Personal Biography

Maud H. Trachtenberg is the founder and principal of Insight and Design.

I am trained in the classical Land Form and Compass schools of Feng Shui, and have also studied practices and techniques of the school of Tibetan Black Hat (BTB). I have received certification as a consultant both locally and abroad.

I am a graduate of the Qi-Mag International Feng Shui and Geobiology Institute,  certified in BTB, and an advanced student of the American Feng Shui Institute. In addition I belong to the International Feng Shui Guild, a network of qualified consultants.

I am an experienced dowser. As an advanced student of Eric Dowsett, who is an internationally respected pioneer and educator in environmental energies, I also work with the subtle energies of the external and internal environments.

I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree from UCLA, and Completion of International Studies from the University of Stockholm.

Prior to devoting myself full time to my consulting practice, my professional career included positions in sales, marketing and customer service in the medical, computer and transportation industries. These experiences taught me many valuable lessons, including the art of listening, sensitivity toward my clients, and respect for the power of a person's intuition.

How I got started in my Feng Shui and Energy Clearing career:

My interest in Feng Shui began after I visited a doctor of Chinese medicine. My regular physician was confounded by a persistent ailment I had, and I was frustrated and tired of not feeling well. I just knew there had to be something out there that could help, and I decided to try something outside of my traditional norm.

I chose Chinese medicine...a true leap of faith for me. I was profoundly affected by the rapid results of my therapy and I became intrigued. I decided to investigate other spheres of knowledge after discussing ‘energies’ and their influence with my doctor.

I was drawn to Feng Shui because of its history and relationship to energy and its movement. My science education told me all things were made up of energy, so it began to make sense to me then, that one type of energy could influence another.

After I started my schooling in this ancient art, I began to experiment on my home. Encouraged by the results, I dove deeper into my education, and also began working with other peoples’ homes and  businesses.

Although I was getting good results,  I was reluctant to apply many of the traditional solutions used to activate the energy shifts called for. Like many of my clients, I was not comfortable with bringing foreign objects into a space that weren’t compatible with the décor.

I was gratified to find an alternative in the form of energy clearing, a compassionate heart-based technique of tuning in to the frequency of a disturbed energy, and then clearing it.

I’ve found this to be as effective as other remedies, but more efficient and rewarding. I do still use many of the traditional solutions as well.

I have now integrated energy clearing into my Feng Shui practice because I feel they complement one another with wonderful, and sometimes amazing results.