Posts Tagged ‘Feng Shui’

Zen Water Fountains- Asian-influenced Water Features to Bring Tranquility to Your Home or Office

The idea of Zen certainly promotes the concept of simplicity, or a less is more approach to living. In a world where chaos is nearly constant and anxiety is all too common, the application of this principle to our daily lives is becoming almost a necessity. Zen implores us to create spaces that are open and free of clutter. This creates a sense of serenity that is proven to help make work easier by making it easier to focus, relax, and concentrate. Using Zen water fountains to help create such a space can be an excellent idea for any room.

Asian water features can take a number of shapes and designs. From small towers that implement the different elements of Feng Shui to create balance to fountains that rely more on the amplified sound of running or falling water, there are a number of ways to attain the sensation of Zen. There are numerous tabletop fountains that offer these principles as well as standing fountains and wall fountains. Keep in mind that employing other methods of serenity and Feng Shui into your home or office will help your fountain create a much more relaxing and peaceful effect.

One thing that is very important when it comes to Zen and Feng Shui is organization. Clutter and disorganization will create a sense of chaos within any space and will greatly disrupt the flow of energy throughout the room, negating the effects of your Asian water features. Likewise, using too many decorations will clutter the room visually. Rotate the photos, decorations, and other items that you display so that there is always an open feeling to the room. Last, take the time to create a design that is asymmetrical. Even numbers and perfect symmetry represent a stagnant energy level.

Using odd numbers and placing items at varying distances from one another can help promote a more positive flow of energy throughout the space.

When you install Zen water fountains within a space, you will find that the room feels more relaxed and harmonious. Falling water will help create a sense of serenity, while the look of the fountain and the balance of elements will create a visually appealing space and a positive energy flow. Keep the principles of simplicity and asymmetry in mind and always keep the area free of clutter. These fountains offer a great way to make your space better and to help you alleviate stress in the places where you feel it the most.

Garden Feng Shui- Energize Your Garden with Feng Shui Fountains

Feng Shui is an ancient art that is created around the principles of arrangement and placement of different elements to create a spiritual balance. Chi, or energy, should be positive and should flow freely through a given space, and Feng Shui helps to make this happen. Feng Shui fountains are excellent for placement in a garden, where they can be used to help create balance and to make the space more appealing for people and animals as well as your plants.

When looking at garden fountains for the purposes of Feng Shui, it is important to keep the elements in mind. Your garden will likely have plenty of wood represented (plants) as well as earth (soil), and the water from the fountain will also represent the water element. This leaves fire and metal as two elements that you may need to add to the space. Fire can be represented by the color red, as well as by using torches or flames. Red flowers are an excellent way to implement the element, as are glazed pots. Metal is easily represented through the use of a copper fountain or other metal decorations and additions.

Feng Shui water fountains not only balance the elements, but stillness and motion as well. While stagnant water represents an inability of energy to flow, the motion of the water within the fountain will help facilitate the positive flow of energy throughout the space. Using granite or other building materials for your fountain will create a sense of balance, as the earth element represents calm and stillness. It is only by creating a balance between elements and between such opposites as flow and stillness that the true principles of Feng Shui can truly be achieved. Making use of many materials, colors, and plants can help make your fountain more effective.

Regardless of what fountain material or type you choose, your garden fountain can be a big part of implementing the principles of Feng Shui into the space. Any of the elements can be represented by the fountain, and the key will be to use adornments and elements to help create a sense of balance. As long as all of the elements are equally represented and the garden is arranged to provide an open space that is suitable for the flow of energy, you will find that your fountain is a major part of the practice and that it will become an essential part of your garden.

Fountains and Feng Shui

Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of placement. The practice involves the careful arrangement of items within a space to represent elements and create a proper balance and flow of energy. While Feng Shui has been practiced for thousands of years, it is only now growing in popularity in the western world. Feng Shui fountains are a great way to employ the practice while offering aesthetic benefit to any space. The next few paragraphs will explain the principles of Feng Shui as well as the meanings of materials and colors as they relate to the elements.

Feng Shui revolves around the elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Creating a balance of these elements is important, as a lack of one or an abundance of another can create negative energy or a stagnant flow. Metal is the first element to be discussed. The related color for this element is white. In addition to the use of white, metal can also be introduced through metal objects, fountain bases, sculptures, or even wind chimes. Many indoor wall fountains make use of metal.

Fire is an element represented by the color red. Burning incense and candles commonly represent the element, though there are fountain that offer small oil lamps to produce low flames. Wood is represented by the color green and can be used through furniture in the home, driftwood in a fountain, or even a wood based fountain. Use of green additions to your indoor wall fountain can also provide a representative of the wood element.

The element of earth is represented by the color yellow. Many common fountain materials represent earth, including stone, ceramic, and clay. Tiles, pots, and figurines also make excellent representatives of this element for Feng Shui fountains. The last element, water, is represented by the colors black and blue. Water is the easiest element to incorporate into a fountain, as the water is a necessary ingredient for your fountain to work and function.

