New York City's Feng Shui Consultant--WHICH BAGUA?
Revisiting the BAGUA---Actually, the BaguaS
As a New York Feng Shui Consultant for almost 13 years, I KNOW the Bagua. For Goodness sake, I sometimes TEACH Feng Shui and teach each and every client the Bagua so they can apply it to another space...their office, for example.
Imagine my surprise when I came across ANOTHER Bagua. A DIFFERENT Bagua. When I Googled for more information, I came up with at least Three different Bagua maps for Feng Shui.
If they weren't drastically different, I wouldn't have thought that much about it. After all, Feng Shui is mostly about INTENTION. What DID bother me, however, was the location of the HEALTH AREA.
I'm pretty easy going for a Feng Shui Consultant. I work with my clients and find ways to incorporate THEIR designs with Feng Shui principles. But if you asked ANY of my clients, I am a "stickler" for HEALTH ISSUES. Or Potential Health Issues. And Health, as I was taught, is in the Center. It's been interesting to me that if there are health issues in my client's lives, you can SEE it in the Center of their home.
I even did a post about it so others could see what I see:
Real Estate Blog - What's in the HEART of Your Home? UPDATED! A ...
Some of the other Bagua's have just "Center" in the middle. Some have the word "Unity." Still others have "Yin Yang." The Bagua I was taught to use is from the Lin Yun Temple.
Here is a color version of it:
Please Note: I am NOT saying the other Bagua's are wrong, they are just different. I confirmed this with an excellent source of Feng Shui knowledge, our own Michelle Minch who is not only an incredible Home Stager but a Certified Feng Shui Consultant. Her bagua is different.
Michelle Minch Home Staging Pasadena & Los Angeles, CA (Moving ...
It is INTENTION, we decided. Of course it is about changes as well but we were taught Intention accounts for 80 % of the changes you will see in your life.
So be aware....if you are following Feng Shui, choose a Bagua and stick with THAT one.
And if you are following Feng Shui Long Island's blogs, remember your Health is right in the Middle!
**Carole Provenzale has been a New York Feng Shui Consultant since 1997 and is the Founder of Feng Shui Long Island & New York. On Site Feng Shui Consultations provided for New York City (Manhattan), Queens and all of Long Island for Homes, Apartments, Businesses, Corporations, Renovations and New Construction. FengShuiLI@aol.com
Carole This is fastinating. I never knew there were these types of differences. I always thought of Health being in the middle and it seems to make sense to me.
Carole,
You write the coolest blogs. The power of "Chi" and the relevance of the "Yin Yang" is absolutely crucial in life. My big wonderful friend Lars and I look forward to reading your post everyday.
Sincerely
Tom
Carole, I'm new at this and I'm not sure what a Bagua is.
Hi Carole...interesting , as I sit in my office chair in front of my computer and I realize I'm sitting in the middle of the room...is that good?
Cheers, thanks for sharing Carole
Carole, I am like Marchel barely understanding what Bagua is let along know there is three of them. You are definitely the expert in this area.
I love reading your blogs Carole! You are an expert! Thanks for sharing with us!
This is fascinating. I didn't realize that it was caused a Bagua. I've seen these before but i don't really understand how to read them. Do you have any books that you recommend for those of us who are interested in expanding our knowledge.
Carole - I learn something new everytime I read one of your posts! I had never even heard of the Bagua. While there may be differing Bagua's out there, I'd trust your expertise on it. :)
Carole - I wish I could afford to fly you down here. I have a hunch you would have me turned around in no time. I ALWAYS learn so much from reading your blogs. Your craft just fascinates me. Thank you so much for being such a sharing soul.
Carole ~ Thank you for enlightening us, as always, with your kind wisdom. I'm not a follower of any particular Bagua but just familiar with them through your wonderful posts so this was very interesting to learn there's more than one. I wish I could spend an entire day listening to you talk about your amazing talent!
I'll stick with the health in the middle as well :) :)
I always learn something new and interesting when I visit over here.
Carole ~ I trust, and follow you, so I will be following the bagua you share and talk about. As far as I'm concerned you are my Feng Shui expert!
