Can I create sacred spaces in my home?

As I've been lying around blowing my nose and recovering from a bad head cold, I'm feeling so grateful for the sacred spaces I can see from my bed. 

On a bookshelf across from me, I can see a little collection of arranged items:

• A photo of my husband and me, representing the young love we experienced in Paris when we were newly married.
• A blue lantern shining forth my core values of community and grace - gifted to me by a group I led in Brene Brown's Rising Strong course in Kenya.
• A Tibetan singing bowl, bringing the promise of a warm tone to spark a feeling of serenity.
• A bronze sculpture of a kingfisher on a reed of grass, a tangible reminder of the natural world.
• A stone with a beautiful elephant and the word "asante" (thank you in Kiswahili) carved in it, reminding me of the many people who love us and hold us in prayer. 
• Next to my desk, there is a gorgeous peace plant, an essential oil diffuser, and a Chartres labyrinth in pewter, each with their own meanings. 

If you've never created a sacred space in your home, it might sound like some kind of exotic woo-woo thing to do. But it doesn't have to be difficult. And it doesn't have to be particularly religious - although if you are religious then objects from your faith tradition can be powerful.

You do want to set a purpose for your space - would you like it to remind you of love? Do you want to be brought back to peace? Do you want to stop and take a breath? 

These small "altars" can be simple, personal expressions of what you want to keep in mind. You do not have to build anything or take up a lot of space.

At its most essential, an altar or a sacred space is simply a raised structure that serves as a resting place for meaningful objects - it could be a small shelf, table, or a tray. It focuses the eye and provides a place for you to be still for a moment, and even create some ritual or routine that grounds you. 

I would invite you to keep it simple. For example, you might place an amaryllis bulb in a pot set on a box to remind you of growth and the natural rhythms of blooming.  Or, you might keep an ornate box in which you place your dreams or your thoughts of gratitude at a particular time each day. You might place a picture frame in which you can write down and display the most meaningful poems you come across from time to time. 

Look around you right now. Have you already created a mini sacred space even without knowing it? A candle? A vase? An empty bowl? A painting? A garden? A set of prayer beads draped where you can easily pick them up during a meal? 

What if you added a little more intention to those spaces and created a little more ritual, time, slowness? Your favorite chair and tea mug could become that much more a place where you love to be with yourself and all that you hold dear. 

I'd love to hear what you've noticed and what you've created. I'm sure you've got some wonderful ideas. 

In the Great Love,