Creating Your Sacred Space
With the current global “stay at home” scenario, this may have shifted just how your home space feels to you. Perhaps you have been spending more time at home, or with more people at home consistently, and what may have felt like a comfortable or relaxing space may not anymore. I strongly believe that each person needs to have a little zone to call their own, their Sacred Space.
This idea of a Sacred Space is to define an area to rejuvenate yourself; an area that exudes the type of energy you want to draw in, and feels really good to you. It doesn’t need to be a large area, or even an area that is permanently set up. It can be the corner of a room, a closet, a part of a room if that is an option. (Personally, I would LOVE to build a solarium dedicated to “me” and “my space” but, hey, that just isn’t an option!).
In this blog, I am going to go through the steps on how to create your Sacred Space, with what you’ve got to work with!
1) Envision the Space: Consider for yourself what would rejuvenate you and what would you like the space to feel like. What will you be doing in the space so you can decide how large of an area you need? - yoga, meditation, breath work, reading? What sort of lighting would you like in there - natural light, dim lighting? What sort of noise level is acceptable to you? - this will help you decide if you need a closed door between you and others in the house, or perhaps you will use it when you have some time to yourself, and it will be something you set up and take down. Yes, you can set up a temporary space. If you are doing this I would still define a small space where you put all of your items, and then spread them out when you are “using the space” and then put them back when you aren’t.
2) Designate the Space: Once you have identified the area you will be using, it is time to physically define it by marking the area off. You can use painters tape on the floor or go ahead and move everything out of the space that does not feel sacred to you. If you are using part of a room, consider a room divider, or a sheet/curtain hung across the space to separate the two areas. One simple way can be to use a retractable clothes line attached to the walls in the room, and you can hang a sheet or curtain on it when you are using your Sacred Space, then you can remove it when not in use.
3) Clear the Space: Both physically and energetically. Consider, within this space, what you will be looking at when you are in there. It is best to remove any clutter from the areas you are looking at and, ideally, anything from the defined space that does not feel sacred to you. Once the physical items are cleared out of this space, it’s time to clear out the excess energy from that space. Use your preferred method, perhaps burning sage, palo santo, or incense to do so. Fairly simply, set the intention to clear the space of old, stagnant energy, and use your chosen medium to sweep the energy out from all of the corners, walls and central area. It is best to sweep toward a door or window to clear the space.
4) Set the Tone: Now it’s time to add into this space what you want to create. Take some time to consider what you would like this space to feel like to you. Would you like to feel calm, relaxed, grounded? What items would you like to look at in that space to enhance those feelings. It is a good idea to create a focal point for your space, or an altar of sorts, and place it in the area you will be facing in this Sacred Space. Crystals, a sound bowl, salt lamp, candles, feathers, photos, artwork or other items that are meaningful to you. If you are drawn to bring in scents, consider adding plants, essential oils, or incense into the space. If you will be using sound in your space, then you will want something to play music on or adding in your sound bowl or chimes.
5) Name your Sacred Space: This is a fun exercise! Come up with a name for your Sacred Space that is meaningful to you. Perhaps even make a plaque and hang it in your “zen zone”. Another idea that can be really useful is to make a sign to put up when you are using your space and do not want to be interrupted.
6) Set up a Practice Ritual: Make a daily commitment to spend time in your Sacred Space. It can even be just a few minutes that you dedicate to enter into your Sacred Space and use it. When doing this, it works really well to have a ritual. One example would be to enter your Sacred Space, sit down, place a candle in front of you and light it. Take a few deep grounding breaths, and set your intention for the day. Breathe in your intention and focus on the light of the candle for a few moments, visualizing how your intention will be manifested over the day, and how it will feel. Choose something that works for you and commit to it every day!
There you go! I would encourage you to really spend some time thinking about how you want the space to feel. After you have created it, feel free to switch it up and move things around until it feels right. This is all about you. About creating a small piece of the world for yourself to rejuvenate, reset and come back to your centre. You deserve this. Have fun with it! Please reach out if you need more tips or guidance.