Master worshipping, where the master is held in such awe that he is not to be questioned, is not how most feng shui practitioners work these days.
Today, I'm going to delve into what you, the public, should expect when dealing with a feng shui professional.
Many older masters still practice in the old-style way. However, the trend is gradually changing. In Hong Kong, ,more and more feng shui consultants now ply their trade from a proper office and in suits and ties.
It is a service industry striving to be on par with other consulting businesses: Feng shui consultants help clients determine what their problem is and help them solve it.
So client have a right to be treated like they would by any other service industry professionals.
In the past, the Feng Shui master turns up at your doorstep, makes a few remarks, tells you what to do and then is off.
Nowadays, clients demand a proper meeting and follow-up sessions, where the Feng Shui consultant ensures that the recommendations have been properly implemented.
Professional feng shui includes providing written reports for clients and supplemented with photographs so they know exactly what they are supposed to do.
To ensure that a complete service is provided, the consultant will also select a suitable date for groundbreaking or renovations to commence.
They do not leave their clients in a lurch when something has gone wrong nor tell them "it is their fate" that the situation has become such.
This is because if the consultant had been thorough in his job, he would have studied the bazi or destiny chart of his clients before making any feng shui recommendations.
If a client's destiny does not show a capacity for great wealth or high status, there is already an inherent limit to what the consultant can do.
Consultants cannot fix and solve all problems - they can only help their clients within the clients' capacity.
Also, confidentiality is important. You don't want your consultant telling everyone that your house or office or factory has been feng shui'ed.
Imagine him going around attributing your business success to his proclaimed feng shui skills, disregarding your hard work.
The client is not bound by confidentiality but the consultants must be discreet, especially in bazi (astrology) where they are often privy to very sensitive or delicate situations and clients must feel free to speak to them about any matter.
Today, going to a feng shui consultant is like seeing a doctor - you're entitled to understand what the problem is, how the diagnosis is arrived at and the prescription to fix your problem.
Getting the right "house-side" manner is something I emphasise to my students as we cannot be old-fashioned in our approach any more.
Providing explanations to clients' questions is the best way to deal with their concerns.
Another challenge for the feng shui profession is how the practitioners take their knowledge and services to the public without cheapening the profession or encouraging the "short-cut" mentality.
One of the problems facing the practice is, it is all too easy to resort to product recommendation to make feng shui accessible.
Revlon founder Charles Revson said of the cosmetics industry: "In the factory we make cosmetics, in the drugstore we sell hope."
I do not like to think the feng shui practice is in the business of, to paraphrase Revson, "selling hope in a figureine". However, this seems to be what commercialization has brought.
One of the ways to provide accessibility and affordability is through books and articles in the media, and to correct the situation through education.
Then again, with more sources of information and books, there is a temptation for the feng shui practice to stray from authentic methods and fundamental approaches to make a quick buck through product recommendation.
I personally think there's nothing wrong with products per se.
If someone tells me they get a psychological lift out of wearing certain colours, or certain motifs of dragons inspire them, or reading motivational calligraphy on their walls makes them aspire to achieve more in life, or oriental-design clothing empowers them, that's okay.
It doesn't matter how you arrived at a positive state of mind but it is wrong to encourage the belief that a resin figure of a cat above your cash register is going to bring in business, or wearing a dragon pendant is going to ward off bad luck, or curing a Five Yellow Sha problem is simply a matter of popping a cure in every west corner of your house.
As expectations grow with more knowledge and awareness, it is reassuring for the public that the level of professionalism in the feng shui practice is improving and practitioners are adopting a service-oriented approach.
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