"Wow, how did you do that???!" What is this magic of Feng Shui and how does it work. As with any card trick or rabbit out of the hat illusions, once the trick is known, the magic of wonder becomes the knowing smile and appreciation of the skill of the magician (practitioner) to execute his sleigh of hand maneuvers. It becomes the expression of awe and delight similar to observing any natural phenomena such as a waterfall or an artist rendering an exact likeness of a seated subject.

Magic and miracles dazzle only when the audience doesn't know the "trick." The trick is understanding the mechanics of how energy flows. It is also an understanding of how the emotional body-mind works compared to how the more familiar rational body-mind achieves results.

The same understanding can be applied to how pendulums and dowsing devices (such as the L-Shape rods) work. A pendulum spins to indicate "Yes" or "No" answers. The hand doesn't seem to move. Yet, suddenly the pendulum spins in different directions. Seemingly by itself. Seems like magic. And magic always seems supernatural, i.e. very mysterious. Eliciting the incredulous response from the newcomer: "Wow, how did you do that???!"

The truth is that it is you who moves the pendulum or dowsing rod. Or should I say, one part of who you are is moving the pendulum or dowsing rod and I'll explain this a little further on.

Feng Shui Practitioner as Magician
So we call in the Feng Shui expert to help us sort out the subtle problems and those not so subtle problems that are expressions of our personalities.

The Feng Shui practitioner notices the obvious and recommends fixing a burner on the stove, a dripping faucet and a squeaky hinge. He suggests removing objects in our pathways and the clutter in our environment. All this makes sense physically and symbolically. The practitioner says, "Remove the obstructions and distractions. Let the chi flow."

But then the Feng Shui practitioner makes other suggestions like placing certain colors on certain walls. Or hanging wind chimes. Or putting three potted plants where two windows come together. And we do these placements and wonder of wonders our life seems to change dramatically!

We cover up the beam crossing the bed and the hips that were slow in healing from an unusual injury finally heals. And just as incredible the husband's intestinal problems also clear up! The phone rings for employment just days after putting something red in the fame area of the house and so forth. And many Feng Shui practitioners will shrug their shoulders and mutter, "I don't know how it works. I just know it does."

How Does Feng Shui Magic Work
So what is this magic of Feng Shui? How does it work? Feng Shui operates on very clear metaphysical principles (meta=beyond, physics=the physical). To understand how these principles operate is first to consider the components and how these components are utilized.

Years ago I read a book which I recommend for all students of metaphysics. It is the class of Metaphysics 101 which deals with the basic mechanics of metaphysical (spiritual) reality: how it all works, how to avoid the pitfalls of psychic phenomenon and how to stay centered in your psychic (auric) space among other important lessons.

The book I recommend is by Max Freedom Long. It was first published in 1948 and is aptly titled, "The Secret Science Behind Miracles." In this book, the author describes his discovery of how the Hawaiian kahuna did their magic. It starts with his first visit to Hawaii in 1917 and his encounter in 1921 with Dr. William Bingham, the curator of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. Before his death, the aging Dr. Bingham gives Max Freedom Long the extent of his discoveries in his research on how the kahuna do magic. Max Freedom Long gives the following report:

"Dr. Bingham...had analyzed the basic nature of magic before understanding it. He had told me to watch for (1) a form of consciousness which used (2) some form of force, and (3) manipulated that force through some invisible kind of physical matter."

That is to say, answer these questions and you will know how miracles are accomplished. To answer this question Max Freedom Long uses the then new science of linguistics to decipher the language of the kahuna. He analyzes the words and comes to an understanding of the Three Parts of Self, the nature of mana (the force) and how mana travels along sticky fibers (aka) which are invisible to our outer perception. He discovers how using the Three Parts of Self, mana can be accessed and directed to flow wherever we want it to. This concept on how to direct energy is similar in all other mystical traditions again confirming the age old axiom: "Energy is thought, and thought is energy" or as some like to say, "Where mind goes, energy flows."

Following these directions Max Freedom Long goes on to discover:

"The aumakua or superconscious part of the mind is the consciousness involved (but it only works in harmony with two other parts of self explained below)....The force it uses in this work is called mana by the kahuna, and is known to us as vital force. It is electrical in its nature and shows strong magnetic qualities. The invisible substance through which the vital force acts is called aka, or "shadowy body stuff."

