THE ENERGY OF MATTER

From the cities of Las Vegas to the towering mountains of Tibet, feng shui can be read everywhere. Both examples express the rising fire element, yet with completely different orientations. When we speak of matter, energy and feng shui, we have to pause and consider where to find the purest, healthiest materials for the space around us. Beyond the data that decide the best placement of certain elements — the five celestial animals, or the compass calculations — we will look here at the energetic quality of the materials that surround us.

Look at the materials used in timeless buildings and you will see that they come from slow maturing in the bosom of the earth: marble, rock, stone, jade, hardwood and natural crystals all express countless years of incubation, in which the energy of Heaven and Earth has given the elements life. Think of cement, carpet, plastic or fibre-cement, and you will feel that they are different. Fast development brings buildings of short-lived materials, generally unsuited to their surroundings. The difference between a building that respects the principles of life and one that does not is clear to feng shui — just as it is substantially different to use jade or acrylic, or a vase of fresh flowers rather than one of lifeless ones.

From an energetic point of view, spaces built with bio-compatible materials are preferable. The main reasons are what the structures themselves give off, and its effect on vitality and general health. The clearest example is the fully sealed modern building that allows no exchange with its surroundings — an exchange in which cement replaces earth, air conditioning replaces outside air, and artificial light replaces daylight: a whole set of things that cut people off from the real sources of health and energy.

The materials we use should be able to return to the environment without harming it. If we turn to wood, stone, organic dyes or traditional mortar, we find them friendly; whereas cement, plastics, asbestos and aluminium become a worry for the future and for the care of the environment. Structures that cannot easily be reused, or recycled without a high energy cost, are not suited to a respectful life, however useful they are for rapid economic growth. Do not take these words as being against progress, or as urging you to live in mud houses; rather, they encourage a kind of development with more coherence and future stability. The latest technology is full of friendly, useful discoveries that are pushed into the background by fleeting commercial interests.

Each material around us draws a particular kind of energy to itself. A carpeted floor, for instance, is an easy home for dust, mites, static charge, polluting plastic substances and even highly toxic fires. Many hotels and offices would improve by paying attention to these points. Before choosing a synthetic floor, think of a handmade rug, a wooden floor, marble or natural ceramic. Do not trade the energy of the earth element for a soulless covering.

Some materials considered unhealthy are radioactive granite, gypsum from waste incineration, wood treated with formaldehyde, chemical paints that do not breathe, synthetic fibres that build up static, insulating coatings of fibreglass or asbestos, the overuse of plastic surfaces, stuffing made of assorted waste, and metal frames that create magnetic disturbance. Tomorrow's architects, builders, interior designers and feng shui consultants can imagine healthier, more respectful environments.

Although we cannot change external events at once, we do have choices that reach inside the home — furniture, pictures, rugs, fabrics, flooring and more.

A good wine does not belong in an aluminium carton, and perhaps our own existence deserves the same care in choosing its “protective packaging”. Materials, like a second skin, should respect the biological exchange. This short article aims to bring back into today's feng shui things that were natural to the old masters. In the past there were no such problems; and though there were always unsuitable buildings, they never posed the overwhelming worry we now face for the future of the earth — a future that is in our hands.