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When you hear the words sacred space, perhaps it causes you to think of a church or temple. Maybe an ancient burial ground or some place that is holy or special in a spiritual sense. Something that is considered sacred is protected, revered and honored. I think we could all agree that spending time in a sacred space can transform a person’s mood, energy and spirit.

But how many of us look at our own homes as a sacred space? Sure, we like our home to be clean, look pretty or just function properly. But what if we could take the spaces we spend the most time in to sacred sanctuary status? I believe our physical surroundings have the ability to help us not only escape from the chaos of the world, but can actually help us transcend it.

Just think of the difference between any strip mall shopping center in America or big box store and an ancient village market where the buildings were built as art. Buildings meant to glorify the creator with beauty and reverence. Or visualize the dreaded cookie cutter tract home vs. a bespoke hand built cabin or cottage.

Sure those uninspired spaces or structures serve a basic purpose, but after 5000 years of architecture I feel we could do better than that today, right? I think you can get my drift here.

My Home Has Always been my Haven

Ever since I was a little girl, my physical surroundings were very important to me. Growing up, I was sensitive to my room being in order, and I liked things to be pretty. I was lucky to have a grandmother who was a talented artist. She shared some of this gift with me by showing me how to paint and make hand-made crafty things. While there was no “decorating budget” back then, I used what I could to make my room special and my own.

Also, aesthetics were important to my Mother and she certainly instilled in me a need to be surrounded by beauty. Taking time to create beauty around us is NOT superfluous. I think it’s an absolute necessity of the soul. When we don’t take the time to honor the space around us, I feel several things can happen.

First, I think we become disconnected from our environment. We aren’t as engaged with our senses and in a way, life just doesn’t seem as “sweet”. Even as I got older and rented my first apartment, I was NOT going to live somewhere that I didn’t find somewhat inspiring.

Enjoying a little quiet time with my Sammy cat 🙂

My budget may have been stretched a little thin, but I didn’t care. Deep down I knew that if the space in which I lived didn’t nurture and comfort me, than I would be unhappy. People are way too tolerant of settling on a living environment that doesn’t feel good to them. I’m not even talking money here either.

Honestly, my first rental was an old house turned into a duplex that we rented for $175 /month! Obviously this wasn’t the Taj Mahal. But in my mind, the house had charm and character that even a newer apartment couldn’t have produced. It made me feel at ease and that to me was everything.

How to Create a Sacred Space

I realize that everyone will have their own style in their environment. You may like lots of color and clutter or you may like modern and minimal. It’s all good! The beauty of creating a sacred space of your own means just that, it’s yours! So I’m not really going to try to sway you into a certain look or the perfect paint color. What I’m talking about today is all about the FEEL. How does it FEEL when you enter a room? Do you immediately feel your jaw relax, shoulders drop and take a deep breath. Or do you tense up at the negative energy that is coming at you?

A few things that bring me joy

If you have reverence for your environment, it becomes a whole different ballgame. I’m not just talking about surface decorating here. Nope. Go deeper. This is soul level beauty that I’m wanting you to get to. Your space should welcome you, wrap it’s arms around you in peace and contentment. Your environment has the ability to raise your consciousness and promote your well being. If you think this is a little far-fetched or woo woo, then keep reading. It’s totally possible to create your own special sacred space. Here’s how I do it.

Use the Senses

My bedside collection

To begin fine-tuning your sacred space, we must address our senses. We are affected by everything we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch whether we are consciously aware of it or not. If you’re highly sensitive to your environment like me than you already know this. But, I believe many people can just become numb to so many things in their homes that if given a conscious choice, they would change.

For example, let’s say your sheets are worn and not feeling fresh any longer or your kitchen towels are stained. Yes, we eventually get around to replacing these things, but why do we wait so long to do this? Especially on things we use on a daily basis. These seemingly insignificant details matter. Why? Because your life is TODAY. Your joy and contentment should be today. And it’s a subtle display of reverence and respect for yourself. I can assure you that if you had house guests coming for the weekend, you would make sure they had fresh sheets and nice towels, wouldn’t you?

Sense of Sight

A little boho in our bedroom

It would be natural to think that your sense of sight is the easiest thing to master. Many of us like to do our own decorating or design and I highly encourage this. But since we’re wanting to go up to sacred space level, let’s think about some details you may be overlooking.

