Feng Shui For Dummies

by David Daniel Kennedy, Lin Yun (Foreword)

Benefit from the ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui

Take a look around you. What do you see? Whether or not you're aware of it, your environment profoundly affects your health, wealth, family life, relationship, and yes, even your destiny.

Feng Shui (pronounced fung shway), which means wind water, is the ancient Chinese study of harmony and energy flow between you and your physical surroundings. Now, Feng Shui For Dummies, 2nd Edition shows you how you can apply Feng Shui principles to your home (inside and out) and workplace (from window office to cubicle) in order to achieve a better life.

Principles are explained in an easy-to-understand language Practical tips show you how to incorporate the traditions of Feng Shui to your everyday life Before-and-after illustrations and full-color photos of real-life Feng Shui makeovers in an all-new 8-page color insert Free of technical jargon and brimming with practical tips and advice, Feng Shui For Dummies shows you how to feel and access the energy of your environment and create harmony and happiness in your life.

P.S. If you think this book seems familiar, you're probably right. The Dummies team updated the cover and design to give the book a fresh feel, but the content is the same as the previous release of Feng Shui For Dummies (9780470769324). The book you see here shouldn't be considered a new or updated product. But if you're in the mood to learn something new, check out some of our other books. We're always writing about new topics!

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Self Help, China, Philosophy, Spirituality, Architecture

422 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 22, 2000

About the author

“We are capable of incredible improvement and new abilities, and the journey of accomplishing these abilities is challenging, exciting and wonderful.” – David Daniel Kennedy

David Daniel Kennedy is one of America’s best-known experts in Feng Shui, the ancient art of balance and harmony . An internationally recognized teacher and speaker, David has shared his unique and entertaining approach to transformation in hundreds of lectures and workshops across the United States, and in his popular Feng Shui books, audios, and video programs.

He has helped homeowners, small and medium-sized businesses, and Fortune 500 companies, create a better future. He has spoken at international Feng Shui conferences around the world. He has mentored and coached dozens of Feng Shui consultants. And he has been featured in more than 50 radio, TV and print interviews on the subject of Feng Shui. He is also the Curriculum Advisor to the Long Island Feng Shui Institute in Oyster Bay, NY.

In his many years as a professional Feng Shui consultant, David has helped hundreds of individuals and companies transform their lives and businesses by changing their relationships with themselves, others and their environments through Feng Shui principles. His training in the field of human transformation includes transpersonal psychology, human communication studies, emotional healing, bio-energetics, kinesiology, qigong, and yoga. He masterfully blends this modern and ancient knowledge to facilitate powerful, dynamic life changes for others.
Prior to his career in the field of transformation, David excelled in direct sales, telemarketing, sales management and sales training,working in the fields of real estate, mortgages, and telecommunications. So he appreciates the challenges business owners face in creating successful outcomes in today’s business climate. David’s aim is to help others achieve a better understanding of life and greater comfort with their place in the life process.

David has also authored several successful books and study courses. His books have sold over 300,000 copies in the US and Canada and have been translated into more than 15 languages around the world. His publications include:

Books
- Feng Shui Tips For A Better Life (1998, Storey Publications)
- Feng Shui For Dummies (2nd Edition: 2010, Wiley Publications; 1st Edition: 2001, Wiley)
- Feng Shui For Abundance (2005, Sounds True)

Courses and DVDs
- The Feng Shui Home Study Course (2004, Sounds True)
- The Feng Shui Online Practitioner Course (Complete Reality Institute)
- Qi Gong For Health And Vitality DVD (Complete Reality Institute)

I<>Source: David Daniel Kennedy

Reviews

[J. Rose]

I've had this book since the year it came out--it was my first introduction to feng shui and my favorite go-to book since then. Not a year goes by that I don't pull it out to review or fine tune some aspect of my feng shui practice, especially when we're moving to a new place or doing a makeover.

While the application of feng shui is a lifetime pursuit, the premise is simple--the state of one's living (or office) space can influence their general well-being. The premise of this book is equally simple.

Unlike formal schools of thought, this book requires no special tools or compasses to determine where each of the nine feng shui life areas are located in your house. Here, the zones are located relative to the front door--easy peasy, and yet the results are no less powerful.

