The pandemic shutdown drove people into their homes, giving them a heightened awareness about their surroundings there. Author Kathryn Wilking, skilled in the home staging niche and nurturing a growing interest in Feng Shui, took notice. The result is The Feng Shui Advantage.
Wilking notes that this book includes information from her 2013 title, Practical Feng Shui for the Office; Finding Your Individual Balance in the Workplace, but with a new emphasis on “working from home, setting boundaries and dealing with multiple devices all over the house.”
The author encourages readers to think strategically, offering an ample selection of home layout designs that illustrate Feng Shui concepts. She devotes much attention to redesigning spaces to accommodate children schooled at home, maintaining a professional Zoom-based presence, and keeping an area that’s off-limits from work. “Working from home, or is it Living at Work?” she asks, arguing that this new work/life configuration is doable by “cultivating the flow” of energy.
She urges readers to consider the power of sight lines, power positions, and Zoom etiquette (control your background!) and offers a figurative box of awareness tools, such as the Bagua Grid, an energy map that includes the nine “areas of life”: “family,” “wealth and abundance,” “fame,” “relationships,” “children and creativity,” “helpful people and travel,” “careers,” “knowledge and self-cultivation,” and “health.” This grid can help readers identify tensions in their lives and use home spacing solutions to support various life goals.
Wilking’s approach requires time and energy to understand how to apply all the tools she recommends. Undoubtedly, some will feel this commitment is overwhelming. Reluctant-to-commit readers might settle for the Personal Element Profile (PEP) quiz, a good way to dip their toes into the Feng Shui concepts by clarifying priorities and translating them into shaping their personal spaces.
Regardless of a reader’s level of commitment, The Feng Shui Advantage is a valuable and thought-provoking resource for those seeking to optimize their environment on whatever scale they choose.
Also available as an ebook.
