Qi (pronounced as 'chee' ) – or life force energy, cannot be seen or heard. However, it’s influence can be felt around us and in all places.

It is the invisible force that shapes, nurtures and governs all living beings. From the peak of the highest mountains to the depth of the deepest oceans, the flow of the rivers to the undulating ridges of the land, and from busy malls to the quaint little corners of the street - Qi permeates our world. Qi is the force that brings life to all beings.

"Qi is dispersed by the Wind and gathers by the boundaries of Water."

How to harness Qi in our environment is the main concern of Classical Feng Shui practice. To achieve this, certain techniques of assessing our living environment are employed. Feng Shui is in fact, a study of Qi in our living environment and how it affects the residents.

Why do need to understand what Qi is?

Because Qi is the heart and core of Feng Shui. We need to understand the 'nature' of what we are studying in order to manage the multitudes of formulas and situations arising in our Feng Shui assessments. To assess Qi in different situations, we use different Feng Shui formulas.

There are three levels of Qi – Heaven, Earth and Man Qi. Heaven Qi represents the energy of the cosmos or the universe. These energies are uncontrollable by Man. Some people like to refer to this as an act of heaven or heaven’s will.

The interaction between these three levels of Qi governs and shapes our destiny.

Different Feng Shui disciplines or systems share the same belief and they all recognize the existence of the intrinsic harmony between these three levels of Qi. In places where this harmony is violated or broken, Feng Shui practitioners then seek it's source (using techniques belonging to his/her lineage or school) to identify and implement corrective measures so that this harmony is re-established.

Feng Shui enables Man to take a proactive role in harmonizing and benefiting from the mechanism of our living world. Instead of allowing forces unseen in our environment to govern us, we learn to mould these energies and reshape our destiny by harnessing these energies (Qi) in our world.

"Qi is the essence of Life"

Qi comes in various qualities and is said to be at different stages in a particular environment. The idea of applying Feng Shui practice is to assess and harness the right type of Qi for the right purpose to help us with our endeavors. For the sake of simplicity, we have condensed the various categories to the following:

Qi, like energy, cannot be created or destroyed. In Feng Shui, we seek to redirect, re-channel, refresh or revitalize Qi. To achieve this goal, different lineages of Feng Shui, employ their own unique techniques.

Classical Feng Shui can be classified as an art of understanding how Qi (life force energy) can be harnessed from hidden forces in our environment, time and space.