Quote:

For example, I've been holding an interesting discussion in
the adjacent Feng Shui (FS) forum, trying to understand the basis of a
practitioner's beliefs in it. I've learned a lot from the discussion, and
I've noticed an interesting progression in the discussion:




Forgive the heavy snippage here, and taking just this one narrow point might actually bring this post a little off-topic with the thread--but I just had to wonder about FS. I have seen a few portions of the art work, and others...well...maybe I did it wrong.

Could it be that FS is not so much based on faith (although some might be) but that our understanding of what we know or think we know is off-base?

For instance, there is an interesting little book called "Shape Power" by Dan Davidson that discusses the effects of shapes (especially geometric shapes) on just about everything. Some are commonly known: the shape of a car or an airplane will make a difference in speed and handling, for instance. Some are more subtle.

So why wouldn't adjusting what's where in a room make a difference in the flow of qi? Certainly, it will make a difference in the flow of sound, air, and even people-traffic (put a stepstool in the middle of the room and see how long it takes before someone trips over it).

Before I throw out FS as junk, I would like to see more actual research on it.

As for religion--it serves a purpose, and it need not always be a dark one (although often enough it is). Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.