When I think of sacred spaces, I think of churches, temples, beautiful places in nature. But the truth of the matter is, that the most sacred space you can occupy is the present moment. The god you seek isn’t in your worries about tomorrow, in your regrets of yesterday. Your god is in the Now, your inspired thought is in the Now. Actually, the only time there is, is Now. The sacred space we keep in our town or our national park or in our home is a reminder to bring us back. . .body, spirit and mind. . .to Now.
I was raised Catholic, which probably explains a lot about me. . .and even though I do not participate in that tradition any longer for a variety of reasons, there are some aspects of it that I find beautiful and comforting. Many of the rituals adopted by the church are steeped in even more ancient and sacred mysteries: candles, incense, and chanting, to name a few.
Many rituals have changed over time, but in their core, at their essence, they are still, to me, pure and beautiful. Also, there is no disputing the beautiful art that the church has inspired over time. I mean, seriously. Have you been to Notre Dame in Paris? Or even the local cathedral in your hometown? Churches used to be these grand, epic affairs, with spires and towers that literally raised your eyes to heaven. Entire generations of families devoted their lives to creating these sacred spaces, and it’s difficult not to feel a small measure of awe when you enter them and at the same time, feel your heart expand.
Every religious tradition has maintained the importance of a sacred space. Siddartha sat beneath a bodhi tree until he attained enlightenment and became the Buddha. Jesus went into the desert to meditate. Where is your sacred space?
I try to meditate each morning before I start my day. Much to my chagrin, those times when I feel especially rushed or pressured or stressed, are the times when I’m most likely to feel that I “don’t have time” and skip my morning meditation ritual. You know where I’m going with this, right? When my life stops running smoothly and things start to glunk up, I only have to reflect for a moment and realized that I’ve neglected one of my most important self-care regimens: I’ve neglected to spend time in my sacred space.
Meditation is like working out. The more you do it, the better the benefits. It calms you, it restores a sense of peace, balance, a connection to the divine Now. In case it matters. Meditation stops the chattering mind that will distract you from a million and one things until you forget who you really are.
I have an altar in my living room, that contains statues and chimes and candles to help create my holy ground. A sacred space doesn’t have to be an entire room, it can be a shelf, or a table, just some place where you can place crystals, pictures, statues of those things you find beautiful and comforting.
Once you have created a sacred space, it’s an easy step to meditating. There are tons of resources for learning to meditate, all you need is a willingness to surrender, and trade all the self-chatter for inner-peace. Namaste! Love, C
My two cents: surrendering to meditation feels like shedding a coat on a sunny day; it makes you feel lighter.
♥♥♥
I am so with C on this one. There is nothing like starting your day connecting with Spirit. I start every day with meditation, and I go through a long list of things I appreciate before I go to sleep at night and as soon as I wake up in the morning. The more you see to appreciate the more you will have to appreciate and I can attest to that! It is amazing how things keep getting better and better when you actually see and acknowledge them.
I have quite a few sacred spaces in my home, I love my little reminders that spirit is always with me. Makes me feel happy and I don’t feel that I am at this whole thing all by myself. I think we all need to be reminded of this from time to time.
There are so many ways you can feel your connection to your Source, or the Divine. If you don’t like to meditate, and some people are not into sitting and just breathing, go outside, take a hike or a run, and commune with Mother Nature. Same thing. Whatever gets you out of your head and connected to something bigger than yourself is all that matters. But I would always show gratitude or appreciation for all the things that you have everyday. That really is an easy one and boy, does it really change things in a big way.
My friend T and I try to meet every Tuesday for coffee, we are on a similar path and we spend an hour or so talking about what has gone on with us and our families and our stuff during the past week. We end up really doing some great work and it’s amazing how similar the lessons we have are. We always seem to get to some really big work when we meet. I consider wherever it is that we meet a sacred space. Spirit is present and we are both really open to working things out and open to divine guidance.
T’s son has this thing with FedEx trucks, sees them everywhere, all the time. I am the same way with bright yellow cars. It is so funny that it seems wherever we are having our Tuesday coffee, and we have a big aha moment, it never fails we either see a FedEx truck or a bright yellow car. I think it is a sign that we are on the right track. xo-K
My two cents: Keep things around you that remind you of Spirit and anywhere can be a sacred space.
two girls take on love 