FENG SHUI QUESTIONAIRE
HABITAT HEALING (FENG SHUI) EVALUATION
Copyright 1998, Fiona Whitmore
Our interest in Feng Shui stems from the framework it provides us to evaluate energy flow in our living and working environments and to evaluate how such flow of energy affects our life and the lives of those around us. It stands to reason that in evaluating what one needs to adjust in the physical environment and to best harmonize life affirming energies, that an evaluation of the individual or individuals within that environment is an essential starting point.
Making the desired changes within the physical environment that are discovered upon Feng Shui evaluation can be a daunting and sometimes expensive task. But creativity and commitment can make the job enjoyable and very rewarding. Bear in mind that it is no accident that a troubled area is congested or out of balance or that you have chosen or created environments that are not harmonious. That impossible garage, messy closet, disorganized desk, cluttered hallway, pile of books behind the door, may represent old, deep seated blockages that have been with you since childhood. My husband and I have found that when we have tackled a particularly troublesome problem area in our home that our energy has been peculiarly drained or the task seemed far more difficult than it should have. However, the rewards of the shift of energy in the environment are more than worth the effort.
SUGGESTIONS
- Start with the areas which affect your life related to issues that are of greatest concern to you. (That’s why this evaluation is valuable.)
- Don’t rush. Realize that this is an awareness process that begins today and should continue for the rest of your life. But at the same time recognize that you will have resistance to making changes and that you will need to push yourself sometimes. By all means enlist the help of others.
- Don’t focus on what is not yet completed but rather enjoy the progress you make. Become sensitive to the changes in energy that occur when you’ve made an adjustment and evaluate your next move based upon that.
- Try to find the easiest and least expensive solutions.
- Don’t set yourself up for failure by biting off too much right away. For example, if it will take half a day to clean a messy closet in an area that affects your energy…do that first. It will assist you in getting your next project done.
- Concentrate on one problem area at a time.
- Enjoy the process. If you find yourself getting grumpy or annoyed….stop. Meditate for a few minutes, ground yourself, then continue or make a commitment to come back later.
What follows are guidelines that we have developed as a method that you can use to identify problem areas and to prioritize your work. It is based upon the nine areas of the Bagua Map and also inspired by a process provided by William Spear in his excellent book “Feng Shui Made Easy”. Check the answer for each that most closely applies. Where you answer is C or D, you will have identified areas where you will want to look
within your environment to identify blockages and to concentrate your efforts.
1. [RW1] CAREER
Career is governed by water. This is about the river of life - your life’s flow . It is not about your success in the world, but rather how your journey feels to you. Are you moving along freely and with a steady flow? Or does it feel like you are continually swimming up stream and sinking every so often along the way? Are there obstacles or jutting rocks in your flow of life? Is your work enjoyable? Are you doing the kind of work you want to be doing? Would you like to change careers or are you planning a change in careers? Is your work fulfilling and do those around you acknowledge you in the way you would like?
I. My life feels like it is flowing well. I have few problems and those I have I can easily handle. I am supported and respected by those I work with and generally find my work situation enjoyable and rewarding. Productivity is natural and easy for me. Life is a river that seems to take me right where I want to go.
A. ______ I. describes quite accurately how I feel.
B. ______ I. isn’t entirely true but is more true than II. below.
II. Life is hard. Nothing seems to be going right for me. It seems that most of the time that I try something, it fails. I feel unacknowledged and unsupported by my co-workers and superiors. I sometimes ask “Is this all that life is about?” Will I ever do work that I enjoy or will I always be struggling along? I want a new job but I seem stuck or trapped. Nothing seems to moving in the right direction.
C. ______ II. isn’t entirely true but is more true than I. above.
D. ______ II. describes quite accurately how I feel.
2. LOVE, MARRIAGE AND RELATIONSHIPS
This area is governed by the Earth. Earth is the essence of receptivity and giving. We cannot have successful relationships unless we are prepared to give and to receive, just as the Earth gives to all who are on her and also receives from her children as well as from the sun and rain. The Earth area is about the flow of give and take in our lives. Many of us can give but have a hard time receiving or visa versa. Because this is the most feminine area is the house, women living in the house in particular may have problems if there is blockage or imbalance here. This area is about your relationships of all kinds. Are those in relationship with you loving and thoughtful? Do you feel needed, wanted, and nurtured, or are you feeling alienated - as if no one really cares?
