Guest Author - Diane Kern

So you are thinking about hiring a feng shui consultant. Or maybe you are thinking, do I really need a professional? Could I do this myself? Can’t I find what I need to know by reading books? What is it that a feng shui consultant does anyway?

I would say that yes, you do need a professional consultant if you are serious about implementing feng shui in your life. Yes, you can read books and learn something. But just like the horoscopes you read in the newspaper or magazines they are very general and not specific to your situation. Books do not go into the many layers of feng shui that are available to a trained practitioner. To get the best result consider a consultation.

A feng shui practitioner should be well trained. Ask your potential hire about their feng shui education. Did they simply attend a weekend seminar? Did they basically read books and now think they understand feng shui? Do they believe that it is all about common sense or intuition? In cases such as these I advise you to keep looking. There are a number of good teachers with extensive study programs teaching today. None of their programs can be finished in a few days of instruction. A practical field experience should be part of the training schedule as should be supervision by the teacher. Don’t forget to ask what kind of feng shui the consultant practices. Ask them to explain something about how what they practice differs from other schools.

Now you have a consultant. Before they arrive at your home they will ask for some information about you and your family. They will want to know the birthdates of the people living in the house. This is so they can tailor the information to your specific situation. A measured floor plan will also be requested. It is important that this plan is accurate. If it is not drawn to scale then placement suggestions will be less effective, ineffective or even harmful. So get yourself some graph paper and a tape measure. You may also be asked about the year your house was built and the dates of any major renovations.

When the consultant arrives they will want to observe the environment. They will be looking for neighboring buildings, directions of roads, health of plants in the area, water such as rivers, creeks and even swimming pools, slope of the land, the amount of traffic in the area, how much sunlight is available and even how it smells. They should observe the outside of your building as well as noting how what they see outside relates to the structure.

Upon entering the building the consultant will look for how the floor plan flows, what kind of furniture you have and how it is arranged, the placement of the bed, stove and desk. Where is the bathroom? How much light is there in the building, what is the quality of the air, how are you using the space are just a few of the things they will look for.

The consultant should answer your questions thoughtfully and ask for your concerns. Some practitioners will ask you to take notes or record their visit as they do not send you a report. Even if they do a written report it is a good idea to take notes as you go along. It will help you to remember what questions to ask. If you do not understand something they say do not hesitate to ask for further explanation. You do not want to spend good money and end up more confused than you started. Restate the changes you are asked to make in your own words to make sure you correctly understood what was requested. Write everything down.

After the consultation do what was asked of you. Do not pick and choose what you would like to do. Why would you spend money to be told how to improve your life and then not do it? Understand that sometimes fine tuning is necessary. If something doesn’t seem to be working as planned and you believe you have followed instruction carefully call your consultant and ask for clarification. Improvements some times come in strange ways. For example perhaps you are feeling stuck in your life and you have not heeded the warnings for personal change. You may be in a personal relationship that is not satisfying or a job that is a dead end. A feng shui audit can shake up your life with what at first seems like bad news. But after the fact you realize that you needed that push to move forwards and something much better comes along. Of course not all changes are that dramatic. Sometimes you just feel happier, sleep better, work more efficiently and enjoy life more fully. Not so bad when you think about it.


To learn more about Feng Shui, see my many other BellaOnline columns.