Despite what you think, feng shui is not an exotic recipe fro the orient. Its actually a classic, centurys old method of bringing peace and harmony to your home or office. Its becoming increasingly more and more popular so why not read on discover what these two words mean.

Feng shui is a spiritual system that began in ancient China about 3,000 years ago. There are many complex notions that go into feng shui but a simple paring down of the philosophy has become popular in the Western hemisphere today. Basically, feng shui revolves around the chi or energy that surrounds all life.

The words feng shui literally mean wind water. Both concepts are associated with prosperity and good health in the Chinese lifestyle. To have good energy flowing through your home, use the basics of feng shui.

Would you have guessed that your bathroom has energy flowing around it? You might be surprised but it does and using the principles of feng shui you can make it a place that can bring feelings of calmness and serenity to your family.

Practitioners of feng shui use a couple of basic tools to get started. The first tool is the compass. A compass in the woods lets you know which way is up and guides you in the right direction. The same goes for the feng shui compass also called lopan. The compass gives the practitioner a deeper sense of the energy in the home and what needs to be where in order to allow the energy to flow without restraint.

The lopan will help you realize that different rooms in your home or office have individual feng shui needs. Using it correctly will determine the colors and array of feng shui elements needed in each room as well as taking into consideration what feng shui element governs the individuals in the room.

The compass looks similar to a compass you would use while hiking. There is a compass needle in the center. The compass itself consists of several concentric circles that guide the practitioner to give you a layout of what your home needs in order to be whole again.

The other feng shui tool is called the bagua. You can use a blueprint or scale drawing of your home to layout an energy map. There will be eight sections: North, Northwest, South, Southeast, East, Northeast and West, Southwest. Each area will have a governing feng shui purpose, element and color in your life.

Feng shui doctrine states you can profoundly affect the energy around you simply by creating a space that favors you. Doing this correctly requires a basic understanding of feng shui colors, the five elements of feng shui and how energy actually moves through each room.

More on that next time.

When we think about bathroom remodeling and Feng Shui we are literally focusing on a philosophical attitude to the design of the bathroom. The term, which many people are accustomed with, is Chinese and translates to mean water and wind. When we apply this to bathroom design we are literally looking at the flow of energy, or chi, throughout the room in its most effective manner.

The principles behind Feng Shui are based on the principles that water is vital in our lives and is also a source of energy. It shows us how to use and control this energy in an effective manner. It doesn't just have to be applied to the bathroom though. Whether we are at home, in our offices, market place, we have the potential to boost our well being to ensure the success in areas such as our relationships, career and school.

When we apply this philosophy to the design of our bathroom, we are essentially trying to establish how the design and placement of the room will be of benefit to our health and prosperity.

A key tool that is often used is the Bagua color chart. It isn't surprising to learn that the foundation behind Feng Shui is deeply rooted in religion which may occasionally be a difficult notion to grasp. The important thing to remember though is that even small changes can give a bathroom that is neat, beautiful and wants to make you spend time in.

You will quickly come to understand that the location of the bathroom within the house is important when applying the principles and philosophy of Feng Shui. If you build your bathroom, for example, on the second floor in locations such as over the main door, above the kitchen door you will hamper the flow of cash.

If you build the room at the centre of the building this can have the effect of destabilizing within the whole of the home the flow of the energy. Unless your are undertaking a new construction or complete remodeling it is likely that the bathroom will already be in place and fixed in terms of its location.

The bathroom has a major role in the removal and processing of waste.According to Feng Shui, therefore, a blockage in this processing structure in the bathroom could mean a block into your financial flow and can have a detrimental effect on your prosperity.

Although it may be difficult for some people to give these ideas much credibility, some scientific studies have shown that there may be real benefits to it. The best thing to do is to try locating your bathroom according to the Feng Shui way and see if it works on your wealth and well-being.