A form of so-called geomancy – a practice that interprets patterns to divine certain outcomes – feng shui is concerned with the arrangement of the surrounding environment to improve harmony. Essentially, it is concerned with energy forces that run through all things. By rearranging the way particular objects are interacted with in daily life, the art is supposedly able to bring about a better harmony between people and their environments. In its earliest incarnations, feng shui was used to work out the best way to orientate a building, for example. These days, especially in Western interpretations of the practice, it is focussed on interior design. However, feng shui gets into many more aspects of the built and planned environment than simply working out the most propitious way to arrange your furniture.
Born in January 1915, Alan Watts was a philosopher and writer who had a significant impact on the West's view of Eastern spirituality and philosophical thinking in the mid-twentieth century. As a writer, he produced over two dozen books with some notable titles such as, 'The Way of Zen' becoming a best-seller after it was first published in 1957. One of the key points of his writing was to interpret Buddhism in a way that had more in common with psychotherapies than a religion, the way that many Western thinkers continued to regard it at the time. Alongside Buddhism, Alan Watts wrote extensively on the subjects of pantheism, Hinduism and traditional Chinese philosophy.
First published in 1992, The Five Love Languages is a book that is entirely focussed on the most intimate relationships held between adults. It looks at five different paths whereby love, affection and even romance are followed, which are referred to in the book as 'languages', hence the meaning of its title. The five so-called languages are spending quality time with one another, exchanging gifts, physical touching, words of affirmation, and acts of devotion. The last one is sometimes also referred to as acts of service. The idea of the book is that it is a guide to self-counselling that individuals and couples can follow in order to re-establish higher levels of affection and love in their relationship. In it, the advocated approach is that a person will look at the way their partner expresses his or her love with others, and an attempt is made to use the same 'language' subsequently. The original version of the book had the sub-title “How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate” although this was dropped from later editions.