What would you do if your grown daughter died suddenly in a headline-making car accident?  Would your first instinct be to move your furniture?

This was the seemingly unexplainable choice for one remarkable woman. Immediately after the funeral, she moved her beds, desks, and chairs to all places unimaginable—her reading chair to face a dark corner, her bed floating in front of her bedroom door, and the guest bed in a hallway. I had to step around a crusty old patio chair as I entered the front door. Instantly, I heard the whispers of my teacher, “If you are depressed, despairing, or simply out of luck, move your furniture.” Somehow, my client and I were already on the same page—and now science has an explanation.

In the words of neurobiologist Fred Gage, “Changes in the environment change the brain, and therefore they change our behavior.” After settling in for my overnight stay (in the hallway), the grieving mother expressed relief. Having moved everything, and with everything now “in place,” she could relax. I was stunned, for, truly, everything was out of place, and I expected tears. It was a mystery waiting to be solved.

For 28 years I have watched changes in our environments change our minds, thus our thoughts, language, and actions. If we get the change right, the texture of life changes. It is as if a veil has been lifted—a burden removed—and we are suddenly allowed to do what we are meant to do as human beings. In this case, to grieve the loss of a daughter. This courageous woman, on this day, needed to be uncomfortable—to live with things out of place and feel the pain. She got the changes just right, and the healing began that evening. She was open and able to feel the richness of her life and loss.

I had the privilege of watching an ancient wisdom technique become a living experience, and I learned the secret of my teacher’s wise advice to  “move the furniture.” It is the change that creates the healing, not the perfect placement. The shift is sometimes dramatic, often subtle, but always profound. We are beginning to understand why.

Research is making it possible to analyze how the brain is affected and changed by our environments. Science has now shown that if items in the environment are moved, removed, or added every few days, there can be a 15 percent increase in the birth of new neurons, especially in the hippocampus—the area of the brain that processes new information. In a stimulating environment, the capacity to add new memories and learn new skills is greatly enhanced.

Somehow my client knew this without knowing, and with my support, developed a rich and on-going interaction with her environment. When the final item was returned to its favorite place (two years later), she was ready and wide-awake to new possibilities. Moving beyond the limits of conventional thought and action, she healed from the heart of her knowing.

Those of us who practice Feng Shui cross these boundaries every day. We dare to stand with artists and scientists to explore and shape the reality that exists beyond the comprehension of human reason.

Would it help you to move something today?