In this column we will continue to explore how to re-shape the home to support you in good health, joyous relationships and career success. Feng shui philosophy contends: if the home is in harmonious surroundings and arranged in an harmonious manner, the inhabitants of that home will reflect that harmony and live more harmonious lives.

Dear Feng Shui Clinic, My mother has had several surgeries. What can I do using feng shui techniques to improve her health. My mother sleeps under a ceiling fan and I have heard this could be a problem. If it is, please explain why. I've enclosed photographs of her living room, dining room, bedroom and kitchen. Thank you, Kathy B., Santa Monica

Dear Kathy B.,
It is unfortunate for your mother to have to suffer with such serious surgeries. It should be understood that a home does not "cause" health problems but rather that a home may aggravate preconditions based on constitutional weaknesses or emotional stresses. The human body is an amazing organism that has learnt over the millennium to adapt to extraordinary circumstances. In short, it takes a lot to beat it down. Looking over your floor plans and photos, it is quite apparent that your mother's home reflects the stressors in her life. The ceiling fan over her bed is certainly a contributing factor.

Feng Shui & Your Health

When I was first introduced to the ancient art and science of feng shui, it puzzled me how a feng shui master could look at a home and confidently state: "This house will cause illness." or even, "Someone living in this home will die."

A few years later, it became perfectly clear to me how a how a hostile environment, real, or even imagined as real, could result in ill health and finally death. The truth of this lies in the biological fact that stressful situations release adrenalin, the 'fight and flight' hormone, which increases the heart rate and raises the blood pressure while the breath becomes shallow and all the muscles tense. Continued and prolonged stress ultimately leaves the adrenal glands exhausted, compromises organ functioning, especially that of the kidney and heart, and impairs the immune system.

Real or Imagined Danger

How this extreme and prolonged stress scenario affects the unwary residents of a home is revealed by the statement about environmental danger as being "real, or even imagined as real."

Real danger should be obvious. Modern feng shui considers environmental factors such as living in close proximity to sources of strong electro-magnetic radiation: power generator substations, high tension wires, transformer cans on utility poles, airport radar, cell phone microwave dishes. To determine if any of these life threatening situations exist is fairly easy - look out your window. If you can see it, you are too close. All of these unfortunate situations can only have a deathly effect on any bio-organism with only one feng shui solution: move immediately.

Ch'i & Sha Ch'i

Environmental dangers that are dangerous, real or falsely perceived as real, are referred to in feng shui as sha ch'i. Ch'i is the Chinese word for energy. Energy which is inherent in all things animate or inanimate. Sha ch'i is when that ch'i is taken away. When the ch'i is noxious. When it is stagnant. When it is hostile. For example: A life threatening situation such as a gunman pointing a loaded weapon at you is quite clearly stress producing. The rational mind has no problem interpreting this kind of danger and the need to get the adrenal glands pumping.

Even a statue of someone pointing a bow and arrow at you would make you uneasy. Eventually you will either come to terms with this symbolic aggression and relax. Or you will alter the environment to suit your comfort zone. You will either sit or stand out of the range of imagined danger or perhaps move the statue so that it points in a different direction. This is one of the primary goals of feng shui: to modify the environment so that it is less aggressive, more relaxed, more harmonious and ultimately more life enhancing.

Understanding how the subconscious interprets and responds to color, shapes and symbols in your living environment gives you access to one of the major feng shui techniques that has made feng shui such an important adjunct to current wholistic philosophy. That is, simply remove, cover, deflect or block all sources of life threatening sha ch'i.

Any object that has a pointy-edge or a long straight edge produces a form of sha ch'i called a "poison arrow." As the subconscious interprets sharp edges as 'arrows', it feels danger, and activates the 'fight and flight' stress response of the adrenals in defensive preparation. In time, the adrenals, as stated, become exhausted in their attempt to maintain readiness. Slowly but surely the immune system is compromised. Depending on the innate strength of the individual's constitution, the weakest link collapses first.

Feng Shui Solutions to Everyday Problems

Here are some commonly experienced examples of sha ch'i in the home environment and their possible solutions. Remove these environmental situations and observe how quickly you find relief from many of your ailments and notice how much more energy you seem to have. If you can not protect yourself from sha ch'i consider moving to a more favorable location.