You know it's a jungle out there, and only the fittest survive. To begin with, finding the right person and then actually asking that person out may be the hardest part of starting a relationship.

To ensure that you pair up with the right kind of person, Feng Shui - that Chinese practice of balancing the energies around you to achieve the desired results - offers some great tips to finding and attracting your ideal lover.

According to Feng Shui, people's personalities are interpreted in terms of the five elements - fire, earth, metal, water and wood. The fire types are wild and impulsive, the earth types stable and sensuous, the metal types - stable and discerning, the water types - sensitive and emotional, while the wood types are adventurous and open-minded.

Feng Shui experts advise that by making a few vital changes to your surroundings, you could attract your type of lover. So re-vamp your space and find your perfect partner:

Need a Secure Soul mate - Go for heavy, substantial furnishing in sensual earthy tones like brown, cream, brick and orange, peppermint essential oil, night lamps with a ceramic base, a canopy bed and thickly woven sheets.

Seeking a Sensitive Artist - Low lighting, plenty of plump pillows and plush fabrics, dreamy water colours or photographs of seascapes and a sleigh bed with soft sheets with undulating patterns are sure to attract that tender lover.

Craving for an Adventurous Lover - Red candles, ylang-ylang essential oil, abstract colourful artwork, an oriental carpet with rich splashes of red and a wooden four-poster bed with scarlet, burgundy or rose-coloured sheets should do the trick.

Looking for a Thoughtful and Refined Lover - White candles, lightweight curtains that allow the sun to shine through, a bed with a metal headboard and white satin sheets are sure to attract the one with impeccable manners.

Eyeing an Intellectual - To attract that brainy lover, decorate your space with flourishing plants, leggy furniture and striped fabrics. And to keep the relationship energetic and refreshing, choose lamps that light up towards the ceiling, wall hangings with a vertical slant rather than a horizontal one and a bed covered with green or striped sheets is sure to encourage stimulating conversation and could soon lead to sexual exploration...

Feng Shui or not - the key to finding your perfect partner is to just be your true self.

So before you take the plunge, here's the checklist...

	Just be happy as you are, and don't try to be somebody you are not
	Aim to meet someone who wants you for who you are - and not your money/ car/ body or clothes
	You cannot know true love if you don't know your true self
	To truly love someone, you need to love yourself first - be confident, but not arrogant
	Go with the flow, and you will be at the right place at the right time

Also Check Out:
	Freedom and Love
	Feeling Harassed?
	Take off on a Romantic Trip