We were looking for an apartment, and have narrowed down to two.
We began to think about how furniture layouts for the new apartment should be. For a reference, I am reading a book about Feng Shui ("Feng Shui your life" by Jayme Barrett, to be exact). Feng Shui is something like a guide for housing and interior decoration, a system by ancient Chinese. Actually it is much more than that. Notion of Feng Shui had a huge impact on ancient Asia, as the Chinese had the most advanced civilization at the time. Old Japanese capital city Kyoto was designed based on the Feng Shui system, for example. But I only use this interior guide aspect for now.
Some parts of the Feng Shui system just sound like a bunch of superstitions, which I don't necessarily dislike.
For example, they introduce a notion of Bagua (octagram). You divide your residence in 9 areas (3x3); front-right, front-center, front-left, middle-right, center, middle-left, rear-right, rear-center, and rear-left. Each area ("energy center") corresponds to an aspect of your life; helpful people, career, knowledge and wisdom, creativity and children, health and well-being, family, love and relationships, fame, and wealth and prosperity.
You don't want to have a bathroom in, say, rear-left of your house (wealth and prosperity area) because your money and fortune would go down the drain.
At first it sounded hilarious. But when I gave it a thought, I realized that this Feng Shui system can be quite beneficial. Aforementioned 9 aspects of our lives are all important aspects. If we think about them every time we move, it is like a regular checkup for life.
Also, they emphasize the use of colors and the symbolic meaning. By following the Feng Shui suggestions, you will live in a very colorful, nice-looking residence.
They don't like clutters, and emphasize the flow of energy. It's not unlike the notion of modern ergonomics.
[Ergonomics is the study of designing equipment and devices that fit the human body, its movements and its cognitive abilities. ...Ergonomics is concerned with the ‘fit’ between the user, equipment and their environments. (by Wikipedia)]
Sure, I kind of like it. I'll follow the suggestions and see how the room looks. One of the possible apartments has the bathroom in the love and relationships area. Phew. We should be careful. Might have to buy a night light to counter the draining power. But other than that, we are good. Haha.
