Finding Feng Shui
Rong Cui: A Feng Shui master rights your world
By Maria Scrivani
Consulting a Feng Shui practitioner is like taking your whole house to a chiropractor.
Using special tools and a blend of architectural and design principles—plus Chinese mathematics and common sense—an expert like Toronto’s Rong Cui can help you realign the energy around your environment to maximum benefit.
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The literal translations of the words feng and shui are “wind” and “water.” Not affiliated with any religion, this discipline involves the study of the natural environment, using the principles of Yin and Yang, reflecting energy, and the Five Elements of metal, fire, water, wood, and earth. Practitioners like Master RC use these principles, in combination with a series of calculations on a Lo-pan (a very detailed Chinese compass), to recommend such features as the orientation of a building or the placement of furnishings in a house to achieve positive energy flow. There are other aspects to this complex work that are less commonly known in the non-Chinese world, including the proper placement of the dead at burial, a factor believed to influence the ongoing lives of family members.
For centuries, classical Feng Shui was a closely guarded secret, used by highly respected scientists and astronomers charged with sustaining the good fortune and prosperity of the Chinese royal court. Master RC explains that the principles became more widely known and used in China after the publication of a book, some 1,700 years ago, that revealed the secrets. Because it involves such a high degree of detail and advanced learning, true Feng Shui masters are still not easy to find outside China.
Some of the very basic ideas have become popular lately in the Western world of interior decorating, but Chinese nationals here eschew the popular books arrayed on bookstore shelves these days. “I would look at them, but I wouldn’t buy them,” says one Western New Yorker of Taiwanese descent, Mingdar Hsieh. When he was moving into his Amherst home, Mr. Hsieh engaged a Feng Shui consultant to make recommendations. One result was placing the family study in an auspicious corner of the house. The two Hsieh children do their homework there, and they are doing very well in school.
A Feng Shui reading is no simple matter, but it can be described in simple terms. For a house or building consultation, Master RC begins with a consideration of the luan tou, or outside conditions:What is the environment? Is there a body of water nearby? He asks about relevant dates: for example, when was the building constructed? Using special tools, he measures the li qi, or energy distribution.
There are more than ten different branches of Feng Shui, he says, including the popular “Flying Star” version. This determines what questions a practitioner will ask, such as important dates. A very specific “Flying Star” chart will be prepared, which will help answer some of the questions that people bring to the master.
“For example, I may learn that a particular corner of a house is not good for health. Perhaps this is where the kitchen is located. It is not easy to move a kitchen, but other things can be done to negate ill effects; I can recommend furniture placement, or the use of plants or artwork to change to a more positive energy.” Making those recommendations is his domain, he says.
“No one is going to have a perfect house, but Feng Shui can help with corrections,” adds the expert. One client had sleep problems, resolved when Master RC, who was not aware of that particular concern at the time of the consultation, recommended moving a bed. Business owners consult with him, looking for the optimum office space in which to expand, or the most auspicious date to begin new building construction. Where to put the entrance, the washroom, the cash register: these are all questions that a Feng Shui consultant might answer.
Master RC charges fees based on the complexity of a consultation, from just $100 (Canadian) for help in choosing an auspicious date to a house consultation with an on-site visit lasting about an hour ($200-$300). An office consultation is likely twice that. Master RC will also do consultations on line. He can be reached at 647-892-8987, or at Fengshuibest.com.
Maria Scrivani is a former staffer for the Buffalo News.
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