The truth is that a large red-colored object emanates the fire element and is not necessarily the best way to activate an area. Fire happens to strengthen earth and there are earth-type energies responsible for sickness, arguments, and accidents. Please do not think that red is a "lucky" color because it can cause harm when placed in the wrong location.

Assume that your toilet is bad feng shui:

Remember that modern plumbing only brought the toilet into the house relatively recently and that there are no 6,000 year old feng shui case studies regarding the effects of a toilet in any part of the house. Much of what has been written about bad feng shui and toilets is exaggerative or not accurate at all.

Assume that a water fountain must be good feng shui:

Clean, gently flowing water can improve an environment in numerous ways, but an incorrectly-placed water fountain can also contribute to gossip, arguments, sexual scandal, legal problems and criminal activity.

Believe that your remedies will work better if you install them with love:

While good intentions, prayer and meditation can help improve one s perspective and attitude, a real feng shui remedy does not require any personal energy in order for it to work, just as real medicine works whether you believe in it or not. Feng Shui remedies are not supposed to be placebos even though many people assume that to be the case.

Hang bamboo flutes on beams to correct their negative influence:

There was no such thing as an ancient Chinese bamboo flute like the ones you see today. Flutes like that originated in Italy. The so-called Chinese bamboo flute is a modern-day knick-knack. The only thing that really corrects the downward energy of an exposed beam is a false ceiling.

Think that an oval-shaped mirror in your bedroom will attract romance:

Mirrors are an irritant to the bedroom area, contributing to poor sleep as they bounce energy currents back and forth. Perhaps only indirectly, the mirror will force you to look at yourself more often-check your physical appearance and do something about it if it s preventing you from meeting someone!

Believe everything you read in feng shui books:

Just because someone is famous, has written a book, or pretends they come from a long familial lineage of feng shui masters does not necessarily mean they are telling you the truth. One of the most famous Asian feng shui authors is aware that their books have hideous mistakes in them, but openly admitted, "Who cares what stupid Americans think!"

Well, I care....so read on....

FENG SHUI BOOK REVIEW

In the span of one week, I read one of the best and one of the worst feng shui books. I ll use my review of them as an excuse to teach more feng shui.

The Best: A Master s Course in Feng Shui by Eva Wong. Not for the faint of heart, this book has tons of classical, authentic information, more than what can be digested in a single reading. She teaches wonderful advanced Form School theory, how to judge correct "Sitting and "Facing" of a house, The Flying Star calculations (based on when your house was built) and how to interpret the number combinations. Even though I don t agree with or practice 100% of what is in the book, I agree with 99% of it. The information that I disagree with is very technical and beyond the scope of this newsletter, but if anyone with advanced feng shui training wants to have a discussion about it, then just email me.

Eva s book can truly function as a home-study course for people around the world with no access to study in person with the half-dozen feng shui masters traveling around the world teaching similar information. This book could be titled, "Feng Shui for Smart People who really want to know the truth and not the baloney version!"