One of the biggest benefits of fountains when it comes to Feng Shui is that the constant flow of the water will increase the flow of positive chi, or energy. Because of this, fountains are an ideal addition to any room created around the principles of Feng Shui. Whether you are looking to create an entire room around the concept or simple a meditative space that will offer relaxation, Feng Shui wall fountains are simple wonderful additions to any space that can help make a room a more positive place to be.

Feng Shui in Office Settings

Let’s face it; the office is one of the places in the world that offers the most stress and anxiety. Employees working in stressful conditions are more likely to experience headaches, succumb to illnesses, and simple have a hard time concentrating. Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese art of arrangement, can be a great way to redirect the energy within an office space. A simple water fountain or indoor water fall in your office can help to create a sense of calm and relaxation that will make all employees less stressed and better able to perform their duties. The next few paragraphs will help you learn how to achieve this.

Feng Shui is based around creating a balance of the five elements. While the element of metal is likely found in your office in abundance when looking at filing cabinets, chairs, and other items, it is important to add the other elements as well in order to create a sense of balance and a more positive flow of energy. Indoor waterfalls can implement multiple elements at once, adding the water of the fountain as well as the element represented by the fountain itself.

Wood is an important element when it comes to Feng Shui. An excellent way to incorporate this element into your office space is through the addition of live plants. While the color green is an excellent representative of the element, using plants instead will create a flow of air and energy from the living essence of the plant, making the balance more effective. Water is implemented through the use of indoor water falls, which provide moving water to help create a more pronounced flow of positive chi throughout the space. This element will provide harmony, while the sound of the rushing and falling water will also provide a relaxing ambiance that promotes a sense of calm throughout the space.

Other ways to employ Feng Shui are to reduce clutter and arrange furniture. Clutter blocks the flow of energy, but removing small items and keeping desks clear will allow for a greater sense of calm and serenity. When arranging furniture, ensure that desks and chairs are not near the entrance to the room and keep from backing people up against windows. This will help prevent the blockage of negative energy within the space.

In short, while Feng Shui can be complex, the basic principles are easy to integrate into your space. Using indoor waterfalls can provide a great deal of calm, while using fountains made of stone or earth elements can help provide balance. The office doesn’t have to be a source of stress, and these methods can help to greatly reduce it.

Feng Shui Home- The Element of Water

Feng Shui is a wonderful ancient practice that implements all of the natural elements into a space to help create a positive flow of energy. While there are a total of five elements that are used in the practice, water is certainly one that is very important. Feng Shui fountains make excellent use of the element while still offering a sense of balance between all of them. The beauty of these fountains is that they keep water constantly moving, which also helps to keep the positive energy flowing throughout the room at all times. Stagnant energy is bad for the body and mind, but keeping energy flowing is considered to be very healthy.

Feng Shui is an art that involves the careful placement of all objects, materials, and colors within a room. Indoor floor fountains can be a great way to add décor to an area of the room without blocking the flow of energy. The fountain that you choose can also represent one or more elements in addition to the water that flows through it. A metal fountain, such as one made of copper or steel, will represent the element of metal, while a fountain made of stone, ceramic, or other similar materials will represent the element of earth.

Fire is typically represented through candles or flames, though the addition of red items to the space can also fill the need. Wood, the final element, can be represented by the color green or by the simple addition of live plants to the room. Many plants can make a wonderful addition to your Feng Shui fountain, though taking the time to choose a plant that won’t visually overwhelm the space is very important. By choosing the right representatives of each element for your space, you can create a greater sense of harmony and balance within the room.

Feng Shui can be incorporated into a room in many ways. Using chimes, furniture, paints, plants, and decorative items can be great ways to achieve this balance. Your indoor floor fountain will also make a significant difference on the energy of the space it inhabits. The water itself will create a wonderful elemental balance, and the flow of the water will help ensure that the energy within the space is constantly moving. Feng Shui can be easy to incorporate and highly rewarding. When properly implemented in the room, you will notice less stress and anxiety as well as a much more effective flow of energy.

Fast Feng Shui with Water Fountains

A growing number of people are becoming acquainted with the concept of Feng Shui every day. This practice is the art of arranging furniture, decorations, and other items to help promote a positive flow of energy throughout a given space. While Feng Shui takes years to fully master, the tips and tricks given in this article will help you learn how indoor water features can help to create a sense of Feng Shui within your space. Once you understand the basics, you can create a Feng Shui friendly space within a matter of minutes, reducing the amount of stress in your home and improving your health as well as relationships and inner peace.

One of the most important aspects of Feng Shui is creating a space that allows for positive chi, or energy, to flow. The implementation of indoor water falls allows for this energy flow to work much more simply. The flow of the water promotes the flow of energy. Water is the element associated with health and wealth, so these fountains can help to improve both of these aspects. When a fountain is made from stone, it also represents the element of earth, while copper and steel fountains represent the element of metal. Adding plants to the area can also help represent the wood element.

