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Location

A Good Feng Shui House...
for All Seasons

Facing Direction:  Southwest

"Wind is mild ... sunshine ... water is clear ... vegetation is lush ... the essential ingredients for a site with good Feng Shui."
~ Ancient Chinese Poem

Area Photos, courtesy of BBL Film Office:
The Lake  - Close by - Even closer
Nearby - The Area with Daily Views

Location, location, location!  

Just as in real estate, location plays a key role in Feng Shui.  Feng (pronounced fung; meaning "wind") shui (pronounced schway; meaning "water") is about the flow and containment of Qi (energy) in the environment. Feng/Wind carries and disperses Qi and Shui/water retains and contains it, so the right mix of both allows the balanced energy to benefit the occupants.

In Feng Shui there are two types of energy: Sheng Qi (pronounced sheng chee; meaning "moving upward or forward or vital energy" ) and  Sha Qi (pronounced shah chee; meaning "killing or destructive energy." 

Sheng Chi is positive, healthy energy that results in increased creativity and motivation, greater vitality, and a sense of general well-being. It is found in places that are bright, refreshing and uplifting, characteristically in naturally pleasant settings such as forests, woods, parks, fields, and higher ground.  In the past, Asians would temporarly leave the business and pressures of life and return to nature, either in the countryside or at a mountain retreat. This allowed them to rest and be healed, and during this time they might paint, write poetry or compose music in an attempt to absorb the positive forces at the heart of nature itself.

People who live in homes situated in Sheng Qi environments with trees, plants, and pleasant surroundings are subject to this positive and beneficial energy.  In turn, they are hopeful, optimistic, content and happy.

Sha Qi is harmful energy, the qi experienced when people are angry or when a place has a threatening or peculiar feel to it. Sha Qi  originates from negative surroundings both above and below ground and, depending upon its origin, can cause various detrimental effects. Sha Qi from below the ground causes sickness and saps energy.  Those living in a Sha Qi environment may feel tired and apprehensive for no obvious reason and their lives are filled with stress and struggle. 

Sha Qi settings include those close to environments that harbor charged emotions (graveyards, churches, police stations, bars, or brothels); noisy areas (airports, under flight paths, railway lines or highways); places that lack privacy (properties which are overshadowed or overlooked by taller buildings nearby); or places with pointed objects (a building with a 90 degree angle pointed at the front door); or glaring lights(a property facing the road in a T-junction or at the end of a cul-de-sac).

In a nutshell, Feng Shui is a traditional Chinese method of studying the natural environment, then determining where to situate oneself as well as arrange the physical surroundings to promote the positive flow of Sheng Qi to enhance one's well-being, happiness and sense of harmony. 

Environment/Lot: 

Alpine forests, mountains and lake. 6700 ft elevation.  Four seasons. 300 days of sunshine.

The ideal property, from a Feng Shui point of view, is like a comfortable arm chair, beautifully positioned in a sunny garden.

The best location is said to be a house built on slightly ELEVATED ground (not at the top or at the bottom of a hill or mountain), i.e., on the high side of the road; protected by a MOUNTAIN BEHIND; protected slightly to the sides by being nestled into the landscape instead of being perched on top of it; and facing a SLOW moving body of water, like a river or a lake, with the entrance on the sunny side facing it. 

This lot has an "armchair" arrangement, i.e., with its back to a mountain and a lake (which flows left to right, looking out of the entry door) in front of it. As one faces southwest, the lot is bounded to the left by a hill and by a lower hill to the right.

The ancient Chinese noticed that a house was warmer and more protected when facing the sunny south and surrounded by rolling hills to dissipate any harsh winds. It was said that here Qi could gather and grow instead of being swept away by wind.

Standing at the SW entrance (facing side) of the house (to be built in 2003), the view is a long, broad one of the lake and mountains. To the South, the view is of Big Bear Lake and the tallest mountain in Southern California, Mount San Gorgonio, backing it. There is a rise on the lot in the South, sloping toward the West. 

According to the Feng Shui wisdom, a house on the south or east side of a mountain is good as both house and vegetation will prosper under the sun’s rays. A house built near bodies of water will prosper as water is the reservoir for Qi. 

The lot is a frisbee's toss away from the lake.  It is not right on the water's edge, a road that encircles the lake is between it and the lake. The road is fronted by a cove.  The gentle lapping of the lake can be heard  from where the house is to be located, and the view of the lake is unobstructed, and ever will be, i.e., no buildable land between the lot and the cove.

Southeast View

The house will have a Northeast sitting position on a hill which slopes down from the sitting side down to the facing side. The hill will support and protect the house from the direct north wind. In back of the house is another hill, which in turn is backed by a mountain. 

North View

The air is fresh and clean.  Birds sing.  Tall pine trees and willow bushes grow.  The neighbors' fruit trees produce bountiful crops of pears and apples.  

In ancient China, Feng Shui was not an esoteric discipline practiced only by certain tribal members- it was an integral part of native culture, something that touched everyone’s life. As proof of this, Feng Shui scholars point to archeological evidence showing that neolithic Chinese routinely build encampments and villages inside bows of rivers. This lucky position was and still is thought to provide a healthy flow of Qi.

The road "embraces" the lot, i.e., the house will sit just inside of the curve of the road. 

[According to Master Sang, "a house sitting at the inside curve of a road (or a stream of water) with the front side facing the road will bring good wealth, health and career advancements to the occupants."  From THE PRINCIPLES OF FENG SHUI, p. 183.

Shape: The lot is roughly rectangular, the back side is slightly wider than the facing side. 

[According to Master Sang, the most desireable shape for house and lot are squares or slightly rectangular, and a wider sitting side is good for retaining wealth. From THE PRINCIPLES OF FENG SHUI, p. 174.]

Water well with tested potable water is located in back of the sitting side of house. We have the option to use it or use the municipal water suppy. 

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