There is a wealth of information here on how and where to use colors, shapes, materials, and your own intention to bring positive energy to your life, how to identify and "cure" trouble spots with your layout, and special sections on using the five elements (feng shui includes metal as an element) and improving finances. There's even a chapter with special blessings you can do to freshen energy or to christen a new home. While these are tailored to a buddhist approach, the author encourages readers to adapt these to one's own beliefs and practice.

Before you discount feng shui as nothing more than eccentric, mystical hokey-pokey, consider giving it a try! It's made a world of difference in my home. Many of the suggestions in the book are a matter of common sense, but often things we overlook. Most are incredibly easy to implement, in any case.

[Karen Floyd]

Some good advice, especially in the beginning, about how your house and its condition affect you. It makes perfect sense. But by the end I was a little tired of the cures and blessing ceremonies, most of which required the purchase of something or other. I don't want mirrors, Japanese flutes or little crystal balls hanging all over my house. And I don't want multiple flagpoles and lights around my yard. But, on the other hand, I do realize the need for a hedge across my front yard to buffer us from the street.

[~☆~Autumn]

Some of this is not interesting but other parts of it are fascinating. There were too many charts for me and I do like my old book Feng Shui Step by Step. This book says that Feng Shui Step by Step is superstition.

[Carolyn Tragasz]

About what one would expect from a For Dummies book- a good overview and general introduction to the topic. I didn't find the writing especially engaging, but it was informative. Focused less on theory and history and more on practical suggestions for how to get down to the art of practicing Feng Shui.

I don't know that I'm a believer in everything proposed, but I was inspired to try some of the suggested modifications in my home.

[Jo]

Years have passed and I reached much higher level of the practice, but this remains one of my favorite entry level, beginners' book on Feng Shui.
I always recommend it as a good intro & a first step to anyone who is interested learning about real, classical Feng Shui. It could be well accompanied and combined, or immediately followed by a higher level book that deals with "real feng shui" in a bit more serious way. I have recently reviewed "A Course in Real Feng Shui", by Althea S.T. and recommend it, or you can find a similar, high-profile content on real, classical FS.
P.S: Honestly, I don't remember the part with those wind-chimes, mirrors, etc., some users posted about..? Maybe I have just 'surpressed it' :))))))))))))))))

[Jo]

This is a great little manual for looking at your home in a way that helps cultivate positive chi. What's more you can dip in and out of it as your circumstances change as well as reading it to learn about feng shui.
Very detailed so I'm sure it can help those with intermediate knowledge as well as newbies to the subject

[Jannette Tacka]

More than mirrors, plants and crystal spheres. Intention. Chi. Dad joke, every few pages but I didn't mind. I'll keep, as a reference, many diagrams. Nice kick in the butt to reevaluate your environment. Always good to switch-up perspectives. Have applied several cures. 3 stars- repetitive and last chapter bogs down when more complex cures are presented.

[Tera]

Lots of information, instructions and diagrams/pictures. Good reference book.

[Glennie]

So far, my favorite book on feng shui.

[booksbyjeffrey]

Remember Feng Shui (pronounced fung shway)? It had a pretty big moment in the 1990s as it crossed over from China and found an audience here. It became quite the burgeoning industry, with professional Feng Shui consultants who would come to your home and analyze it for energy blockages. At least in the West, that boom turned out to be a bit of a fad, and you don’t hear Feng Shui mentioned nearly as much anymore.

But, as I’ve been diving into Chinese studies lately (see my Taoism for Dummies review), and also looking at improving my personal space (see my A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind review), it seemed like a natural next step to see how Chinese ideas about energy and personal environment interact. And also to look for ways to improve my own space and better cultivate my chi (life energy).

Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of improving every part of your life by enhancing your environment according to principles of harmony and energy flow. Finding problems, and fixing them with “cures”.

Your physical surroundings affect both your inner and outer life. And I am in full agreement with that sentiment. I do believe that your environment is a reflection of yourself. A cluttered environment is a reflection of a cluttered mind. Dirt on the floor is dirt on the self.

“Broken, dirty, or unmaintained features of your home provide a continuous subconscious influence of malfunction and decay.”

This concept appears in Buddhism, Taoism and beyond.

