An expert guide to feng shui your living and work spaces for peace and abundance

There are some spaces you walk into and you feel as if you’re “home.” (Think: the warm house in The Family Stone.)

Then, there are some spaces you walk into and you feel such unease, you want to immediately run away. (Think: the creepy Neibolt house in Stephen King’s It.) 

You may not realize it, but one house has something that the other house doesn’t—and that’s feng shui. 

It may not have been intentional, but the use of this ancient Chinese practice allows for the flow of qi (pronounced as “chi”), which is also known as life force. When there are no blockages of it, then the space feels warm, welcoming, and wonderful.

So if you have the desire to have such a calm, Zen space (rather than one that scares the bejeezus out of you), then feng shui it up.

What is feng shui, and what does it mean?

This particular holistic practice focuses on harmonizing a person with their surrounding environment. As a matter of fact, the “feng shui” meaning derives from two words—feng meaning “wind” and shui meaning “water.” (Pretty apt considering these two elements are known for their flow.)

Feng shui is literally an energy system. It’s an energy system that affects you constantly, and it is because it’s your home. It’s where you live, where you sleep, and when you work.

— Marie Diamond, trainer of Mindvalley’s Feng Shui for Life Quest

The thing is, where you live, sleep, and work impacts the four major areas of your life—success, relationships, health, and spiritual growth, according to Marie Diamond, a feng shui master and the trainer of Mindvalley’s Feng Shui for Life Quest.

So manipulating your space with the proper placement of physical elements can promote more positive energy flow. This can, then, lead to incredible benefits:

• Improved well-being,
• Greater focus and productivity,
• Enhanced relationships, and
• Increased prosperity.

Though there are people out there who consider this practice pseudoscience, there is research that has shown how advantageous feng shui can be. For instance, one study found that their subjects had better heart rate variability and mood when they were exposed to interior designs using feng shui. 

“All the images, the colors, your furniture, the positioning of yourself in that space affect your mindset,” says Marie. And manipulating them so that there’s a better qi flow can help bring you from the beta state (where your mind is highly active) into the alpha state (where your mind is relaxed, calm, and meditative).

The history

Feng shui was developed over thousands of years through careful experimentation and observation. It came about as a way to balance physical environments, promote harmony, instill a sense of well-being, and improve every aspect of your life. 

Historically, feng shui was one of the five Chinese metaphysical arts classified as physiognomy, which involves the observation of appearances through formulas and calculations. Its purpose was to favorably align or position buildings, structures, and spaces influenced by heavenly time and earthly space.

“The original Feng shui masters,” Marie explains, “they were looking for the place where the wind and the water were positive for somebody to build a building.”

However, today, the concept of feng shui is more contemporary and practical. The approach is to simply arrange objects within a particular environment to remove negative energy and promote harmony, balance, and good qi.

Contemporary feng shui

Contemporary feng shui grew from two very different but authentic schools: the form school and the compass school. Here’s a closer look at both:

The form school

An older and more traditional approach, the form school analyzes the shape of the environment, the land, and the flow of wind and water to find a place with ideal qi.

It takes into consideration:

• Yin-yang concept,
• The five celestial animals (phoenix, green dragon, white tiger, black turtle, and yellow snake),
• The five elements (wood, fire, earth, water, and metal), and
• Important events, such as the birth of a certain space or structure.

In today’s world, form school feng shui can be used in urban planning, architecture, interior design, and real estate. You can use it to find the optimal placement and design of buildings, homes, and landscapes so that there is harmony and well-being.

The compass school

As the name suggests, this approach uses a compass to show which direction is most favorable to maximize positive energy flow.

However, it’s not just any compass; it’s called luopan, and it’s used to determine the precise orientation of a building or space. This compass includes numerous rings that provide the exact directions of the building or space.

Once that’s known, it’s time to bring out the bagua map. Once it’s laid over the floor plan of the building or space, you can see which areas correspond to which specific life aspects.

To take it a step further, the Flying Stars system is used. This analyzes how the energies in each area of the bagua map change over time, and from there, you can see how to make the appropriate adjustments so that you can continually optimize the flow of positive energy.

4 principles of feng shui

Without rules and principles in place, chaos can ensue, and that goes the same with feng shui. They help ensure the flow of positive energy and promote harmony and balance.