I. I feel loving and loved by those in my life. I have a significant other who is loving and our relationship is growing and meaningful or I am confident that when the time is right I will find such a person and in the meantime I’m enjoying my life. I experience a satisfying and enriching social life. People at work, and in general, care about me and are supportive.
A. ______ I. describes quite accurately how I feel.
B. ______ I. isn’t entirely true but is more true than II. below.
II. My relationships tend to get to a certain point and then fall apart or become negative. I feel trapped in situations where the people around me are using me or that the people in my life are not supportive. I find it hard to give of myself to people and feel that they hardly know I exist. I feel isolated and am uncomfortable about meeting people. My social life, if you can call it that , is a chore rather than a joy as my efforts socially seem to be fruitless or embarrassing. I tend to decline invitations, or don’t get them. People at work either don’t know I exist or are competitive, jealous or critical.
C. ______ II. isn’t entirely true but is more true than I. above.
D. ______ II. describes quite accurately how I feel.
3. HEALTH, FAMILY AND ELDERS.
Thunder is the element of this area. Thunder announces or precedes the storm, and as such symbolizes those who come before us. These predecessors leave a heritage for us as we are leaving a heritage for the children of our time. Similarly, how we care for our bodies today is creating health or suffering tomorrow. We leave a heritage each day for our body in the way we think, eat, and care for ourselves. This area is about respecting and valuing our heritage, our ancestors and our bodies.
Are your relationships with your parents strong and fulfilling? Do you have fond remembrances of grandparents, elder friends, teachers, mentors, people in authority? If a parent or grandparent is deceased, do you feel warmly towards them – have you resolved any issues you might have had with them?
I. My relationship with both my parents is loving and supportive. I seek out and often get positive and enthusiastic guidance from my boss and other mentors. Such people always seem to be available when I need them and willing to share their wisdom. I have a sense of my responsibility to my children and generations to come and am grateful to those who have gone before us and I am willing to drop my judgment of what they may have done that was not positive.
A. ______ I. describes quite accurately how I feel.
B. ______ I. isn’t entirely true but is more true than II. below.
II. I don’t speak to my parents very much or when I do its a chore. I fight with them, or they with me. I resent much about how they raised me. I don’t really know a lot about my elder relatives - they have never played an important part in my life. My teachers never liked me and people in authority at work tend to give me a hard time. I’m going it alone here and I don’t feel I need the help of elders, nor do I owe them anything. As for future generations, let them fend for themselves as I have had to do.
C. ______ II. isn’t entirely true but is more true than I. above.
D. ______ II. describes quite accurately how I feel.
4. WEALTH , PROSPERITY , FORTUNE AND BLESSINGS
Wind is the element for this area. How is the wind of life blowing for you? Does it blow good fortune to you or misfortune and suffering? How do you stand in that wind? Do you bend and flow with it or do you stand too tight and tend to split or break? Do you seem to find good fortune in much of your life, or are you often finding that you are feeling like you have runs of ‘bad luck’. Do you find yourself saying, “Why does this happen to me?” This is mostly about the material world. Do money and other material things flow to you easily and without too many complications? Does money tend to come in and disappear – it’s never quite enough? Are you struggling with a feeling that things are so hard and you have to really ‘work’ to get what you need?
I I feel that good fortune is natural for me. It is amazing how things just appear when I need them. Money flows to me and I have all that I need and even enough to save. I always seem to be surrounded by abundance.
A. ______ I. describes quite accurately how I feel.
B. ______ I. isn’t entirely true but is more true than II. below.
II. Life is hard. I work so hard and just do not seem to get what I deserve. Money is tight and seems to go as quickly as it comes. I really feel that I am fighting an uphill battle in life. Can’t remember when I felt lucky!
C. ______ II. isn’t entirely true but is more true than I. above.
D. ______ II. describes quite accurately how I feel.
5. THE CENTER, THE TAI CHI
The Tai Chi or the center is the most important section of the home or office. It is like the vortex of the home. If this is clogged with clutter or poorly arranged it will make the entire house unbalanced. The Tai Chi equals the entirety of all of the parts of the eight other parts. Therefore, this area is not evaluated separately as it contains the energies of the other eight parts.
6. HELPFUL PEOPLE AND TRAVEL.
The element for this area is heaven. Are people there when you need a helping hand? Do you find you are there when they need a helping hand? This area is about helping and being helped. Life here is about service. As we give, so we receive. Are you helpful and ready to give support in whatever way is needed to a person, animal or situation? Are there ‘angels’ in your life? Do you find helpful people there when you travel and are you helpful when you see someone in need? Do things flow for you in planning and executing your trips and journeys?
