Creating Sacred Spaces

it is any place that you hold in high regard, a place that you protect from anything unwanted, where you feel safe and at peace. It can also be a devoted area looked upon with reverence, purpose and consecration. A place you can go to when you need to regroup or reconnect to a solid state of mind or presence.

Sacred spaces start in your mind: places you visualize that make you feel good. Then you think about the things that are in them, like atmosphere. There might be sun, water, earth or a certain type of terrain, fresh air, perhaps flowers. Or it might be quiet, cozy and warm, like a spa. Items you come across, like a tapestry, candle, poem, book or statues that make you feel any of the aforementioned, are typically things that you’d put in your own physical sacred space. The beauty of sacred space is that once you create the physical atmosphere and spend time there, you can always close your eyes and feel what you would if you were actually there. This means that any time you need to feel safe, secure, thoughtful, reflective or even creative, it’s simply a thought away even if the physical location is miles away. A place containing great thinking is a sacred space.

“The calm within the storm is where peace lives and breathes. It is not within perfect circumstances or a charmed life . . . it is not conditional. Peace is a sacred space within, it is the temple of our internal landscape. We are free to visit it, whenever we seek sanctuary.

— Jaeda DeWalt

Here’s a little guidance to help you create your own sacred space.

• Choose an area in your living space. It can be an entire room, or it can be a closet. You can have a dedicated area that remains the same or you can keep items you love in a storage container and bring it out when you need to “create the magic atmosphere” on the go.

• Select a few items that bring you joy and peace. These are typically things like a candle, scarf with your favorite colors, pictures, word cards, essential oil, an element of water (like a fountain), piece of art, or element of earth (like a small plant or flower). You might even keep some of your favorite chocolate on hand.

• Have comfortable seating. A meditation cushion, comfy oversized chair, rug to sit on the floor, maybe some pillows.

• Music is a good option to play in the background.

• Keep some dry bundled sage on hand to occasionally “smudge.”

Smudging is the ritual of cleaning the energy of a physical space, object or person. If you include a meditation ritual in your sacred space, you can burn sage before your practice. This will help prepare your energy and mind for meditation and allow you to more easily get grounded. Reportedly, when sage is burned, it releases negative ions, which is linked to putting people into a positive mood. The Latin word for sage, salvia, stems from the word heal. Other qualities believed to be associated with sage when burned are giving wisdom and clarity, or increasing spiritual awareness.

• This could be a garden, a spot by your favorite tree, a porch, or any other area in your yard that you can create a space in.

• Being outdoors you naturally have the elements of nature already available. If not, you can still bring your container of special items (as mentioned above) with you.

• You may use the ground, a comfy chair, pillow or hammock.

• You can also include the smudging ritual here for mind clearing.

“If you want to fly, give up everything that weighs you down.” — Unknown

This is a great time to journal. Write down things that you’re struggling with, to help you process your thoughts. You can burn the written struggles in “ceremonial style” to release their hold on you. Jot down things that lift you up in thought, or whatever comes to mind during this time. You can review your thoughts every six months and see what has changed or what has remained the same. It is a great guide to help you see where you are growing and where you might be stuck.

Now that you’ve created your space, cleansed the air and opened your mind to be receptive to new thoughts or have simply emptied your mind to allow freedom from clutter, you can breathe and enjoy for as long as you make time for.

This is designed to be an active space and not to be used for napping (although on occasion it would be a great place to do such!).

“Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.” — Joseph Campbell

Jennifer Durand is the owner and operator of The Nurture Nook Day Spa & Gift Shoppe; she is a certified QiGong and Breathe Empowerment instructor, a skin care and makeup specialist and is licensed in massage therapy, body work and somatic integration. Let her help you find your personal “ahh . . .” by visiting nurturenook.com or or by calling (615) 896-7110.

BY SEAN MORAN

may want to convince your local church or community charity to help the family and give your money to that organization instead.