Feng Shui For Dummies Cheat Sheet

Upcycling Furniture & Home Decor For Dummies

An ancient Chinese art, Feng Shui empowers you to improve every aspect of your life, from your health and wealth to your relationships and career. How does Feng Shui work? It enhances your environment according to principles of harmony and energy flow. Whether you’re aware of it or not, your environment — and your relationship with it — are constantly affecting you. Consequently, your best bet for a healthy, happy, and successful life is to make your environment work for you through the practice of Feng Shui.

Energize life areas with color and Feng Shui octagon

A colored object placed within the Life Area (of your space) associated with that color can help energize that space. By placing the Feng Shui Octagon, a tool for mapping the energies of a home or lot, over your lot plan or a floor plan of your home (starting with the first floor and then moving to any additional floors), you can figure out which parts of your home fall in which Life Areas and cure them with an appropriately colored object.From painting the walls yellow in the Health Area of your home (for better health and physical well-being) to positioning a healthy green plant in the Family Area of your home or lot (to encourage unity and a stronger family bond), Feng Shui encourages the use of color to enhance your life energy. The following table shows you how to apply color to magnify the energy of each Life Area.

Color	Home or Lot Area to Place Color	Life Area Helped	Specifically Improves
Gray	Right front	Helpful People	Assistance from others, travel
Black	Center front	Career	Career success, promotion, better job
Blue	Left front	Knowledge	Learning, spiritual growth
Green	Center left	Family	Family harmony, growth, unity
Purple	Back left	Wealth	Money, prosperity
Red	Back center	Fame	Fame and reputation
Pink	Back right	Marriage	Marriage/relationship with significant other
White	Center right	Children	Children’s safety, growth, and improvement
Yellow	Center	Health	Physical, mental, and emotional health

How to see immediate home improvement through Feng Shui

If you’re looking to make some quick improvements to the environment in your home, the following list of practical Feng Shui cures is at your service:

Place an energetic fountain near your front door. The flowing energy of the water symbolizes cash, which helps more of the green stuff come your way. Get ready to enjoy more cash flow and connections with key people thanks to this simple cure.
Clear the entryway to your home. Let the chi (energy) flow right into your home and life by ridding your home’s front entry of obstacles. Such things as looming plants or vines, old newspapers, bikes, and toys in your front path may limit the amount of energy entering your home. Clear out anything behind your door for even more benefits.
Make sure your home encourages learning. Put books where you can see them when you come in the front door to stimulate learning in both you and your children.
Get rid of unwanted frustrations by fixing broken objects. Make sure your front door is in good working order. It shouldn’t scrape the floor or squeak, and the doorknob, hinges, and locks should all be secure. This cure allows you to release your frustrations and anxieties and smoothes your life path.
Spice up your love life with plants in the bedroom. Place three or nine new plants in your bedroom to enliven the energy of the room, adding hope and cheer. (If the plants have pink flowers, this cure will be even stronger!)
Position your bed to feel safe, loved, and great. Place your bed in the Commanding Position of your bedroom. This spot is the one farthest from the door but where you’re still able to see the doorway and anyone approaching while you’re lying in the bed. Placing your bed in the Commanding Position allows you to be stronger, calmer, and in charge.
Block drains to keep dollars from draining out of your pockets. To keep your funds from being drained, keep your bathroom doors closed, hang full-length mirrors on the outsides of your bathroom doors, and keep your drains closed when not in use (cover the sink drain, stop the tub, and keep the toilet lid closed).
Encourage helpful people in your life by hanging a pleasant-sounding wind chime. The sound of a metal wind chime hung in the right-front area of your home, office, or bedroom activates more people to help you and gets you more help from the people who are already at your side.
Boost your career with a better desk position. Position your desk cater-corner to and facing the office or cube door (even if you don’t actually have a door in your workspace). If you can’t turn your desk to face the door, arrange a mirror on your desk or wall so you can see who’s coming. This adjustment helps you encounter more opportunities, go further in your field, and lose less often.

About This Article

About the book author:

David Daniel Kennedy is one of America's best-known experts on the subject of Feng Shui. He is the author of Feng Shui Tips for a Better Life, Feng Shui for Abundance, and the Feng Shui Home Study Course. A direct student of the late Feng Shui Grandmaster Professor Lin Yun, Kennedy is a true expert at translating the art of Feng Shui into simple, practical methods you can use to transform your life.