Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again. -- Joseph Campbell
Life is busy and LOUD and hectic. It's very easy to be lost in the chaos and forget the importance of finding silence. We all need refuges. They allow us to recenter ourselves, remember who we are, whats important, and give us the energy to truly live each moment.
I strive to make our home one of these safe havens, not only for me, but for everyone who finds themselves under our roof. I like to think I do a pretty good job. However, I've tried to take things a step further and not only make my home a safe space, but also one of sacred spaces.
A while back I created a personal altar in my living room to serve as such a space. It's on the wall right next to my rocking chair where I can almost always be found sitting if I''m in the living room.
It is my sacred space where I can breath and find me again. I've done a lot of healing in the space as I experienced one miscarriage after another. Occasionally I remove and add items. The altar experience change as I change.
Much more recently I set out to make mine and Brenan's bedroom a sacred space. After all, it's where I hope to conceive, and even birth our next child. I'm no interior designer and I think it still needs a few finishing touches, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.
I find myself drawn to my bedroom far more than I ever was before. It is a room where my soul and body can come to rest. A room worthy of bringing new life in to this world.
After such a process, I have a few tips for anyone wanting to create their own sacred spaces whether it be an altar or an entire room.
1) Decide what you need from a sacred space. Does it need to be a place for meditation, yoga, or a visual affirmation? Is there a particular theme you'd like your space to have? Example: my living room altar was created to help me heal and move on (as much as anyone can) from my miscarriages. It had a place for incense, painting I had done while meditating on my grief, and other mementos that hold great symbolism for me. I choose to place it in an area I could see often through out my day and next to my favorite seat in the house.
2) Use what you have. The base can be anything, a shelf, dresser, side table, or an entire room. There's no need to run out and spend money buying new things for your space. More often than not, we already have important symbolic items scattered around our house, tucked away in drawers and boxes. This is an opportunity to bring them out to be a constant source of positive energy. Other times altar pieces can be items you created your self, this allows them to have more personal meaning. About half of everything on my personal altar was created by me, the other half were items I already had, or that have come to me through healing circles, as gifts, or I've found in nature. However, there are a few things that I've bought because when I picked them up my spirit refused to be separated, or because I specifically went out looking for such an item for it's symbolism. My point is, no matter your financial situation, you CAN create a sacred space.
3) Simple is almost always better. Our lives are already so crazy, it's nice to take the craziness out of our sacred space by airing on the side of minimalism.
4) Your sacred space should be a reflection of YOU and any one else the space is meant for. Don't add something to it simply because it's pretty, add something because it serves a specific purpose for your grounding, healing, etc, whatever it is you need to have happen in your space. Example: As you may have noticed I have a lot of books. They have been a blanket of safety for me as long as I can remember, so naturally, they are an important element in my sacred bedroom space. However, my bedroom also needs to be a sacred space for the man I share it with, and so I tried to include things that were reflections of him as well. The shelf to the left of the bed is dedicated entirely to his things, and he also has things included among my book shelves. In the end, a space was created that can be sacred for both of us.
5) Once your sacred space is created, consciously take the time to actually use the space. Don't allow it to fade in to the background of everything else in the hope. Take the time to breath deeply and meditate in your space for at least five minutes every day. No matter how busy we are, we can always find five minutes.
Where is your sacred space?
If you don't already have one, I hope I've given you some ideas and you'll have one soon!
I strive to make our home one of these safe havens, not only for me, but for everyone who finds themselves under our roof. I like to think I do a pretty good job. However, I've tried to take things a step further and not only make my home a safe space, but also one of sacred spaces.
A while back I created a personal altar in my living room to serve as such a space. It's on the wall right next to my rocking chair where I can almost always be found sitting if I''m in the living room.
It is my sacred space where I can breath and find me again. I've done a lot of healing in the space as I experienced one miscarriage after another. Occasionally I remove and add items. The altar experience change as I change.
Much more recently I set out to make mine and Brenan's bedroom a sacred space. After all, it's where I hope to conceive, and even birth our next child. I'm no interior designer and I think it still needs a few finishing touches, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.
The view as you walk in
I find myself drawn to my bedroom far more than I ever was before. It is a room where my soul and body can come to rest. A room worthy of bringing new life in to this world.
After such a process, I have a few tips for anyone wanting to create their own sacred spaces whether it be an altar or an entire room.
1) Decide what you need from a sacred space. Does it need to be a place for meditation, yoga, or a visual affirmation? Is there a particular theme you'd like your space to have? Example: my living room altar was created to help me heal and move on (as much as anyone can) from my miscarriages. It had a place for incense, painting I had done while meditating on my grief, and other mementos that hold great symbolism for me. I choose to place it in an area I could see often through out my day and next to my favorite seat in the house.
2) Use what you have. The base can be anything, a shelf, dresser, side table, or an entire room. There's no need to run out and spend money buying new things for your space. More often than not, we already have important symbolic items scattered around our house, tucked away in drawers and boxes. This is an opportunity to bring them out to be a constant source of positive energy. Other times altar pieces can be items you created your self, this allows them to have more personal meaning. About half of everything on my personal altar was created by me, the other half were items I already had, or that have come to me through healing circles, as gifts, or I've found in nature. However, there are a few things that I've bought because when I picked them up my spirit refused to be separated, or because I specifically went out looking for such an item for it's symbolism. My point is, no matter your financial situation, you CAN create a sacred space.
3) Simple is almost always better. Our lives are already so crazy, it's nice to take the craziness out of our sacred space by airing on the side of minimalism.
4) Your sacred space should be a reflection of YOU and any one else the space is meant for. Don't add something to it simply because it's pretty, add something because it serves a specific purpose for your grounding, healing, etc, whatever it is you need to have happen in your space. Example: As you may have noticed I have a lot of books. They have been a blanket of safety for me as long as I can remember, so naturally, they are an important element in my sacred bedroom space. However, my bedroom also needs to be a sacred space for the man I share it with, and so I tried to include things that were reflections of him as well. The shelf to the left of the bed is dedicated entirely to his things, and he also has things included among my book shelves. In the end, a space was created that can be sacred for both of us.
5) Once your sacred space is created, consciously take the time to actually use the space. Don't allow it to fade in to the background of everything else in the hope. Take the time to breath deeply and meditate in your space for at least five minutes every day. No matter how busy we are, we can always find five minutes.
Where is your sacred space?
If you don't already have one, I hope I've given you some ideas and you'll have one soon!
I like that you don't seem to have a tv in your bedroom. What the heck are people thinking, having something like that in there?
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