Black Sect is a modern
school of feng shui developed some twenty years ago. It plays
on the western world's obsession with parts and our unending
fascination with seeming mysterious and magical eastern traditions.
It uses people's deep-seeded attraction to superstitions icons.
It promotes material gain over balance. It is a bogus school
of feng shui that has become widely known through the proliferation
of books, articles, websites, and seminars.
As
a short review, remember that feng shui is about balancing
the qi in your environment. With balance comes the likelihood
of better health, wealth and relationships. Because qi is
physical and meta-physical and therefore, cannot be fully
understood using sensory perception, the Chinese at least
made the attempt to understand this vital force by observing
how it moves, changes, and transforms in nature. Put another
way, they set out to undestand how qi moves through the cycles
of yin and yang and it's tangible correlative aspects, the
five phases of fire, earth, metal, water and wood. (We won't
get into numbers here.)
Feng
shui is the study of TIME and SPACE. Everything in its SPACE
changes over TIME. Life is not stagnant and unchanging. Classical
feng shui studies the environment, people, places, and time
and how the qi of each interacts.
While
the Life Aspiration method at least orients the pseudo-bagua
according to the magnetic facing of the dwelling, Black Sect
does not. Here, one overlays the pseudo-bagua in the exact
same way in each home so that the north (career) sector will
ALWAYS be facing toward your belly. Your main entrance will
ALWAYS lead into one of three life aspiration sectors: knowledge
(northeast), career (north), helpful people (northwest). Directionality
(SPACE) is irrelevant! This method proposes that each home
is the same. It paints a still-life portrait. It's uniform.
Stagnant. Unchanging. TIME does not exist.
Moreover,
Black Sect uses a variety of "cures" to "activate" the qi
of each sector: light-refracting objects like mirrors, crystals,
and lights; sound (windchimes, bells); living things (plants,
aquariums); moving objects (mobile, fountain); metal objects
(statues); bamboo flutes, colors, red ribbons, pictures of
doves, etc.
Qi
cannot be compartmentalized. Qi is not a dog that can be commanded:
"Knowledge qi, over here. Sit and stay." The Black Sect notion
of fragmenting qi adheres to the western mindset. In order
to find logic and reason, we scrutinize, separate, and confine.
Further, Black Sect is an easy-to-understand method that fits
into our fast-paced society. We want things NOW. We don't
want to take the time to learn, explore, ponder.
Currently,
I'm working on a book project proposal about American mah
jongg, a Chinese tile game. In the 1920s, an American entrepeneur
went to China and saw everyone playing playing the game. At
that time, all things eastern were very popular (including
opium!). So, he bought several sets and marketed them in the
U.S. Because he didn't learn how to play the game, he used
its component parts and simply made up the rules. Also, other
things were added. Like jokers, racks, and a "card." Presto!
American mah jongg was born.
The
same thing happened to feng shui. The components parts (yin
and yang, the five phases, the eight trigrams, etc.) were
used, but not in the way they are intended to be used. Like
the game example above, other things were added. The authentic
concept was twisted into something completely new and different.
Now, of course, you can't really compare a game to feng shui.
While a game can't hurt you, feng shui potentially can. We
don't seem to consider this because feng shui can't be "touched"
with our senses.
Before
you plunk down your hard-earned savings on feng shui courses,
understand the differences between the schools. Participate
in (free) on-line lists. Be a discriminating consumer. |