Three Parts of Self
The Three Parts of Self are: the physical/emotional subconscious (Low Self), mental/rational conscious (Middle Self) and causal/spiritual superconscious (High Self). It should be quickly pointed out that using the designations low, middle and higher does not infer 'better" or 'lesser.' The Three Parts of Self are three equally important parts of self.

However, the High Self is more refined and less earth-bound. It is the superconscious or divine aspect of self. It is what is meant by God Immanent as compared to God Transcendent. God Transcendent is the God-Head, or Supreme Being. As the kahuna teachers say, "Not even worth spending time speculating about." It is that aspect of God that is beyond our comprehension. On the other hand, God Immanent is knowable. It is that which is within us. It is this High Self, or God In Us, that we speak with when we say, "God help us." or "Thank you God." It has also been referred to as the Christ Self and as the Buddha Nature. The Hawaiian word for this High Self is aumakua which can be loosely translated as "truly trustworthy parental self."

The so-called Middle Self is that part of us we call 'consciousness.' It is that part of our self that has reasoning capability while having no ability to remember anything. Memory is the capability of the Low Self. The Low Self, you might say, is more like a puppy dog that needs training and is very earth-bound in its physical orientation and preoccupations.

A more modern writer on the teachings of the kahuna, Serge King, in his book, "Kahuna Healing," points out:

"In addition to the faculties of awareness, analysis, integration and volition, the kahuna attributed to the conscious mind the important faculty of creative imagination...whereby you purposefully imagine a condition that you strongly desire to experience as a physical reality. It is by the use of this faculty that you can consciously develop new skills, expand your awareness, solve problems, change beliefs and direct energy. The kahuna lay great stress on the training of this faculty because of its tremendous importance in directing the activities of the subconscious and in providing patterns for the High Self....

"Essentially, the functions of the (Low Self) are to maintain the integrity of the body and oversee its operation, to receive perceptions and transmit them to the conscious mind, to store memory, to generate, store, distribute and transmit energy, and to follow orders.... Above all, like a good servant or a computer, it follows orders...(It) responds to two types of "programming": instinct and habit. Instinct... refers to all the so-called involuntary functions of the body such as growth, development, maintenance, and sensory or "extrasensory" reception or transmission....these are programmed...by the god-self (aumakua) at the time of conception...Habit includes all behavior programmed...directly or indirectly by the conscious mind (Middle Self). It is learned behavior, as opposed to instinctive."

In Feng Shui, or any other magical system, it is this physical/emotional nature of the Low Self that is essentially being appeased, distracted or stimulated to take action. This is true in all forms of magic both high and low. It is only your intention that qualifies magic as high or low as negative or positive manipulation.

How The Low And Middle Self Work Together
In getting the Low Self to take action, we need to communicate with it. This then is the job of the Middle Self. To determine what needs being done and directing the Low Self to go do it.

It is the Middle Self that makes rational decisions like eat a donut and don't eat a tire. To the Low Self they both look alike - round and with a hole in the center. The Low Self doesn't make these distinctions until it is trained through experience. For the Middle Self to get the Low Self to do something it needs to first get its attention and then give it motivation in the form of a physical stimulus.

In another book by Serge King, "Mastering Your Hidden Self," he states:

"the conscious self...has the same reasoning capability as the subconscious, but it can also "jump" reason by creative insight. Probably the greatest talent of the conscious self is that of being able to imagine what isn't The subconscious can only imagine what has been and create new combinations out of old experiences but the conscious self can create completely new ideas and experiences."

This is like getting a puppy dog to go fetch the newspaper, roll over or heel when commanded. The puppy is trained by repetition and the assistance of a physical stimulus such as in the Pavloving experiment (we all studied in high school science) of ringing a bell and the dog salivates even when there is no longer food being put before it.

It is also the Low Self that has control over the involuntary muscles of the body. It controls heart beat, respiration, production of blood and so forth. Next time you use your pendulum or L-rods for dowsing notice the subtle palpitation where these devices are touching your skin. You will probably notice pulsations on the back of your hand as well. In essence, the Middle Self makes a request, such as find water, or which vitamins should I take, and it is the Low Self, like a puppy, which searches through the vibrations for the one that matches the request. So as you can see, as I mentioned above, it is you after all who makes the pendulum or L-rods move.

