I’ve read several books about Feng Shui, (pronounced “fung shway”) and how it can affect the Yin and Yang in your home.
For those who haven’t heard of Feng Shui, (literal translation is wind and water) it is an ancient (5000 years old) Chinese philosophy that deals mostly with understanding relationships between nature and ourselves. Bu using it, we may find more harmony in our lives/homes, by examining how qi or ch’i (chee), (energy) flows through it.
I recently got to thinking, if Feng Shui can affect our homes, could Feng Shui also be applied to a blog?
Today’s Lesson
I wanted to see what the experts claim are the basics of Feng Shui. I found a site named:Chart Planet.com where they list the following seven points to basic Feng Shui, “General Home Care”.
They are:
1. Make your home a welcoming place for guests, especially if you don’t have many guests and want to attract some.
2. Pay special attention to your front door. The condition of your entrance tells your guests if they’re welcome or unwelcome.
3. Let light flow to every place in your home. This welcomes positive ch’i into your life.
4. Fresh air bears positive ch’i. Welcome it into your home every day.
5. Live plants and flowers attract positive ch’i. Put some in every room.
6. Don’t allow your house to become cluttered – not even one room in it. A cluttered home means a cluttered, stagnated life.
7. Treat your home as if it is your ideal self. If you live in the ideal environment for you, your life will become more ideal.
If you were to replace the word “home”, with the word “blog”, and “front door” with “home page”, in the above blockquote, it begins to make you think.
Personally, I know how clutter (#6) affects my concentration and attitude. If I have too much clutter around me, I begin to get irritable. If I declutter, my outlook changes, almost immediately.
Although some call Feng Shui a pseudoscience, believers claim it can create a more harmonious home, aid in better sleep, encourage wealth to “enter your life”, and even help in your personal relationships.
Often you will read, by not using Feng Shui, negativity could result, and good health and/or wealth may elude you.
Not to sound like I believe in superstition ( I generally don’t), I did start analyzing both of my blogs. I looked at my homepage to see if it’s welcoming, uncluttered, and an ideal environment for me.
Hmmm! After decluttering a bit, I think I’m beginning to feel more positive ch’i. 🙄
If you have never studied Feng Shui, it is an interesting concept. Thousands of home owners and businesses practice Feng Shui, but whether it works or not, that’s up to you to decide.
Even if Feng Shui were to be classified as “snake oil”, the above seven points may be worth practicing…..not only with your home, but with a blog.
Today’s Assignment
Read the above seven points.
Apply each one to your blog.
Could your blog use a little Feng Shui?
Have you visited other blogs that don’t have positive ch’i?
Or….do you think Feng Shui is just hocus pocus?
I wouldn’t say it’s hocus-pocus. There’s some good common sense in those 7 points.
I like a number of web-sites which feel welcoming. I think more white space is less imposing than everything crammed together.
But I’m no expert!
Ian Denny’s last blog post..Paperless Office? Then Why Is It Magnetically Drawn To My Desk In Mountains?
I think Feng Shui is an interesting combination of common sense and hocus pocus. Hocus pocus because I don’t think your kitchen really has to be in the south part of your house for your life to be in order, for example. Common sense because who’s going to say that clutter is good and fresh air is bad?
It’s certainly interesting to apply Feng Shui to blogging, and I think it’s perfectly valid to do so. Most Feng Shui principles can be restated in a non-new age way, so it’s just an alternate way of looking at things.
Hunter Nuttall’s last blog post..Consider Having A Blog, No Matter Who You Are
Hi Barbara – this is an interesting post. And I think a few of these points could definitely be applied to a blog.
I suppose you could change fresh air to new and interesting ideas.
But, I’m not sure about the live flowers and plants. Could they be replaced with pictures? I’m not sure. Does anyone else have a suggestion?
Catherine Lawson’s last blog post..Are You A Zoner Who Speaks To Aardvaark’s?
Ian,
Like you, I like more white space. but that’s just a personal preference.
Some blogs that are done in black, are actually quite attractive too, although on some, I find the copy is hard to read.
Hunter,
I see you know a little more about Feng Shui. e.g. kitchen in the south.
Clutter is a distraction, whether in a blog, or real life, so like you said, it is a lot of common sense (however, common sense is not so common, as we would like to think).
Catherine,
Fresh air = new content, flowers and plants = photos…that’s a good comparison.
I think it’s when we start reading more about Feng Shui, we realize it’s been around for 5000 years, because it has some merit to it. I would to curious to hear from someone who really got into the “meat” of Feng Shui, and applied the principals to their home, and …if it truly made a difference.
I guess my thought is, if I don’t like sites like that, would others? Then I created my site based on what’s appealing to me, and a little of how
Barbara’s last blog post..Can Feng Shui Improve Your Blog
Hi Barbara, Thanks for visiting & letting me know about the Fantastico WordPress update. I was just about to cave in and try to do it manually! I’d gotten as far as downloading the new version… but I’m glad I don’t have to try it!
I like the idea of the Feng Shui analogies you are looking at here. Great work!
Debbie’s last blog post..‘Consciousness, Literature and Theatre’ by Peter Malekin and Ralph Yarrow
Hi Debbie
Like you, I would rather use Fantastico. I tried to do in on my own once before, and crashed my blogs……….that wasn’t a pretty site. BlueHost helped me to get back online.
Barbara’s last blog post..Can Feng Shui Improve Your Blog
I’m a converted believer. I stumbled across a Feng Shui tip recently about the position of your desk in your office space. Apparently the Power Position is to have your workspace facing your primary entrance to the room so that you can see the door from where you sit.
I used to have my desk against the far wall with my back to both doors in the room and the window as well. That night I moved it around so my desk is against the opposite wall. When I’m sitting here at my keyboard I’m now facing both doors with the window across the room to my left.
Since making the change I landed two new jobs (something I hadn’t done for months), both are great money earners, and I’ve felt an amazing boost in professional confidence and power.
Is it all in my mind? Could be, but I think it works and that’s good enough for me to seek out more information and tips to transform my home, business, self, and style to suit the positive flow of chi!
Rebecca Laffar-Smith’s last blog post..Book Release: The Liar’s Diary by Patry Francis
Hi Rebecca,
Funny you should mention the position of your desk. I like to rearrange furniture, and for awhile, I had my desk so that my back was to a window. It always gave me an eerie feeling, especially after dark. I moved it so that I am perpendicular to the window (so I can admire the scenery), and I face the primary entrance.
With Feng Shui being a 5000 year old philosophy, I do believe there is some truth to it.
Barbara’s last blog post..Stop The Press – I’m Dying To Share
Hi Barbara,
I love the observation you made, and applying it to blogs was a masterstroke.
I took some design courses in college, and so the main thing that has always stuck with me, often determining my sense of aesthetics, has always been, “Form follows function.” That’s not to say we MUST follow that — sometimes function follows form.
Apple products: now, there’s form AND there’s function(ality)!
Anyway, by simply being aware of something lets one decide to follow or NOT follow it. So pointing out that there could be a Feng Shui to blogs really makes me think about aesthetics in a more…”awakened” state, I guess.
Thanks for the thought-provoking post.
Nez’s last blog post..Why I Switched to a Mac: A Critical Analysis
Hi Nez,
Since I believe there could be some truth to Feng Shui, it did make me wonder if it could be applied to other aspects of our lives. And, since I’m blogging, I had to ask…
Thank you for sharing your insights.
Barbara’s last blog post..Stop The Press – I’m Dying To Share