Clutter – I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that when you visualize a sacred environment, you don’t see a bunch of clutter. You don’t see piles of junk mail, dirty laundry thrown about, dead plants and dishes in the sink, do you? I don’t either. I know getting started to declutter your home can be a daunting task, but I encourage you to just begin. And once you get started, don’t be surprised if you actually get into a purging frenzy. It feels so good! Get rid of the clutter. If you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t read “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo, I highly recommend you do so. It’s GOOD.
Loud colors – If you thrive on color than please stick with it, but do an honest assessment of how a certain color makes you feel. I have a great example for this. About 2 years ago, I got the idea to paint my cream colored entryway a deep red color. Keep in mind, my entire house is pretty neutral. I was going for the English “Downton Abby” look. I lived with it, but never truly felt at ease with it. Needless to say, I just recently painted it back to cream and I am SOOO relieved. It feels so much better to me. Never again!
Analyze your art – This idea is a vague translation of Feng Shui, that suggests we really take a closer look at the pictures and ornaments we look at every day. These images have a certain energy and can affect us on a subliminal level. For instance, let’s say you have a painting of a ship on a stormy sea. You may think this is totally harmless, but perhaps it’s making you feel anxious or unsafe in your life. Or maybe you have a statue of a person crying or maybe your husband’s taxidermy (sorry guys!) makes you feel off because of your love for animals. This may seem silly, but I can assure you it’s not. Begin to pay attention to the energy of the things in your home and be honest about how they make you feel.
Display things from nature – There is something so peaceful to me being surrounded by natural things. Shells, crystals, pine cones, feathers, stones, etc. They all contain an energy that radiates out into your home giving a sense of grounding and well being. You can’t get that same feeling with a trinket from Pier1, can you?

Sense of Sound

I don’t know about you but I’m highly sensitive to sounds. I just can’t do loud noises. This even caused my husband and I to move out of the cutest little bungalow after only living there for 3 years! I only discovered after buying the house that living close to a major airport wasn’t good for my well being. It was literally causing me to become depressed. Our darling neighbor, Laura had been living there for over 30 years with no problem. But I had to stand up for what I needed even though it wasn’t convenient to move. I learned a valuable lesson with this.

Note to self – Don’t buy cute house near the airport!

These are some common issues with sound that you may want to consider adjusting to create a more sacred space for yourself:

Use a tabletop fountain – I have been using an inside fountain for years now. It’s just so relaxing to hear the peaceful trickle of water. If you don’t have room for a fountain, get on Amazon Music Unlimited (you can get a free trial here) or YouTube and just play the sound of a babbling brook or the rainforest. It’s so subtle and yet so powerful.
Play bird or nature sounds – While my dream is to live in the middle of the woods some day, for now I play bird sounds on my phone as background nature. I will listen to this while cooking, getting ready in the morning and definitely while writing the blog. It makes me feel at ease. And even though I’m not outside, it makes me relax and feel as if I am.
Display wind chimes – My favorite chimes tend to be the bigger, deeper sounds instead of the tiny, tinkling sounds but either way, they’re a nice addition to what you hear on a daily basis. Consider one for your porch or patio.
Turn off the TV – You may say this isn’t practical for your family, but I can assure you that if you will get into the habit of turning the TV off, the energy in your home WILL be more peaceful and sacred. Joe and I gave up our TV watching almost 10 years ago and never looked back. If you think you need the TV on as background noise, I urge you to try to wean yourself off of this. It’s just mental noise and is affecting you more than you realize. Give it a try.
Use white noise machine or App – You may already be doing this, but if you live close to a busy road or in a noisy part of the city, do yourself a favor and muffle that noise with some background white noise. I will sometimes play relaxing music such as Native American or Indian Flute as well. I promise it’s a game changer in creating a more sacred space!

Sense of Touch

The things we physically touch on a daily basis are SUPER important to our overall well being. I believe the more we touch natural materials and use things pleasing to us, the better we will feel. This is definitely one area where we can get too used to using items that don’t, as Marie Kondo would say “spark joy.”