Another important aspect of Feng Shui is the placement of objects within a space. The best place to put your Feng Shui fountain or indoor water feature is at the bottom center of the room. A Bagua map, or Feng Shui map, can help you find the best location within any space depending on the parts of your life that you would most like to see a better flow of positive energy in. These maps will also help you learn what elements are best represented within a given space. The bottom center of the room represents your career, so placing your fountain here will promote career growth and satisfaction.

If you are looking for an even stronger representation of the water element within your space, a fountain that also has a mirror can work double duty. Mirrors represent water, so mirrored indoor water falls will certainly help to keep this energy flowing. Feng Shui may take years to understand fully, but by implementing a proper fountain and working with other simple elements, it can take only minutes to create a room that allows for a much greater flow of positive energy within your entire space.

Proper Water Fountain Placement in Feng Shui

The ancient philosophy known as Feng Shui is often misunderstood as a way of simply arranging and decorating the home. In fact, it is a very formulaic system for balancing and attracting positive energy (known a qi or chi) into the home or the office. It is balanced by two major forces – wind and water – and this is the reason that indoor fountains feature so prominently in modern Feng Shui styled homes or buildings.

Before leaping to the conclusion that adding a fountain will bring the kind of benefits desired it is significant to note that proper placement is vitally important for success. For example, a home or individual room must have the Feng Shui map properly aligned over it in order to analyze where the specific energies are located. The map has regions dedicated to family, career, wealth and much more, and putting a water feature in the wrong location can be disastrous.

For example, there are parts of any room or home that are dominated by the energy connected to the element of fire and if you happen to hang wall fountains within such an area, the necessary energy will be smothered by the water element. So, the first step in selecting the right type of fountain, and the best position for it, is to use the Feng Shui map to chart out the home, room, or office.

The next thing to consider is the benefit of choosing portable indoor fountains over the wall types. This is because an initial Feng Shui design may not be flawless or balanced. This is due primarily to the fact that practitioners tend to align their maps in one of two ways. They can use the compass point approach which maps out the north, south, east, and west areas of the home and then positions the standard Feng Shui map in this way, or they can align the map with the “career” area located at the front door. This means that the individual is going to have to experiment in order to determine which approach works best for them, and then make their decisions. Having a portable fountain might be best for such a time.

On the other hand, it is well known that water near the main entrance to the home, regardless of compass position and points, tends to attract success and wealth. This means that wall fountains are also very easily incorporated into Feng Shui plans as well.

Finally, whether someone chooses to rely upon tabletop indoor fountains or durable outdoor fountains, they should also consider any symbols or images that appear in them. This might mean seeking out wall fountains with images of bamboo or fish, or tabletop fountains with lotus blooms or stones if they will benefit the Feng Shui plan.

Asian Water Fountain Symbolism

There are few people interested in interior or garden designs that have not seen something with an Asian influence. Whether it is landscaping, furnishings, or even garden fountains, the ancient styles of the entire continent or specific regions have made a permanent impact.

When looking strictly at Asian water fountains and their symbolism it will become plain that there are a few different levels in which symbolism plays a role. For example, there are images, shapes, and even considerations around the placement or location of the fountain that are all seen as symbolic.

Among the most frequent reasons that someone will opt for a fountain in the Asian style are that their home or office already has this sort of décor and design, or they are seeking to implement a Feng Shui plan in the space. We’ll look first at how Asian symbolism can be forwarded with garden fountains, and then we’ll take a quick look at Feng Shui uses for water features.

The most common format for fountains where Asian styles are concerned are those used indoors. There are wall, floor and table or desktop fountains that provide the sort of serene and natural feel that is so complementary to any Asian décor. Quite often the Asian water fountains will incorporate images or examples of other natural features such as bamboo stalks or leaves, fish shapes, ceramic pots, lotus flowers, stones, and reeds. Each of these images or elements will have special meaning to the individual or the design scheme.

For example, the fish can often be a symbol of happiness in different Asian cultures, and incorporating this imagery into a garden or indoor fountain is a very common occurrence. Fountains can be found images of bamboo on them, sometimes in stone and others on glass.

When speaking about garden fountains and Feng Shui, however, it is the power of the water and the symbols incorporated into the fountain design that will dominate. Water is considered to bring wealth or it can serve as a moving force that pulls the beneficial energy known as “chi” away from the space. For example, in Feng Shui principles, the bathroom is taken into serious consideration, especially if it happens to fall within the wealth or abundance area. This is because the water heading down all of the drains can pull wealth or good fortune away with it.

On the other hand many Asian water fountains used in Feng Shui practice are positioned near a front door in order to attract wealth or good luck inside. This is often seen simply in the use of “water colors”, but the tinkling sound of a gentle fountain is the true attraction and the reason that so many garden fountains appear in Feng Shui designed homes and offices.