A belief like Feng shui that is still in popular use is worth taking a second look. To dismiss it completely out of hand would be a real shame, if this is something that interests you.
There will always be the skeptics and nay sayer. It is true with religions, ideologies, new inventions and discoveries and yes, even Feng shui. I say – if you like it, and you believe in it – go for it!
And so again, what is Feng shui and for centuries now, why has it survived?
In a nutshell, Feng shui is the result of the persistence of man in trying to live with his environment through harmonizing with it so that he gathers the positive forces and influences of nature to improve his wellness. Not a bad idea at all. In fact it almost sound like most of the precepts in all the major religions except that it is not a religion. It is a practice. A belief system developed since the ancient times in China. Feng shui has persisted and spread, to almost all the known parts of the world. Unbeknownst to many cultures, many of its principles are already being practiced by them although with different connotations and justifications.
The practice has taken a prominent consideration in building designs, selecting sites, locations, decorations, business, personal practices, houses, rooms, pathways, medicine, name it. This could be applied to almost everything. Even the contour of a face and the force of character and vision in a person is said to be contributors to gaining good qi (pronounced as chi, a kind of energy from which life emanates) or not. Almost everything could be drawn to gain good or bad Feng shui. It could have thousands of applications – from womb to tomb.
It is not exactly known when and where Feng shui started. There are very few written accounts of it prior to the last century. The practice then was to hand over the knowledge by word of mouth, from master to the student.