The skeptics' views on feng shui |
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"One expert commented, for example, that a red
sofa was bad for the family -- and she mentioned several health
problems that would result -- whereas the second expert recommended
red for redecorating the entire living room because it was a color
which promoted good qi and positive vibrations," Randi says.
"Yet not one of them agreed. In fact, the arrangement
that ultimately made the most sense was the one done by a lady who
fancied herself something of an interior decorator. It was the only
arrangement that was somewhat livable: You could actually reach
things, go places, see things and you weren't tripping over the
furniture."
Randi also questions the merits of certifying feng shui consultants for their training, skill and experience.
"Certified by whom and on the basis of what?" he asks. "Just who is offering that certification? When you dig deeper you'll find that just about anyone can form some sort of feng shui experts' committee or something and charge people for the privilege of having that important-sounding certification. But it's meaningless. It's no better than the certifications that psychics claim to possess."
Moreover, says Randi, to give feng shui a more scientific
air, today's Western practitioners often tie the traditional conceptions
and terminology of the practice with the lexicon of modern day quantum
physics.
"They invoke the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle:
They'll talk about quarks. They'll talk about 'qi energy' in terms
of it being a fluid or part of the ether or a quantum effect. And
they're talking nonsense -- they're just using these expressions
to make it sound better."
But most troubling of all is the fact that, should you redo a home according to feng shui's principles, you may badly ding your bottom line when the time comes to sell it. "Because the arrangements can be so awkward and because, to satisfy the unique demands of feng shui, a home's interior sometimes has to be reworked extensively, you'll find that future buyers will not consider purchasing your home because it'll cost them too much money to return it to a configuration that made sense."
So if you want to make your environment more livable, usable and valuable, consider hiring an interior designer or a qualified professional stager in lieu of a feng shui expert, he suggests. You may reap more financial rewards -- even without Lakshmi's intercession.
Back to: "Can
feng shui improve your cash flow?"
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