Carole, I'm not Feng Shuii savvy, but what I am getting is this: If you are using one Bagua as a guide then stick to the one, and don't incorporate things/idea/areas from other ones.
Am I understanding this correctly?
Good Morning Carole-This is very interesting stuff. I enjoy reading your blogs to find out all the different elements that go into it. It was neat reading about the bull and the home that was built with good Feng Shui energy. Have a great Friday and weekend. :-)
Interesting indeed Carole. I definitely learned something new this morning. I has never even heard of the term Bagua before.
I think this is so true. When I was a La Leche Leader we always said Take what works for you and leave the rest.... Mixing two opposing but similarly intended ideas may cause the opposite of the effect desired. Decide a course and stay on it and don't grab a little of this and a little of that along the way. Good post Carole.
Hi Carole, I have always used the same bagua. I never realized there could be different versions. Interesting and informative post.
hi Carole,
It all gets quite confusing with so many different versions....I believe you are right though, in a sense it's whatever you BELIEVE.
There is a staircase in the centre of my living space. What does this portray? It goes up to a landing then reverses directions and goes to the second level.
Jo
This open staircase thing is worrying me now. My stairs are like the ones on your blog (no backing), from my main floor, to the second floor (and they are directly in front of the entrance/doorway (so I put a high/tall dresser in front of the doorway, to create a foyer, and to block the stairs ... but now you're telling me I still have 'holes'? :)
And I can't figure out where the 'health' part of the home is ... I can't make it fit any bagua map (?) I've seen.
(Sigh ... at least I have 'splashes' of red and some bamboo plants - nothing else will survive my brown thumbs; and I have lots of artwork ... some black and white and some very colourful... will it help?) :)
Hi Carole...Sort of goes along with that old saying....don't change horses mid-stream!The heart of my home right now is "clutter" what with all the projects we are doing.But when it's done....
Hi Carole: Thank you for the link love and your very kind comment. I think of the Bagua as a road map. There are many routes you can choose to get someplace - maps with some small differences. Some are more direct, some take the scenic route. The important thing is that you feel comfortable with what you have chosen and that it makes sense to you. As you said, it is all about intention.
Joan, It was something I never knew (and a bit of a shock to see :) What I have noticed is that they ALL work so no methods of using one are wrong.
Tom, Thank you, so much is about balance. I'm so glad to hear you have Lars beside you---what an amazing companion you have there.
Marchel, As I read through the other comments, I see you are not alone. I will do some posts that may be redundant to some but they can skip them. It's an important thing to learn to apply Feng Shui.
Fred, I would think it's ok as long as you can see who might be entering the room but we like to see you "backed up" in Feng Shui. Check to see what is on the wall behind you...diplomas or a picture of a mountain, perhaps will give strength.
Gary, I "jump" into terms in Feng Shui and then realize some people don't know what I'm talking about....time I believe to start some posts that go back to the fundimentals of Feng Shui.
Cathy, Thank you....this "expert" was very confused to find so many Baguas!
Kate, There are a few of them. One of my mentors was William Spear who wrote an early book called "Feng Shui Made Easy." It does get involved but it's a great book.
Donna, I may have just learned differently. When things go so far back, it's almost impossible to trace the origin. I had always heard that HHH Professor Lin Yun brought both Feng Shui and the Bagua to the Western world in the early 80's.
Carol, I was confused and I see I'm confusing people (which I don't mean to!). I think backing up and posting some fundimentals again might be helpful?
Maureen, I know you know enough about Feng Shui to incorporate it into your beautiful staging jobs...maybe you alread do. In combination they are Wonderful!! And thank you!
Sally, Is that the one you're familiar with as well? One of the reasons I love this subject, you can NEVER learn it all!
Russel, I can say the same about your posts--but thank you.
Kathy, That's a nice thing to say but I don't believe ANY are wrong, they're just different. In case you're following Feng Shui I didn't want any one else confused :)
Kris, You can use the same principles for the same AREAS...so for example most of us would suggest a plant in your WEALTH area (it is green and growing). The suggestions would remain the same but in the different Baguas, the AREAS are different. If you're already using a Bagua and it's working for you, stick with it....the principles for that area remain the same. Did I just thoroughly confuse you??
