Feng Shui and Noise Pollution

Feng shui is living in harmony with nature. By nature, we mean our living environment and that includes all sounds whether it is the wind, our breath, music or traffic.

So, last night I was in a hotel room in downtown Chicago.  The location was very convenient as it was walking distance to many attractions including the Art Institute of Chicago where I spent many many wonderful hours.  It was also a block and a half to the train station and several blocks to my son’s university.  From a feng shui perspective, transportation such as trains and roads for vehicles represent water which is a metaphor for expansion and therefore, money.  But, with the potential for expansion and convenience comes other conditions such as noise.

My home is in the suburbs, where it is generally very quiet.  The sounds we hear are  the neighbor’s dogs barking, overhead airplanes, crows, the odd woodpecker and weather sounds from wind and rain on our skylights.  So, while lying in the hotel room in downtown Chicago, the sounds of the city were extremely loud to my unaccustomed ears.; the train seemed like it was running next to my room, the number of ambulances were unusually high, and the drivers in Chicago are not shy about using their horn.  By the second night, the noise didn’t bother me as much as the first.  Isn’t it funny how we begin to block out sounds that we don’t want to hear?

I recall when we lived in Kuwait in an area called Jabriya.  The local mosque would use loud speakers for their prayers.  Funny how I couldn’t hear them after a while.  How do we block out those sounds.  Does that matter?  Obviously, they do exist, which means they do affect our subconscious.  Before becoming immune to our environment, we must learn to observe and be aware of their existence and come to terms with how to deal with the situation.  If you become irritable or disturbed but don’t know why, maybe it would be a good idea to re access your surroundings.  Whether it’s your neighbors music, or your own, the noise from construction or traffic, make sure you have time to take a break away from the noise to release the subconscious form of pollution.