Not too long ago, I was speaking to a Feng Shui enthusiast who told me that he practiced Eight Mansions and Flying Stars Feng Shui - two of the better-known classical methodologies, primarily used for internal Feng Shui assessment.

I was quite impressed. Listening to him speak, it was obvious that this man was proud of his knowledge and eager to share it with me.

So when I asked him what would he do with a "5 Yellow" negative star, I was taken by surprise listening to his explanation. You see, this man had said that "we should put a Happy Buddha" to absorb the negative energy of the star because the Happy Buddha "holds a bag which would be able to absorb all the negative Qi."!

Based on his statement, it is obvious that this gentleman was not able to differentiate the between original classical Feng Shui and the mixture of classical and new age Feng Shui. This is an apparent confusion among many today.

First of all, a Happy Buddha cannot and will not affect the Qi in a home. It is nothing more than a symbol of good fortune. The 5 Yellow is a type of Qi in the environment while a figurine does not emit Qi at all. As such, placing a Happy Buddha to supposedly absorb negative Qi is completely off the track. Using the wrong method will not create the desired result. Worse still, you could possibly be in for adverse reactions.

Nowadays, a lot people expect Feng Shui to be the best and only solution to their myriad of problems in their lives. Although this might be true to a certain extent, one must bear in mind that Feng Shui is not the only cure. The unrealistically high expectations will likely result in frustration. Feng Shui is a means to an end. It can help you in your endeavours but you need to know what you want before deciding to use the system. Otherwise, you will not know what system to use when there are a number of different Feng Shui methods that can be implemented.

Even in classical Feng Shui, different schools like Xuan Kong Fei Xing (Flying Stars), Xuan Kong Da Gua (64 Hexagrams Method), San Yuan (Three Cycles), San He (Three Harmony) and Ba Zhai (Eight Mansions) seem to have theories that are conflicting.

Different theories in classical Feng Shui can be likened to the different types of medical practices. They all strive to provide cures but you must know how to choose the right type of medicine for a particular disease. To get the best result, it is mandatory for you to use the right system and avoid uncertainty.

The confusion may arise due to lack of information and understanding. So, if you feel that you want to be better informed and thus, have an improved understanding on the subject, why not start educating yourself in Feng Shui. You can begin by investing in classical literatures to increase your knowledge on your (Feng Shui) Earth Luck. By having the required knowledge, hopefully you will be able to differentiate facts from myths.

For example, some enthusiasts assume that everything in Feng Shui is about the decor in their houses or the layout of their furniture. But this is not the case as classical Feng Shui only deals with the location of their properties and the rooms therein as well as the directions that they are tapping into. It mainly concerns the way of harnessing the Qi from the external environment into the homes through strategic positioning of rooms, door, kitchen and beds.

On another note, a lady who attended one of my talks said she met a Feng Shui master who had told her put water in the west while another master prevented her from doing so. Adding to her confusion, a third master advised her to place a dragon painting and "everything will be okay". With all the different approaches, she wondered which was the right one. To answer this, you must understand that source of this confusion. The conflict arose because there is no clear definition of Feng Shui.

Many people are also still not clear as to the actual role of Feng Shui practitioners and as such, are clueless of what to expect from them. A practitioner that you have engaged may feel that he or she is practicing the authentic Feng Shui but this is not necessarily true.

In addition, those in the Western countries are today being inundated with what I would call the practices of "fast-food type" Feng Shui which, for instance, entails the hanging of flutes on a beam or putting Chinese coins on doors to resolve Feng Shui concerns. The practices of using ornaments belong to the new age Feng Shui.

Sadly, the new age Feng Shui constitutes to the bulk of today's practices. And don't be surprised if you find that the majority of New Age Feng Shui practitioners today do not even know that they are actually new age Feng Shui practitioners!

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