I. Wherever I go there are helpful and caring people, somehow they just seem to arrive when I need them. I give freely and make myself available to others when I feel that I can. There are many people in my life who are ‘there for me’. I am able to ‘be there for others too’. Travel, trips and journeys are easy and just seem to fall into place. There always seems to be someone there to guide or help me.
A. ______ I. describes quite accurately how I feel.
B. ______ I. isn’t entirely true but is more true than II. below.
II. No one is there when I need them and I usually seem to have to end up doing it myself anyway. There is so little time to do anything let alone help someone else. Sometimes it seems too complicated to ask for help and to offer to give it. Traveling anywhere seems to be a nightmare, wrong turns, no one to ask, delays and mix-ups. I often plan trips or outings and something comes up that makes me cancel my plans.
C. ______ II. isn’t entirely true but is more true than I. above.
D. ______ II. describes quite accurately how I feel.
7. CREATIVITY AND CHILDREN
Creativity is governed by the lake. Creativity is like a lake of energy and we dip into it with our clarity and channel a little out into some form. How is your creative flow? Are your children important to you? Are they happy and growing strong? Are you a loving, joyful parent, or are your relationships with your children full of pain and confusion? This is the area of birthing ideas, children or creative projects.
I. Creativity flows easily and freely. Projects come to me and I can complete them easily. My relationship with my children is balanced and delightful.
A. ______ I. describes quite accurately how I feel.
B. ______ I. isn’t entirely true but is more true than II. below.
II. I am creative, but it’s a stop and start thing. I can’t seem to decide what to do or complete what I start. We have been trying for years to get pregnant, but it’s not happening. Why can’t my kids and I ‘get along’? They always seem to be in trouble, unhappy or bored.
C. ______ II. isn’t entirely true but is more true than I. above.
D. ______ II. describes quite accurately how I feel.
8. SELF KNOWLEDGE AND INNER GROWTH
The element for this area is the mountain. The spiritual journey is about climbing the mountain of the spiritual. Are you involved in an active spiritual journey? Are you spending time remembering the wholeness within? Are you seeking, delving, growing and being? The mountain is about finding your inner stillness and being in that each moment.
I. I am aware that each moment is a part of my spiritual journey. Everything in my life is connected to my walking the spiritual mountain. I often connect to a feeling of purpose and joy. Life is good and each moment is a reflection of this.
A. ______ I. describes quite accurately how I feel.
B. ______ I. isn’t entirely true but is more true than II. below.
II. Being scientific, I need proof. Even though I know much of this stuff, I find myself blocking the flow and doubting. Is this all true, is it all real, can I believe it? I start the journey and change many times because somewhere I am blocked and fearful of really letting go to it. This seems so hard. Do I really want to do this? I often feel listless and without a sense of purpose.
C. ______ II. isn’t entirely true but is more true than I. above.
D. ______ II. describes quite accurately how I feel.
9. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, RECOGNITION AND ILLUMINATION
The element for this area is fire. This is about the fire within, and the light which shines from this internal fire. Do you glow and do people recognize you for it? Are you recognized in your work? Are you recognized by the people in your life? This area is sometimes associated with fame but is really about your enlightenment. Are you still searching outside you for the answers and acknowledgment? Are you worried about what others think or say about you? Are you complete in your work, your life?
I. I am confident about my role in life and at peace with everyone and everything. I don’t need to judge anymore, because I can just be here in who I am and feel complete. Life’s direction is clear and I do not need to please anyone. People come to me just to be with me. I am appreciated for what I represent and contribute. Aloneness no longer creates a fearful space in my life. I am complete and whole just in who I am. My intuition is clear and good.
A. ______ I. describes quite accurately how I feel.
B. ______ I. isn’t entirely true but is more true than II. below.
II. I am often worried about what someone will say or think about me. I am often worried about what people have said about me or thought about me. Although I don’t really accept them at face value, I like it when I get compliments and go through pain when someone dislikes or disapproves of me. The subject of death is something which I avoid, and the idea of it frightens me. I wish I knew who I was and what I should be doing. I don’t feel acknowledged for my achievements. I feel insecure within myself and don’t really believe that I will become a more enlightened person.
C. ______ II. isn’t entirely true but is more true than I. above.
D. ______ II. describes quite accurately how I feel.
[RW1]