“Feng shui is literally an energy system,” Marie explains. “It’s an energy system that affects you constantly, and it is because it’s your home. It’s where you live, where you sleep, and when you work.”

Here are four core ones to follow:

Qi

The always-moving and changing life force. The goal is to keep qi flowing gently throughout the environment rather than running straight through it. However, if it gets stuck or blocked, it hurts the surroundings. 

So if you ever find yourself in need of unblocking or optimizing the flow of qi, consider rearranging your furniture, clearing up any clutter, and introducing natural elements like plants and water features. Additionally, proper lighting and using mirrors strategically can also help redirect qi for a more harmonious flow.

Bagua

The bagua map translates to a grid-shaped chart to map nine areas of your life:

1. Wealth and prosperity
2. Fame and reputation
3. Love and relationships
4. Family
5. Health
6. Creativity and children
7. Knowledge and self-cultivation
8. Career and life path
9. Helpful people and travel

Each one lines up with a cardinal direction (north, south, east, west, and intermediate directions), and each direction has its own unique elements and energies.

For example, if you want to know the bed placement for wisdom, health, or romance that relates to your personal energy number, a bagua map can point you in the right direction.

It’s a powerful tool for manifesting your dreams and goals because of the energy centers that correspond to specific areas of your life. Thus, it can be improved and strengthened to help you succeed.

The five elements

Wood, fire, earth, metal, and water—these five elements are fundamental to feng shui.

Why? Because each one has specific characteristics and influences. Furthermore, they interact in cycles of creation (where one element supports and enhances the next) and destruction (where one element restricts or diminishes the next).

An example of creation would be how wood feeds fire. On the other hand, for destruction, water extinguishes fire.

So to maintain harmony in your space, it’s important to balance these elements.

Yin and yang

Chances are, you’ve heard of yin and yang. They’re complementary forces that represent balance.

Yin is passive, dark, and soft. How does that translate into your surrounding space? Shaded areas, soft furnishings, and cool colors like blue and green. These elements are best used in bedrooms or meditation rooms where rest and relaxation are the goals.

Yang, on the other hand, is active, bright, and hard. Space-wise, it might include bright lighting, lively colors like red and yellow, and angular or sturdy furniture. Active areas, such as living rooms and offices, would be best incorporated with yang elements.

7 tips on how to feng shui your home

No doubt, feng shui goes beyond rearranging furniture. But what are the basics you can start off with for energy balancing in your home?

Here are a few tips from Marie:

1. Identify your personal energy number

In feng shui, there’s something known as the kua number—this is your personal energy number. It’s one that’s assigned to you based on your birth date and gender.

Marie explains that it determines how your qi flows in your life and, based on that, how you manifest abundance.

Here’s how to find your kua number:

1. Add the last two digits of your birth year. If the number comes up as a double-digit, add the digits together to get a single-digit. For 1989, it would be 8+9. Because it equals 17, then you add 1+7, and that makes it 8.
2. For females, add 5 to the single-digit number in Step 1. If that number comes up to a double-digit, then add those two digits until you get a single digit. For those born in 1989, the digit from Step 1 is 8. Add 5 to that, and you get 13. Because that’s a double-digit, you add the two numbers, 1+3, to get 4. This would be your personal energy number.
3. For males, subtract the single-digit number in Step 1 from 10. For those born in 1989, the digit from Step 1 is 8. So subtract that from 10, and you get 2. This would be your personal energy number.

2. Find your personal direction

Now that you know your personal energy number, there are four personal directions for your success, health, relationships, and wisdom. (These directions are different for each kua number.)

Once you’ve found yours, you can use the bagua map to find out the other directions. This will allow you to place the appropriate things in that corner and, as Marie explains, “open up your space to align yourself with your mindset and your destiny.”

You can download Marie Diamond’s app to find your personal directions for each one.

3. Clear the clutter

It’s no secret that clutter is a representation of our mindset. The thing is, our brains love order, and visual disorganization can stress it out.

One study found that tidying up the home and work spaces leads to better focus, the ability to process information, and increased productivity. Another study suggests that cleanliness habits in the home impact overall happiness and life satisfaction.

