Feng Shui is the art of harmonising the forces of nature known as chi to promote health, harmony and prosperity for the living. Feng Shui is much more than just an art of placement. It is a study of the environment and how the energies of the environment interact with the individual dwellings. Feng Shui is indeed a highly complex art which requires years of study and research for one to attain mastery over the field.

By understanding these mysterious forces of nature, we can attune ourselves to the environment and attain the greatest benefit. There are various systems of Authentic Feng Shui. Basically, we can define them as Form School and Compass School. Contrary to popular new age Westernised Feng Shui schools, authentic Chinese involves deep and profound understandings of the I Ching and Taoism rather than plain superstitious beliefs and intentions. While Feng Shui was derived from the principles of Taoism, it is not restricted to it. The Form School of Feng Shui focuses on the living environment. In the big scale, it includes analysis of the external structures such as mountains, river, buildings, roads, and land contours while on the smaller scale it includes the internal arrangements and dimensions of a building and how the layout of furniture is designed to facilitate the flow of chi . Compass School on the other hand is largely based on the theories of the Eight Mansions (Pa-Chai) System and the Flying Stars (San-Yuan Xuan Kong) System. All genuine systems of Feng Shui would advocate the use of the Chinese Luo Pan compass.

Contrary to the 'new-age' Westernised Feng Shui belief, authentic systems of Feng Shui converge on many intricate calculations of chi-distribution, time and space dimension and environmental influences. Perhaps many Westerner's would be surprised to know that Traditional Feng Shui does not advocate the use of so-called 'Feng Shui Items' as cures or remedies. Traditional Feng Shui is more centred on proper arrangement, proper aligning to the environmental forces and proper applications of the 5 Elements to enhance the Feng Shui of a premise.

After nearly 60 years of practising Feng Shui, I have read and studied countless classical doctrines on the subject. I have read both Chinese and English publications and would like to take this opportunity to stress that I am shocked to discover what is mostly being passed off as 'Feng Shui' in the English speaking world today. The age-old Chinese Cultural art of Feng Shui has been greatly reduced to a mere mercenary art of marketing 'Feng Shui Cures.' I was even disturbed by the fact that more and more new-comers are becoming 'Feng Shui Masters' after reading these misinformed books or after attending a short 4-6 day seminar on the subject! Too many books are written for commercial purposes rather than informative reasons.

However on reading this book I am pleasantly surprised for a good number of reasons. Gayle Atherton has challenged the norm with a view of clearing up the misinformation that exists today. Her book not only has clear and concise explanations on the real Feng Shui applications that the Chinese people still use today, but she has also taken the trouble to guide the readers into the right path of Feng Shui applications. Gayle has a strong grasp on the subject and hence an effective capacity to get the point across. Envisioned within the covers of this book are the foundations towards the many advanced systems of Authentic Chinese Feng Shui such as the Eight Mansions (Pa-Chai) and Flying Stars (San Yuan Xuan Kong) systems.

This book is designed in a way that it will not only benefit the complete beginner, but it will also intellectually enlighten some experienced practitioners on the basic forms and interior arrangements of good Feng Shui. Many practitioners and beginners alike will find Gayle's work a spectacular blend of information and practical experiences that will reinforce their belief in this age-old Chinese metaphysical science.

I greatly recommend Gayle's work as a stepping stone into the fascinating world of Feng Shui for any layman. Those interested in significantly bettering the quality of their lives will benefit from this book as well.

Kudos to Gayle for having taken the time and effort to write a book of such quality and calibre. This being her first attempt at writing, I believe her present effort shows a renaissance like ability to produce, not only as a renowned practitioner in the field of Feng Shui, but also as a budding writer.

I wish Gayle all the very best in her future undertakings and greatly look forward to her next enterprising effort.

Yours Truly

Grand Master Yap Cheng Hai
Malaysia