Sharon, Wow, you certainly HAVE been reading! Thank you, that's such a compliment.
Bill, Apparently neither did many people....I have done so many posts but many are REALLY OLD and people weren't reading back then.
Paddy, You put it very well. It is interesting that we as Feng Shui Consultants may have learned differently but we get very good results...The power of Energy will always amaze me.
Michelle, Neither did I, I didn't have a clue. I'm glad I found out though.....I was hoping by posting this it wouldn't confuse others.
Jo, It doesn't mean there's a hole in the home....and honestly I'd have to see it so you're welcome to send me some pictures. There is not a cause for alarm, there are always suggestions to correct FS issues.
Sylvie, Don't worry! If the staircase is not in the center,it's probably not affecting you. Go to the exact middle of your home--what's there? The pictures from my older blog were directly in the center of the home and there were other issues in that home....namely, ceiling fans cutting directly into the person working on top. You can send photos if you're concerned but don't be...there are easy and inexpensive things we do to "fix" issues.
Joni, When it's done...oh what a wonderful feeling! I am STILL working on my home---buying window treatments, getting artwork hung again. Time consuming but every time something gets done I am SO happy!
Michelle, That is a wonderful way to put it and I ALWAYS appreciate your help. The Feng Shui posts you did are fabulous and I wish you'd do more! But I always trust your judgement and know you come from a place of truly helping people as well.
Carole, the exact middle of my home on the main floor, is the kitchen/dining room. The middle of my home on the second floor, is my son's room.
My office has a ceiling fan in the middle of the room.
Doesn't look like I'm doing so well here. :)
You'll have to send me your rates, and I'll send you photos, so you can do a long distance consultation - until you can get here to do one in person. :)
Carole- My Bagua is just like yours. I will stick with the one I have. I know a lot of Feng Shui is intention but I also know that energy is energy and if you set your intention that is fine but the energy fields will still operate as they are not as we wish them to be.
Interesting BaGua still have no clue what it means???? i love the chart , it looks like a parchese game
Hi Carole..I thought I would circle back, and sure enough you have been very busy answering all our questions, and freely giving us all free advice...Thanks Girl You Rock !
Cheers, have an awesome day !
PS: Not sure what a window on my back does...mmmm
Sylvie, It doesn't sound like you're not doing well to me....the first floor has a kitchen/dining room in the middle? That's health and it's where you get your nourishment--what could be better? Your sons room in the center is fine as well.
The ceiling fan, if it's not directly over you is likely not harmful. Or just use the lights, not the fan. Some of my clients remove the blades.....
Katerina, I had never seen or heard of the other Baguas but they're all over. I'm glad we have the same one and I agree that Energy has to move freely and flow through a space. Heavy furniture or too much furniture can weigh you down.
Fred, How nice of you to stop back! A window on your back...can be good to bring in the OUTSIDE to create a yin yang. But either hang some suncatchers up or close the blinds a bit early...you need strength to "back you up."
Well, I have never noticed any differences in Bagua's I have seen, but now I will pay attention! Because I do not have it memorized, it's possible they WERE different! At least it seems that for as long as Feng Shui has been around, it has not fragmented and splintered as many times as staging. It seems information about staging is splintering and fragmenting DAILY!
This is a very informative post Carole. I had no idea that there were different versions of the Bagua Map. The map that I was trained with just shows the middle as center, not health. I agree with both you and Michelle that intention is a big part of it though. I think going forward, even though I was taught that the center was different, I'll treat it as an additional health area - I'm not sure if that would be wrong to do. What are your thoughts? I agree with you that the health area is very important. I would love to link to this post when I do my final wrapup of the Feng Shui It! series. Would that be okay with you?
Cheryl, I never knew about the different baguas and when I went to Google to check out images, there they were! It was a total surprise to me as well....Michelle is right (and SO helpful), it is about Intention.
Charlene, Your posts are wonderful! Thank you for contributing to the group. I would guess to go with whatever way you are comfortable using and I'm not sure myself how the different baguas developed. It's funny because I can SEE health issues in the Center of the home. I don't think ANY way to practice is wrong and I may well incorporate the other area into Health as well because I am so careful with health issues. Linking would be fine, that's very nice of you!