When it comes to feng shui, decluttering can clear up that stuck energy. For instance, when Marie was working with best-selling author Jack Canfield, she noticed there were books littered everywhere in his office.

“I asked him, first of all, to pick up all the books and to let go of the books he did not longer need anymore,” she explains. This was the start of allowing energy to move more freely.

So start by checking your home for things you don’t love, use, or need. Look for too many things in too small a space, things that are untidy or disorganized, and unfinished projects. 

Then clear, repair, and clean so that the qi can do what it does best—flow with abundance.

4. Enhance the space with elements, colors, and symbols

The bagua map can show you how to feature elements, colors, and symbols in different areas of your home. Use this to your advantage to have a better flow of energy going through your living space.

For example, at the center of your home, you can place a picture of yourself in a gold frame. Or for deeper love and stronger relationships, perhaps incorporate rose quartz or pink home decor in the southwest corner.

Marie herself, after identifying the areas, put her vision board in her success corner. She then proceeded to “hang a small yellow Post-It note on it that said, ‘I’m going to be in a movie seen by millions of people that will transform the world’.” And that led to her being featured in The Secret.

5. Optimize lighting

“Natural light is essential for uplifting and energizing your space,” Marie explains. She advises you to open your curtains and windows during the day so you can let in as much natural light as possible. “This helps to invigorate your home with positive energy.”

Additionally, mirrors can help reflect light into darker areas, so place them strategically around your house. And where it’s needed, supplement spaces with artificial lighting so that you can ensure all parts of your home are well-lit.

6. Enhance the entryway

It’s important to note that qi enters a room through doors and windows. So when it comes to the entryway of your home, look at it this way: it’s the mouth of qi—where energy enters. That’s why it’s essential to keep this area clean, well-lit, and inviting.

Marie suggests placing a carpet or image to “stabilize the energy, that grounds it.” She adds that earth colors also help calm the energy before it enters your home.

What’s more, oftentimes, shoes and coats in the entryway are the first visible things when one walks through the door. “It shows poverty when you do that,” she says, advising that these items should be tucked away.

It’s in these details that you can create a more welcoming and positive experience, starting from the moment you enter your front door.

7. Mindful placement of items

“Everything that is around you affects your subconscious mind,” says Marie. That’s why she emphasizes having a place for everything and everything in its place.

For instance, position your bed and desk in such a way that you’re facing the door without directly being in line with it. It’s what Marie calls “the power position” that creates a sense of security and control.

She also encourages to put something warm and inviting as the first thing you see when you walk into each room. 

“When you come in, you want to have a feeling of lushness, of abundance,” she adds. This could be a beautiful bouquet of flowers, beautiful plants, a picture of you and your loved one(s), or “cures” that would welcome the universe into your space.

3 sample feng shui layouts

There may be instances where you can’t control the direction your house or office is facing. Despite this, you can still manipulate your surrounding environment for better qi.

Like how Cinta, a teacher and Mindvalley Member in London, Canada, did. “I transformed my office, bedroom, and living room,” she explains on Mindvalley Stories. “The impact on our feelings, mood, and relations is astonishing.”

Here’s what you can do with the three main spaces people spend most of their time in:

Bedroom

Did you know that the average American spends around 11 hours a day lying on their beds? That comes up to about nearly half of their lifetime.

It’s no wonder Marie says it’s an important place. As she points out, “it’s a place that is important for your health; it’s important for your romance; and it’s also even important for your abundance.”

So what tips does she have on how to feng shui your bedroom? Here are a few:

• Position your bed so you can see the door from where you sleep (but not directly in line with it).
• A sturdy headboard, nightstands on both sides of the bed, and an area rug can help make the place feel grounded.
• For balanced energy, place a dresser against the wall near the foot of the bed.

Remember that qi enters the room through doors and windows. So in order to avoid any obstruction, don’t position your bed under the window or in line with the door.

After all, a feng shui bedroom is a harmonious bedroom.

Living room

According to Marie, the main thing to keep in mind for a feng shui living room is that it should feel as spacious as possible.

Here’s what she suggests:

• Remove unnecessary items and avoid overstuffed furniture.
• As with the bed, the sofa and other key pieces of furniture should be placed where you can see the door without being directly in line with it.
• Decorate the space with images and things that are of nature, family, warm colors, and positive symbols. Avoid items with sharp edges or negative connotations.

