By Jenny Hammond

 

In the immortal words of the Beatles, "all you need is love." However, achieving and maintaining love is not so simple.

 

There's lots of advice out there, but let's turn to fengshui, the ancient Chinese practice of the placement and arrangement of space, to achieve harmony and create the maximum flow of qi, or positive life force.

 

Here are some pointers from Websites and experts, including professional fengshui masters Charles Chio in Shanghai and Rodika Tchi, from a professional fengshui consulting company based in Canada. They recommend how to maintain peace, harmony, romance and most important, a smooth flow of qi in your private life and bedroom.

 

"We all know that different spaces and times do influence our life and mood, therefore the method of fengshui can improve our quality of life," says internationally known Chio, who also is an astrologer.

 

This ancient practice is not superstitious, Chio observes. "It is a dialectical way to explain natural phenomena and it is the accumulated experience from generation to generation."

 

The basic idea is to love yourself. By doing this, you radiate positive energy, thereby attracting a much higher quality of people, situations and resources. Moods are contagious, so if you are happy and content in yourself, it will show and lift the mood of others. They will want to be around you.

 

Perhaps you will notice an improvement in all your relations, including those with your children, parents, friends and colleagues.

 

We all know this from our experience. But in terms of fengshui and romance, you must evaluate the state of your bedroom, the most intimate part of your home, the place where you can really be yourself. It should be tidy and uncluttered to allow the free flow of qi.

 

When looking at your boudoir (if you are a woman), or your bedroom (if you are a man), decide which items definitely do not belong there. These are the obvious bad fengshui bedroom culprits: the TV, exercise equipment, computer and even worse, PlayStation.

 

Beyond those, see if the images that surround you add to feelings of love, sensuality and romance. This can be done by replacing images of lone figures with those of happy couples.

 

Pairs of anything in the bedroom are said to be good for love -- identical bedside tables with identical lamps, two candles -- these are said to promote the flow of qi.

 

Especially good are crystals, used for centuries for myriad purposes from healing to protection to decoration. In fengshui, crystals are widely used for the specific energy, or vibrations, they bring to a space. For example, rose quartz is used to attract love and romance, as well as heal a broken or scarred heart. Two rose quartz hearts are often placed in the southwest area of the bedroom to symbolize happy hearts in a love relationship.

 

Although it is nice to see an attractive, cozy bed as you enter the room, a bed should never be in line with the door. Use a solid supporting headboard. Also no matter how tempting, the space below the bed should never be used as storage. When the bedroom and the space underneath are cluttered, it is said to restrict the flow of qi, causing the energy levels to be very low and slow.

 

If you or your partner are having problems with low self-esteem, try to tastefully introduce more of the color pink. It is the universal color of love with soothing vibrations that are said to heal the heart.

 

Colors, in fact, play an import role in fengshui; adding color is an easy way to bring positive energy into an environment.

 

When surrounded by fresh, beautiful colors, not only your mood, but also your outlook on life changes. This happens because we are in a constant energy exchange with our surroundings, and fengshui is the body of knowledge that explores and explains the intricate connections between humans and the spaces they inhabit.

 

In fengshui, the use of color is determined based on the occupants' birth data and the interaction of the five elements -- earth, water, wood, fire, metal. By applying them correctly, you will bring more harmony, balance and positive energy into your abode.

 

So perhaps it is time to take a calmer approach to love and life, the fengshui way. And some of these simple points may make your Valentine's Day and your love life a little more serene. The best part is that you will increase that loving feeling without taking another hit on your wallet.

 

(Shanghai Daily February 14, 2007)