A leafy green bamboo plant here, a free-standing lamp there – some dorm room decorations seem far from philosophical.

But for some students, including sophomore Jennifer Pelton, these items and other dorm room aesthetics are inspired by an ancient Chinese framework: Feng Shui.

‘The dorms suck,’ said Pelton, a political science major. ‘My room was like a jail cell. (Feng Shui) brings you luck.’

Traditional Feng Shui is based on principles of examining the way energy travels through a room or building, and arranging space through building structure, furniture placement or lighting to maximize energy levels and improve the inhabitant’s mood.

But even Pelton is not sure that Feng Shui tenets truly work.

‘On the same day I got my bamboo plant, my stereo broke and my computer crashed,’ Pelton said.

Like the chi energy found in the human body, the air also possesses chi energy, said Aaron Lee Koch, a Feng Shui practitioner based in Vestal. Feng Shui helps to clear energy blockages in buildings and rooms – even in residence halls – and can improve all facets of life, including relationships, finances and academic success, Koch said.

Feng Shui principles work on many levels, beginning with the general furniture, object and color arrangements found in any building, Koch said. Other ideas, relating to how a building is laid out, determine how energy has built up over time and how it has affected its occupants.

‘It’s a complex science,’ Koch said.

Symbolism plays a large part in Feng Shui. When people see certain symbols or objects, it helps them to reprogram their self-conscious to think certain ways, and also can place them in a spiritual calm, Koch said.

One of Koch’s clients was experiencing marital problems, and Koch placed a pair of rose quartz mandarin duck statues in a specific spot in her bedroom, in a specific position, and activated them by tying a red ribbon around their necks, he said. These ducks, unlike North American ducks, mate for life and symbolize stable relationships.

‘The client called later – and she was a skeptic – and said ‘Aaron, I can’t believe it. It’s like magic. We haven’t had a fight since,” Koch said.

But students may be seeking simpler, less ducky ways of incorporating Feng Shui into their residence hall rooms or apartments.

Before moving into a room, students should clear out any residual energy left from whoever lived there before by making an offering of uncooked rice and burning a small bundle of sage, a historically purifying herb, Koch said.

‘If someone broke up with a boyfriend and cried for three days, or failed an exam, that’s negative energy and you want to clear the air,’ Koch said.

Students should then position their beds so that the headboard rests against a solid wall and feet are pointed away from the door, Koch said. If the feet face in the door, as coffins are arranged, energy will flow out of the body negatively.

‘Never look straight out the door or you’re not going to be there in the morning,’ Koch said.

A compass may be handy for determining where to find the northeast corner of the room, where one should place his desk, as the northeast is associated with knowledge, Koch said. In the southwest corner, which is associated with all kinds of relationships, students should place a free standing lamp to boost their social lives.

Any artwork on the walls should be aesthetically pleasing and full of light colors, Koch said, as anything else will make students feel restless or unhappy.

‘You really need to keep your living environment simple and clean,’ Koch said. ‘You have the right to feel safe and good in your home, and the dorm room is your home.’

Before bed, students should place a lamp near the head of the bed and keep only that light on, and cover the television or computer with a cloth to separate the entertainment and work function of their room from its rest function, Koch said. These steps will help them to fall asleep.

But many Feng Shui principles cannot be effectively applied in residence halls, said Stephanie Herbelsheimer, a junior environmental design and interiors major who learned about the practice in high school. Many residence hall rooms have their furniture prearranged in permanent positions, such as bolted desks. And because the rooms are so small, one does not have many options for arranging furniture so that everything faces away from the wall and feet face away from the door.

‘There’s almost no way you can Feng Shui a dorm room,’ Herbelsheimer said. ‘Kids get what they get, and they don’t have a lot of money to spend. You can only get it to a certain point.’

A student is also not allowed to light candles, burn anything or have fountains, Herbelsheimer said.

But the tenets of Feng Shui are sound, and, if used properly, will have positive effects on a student’s living space, Herbelsheimer added. It will help people be less stressed, and instead be healthier and happier.

‘If you can do it,’ Herbelsheimer said, ‘it makes such a better living arrangement.’

Published on October 4, 2004 at 12:00 pm