Winston Churchill, the English statesman, once said: “We shape our dwellings, and afterwards our dwellings shape us.”

The ancient Chinese practice of feng shui (pronounced “fung shway”) seems to be the prevailing fashion for “shaping” both home and office in order to create harmonious environments. The practice dates back at least 5,000 years, and is based on the Taoist belief that everything is composed of energy or Chi. When the Chi isn’t flowing properly, disharmony prevails.

With the promise of “a heightened sense of well being,” I recently attended the first of several feng shui workshops at Celebrations Gallery & Shoppes on Route 169 in Pomfret. I arrived ready to “mindfully organize” my environment with the help of practitioner-instructor Kimberly Breault of Killingly.

In her business, “Bliss Infusion,” Breault visits homes and businesses to declutter and then determine the proper placement of things to achieve the best energy flow to bring greater productivity, happiness and health to those who live or work there. Beginning at the front entrance, she maps the different zones corresponding to nine major areas of life, from creativity to wisdom, then recommends changes in the location of furniture, improvements in lighting and ventilation and the use of certain colors, aromas and more.
Always a minimalist

Although Breault grew up in a home with “lots of stuff,” she was a minimalist even as a child, she said. During the decade she taught in a Montessori school, acquaintances often would ask for guidance on how to live better with less. When Breault eventually was introduced to feng shui, she recognized she had been following its teachings all her life.

Big business appears to be involved in feng shui, too. Last year, when a new Disneyland was being built in Hong Kong, it was reported management decided to rebuild the entrance after consulting with a feng shui master who recommended the change to “ensure maximum prosperity for the park.”

Skeptics often dismiss feng shui and label it “quackery.” As for me, anything that can possibly create a more harmonious world is great.

source : www.norwichbulletin.com