The book also has quite a lot of superstitious elements which, I mean… I don’t really put too much stock in the literal truth of them, but whether they are literally true or not may actually be irrelevant, because it’s your own human intention that makes the difference.

What I mean is, if you act in accordance that a red object placed on a wall at a certain angle will contribute to financial success, then it might actually, because of your intention. It becomes a physical reminder of what you’re trying to cultivate in your life. The supernatural mechanism may not be real, but human intention certainly is.

One of the more superstitious-style declarations did hit home for me, though…

“Windows in the home should work smoothly and easily for maximum visibility and good eyesight. Windows that malfunction, are cracked or broken, or are painted shut can induce eye problems or issues for the children of the household. The cure is to repair the windows so that they work perfectly.”

We’ve had a real doozy of a problem lately where one of our windows has been leaking during rainstorms. We’ve had to take off all the trim around it, and we’ve had roofers, eavestrough people and window people come to the house trying to figure it out.

Well guess what? My son just got a terrible eye infection and has been to the hospital three times.

Coincidence?!?

A Feng Shui cure can involve removing the offending impediment or countering and balancing it with something else. There’s a long list of things that can cause negative energy and an equally long list of cures.

The book lists ways to address issues both inside and outside the home. For example, if you live on a busy street, there may be too much energy rushing toward your home, which you can counter with trees to soften it or a mirror to symbolically reflect it away. On the opposite side, if you live at the end of a cul-de-sac or in a remote area, you may need to add more energetic elements, such as a fountain or wind chimes, to increase the energy and keep things in balance.

And that idea of balance is what I find most appealing about Feng Shui.

I believe that living in a clean, functional and harmonious environment can meaningfully affect your mind, behaviour and life. And if Feng Shui gives me a framework for paying closer attention to those things, I see value in it.

So, I’m going through a bit of a home rebalancing project now. I’m discarding aggressively and cleaning and repairing every nook and cranny. I’ll try to post some before-and-after shots when I’m done.

Do you believe in the concept of Feng Shui?

★★★★☆ (4/5)

[Ren]

This book sent me down such a rabbit hole that changed my entire life over a decade ago and I am always grateful to it for that reason. It's a fantastic introduction to the philosophies of Taoism and covers so many ideas that are worth its own study on the understanding of the archetypes of the elements of nature and how they manifest from the higher to the lower, from the base literal form to the meaningful spiritual or emotional form.

There's a brief note in here on the art of BaZi and Zi Wei Dou Shu for destiny readings and I'm so grateful it introduced me to each of those amazing wonders.

It's a great book, easy to read but doesn't lack any depth from that. The sources are well-found. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone.

[Claire Binkley]

Honestly, I had fully avoided feng shui for years, almost decades since I had assumed it was weird and out there. However, this book gives readers a pictoral guide to some practical common-sense considerations for how they should conduct their lives and block out weird parts that don't make sense or might make living more difficult. Some of its advice is steeped in Chinese culture and some of it is practical; for example, it's better to purchase a new stove versus a used one.

I liked the Meditations this book describes. To be 100% honest I still think it's a little on the strange side, but this book explains what Feng Shui is better than I had understood before.

[Kelsey]

Picked this up from our neighborhood little free library after following Cliff Tan (@dearmodern) on Instagram and being curious about the basic design principles of feng shui. Based on this book, it's just not for me. I can get behind a strategically placed plant or wind chime on the deck or in the garden, but the "cures" of wind chimes, crystal spheres, faux greenery, flutes, mirrors, etc. everywhere just feel tacky to me.

Worth a read for a basic understanding of the school of thought, but not anything I will regularly implement.

[Elise]

This book is not my first introduction to Feng Shui but it is the one that covers most topics. It describes exactly what it should be doing; feng shui for dummies - people who know nothing about it. It gives you a heads up on what areas in life you could adress and some easy cures to apply, so you could start out on your own, however it is very much simplified and doesn't go to deep in to exceptions.

[Daniel]

Quite interesting at first. Got boring very quickly. Lots of repetition. Could serve as a reference.

[Yeomen Seen 1]

Obedience is a virtue...the greatest test lies on how we practice this virtue [since]
mind tend to corrupt..

[C]

I have found all the "dummies" guides that I've read to be excellent and I'm glad they exist! I learned a lot about feng shui from this book.

