Being a Feng Shui Consultant requires the development of deep listening. Of course, there’s a dialogue between you and the client, yet the conversation extends beyond verbal words. It’s understood in the practice of Feng Shui there is an unspoken exchange between the ‘unseen’ environment of the land and home to the consultant. This is referred to as investigating predecessor energy; becoming familiar with the previous energy from recent or past events that create a multidimensional cross-wiring of frequencies.

Through this type of investigation, the Feng Shui consultant can reveal pockets of energy that could either be beneficial or negative. The process in how to examine the history could be accomplished by asking the current homeowner questions, Geopathic Stress Dowsing, and researching the history and genealogy of the building.

Below is a quick reference list with an overview of varying types of predecessor energy that could be encountered.

• Spirits/Ancestors: - These are typically loved ones who’ve passed on.

• Ghosts: Individuals shocked out of their body, waiting on earth unconscious they are dead.

• Emotions: Leftover emotional imprints into the land and home; typically from traumatic events.

• Mental Health: Locations that housed a person(s) with mental illnesses could leave behind a strong energetic imprint on the space. Our minds can be the most fragile while also the most powerful.

• Spiritual Guides/Guardians: These are beings who watch over you. They may be a deceased loved one or one of great wisdom. These guides may change over the years.

To help illustrate predecessor energy a bit more, let me share a quick story. I recently worked with a client who moved into a downtown NYC apartment. Before meeting on-site we set up a phone call. During the call, my client expressed sensing an unsettling energy within their space, in particular, one that seemed to stir up an atmosphere for arguments to easily occur. Naturally, I asked had that type of interaction between her and her husband ever happened before in the previous apartment. The response was, no. I asked a few more questions about their mindsets, emotions, relationship dynamics, etc. Based on their responses, it seemed the roots of this unsettling energy being felt ran much deeper than what was in the apartment. So, I turned my attention to the land itself.

Now remember, my client resides in downtown New York City. For those who are unfamiliar with downtown’s history, over the years this region has been permeated with traumatic waves of energy. Ranging from slavery to the Five Points Gang, and 9-11 to name a few major historical references. My clients are also located near the New York courthouse and jail. This is an example of multidimensional energy pulsating at the same time, merging the present and the past.

I also found my clients’ apartment was only steps away from the African Burial Ground National Monument. I bring this up because part of the space clearing and blessing process, besides performing the ritual for clearing and invoking blessings for the home, is to acknowledge the history of what took place. And through that acknowledgment, healing can also commence.

After completing the space clearing and blessing, I made sure to visit the African Burial Ground National Monument, holding the intention to pay homage, letting the spirits know I’m listening. And that yes, I’m acknowledging the history and offering a prayer of forgiveness in accepting I’m a witness and no longer ignoring.

As you enter into the African Burial Ground National Monument, it becomes obvious with the careful planning and execution of its design which mirrors that of a labyrinth. The labyrinth in various cultures represent birth, rebirth and/or transition from one world to the next. In October 2003, the human remains of 400 men, women and children (mostly) dating from the 17th and 18th centuries were reburied in a ceremony that was a collective event between national and international partnerships.

As I stood in the center of the labyrinth, 6 feet beneath ground level, for about 5 minutes, tears gently rolled down my face while observing in silence. As I was getting ready to leave the monument, a wave of gratitude came over me. I sat with that feeling for a moment and soon realized, that exchange of emotions was coming from those who were buried beneath the very platform of which I stood. The message I received was, with each recognition spirits of this burial ground can rest that much more, and I too are released a little more from the collective entanglement of this history.