MORRIS TWP. -- Some 600 people
attended the three-day annual Feng Shui International Conference
at the Westin hotel over the weekend. It was the first such
conference to be held in the Northeast, organizer Renae Jensen
said. "We need healing on the East Coast after
9/11," Jensen said of her decision to organize the event.
"We wanted to bring it into our home space."
Feng Shui (fengsooi or fungshway) is an ancient Chinese belief
that the way a house is built and objects are arranged affect all
aspects of life.
"There
is something about connecting the energies … so that when you
are walking into a space, you are walking into your version of a
sanctuary," said Randi Tonoff, an interior decorator from
Cherry Hill who has been practicing Feng Shui for seven years now.
Tonoff said there is still some apathy among the general public,
but it is becoming increasingly less of an issue as the ancient
philosophy spreads around the world. "It's becoming
very much mainstream now because practitioners and people like
myself are able to explain it so that people can understand it
better in our culture," Tonoff added. "And it makes a
world of a difference." "Whereas in China, (Feng
Shui) is a prerequisite, here it's a back door," said Martine
Bloquiaux, a Philadelphia-based Feng Shui consultant. She noted
that most people turn to Feng Shui during difficult personal
times. "The more industrialized we get, the more problems we
have," she said.
Lynn S. Meadows, a Feng Shui consultant from Ann Harbor, Mich.,
said she fell for the ancient practice after visiting a friend's
home who had been Feng Shuied, a new term coined to refer to
houses that have been decorated according to the ancient
philosophy's principles. "My spirituality has really
deepened, and I am much more aware about how different things
affect each other," Meadows said.
The conference attracted people from all stages of Feng Shui
study, from those who were just curious to the masters. It gave
people a chance to network and learn new tools to apply Feng Shui
principles to everyday activities. Feng Shui practitioners
stressed that the ancient Chinese philosophy is not just
restricted to interior design. Its principles apply to many
industries, from urban design and architecture to education and
health. "It's very versatile, very holistic,"
noted Bloquiaux.
Jean Haner-Dowsett, a Feng Shui practitioner from Seattle, said
she started studying Feng Shui about 25 years ago. Haner-Dowsett
now uses Feng Shui to read people's faces and find areas of
imbalance in their lives or their environment. While
Haner-Dowsett focuses on people's physical energy, her husband,
Eric Dowsett, concentrates on the living space. "People
move into a home where there was a divorce and they start
screaming," Haner-Dowsett said. "Maybe it's not them.
It's what happened before."
Evana Maggiore, a professional image consultant from Boston who
started studying the ancient philosophy seven years ago, also
combines Feng Shui into her trade. "Body is your soul
house," Maggiore said. And the way you dress "is a way
of visually affirming your goals." Feng Shui,
practitioners say, helps people work with their environment to
reach their true potential. "It's about helping the
person clarify what's on their mind and on their heart, and helps
them establish the space to meet those needs," said Brenda
Moody, a Feng Shui consultant who specializes in spatial
balancing. "We finally realize that we have a global
connection in terms of how we affect one another's chi," said
R.D. Chin, a New York Feng Shui consultant and architect by
training. "It's all about change," Chin said.
"You want to be balanced, and you want to be in a dynamic
balance."
