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by "Ultimate Feng Shui" qi-whiz.com
"Beware of False Profits!" or Picking a practitioner There is nothing esoteric about being ripped off. Always remember that it's your money and you have every reason to expect to get your money's worth.
Fakes and con artists abound in New Age circles, so be sure to use as much of your consumer savvy with Feng Shui practitioners as you would with a car dealer or building contractor.Consumer protection guidelines can be applied to Feng Shui.
Ask questions. You should be able to get satisfactory answers to your questions. Your practitioner should be able to explain everything to you without mystical or New Age jargon and obfuscation. If you are uncomfortable with their answers, find another practitioner!
If you are a committed Christian, Muslim, or Jew, there is no reason to prevent you from applying Feng Shui to optimize your environment.
The Catholic Church sees New Age ideas as a problem and views Buddhism as a "negative" system, "an erotic spirituality," and the church's foremost challenge in the years to come. This is not unlike the opinions of many Protestant denominations who are even more negative -- some believe Eastern religions are a form of Satanism. Some Jews equate Buddhism with idolatry and apostasy. Whatever your creed, rest easy -- Authentic Feng Shui is not Buddhism or any religious belief and it is not a superstition. It is an ancient natural science.
Caveat Emptor! People make outlandish promises about Feng Shui that are just part of their marketing campaign. As Mark Johnson says, even the most credible practitioners will "go down the tubes" with the quacks if they fail to exert appreciable lasting effects on people's lives.
Certainly a thorough analysis of ersatz Feng Shui shows the practitioners cannot live up to their exaggerated advertising, but this is the "Feng Shui" that everyone thinks is authentic.
The United States Federal Trade Commission issued guidelines for the use of environmental marketing claims. According to the FTC -- on which much of ISO 14020-14025 was based -- environmental advertising must be true, not misleading, and substantiated. Unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce, and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce are against the law.
The FTC code of regulations (Section 260, Subsection E) states as follows:
[A]ny party making an express or implied claim that represents an objective assertion about the environmental attribute of a product or package must, at the time the claim is made, possess and rely upon a reasonable basis substantiating the claim.
A reasonable basis consists of competent and reliable evidence. In the context of environmental marketing claims, such substantiation will often require such competent and reliable scientific evidence.
The risk of making an improper environmental claim means running the risk of violating federal advertising regulations.
What does this mean to you? Someone who makes a claim about their Feng Shui abilities without having an independent third-party certification by law must do the following:
* Specify the environmental improvement or attribute of the product or service. Never directly or by implication suggest an environmental improvement that does not exist.
Never exaggerate the environmental benefit of an attribute or of a product or service to which a claim refers.
* Ensure the information is accurate.
* Ensure the information is not deceptive.
* Verify they can substantiate it (that is, prove that their claims are authentic).
* Use the claim in an appropriate context or setting. State specifically and clearly as to what particular environmental attribute the claim relates to.
* Ensure the claim is unlikely to result in misinterpretation.
* Make it meaningful in relation to the overall environmental impact of the product or service.
* Present the claim in a manner that clearly indicates the environmental claim and explanatory statement are read together.
* Never state the claim is endorsed or certified by an independent third-party organization when it has not been.
This How do I find a Feng Shui consultant? would go great with:
a) The "7 piece ceramic tea set"
or
b) the "Ben Wa Balls - Women's".
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