“Put the sofa, the cabinets against the walls so that there’s an open flow in the center of the living room,” says Marie. “You will see there will be much more harmony and peace in the family.”

Office

Chances are, intuitively, you already know what good feng shui is. These, as Marie points out, are the places where you love to sit and work. And not good feng shui? Those are places where you don’t like to hang out.

So how does that look in an office setting? Here’s what she advises:

• Decluttering is a huge part of a good feng shui office. It helps your brain concentrate instead of focusing on the mess around you. Like Jack Canfield, remove piles of books. Or paper. Or other clutter that brings down the energy of your work space.
• Place your desk so that you’re back isn’t facing the door. You can either place it in front of the entrance to your office or on the side.
• Make sure there’s space in front of your desk for people to sit. This encourages better interaction and opens you up to opportunities.

Implementing these simple changes can make a tremendous difference in your success and connections.

Frequently asked questions

What is bad feng shui for a house?

“Every space has an energy field,” says Marie. “Like you have an energy field, and when you come into that energy field and it doesn’t align with you, then you have, like in yourself, a little reaction.”

That reaction is due to the disruption in the flow of qi in that space. Here are a few things that can cause it:

• Clutter and mess
• A front door that aligns directly with the back door
• Sharp corners or exposed beams
• Poor lighting
• Mirrors that are hung directly opposite of doors
• Broken or malfunctioning items around the house

“When there’s good feng shui, the energy will be harmonious, joyful, open,” Marie adds. “And when there’s not such a good feng shui, the energy will feel stalled and stagnant and not in harmony.”

What are the benefits of using feng shui?

Making your space more harmonious and strategically organized can be beneficial. Here are some pros for using feng shui:

• Reduces stress
• Increases feelings of well-being
• Enhances productivity and creativity
• Encourages better communication and connections
• Attracts prosperity and abundance

For Marie herself, feng shui-ing her space during her younger days—painting her room, placing images of friends and loved ones, sitting in the right direction for studying, etc.—created a shift in her life. 

“I was still the same person; I was still having a positive mindset; I was still praying and meditating, but my environment had changed,” she recalls. She started dating the popular guy in town, the bullies stopped bullying, and she had more friends.

Whatever it is you yourself are looking for, feng shui-ing your environment may just open up the gates for your desires to come in.

How do I get started with feng shui?

Getting started with this ancient Chinese practice doesn’t require major changes. You can start off with easy and simple things:

• Declutter your things. Remove any unnecessary items and organize your belongings.
• Make sure your entryway is inviting. As this is where energy enters, make sure to keep this area well lit, clean, and inviting.
• Incorporate natural components, like plants, and try to balance the five elements throughout your home.
• Strategically position key furniture so that you see the door but aren’t directly in line with it.
• Keep spaces well-lit. Identify places in your home or office that could use better lighting, and place a lamp or mirror there.

Unlock your brilliance within

“Perhaps you have envisioned what your goals or what you want in your life,” Marie explains. “And it’s possible that your home is telling a different story.”

Sure, you can do the basics. But if you’d like to go deeper into feng shui, you can always get guidance from Marie in her Mindvalley Quest, Feng Shui for Life. The four-week program will provide you with how to…

• Optimize positive energy with simple, practical steps,
• Turn your living spaces into 3D “vision boards” to live your greatest life,
• Rapidly dissolve blockages that have held you back for years,
• Make your space a conduit for abundance, success, productivity, love, and well-being, and
• So much more.

Sign up for a Mindvalley account, and you can get a sneak peek at the first few Quest lessons for free. What’s more, you’ll be able to experience why feng shui is such a powerful tool for your personal growth.

Much like Greta Hass-Baccifava, an opera singer from Houston, the United States, who testifies, “Before this program I had a very severe PTSD and I was always anxious. (…) I started the program and little by little as I moved with it and cleaning and organizing my space my life got better and better. (…) Everything clicked and my anxiety eased. (…) After the program I felt like a new person and looked at everything as it is in harmony and peace.”

After all, life’s too short for bad feng shui.

Welcome in.