March 3 1997
Business Sydney
By Emily Pettafor

Company Director Promotes Eastern Philosophy for Business Success

In Asia, the practice of feng shui informs business decisions ranging from the most opportune time to launch a venture, to the most prosperous positioning of a building. In Australia, Feng Shui is attracting increasing attention and a local practitioner has built a business on its success.

Feng Shui Innovations director, Siou Foon Lee, studied the practice under Henry Lui, A Feng Shui master from Fujian province in Southern China.

Lee believes many western adaptations are superficially applied and fall short of the ancient wisdom offered by the practice in China for more than three thousand years. "Feng Shui is a science based on research to gain the best results. It needs to be directed by a skilled practitioner who maps the total psychological, astrological and physical environment of the client," she said.

"To best understand Feng Shui, it is important to appreciate chi, the essential life force that creates well being.

"Controlling its flow is vital and in an ideal situation it must neither stagnate nor flow rapidly through an area, rather it should accumulate and be allowed to flow harmoniously. When it works this way it releases a kind of energy that attracts good luck and well-being." Feng Shui also considers the relationship of the elements of wind, fire, water, wood and earth in any given environment.

The quality of chi generated for a city is related to its landscape.Both Sydney and Melbourne have lively and strong chi because of the orientation of water and mountains to the city. The winding water-course over an undulating landscape promotes the build up of chi, which in turn promotes communication and prosperity.

"Feng shui practices are about coordinating time, placement, space and energy to maximum effect for an individual. They are neither mystical nor superstitious but based on cardinal points of the compass, climate, order, rhythm and interplay between people and their universe as determined by astrology," Lee said.

Lee’s interest in Feng Shui was sparked when she immigrated to Australia four years ago.

"Having worked as a teacher for more than 20 years, Lee decided to take some time for self development and to learn about her roots. Lee combined a fascination with Chinese medicine and beliefs with an interest in health and began a study of Chinese acupressure.

"I became very interested in my own roots and my country, reading into Yin and Yang and doing my own research gave me so much satisfaction. "We have to appreciate the knowledge that came with our ancestor’s discoveries."

When she began to practice acupressure, Lee found the clients went away stress free and balanced would return with all the hard work undone.

"I would balance their chi, but when they came back to me they were back to square one. I thought, I am good at what I do so there must be something else to do with the environment that adversely affected their lives."

The realisation sparked Lee’s interest in Feng Shui. She decided to formalise her training and began searching for a teacher. The search ended with Henry Lui, a fourth generation Feng Shui master who insisted on interviewing Lee before committing to teach her.

"A Feng Shui practitioner has traditionally been a male oriented profession, the father would teach the son his knowledge but never the daughter, to some extent that is changing now," she said.

Having qualified in feng shui, Lee started operating her consulting business in 1994 practising on friends and family and building her confidence.

"The whole concept of Feng Shui centres on health and well-being, the basic principle is there must be harmony. We are functioning as a part of nature and we have to integrate.

"When we decide to put up a house or building we cut down trees, but they were there first, we should live as part of the environment rather than move it or destroy it."

Feng Shui principles are as applicable to the business world as to the home and hearth, Lee finds many of her clients engage her to consult on the health and harmony of their business.

"People in business are beginning to understand there is more to a decision than just the bare facts, factors such as timing and lots of other forces could go against it or work in its favour.

"There are times and directions that need to be maximised, the potential is there but it has to be harnessed and directed. "Prosperity is not just about bundles of money, there are so many meaningful aspects to life." She said.

The directors of multimedia production house, Go Man Go Productions, employ Lee for annual Feng Shui consultations in both business and home environments. Go Man Go Director, Marie Florian, said the original appeal of Feng Shui flows from a personal interest in religion and self-development. "Feng Shui seemed like a very practical idea for our business, to develop more appreciation and respect for the energies around us and work in harmony with them."

"It is actually quite a common sense practice as it is about being open to change and new ideas. We have found prosperity and success in many different areas (since utilising Feng Shui), it was an opportunity to present an environment where we felt comfortable and creative and our clients have responded to that, " she said.

Feng Shui Innovations operates through an alternative health clinic at Rozelle, called Alternative Options. Alternative Options Director, Sharon Drew, liases with Lee s prospective clients and said most are interested in using Feng shui to create an environment of harmony and good fortune. When Lee first met Drew it was in the capacity of a consultant to the business.

"At the time there was a lot of money coming in but I felt we weren’t really getting anywhere. The business has gone through major changes since then and I would say it had a lot to do with Feng Shui. I put the business in (Lee s) hands because I felt she knew what she was doing," Drew said.

Feng Shui practices aim to encourage good fortune, growth, longevity and prosperity, Lee said. "Feng Shui is a way of life and it is very practical as you should be aware of the environment."

Fundamental to the environment of both business and personal Feng Shui is the date of birth either of the individual or the business venture.

"Everything begins with the date of birth, it is the time that determines the dominant energy that underpins an individual s life and is a critical factor in determining what to do."

"The most important aspect of Feng Shui is being aware of what the elements are and knowing which to avoid and which to enhance" she said.