Many people are turning to Feng Shui in order to maximize their investments in a home. Since this ancient art is so magical and complex, it's easy for uninformed individuals to be scammed. Take time to learn a little about Feng Shui, and what you should be wary of.

You want to be comfortable with your Feng Shui advisor. Once you feel you have found a suitable candidate, ask them to provide you with a list of references. You want the names of people the Feng Shui practitioner has worked with recently as well as at those who they had contact with several months ago. If you only talk to recent clients, they might not have had time to get used to the new arrangement yet, and may not be experiencing any results - positive or negative. You will be more confident in your decision once you've spoken to several former clients.

Make sure you avoid spending any ridiculous amount of money on a room that doesn't really affect you. Michael Schnippering, a Feng Shui practitioner based in Dallas, explains that "there was this guy who told a family the bathroom energy was wrong. How often are you going to be in the bathroom? You don't live in the toilet! Don't spend $50,000 remodeling a room that doesn't matter. You should concentrate on the areas you spend the most time in. If you spend eight hours a day in the living room watching Oprah Winfrey, then this room is the important one."

There are usually ways around major remodeling costs. If, for example, you open the door to see a staircase, this is bad Feng Shui, and if a practitioner tells you you're going to have to move the front door... decide if it's really necessary. Perhaps you could just use the back door as your main entrance. Understand the need to make major remodeling changes before handing over the check.

Anyone familiar with Feng Shui has probably heard about the power of mirrors, and their ability to re-direct negative and multiply positive energy. This is not true, and any practitioner who insists it that is... is incorrect. While mirrors do have a purpose in Feng Shui, redirecting energy is not something they are capable of. Michael explained that around two thousand years ago, mirrors were made of polished brass, and therefore represented the metal element. Metal elements, not reflections are capable of making a difference in energy. Modern mirrors contain infinitesimal amounts of metal and do not have the same effect as they were intended to.

Try to avoid purchasing too many talismans because they "have nothing to do with Feng Shui at all. Feng Shui is very logical. Everything has to make absolute sense or it won't work," Schnippering says. Some things are "just a bunch of old grandmother recipes... like the bamboo flute. (Some) say if you hang the bamboo flute over your bed, your career will grow quickly. This is because the bamboo grows tall and it grows very fast, and supposedly if you have the flute over your bed, your career will get better and higher more quickly. I have an even better one. Why don't you just go to Toys R Us and buy a helicopter. Spin the blades and send it to the ceiling three times a day and maybe your career will rise. It's just a bunch of old grandmother recipes, but I have nothing against placebos, really. If you believe in any of them strongly enough, they will work." So, unless you believe in the good luck of a four leaved clover or pick up heads up pennies for good luck, don't let the Feng Shui practitioner convince you to spend $1,000 to put healing African masks in every dark corner of your home.

If you decide that you'd rather try Feng Shui yourself, keep in mind that you're dealing with a serious art, and that if you don't know what you're doing you can make your living area incredibly uncomfortable. Just because you bought a book from Barnes and Noble doesn't mean the author knew what s/he was talking about. "There are many books out there because they're very easy to write and to sell, but a lot of them are filled with illogical things," Schnippering advises. Trusting in a Feng Shui book is just like basing your day on a basic horoscope in the newspaper. "How accurate can it possibly be?" Schnippering asks. The only way to get good results is to have a personal Feng Shui reading done.

Before you hire a Feng Shui advisor, make sure you understand a little about it. And remember, Feng Shui can not remedy a person it can only bring the best out of what is already there.

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