Trials and tribulations in learning Practical Feng Shui

This post is about the basic tenets of Feng Shui – working directly with Energy and the other concepts – yin/yang, Pa Kua, 5 elements, trigrams, 5 elements, pakua etc

Feng Shui in the modern world is publicised as a method for interiors relying on the use of formulae for its application.

I found it at odds with my upbringing in Singapore.

There are two cases of feng shui being carried out in Singapore.  It was about the exteriors.

1. A Feng Shui master, “Venerable Hoon Choon”, helped in the redesign of the city soon after independence in 1965.  It was about the location of the important buildings and the road system.
2. The second was, by the same Feng Shui Master, a redesign of the Hyatt Hotel in Singapore in the early 1970s.  The main work that he recommended in the renovation was in the entrance and the exteriors.  I will re-post the story on this later.

When feng shui arrived in the West, many books and teachings of Feng Shui emerged.  The teachings concentrated on the interiors and the use of formulae.

I attended many of these teachings, which did not fit easily with my upbringing in Chinese culture.

I was a Forensic Scientist at the Metropolitan Police Laboratory.  A standard procedural question has always been –

Where did this information come from?

Is it credible or not?  This is so essential to know.  In academia, there is a system of referencing so that the information can be traced.  For a Police investigation, erroneous can lead to dead-end investigations or making wrongful arrests.

When I use this information, how do I know whether I have carried it out correctly?  Is there a way to get feedback?

We learn by practice and from feedback.  We improve from the mistakes we make.  If you do not get any feedback, you do not know whether you are on track.  This is particularly important with teaching – how do they know they have a method or interpretation that works?  This also applies to authors and the books they have written.

Has this information been collaborated and tested in real life?

This is a standard question, and I would expect a standard reply of personal experiences.

Replies:

1. Where did this information come from?

The source material was:

Lillian Too – Applied Pa Kua and Lo Shu Feng Shui

Sarah Rossbach – Feng Shui – experiences of Lin Yun and the triple gate version of Feng Shui.

Eva Wong – Feng Shui – the treatise of flying star feng shui

One teacher and author said – A feng shui consultant from Mauritius, and he no longer practises.

The point is – these books are books on the method.  They were not written by writers who made a living from the practice of feng shui consulting.

• When I use this information, how do I know whether I have carried it out correctly?  Is there a way to get feedback?

I had a variety of answers.

As it is Chinese Metaphysics – it is faith.

It would help if you studied harder

It would be best if you practised more.

I was not comfortable with the answers.  So I said to myself if I set you a question, can any of the teaching answer?

Why Oxford Street in London is the busiest street for shopping in the world?

1. Only the centre part is busy but not the other ends (Oxford Circus to Tottenham Court Road); Baker Street to Marble Arch) – why?
2. In the central part, why are the large departmental stores are on the North Side of Oxford Street and not on the South side?  Are the large shops on the less popular side – why?

I searched for a trainer.

1. My aim was to find a method that works.

I take my experience from forensic science.  I have the expertise as I have worked in this area for 20 years in the Metropolitan Police Laboratory, the Top Forensic science laboratory in the world.

Previous to joining the laboratory, I had read many types of books, listened to the radio and watched TV programmes on crime thrillers, textbooks on crime investigation and forensic science.  This did not match the real experience where I was trained by experienced forensic scientists who had developed their craft for decades and had appeared in the highest Court in the UK with contentious cases.  The work in the Forensic Laboratory was very different from what appears in the media.  This is the work dealing with real lives, forensic science investigations, real crime and the Criminal Justice System. 

I have found that textbooks were the author’s interpretation of forensic science and not what really was happening in the real-life investigation.

I wanted to be trained by an experienced consultant, not a teacher or a trainer.  I wanted to be trained in methods that worked.  This could only be done by a person who worked successfully at sites.  These consultants do not earn their money by writing books or teaching classes.  In fact, many of the great feng shui Masters in Ancient China were illiterate.  They were craftsmen who worked with their facilities and senses.

The Chinese are especially tight with their knowledge (what works) but will only pass it on to those that they trust or to hand down for a new generation.

They handed down systems so as to ensure that the practice and ethically appropriate.  They wanted to make sure that what is trained is the best they can and they do it accurately.  In order to maintain the authenticity of the methods, the information is passed down verbally and confirmed the understanding with practical sessions.

The is why it is called a master-disciple relationship which is long-lasting.  A teacher or student relationship is short and transient.

The training period usually lasts ten years, and the disciple is taught a broad range of subjects, including ethics, discipline and personality training.

The experienced consultant makes his money from the consultant and is interested in maintaining his good name for posterity.  He has to train the next generation to maintain his good name.  To the Chinese, a good name is very important than money.  They are very proud of their name.

There is a considerable amount of noise - new methods (aka secrets), their interpretation of existing methods or hearsay (based on observation of well-known feng shui sites).  There are many authors, researchers and teachers in this field who have produced thousands of books, blogs and videos on feng shui.  This information has blanketed the media that it is taken to be true.  Have the methods been proven to work in practice?