/subscribe
