Interest in the art of Feng Shui -- the placement of objects in a room to allow for the easy flow of energy, or chi -- seems to have hit a plateau. There are hundreds of books now dedicated to the subject, and it is impossible to go into a bookstore and know which one to choose without just randomly selecting one. I flipped through several books on the subject, before selecting The Western Guide to Feng Shui: Room by Room for my introduction to the art.
Author Terah Kathryn Collins approaches Feng Shui from the point of view of harmonizing and simplifying your life. Whether or not you believe placing a chair in a certain position will get you the perfect job, this book at least contains some common sense advice to make a room seem inviting and comfortable.
Many books on Feng Shui go deep into the specifics providing charts and maps that may be a bit too much for the Feng Shui beginner who doesn't necessarily want to align his or her front door according to their sun sign and time of birth.
This is the primary reason that I enjoyed Collins' approach. She provides a Bagua map for those interested in knowing the locations of their house's "Health" or "Family" sectors, but keeps it simple. She explains the Feng Shui fundamentals including the Easter spiritual concepts behind those fundamentals and then quickly moves on to real-life examples of room by room changes anyone can make. The before-and-after pictures help tremendously in demonstrating the suggestions.
As I mentioned, many of the points of advice are pure common sense. But sometimes, that's just what we need to be presented with the obvious. People who are easily overwhelmed with the big picture of overhauling their house tend to forget about the little things they can do to make a difference. And this is where Collins' guide can help.
