“Drink water from the spring where horses drink. The horse will never drink bad water. Lay your bed where the cat sleeps. Eat the fruit that has been touched by a worm. Boldly pick the mushroom on which the insects sit. Plant your tree where the mole digs. Build your house where the snake sits to warm itself in the morning. Dig your fountain where the birds hide from the heat. Go to sleep and wake up at the same time as the birds — you will reap all of the day’s golden grain. Eat more green food and watch the animals around you. Swim more often, and you will feel the Earth’s energy. Pray more, and the forest’s healing powers will enter your life. Be silent for long periods — and Nature will speak to you.”
— Saint Seraphim of Sarov
This is perhaps the most natural “feng shui” wisdom ever written. No compass, no formulas, no expensive consultants needed — just the quiet intelligence of observing how animals choose where to rest, drink, and thrive.
What animals instinctively avoid, we would do well to avoid. What they naturally seek is often what our bodies need most.
Living in alignment with nature’s rhythms — the seasons, the light, the silence — is not primitive. It is the deepest form of intelligence.