Continuing with this puppy dog analogy yet further, consider a real life dog left to guard the interior of a home or to patrol the grounds of an estate. As long as there is no disturbance, the puppy lies around and happily chews on its bone. But as soon as a prowler enters within the perimeter of what the dog considers his domain to protect, the dog's adrenals fire up and off the dog goes into the field of action. Upon encountering the prowler the dog will either be appeased by the prowler as a recognized friend, suddenly accept the prowler as a friend or as someone to defend his turf against.

Consider your Low Self in just such a situation. While part of you (i.e. your Middle Self) is busy at the work table concentrating on a project, your puppy is sniffing around the parameters of your environment. Every time it is distracted, it runs back to you, barks and pulls on your pant leg in an attempt to get your attention. If it is persistent enough, you follow. You see what is going on, perhaps address the situation, and, as soon as possible get back to the work table and project at hand. And then again, the puppy comes to you, barks and insistently pulls on your pant leg. Again your concentration is broken, you are distracted, you attend to some other hopefully minor disturbance. Etc. The pattern continues until your "mind" (Middle Self) is again at ease and the puppy sits happily chewing on its bone.

How The 'Three Parts of Self' Apply To Feng Shui
Now applying this analogy to Feng Shui should be obvious. The Low Self interprets its environment both physically and symbolically based on its memory of similar situations. Just as it will salivate when the bell rings even when there is no food being offered. In like manner, it will feel energy going down the toilet even when the toilet is not flushed. It will "feel" a beam pressing down on the body even when the beam is securely supported by the walls of the house. It feels insecure when it sits at a desk with its back to the door. When this emotional mind-body sees/feels either compressed, obstructed, distorted, excessive, stagnant or uninviting chi, it balks, it gets concerned and over reacts. It keeps compensating and compromising until the body hints, or in some unseemly fashion, finally gets the attention of the Middle Self and its problem solving left brain. If we are attentive to these subtle, and some times not to subtle, communications from our Low Self, our rational mind-body can take action to remove the obstruction, stir up the stagnation, etc. and "magic" seems to happen.

Unfortunately, many individuals are split between body and mind. They ignore this yelping and tugging of the Low Self and look elsewhere for the solutions to their problems. The left brain in many cases does not understand the urgings of the Low Self and dismisses these intuitions or symbolic messages as irrational and foolish. Or wrong solutions are sought based on common knowledge such as going back to a chiropractor week after week instead of moving the bed out from under a low beam. Or, working a second job instead of removing the trash can from the wealth corner. For most people instead of applying the principles of Feng Shui and listening to this so-called Inner Voice, the rational Middle Self complains, blames others, avoids, denies, goes numb, flees, and in short, lives a miserable life.

In summation, the Middle Self and Lower Self have to work in cooperation. They need to learn to listen to each other and trust in each other's perceptions. When these two parts of self cooperate, the third part, the High Self, can then do what seems like "miracles." Once the individual decides for himself what to do the superconscious makes available an abundance of ideas, knowledge, and energy to carry it out.

The True Goal of Feng Shui
So you might say, one of the goals of Feng Shui is to ease the left brain's preoccupations by removing the obstacles, constraints, distractions in the environment that lead to the emotional mind-body feeling worry, concern and uptight. By applying Feng Shui principles the process of resolving problems unfold. It allows the superconscious (High Self) to do its part in manifesting our soul's urgings to enjoy over-flowing prosperity, sweet harmony in relationships, great success and good reputation in career, etc. However, the true goal of Feng Shui is not more money, finding a partner, getting credentials or fame in your career. Though these are certainly wonderful benefits and often the initial motivation. Ultimately, the goal of Feng Shui is inner harmony and union.

In the western mystical tradition this is referred to as the "alchemical marriage." In other cultures this has been described according to the terminology reflective of those cultures: the integration of yin and yang (oriental), the marriage of Rama and Sita (India), the union of the Shekinah and the Adam Kadmah (kabala). In our modern scientific parlance, this has been described as the integration of left brain and right brain or the integration of the male and females sides of self.

Indeed, Feng Shui magic is high magic. It is magic based on living wisely, living skillfully and bringing inner harmony and union into your everyday life.