[Khoa]

Putting bagua mirrors on the fence, facing your neighbor.

[Erik Akre]

If you are attracted to the magic of Feng Shui in any way, this is a great book to propel you forward into practice. It is comprehensive, and for a Dummies book, it goes very deep into the historical, aesthetic, and practical aspects of the practice. You will find everything you need to begin, and you will enjoy the read as you go. I don't always put faith in these books, but this one is very good, very well written, and relaxed enough to welcome you.

Feng Shui is indeed a practice of true magic, an elaborate magical system, make no mistake. It includes ritual, intent to change, and the use of actual material symbolism. Kennedy makes this clear, without actually using the word "magic." One raises energy and directs it, transfers it to the physical space, and it radiates this energy from then on. Kennedy wisely suggests not mixing Feng Shui systems, and describes more than one to deepen the reader's understanding and appreciation. The one he rests on for most of the book is an open and flexible system: perfect for the beginner.

If you're interested, and just beginning, this is a highly recommended book. From this, one can move on into the deeper and more philosophical treatises. One can start Big, or start small, and take it as far as one wants to go. Read it, and get started!

[Jen]

This is the type of book that can only be read read when either A) you REALLY need to/want to learn something or B) you have a month off and not much better to do. Amazingly, I somehow fit into both categories last month! While this book will not make you a subject matter expert, it will give you insight into some of the most important concepts of feng shui. For anyone mildly interested in energy and how it affects us all, there are convincingly strong correlations between the condition of your home and the energy or success you experience in corresponding areas of your life. Since I happened to move shortly after reading Feng Shui for Dummies, I used some the principles from the book to select my current home and where furniture is arranged and did my best to make use of color and shape applications and expect positive chi in areas of the home that I maintain.

[Lily Haven]

This book is a good place to start if you are interested in Feng Shui, though I do wish it had more "advanced" cures. It really didn't take long for me to be sitting there going: "Let me guess, hang a crystal, put up a mirror or install a bright light..." These three things were repeated so often it could give someone the idea that that is all there really is to Feng Shui. Despite the predictability of the cures this book was loaded with good information that I haven't seen in other books I have read on the topic. So over all I would recommend reading this book, but don't treat it as the be all end all of Feng Shui guides, instead read it along with other books on Feng Shui to get a more rounded perspective.

[Natalie]

A lot of information crammed in here, and it didn't help that the kindle formatting was really really poor. That said, I feel like the majority of information boils down to "keep organized and clean, and when your chi is bad, put mirrors and crystal balls everywhere." Obviously, it's not like that at all, but most of my takeaway was that I need to hang a lot more mirrors and get a lot more lamps to light up this horrible dark little apartment.

[Cecilia]

I can't wait to grab a few minutes to read a little more of this book each day... If you ever wonder why everything in your life is such a mess, take a look at this book. I have discovered that my home and surroundings are in serious violation of the principles of Feng Shui, which explains a lot! A more complete review will follow when I learn everything I am doing wrong!

[J]

Great book. Enjoyed this read. Not my first Book for Dummies; Will certainly not be my last. Outlined much of the stuff, Got my red envelopes, wind chimes, and flutes. Will definitely be doing some of the blessings. Orange peel, Rice blessing. Working on the Mudras and mantras now. going to bless my cousin's new place. Just got to get that cinnabar

[Sally Kilpatrick]

This one was too precise. If you're serious about feng shui and want to make sure you house doesn't face the wrong way, then this book might be for you. If you're looking for the basics laid out in an entertaining style, this isn't the book for you.

[Lisadecorates]

My very first book purchase about Feng Shui. Easy to understand and apply. Still cross check with it once in awhile. It explains and orange peel blessing which I have used , with excellant results, at least once every year since 2007.

[Ann Kucera]

Another book that gives you the basics of feng shui in an easy to understand format with plenty of drawings, Feng Shui for Dummies includes several traditional feng shui blessing ceremonies and cures.

[Sheehan]

New house, new arrangement...I wouldn't say it's good, but it's informative.

[Michelle Anderson]

I have to say I learned quite a bit about Feng Shui. I was suprised considering it was a dummy book.

[John Towery]

It give you the basic of Feng Shui. It's informative and gives me enough knowledge to apply it to our home. It's not that bad.