Feng Shui - Wind Chimes
Placing wind chimes for feng shui
During the nine months I was in Taiwan teaching English, I spent my time preparing for lessons in an office with the rest of the International department of the school. One day I finally asked a question that had been on my mind.
“Why are the desks arranged like this? It is cool, but seems kind of odd.” I asked this because we had some desks that were side by side, but others that met on their long dimension. My boss answered very simply. He said, “Feng Shui.” But the way he said it, /fung shway/, caused me to not make the connection the growing trend in the Western World.
When I asked more about it, he explained that ‘feng’ means wind and ’shue’ means water, which are two of the most basic elements in our world. What is more these are the two elements that exhibit movement, and thus they are all about energy, or ‘chi’. Then I made the connection.
He went on to explain more about this interesting approach to arranging one’s environment. He explained that the principles and practices of Feng Shui are implemented to reduce or dampen the negative ‘chi’ or energy of the world and enhance the positive ‘chi.’
Thus, placing wind chimes in accordance with feng shui principles is a great approach. This is because our bodies, minds and hearts will react either positively or negatively to all sounds. A door slamming. A child screaming. A child laughing. Traffic. All of these sounds are going to cause some kind of reaction in us.
Placing wind chimes for Feng Shui will help enhance the positive energy of good sounds, while blocking out the negative energy that we allow in due to bad sounds. Thus, we want to place our wind chimes in areas of wind, but not in direct wind. Putting a wind chime in the middle of one’s yard will often result in discordance when there is heavy wind. But if you hang a wind chime under your porch, the tones are melodic and smooth, enhancing positive ‘chi.’
Yes, this sounds to some like hogwash, but consider how your favorite music makes you feel. Does it energize you? Give you a feeling of peace? Make you want to dance?
Using wind chimes to work with the natural sounds of the world can have similar effects, although these effects will usually be more subtle. Quiet peace can be enhanced with well-placed, mellow wind chimes.
This brings us to the type of wind chime that would be appropriate for Feng Shui. Good bamboo chimes will always be more effective than metal chimes. This is because the sound the bamboo makes when struck is more natural than the heavy /bong/ noise that comes from metal chimes.
You could also try wind pipes that whistle in deep, mellow tones when wind strikes their mouth in the right way.
All of these chimes and placement tips will greatly, again, albeit subtly, enhance the positive feelings you can have with relation to the sounds around you. Don’t believe it? Give it a try and see how you feel. And for a truly positive Feng Shui experience, sit by a babbling brook coming down a mountain pass while the wind is blowing.