Given the situation in New Orleans and the Gulf region, its worth taking a moment to send our love and blessings to all those displaced and impacted by this natural force, and to also look at what the teachings of Feng Shui say about living in an environment such as the one hit so hard this hurricane season.
Feng Shui loves water; it is the source and sustainer of life, and specifically represents abundance and wealth. An ideal home location is one near water, preferably with a body of water in front of the home. However, Feng Shui stresses that it is best to have a home that is raised above water level, even better with a mountain or hill behind the house to buffer strong winds and provide a sense of security.
New Orleans’ placement - sitting below the sea level - would cause any Feng Shui practitioner concern…..
Living quarters below the water line are considered to have very limited chi–energy. Living in a basement, for example, is considered a less auspicious dwelling, primarily because of the lack of natural sunlight and wind. Furthermore, the idea of living in the earth is more associated with “Yin Feng Shui” – the principles associated with burial sites - not an ideal place for the living.
New Orleans had in essence created a home in a “Yin Feng Shui” environment. One environmental historian summed it up well:
"While unfortunate, this was also inevitable. The city has been sinking and new soil hasn’t been arriving because the river is bordered by barriers and concrete all the way to Minnesota and Idaho and Pennsylvania. So the subsiding delta hasn’t been replenished, and New Orleans falls another fraction of an inch below sea level every year. It’s in a big bowl by now, pumped out with every rainstorm. Graves are above ground.
So it’s a city living on borrowed time, and it has borrowed about all there was to borrow."
When we manipulate the natural topography of the land we create an artificial environment, and its only a matter of time before Mother Nature restores her balance. Feng Shui honors nature’s intelligence and works with it to create a living situation that helps us benefit from the gifts that nature offers, while respecting the need to keep the environment strong, for our own sake as well as hers.
Feng Shui Tips for using the power of Water
If you live near a body of water, or plan on doing so:
- It is ideal to have the water in front of your home rather than in back.
