Halong Bay Vietnam
In arranging the bedroom and the bed (where else should the bed be but in the bedroom..
), there are at least two approaches.
The first of these follow the qi formula method. Commonly practiced are the East-West method of selecting the area of the house or room and the other is the Sanyuan method which selects based on a detailed analysis of the qi pattern of the house or room in question.
Apart from the qi approach, there are a few simple rules which may be termed as ‘form’ method. And here are some of them :
1 Mirrors should not directly reflect the bed
Mirrors – this is a pet subject of feng shui enthusiasts. Mirrors are never recommended to be hung in such a way that they reflect the bed. Mirrors are said to ‘capture the spirit’ of whatever they reflect and they disrupt the internal harmony of the space.
If mirrors cannot be done away with, they should be placed in unobtrusive areas. I like them when they do not ‘jolt’ me. In other words, they do not give me a surprise when I bump into them. For example, a mirror placed in such a way that when I turn a corner, the first thing I see is my own reflection, that is bad.
2 Open space or window behind the head of the bed
Feng shui calls this the ‘guardian mountain’ principle. With a solid wall behind us, it is equivalent to having a guardian or protector looking after us as we sleep. If you like you can read further here.
3 Bedrooms should not adjoin a fireplace or kitchen
This reason for this is obvious. Fire may be too strong and that in the old days, this is a cause for too much yang fire from firewood. In modern homes, this is not as relevant as the harm from microwaves. A little care on this goes a long way towards ensuring we get the best feng shui we can get.
In warm climates, the west wall catches the heat of the sun and a bedroom with such a west wall would not be very comfortable even with the air-conditioner. It takes a toll so if you are not sleeping too well, check this out and see how to alleviate the problem.
I have an experience of staying in the scholar house of Songtsen Library in india. I was lucky in that the unit that I was staying had a southerly wall. I got to appreciate this during the cold January winter. This is fire but a very welcomed one. On the other hand, there are the summer houses a short distance away and my friend, Long Hair, complained that even with jacket and sleeping bag, the cold crept into his bones. That is bad feng shui and a good lesson in feng shui directionology .
4 The bathroom door should be kept shut
En-suites bathrooms are a modern trend. Older houses would not have this feature for baths and toilets are detached from sleeping quarters.
This modern convenience can be easily taken care of by keeping the bath door shut. The relevant issues here is the odour. Some masters say that this is ‘Water Draining Blossom’ and their effect? It would cause extra-bedroom affairs. Believe this or not, I would keep the door shut as doing so keeps my bedroom more cosy and ambient.
Good plumbing normally keeps the bathroom fresh. Where plumbing is bad, the result would be like the hotel in Yushu, Qinghai where I stayed. The smell was bad and I suspect they contained dangerous fumes as it smelt like methane. For the record, I did not sleep well at all for the time I stayed there. Cheap but not good!
5 The bed should not face the door
Feng shui calls this ‘punching door’. It is a sleep spoiler and causes bad dreams and delusion.
6 Bedroom lights should be just right.
Having mentioned this, the question is what is ‘just right”? It depends very much on the individual. Maybe a good check is to check how our mood is like when we wake. Do we wake irritable and bad tempered or do we wake up depressed?
Too bright lighting makes us ill tempered. Too gloomy and we tend to go down depression lane. Ask a friend (preferably a normal sane one) to give an opinion. He or she may be just the feng shui master for your bedroom.
7 No sleeping with overhead beams
This one everyone knows. If you have false ceilings, it may be a good idea to check whether a beam hangs concealed behind.
Have a sound and good feng shui to all.
This book is a translation of a text by FengShui Master Jiang Da Hong (ca1640) with my explanations and comments. The root text is a section on yang dwellings from his book “5 Songs of the Heavenly Principles”.