It’s like the difference you feel when wearing your most favorite pj’s versus that constricting business suit you wear to work. One makes you feel at ease and comfortable and one gets you prepared for work battles. Or how nice is a hand-crafted piece of pottery for your coffee instead of a mass produced cup. There’s a difference! Let’s take a look at a few things to consider with what you touch in your home:

Use real plants not fakes – Ok, I’m guilty of buying a few fake plants in my lifetime, but who are we kidding? None of us are convinced that they’re real and even if you get a really good fake, you KNOW it’s not living! It’s not a living being contributing positive energy to your space.
Buy natural materials when possible – An example of this is when I decided to trade out my plastic toothbrushes for these biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes. The wood just feels authentic and genuine in your hand, plus I can feel a little better about fewer plastic toothbrushes ending up in a landfill.
Use glass instead of plastic – This is continuing the previous point, but it goes without saying that touching glass in the kitchen or in your bathroom just feels more luxurious than plastic. If you think of higher end cleaning products or beauty products they usually come in glass, don’t they? Plus, it’s a recyclable option and that’s always a win-win.
Make sure the surfaces you sit and lay on are comfortable – This may seem like I’m stating the obvious here, but how many of us put up with hard chairs at the dining table or a mattress that’s too soft for us to really sleep well. I’m giving you permission to get picky. Your comfort is important and you should take time to make sure these things add positive energy to your sacred space, not detract from it.

Sense of Smell

Our sense of smell is definitely a powerful thing. Smell has the ability to transform us instantly to any situation in our memory. Take for instance the smell of your grandmother’s homemade rolls or the perfume your mother wore when you were five. Fragrance can play a huge part in cultivating a sacred space and it’s one of my favorites!

From all the choices we have to add scent to our homes, it’s super important that you choose natural fragrance, not synthetic. Just imagine the difference in your laundry when it’s been saturated in a toxic, commercial detergent with it’s overpowering fake scent versus a lovely, subtle all natural lavender or citrus. There’s just no comparison. One feels phony and gross while the other feels peaceful and healthy.

Here are some ways to create a sacred space with fragrance:

Burn only non-toxic candles – Candles are a lovely way to create a sacred ambience. Just make sure you burn only non-toxic soy or beeswax without synthetic fragrance. Choose your favorite scent for the seasons and let it elevate your mood and your mind. If you haven’t tried beeswax candles before than I highly recommend something like these. The natural scent of the beeswax is so grounding and comforting.
Try an earthy herbal incense – I have really gotten into the earthy goodness of incense lately. I really like sandalwood, rose and vanilla scents. There’s a reason cultures from around the world have been burning incense in their daily spiritual practices for thousands of years. This is my favorite environmentally-friendly brand here.
Try a stove top simmer potpourri – I did an entire post about simmering all natural ingredients right on your stove top or in your slow cooker. (How to Make Your Home Smell Like Williams-Sonoma) The idea of simmering things such as cinnamon, vanilla, citrus or other yummy natural fragrances can elevate the energy in your home to sacred status really quickly. It’s just such a warm, homey thing to do and I love using elements from my garden such as rosemary and thyme.
Replace synthetic cleaning products with all natural alternatives – As your budget allows, begin to phase out commercial cleaning products and laundry detergents to more natural options. Ridding your home of toxic or unhealthy smells and fragrances will be not only better for your family, but for the environment as well. I know that the store bought natural options can be more expensive but you can always turn to Pinterest to find recipes to make your own. I’ve started making my own glass cleaner and granite spray. My favorite store bought laundry detergent is this one and for cleaning products I like this brand here.

It’s all about the Energy

Creating a sacred environment is ALL about the energy. It’s about how it makes you feel when you are there. The ability to feel connected with the universal love and energy of the world is vital and I believe it starts with your own home. Also, don’t forget, the other beings in our homes play a big role as well. I consider our beloved kitty, Dinky Doo to be the best source for sharing positive energy and love around our house!

Our Zen Master, Dinky Doo 🙂

Being mindful of the energy in the spaces we spend the most time in is life enhancing. Considering what you see, smell, touch and hear on a daily basis will guide you to creating a space that feels beautiful, comforting and most certainly sacred.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post today. Please SHARE it with your friends. I would love to know what YOU do to create a sacred space in your home, so please leave a comment below! Also, I would love for you to JOIN my community by SUBSCRIBING below!