Sacred spaces

I recently read Barbara Brown Taylor's Altars of the World. It's good, eloquent about the "everyday sacred" of our lives. Flashed me back to a little article I did on sacred spaces in a feng shui context (with my Lines of Connection guy looking over my shoulder) for a local mag. The not wonderfully edited article is posted in the Media  section of the site, but  I don't expect any of your who may be  out there to devote the better part of your life (at the moment) to absorbing my vision. So, I will give you the distilled version of that piece on sacred spaces. Why? It's an important concept to me, to feng shui in which I believe, to my design work, and I hope it may be of use to you.

Sacred spaces, whether Gothic cathedral, grove of redwoods or your bedroom, brim with vibrant, flowing, creative energy- in a feng shui context we're talking about chi. By nature they are spaces conducive to elevating consciousness and concentrating intentionality. If man-made, these are spaces with good feng shui that mirror the balance inherent in nature. A constructed space with good feng shui is a space that brings nature into your home and work space. In part that is accomplished by incorporating the actual or symbolic (through color) representation of nature's five elements: water (black), wood (green), earth (yellow), fire (red/orange) and metal (white). Good feng shui is served by design that incorporates those elements in a harmonious and balanced way.

Clutter, a word that comes from "clot," blocks good feng shui, obscures the light of clarity and is a primary enemy of flowing chi. An essential prerequisite to creating a sacred space is clearing clutter.

A sacred space can be any room but a meditation room is a lovely place to create a sacred space. That space will be a mirror of you and may well be enriched by artifacts - treasured photographs, rocks you've picked from special places in nature, your favorite incense, symbols such as a labyrinth, a cross, a Star of David - that are crystallizations of your consciousness and intentionality. These symbols and artifacts may well be concentrated on a place you designate as an altar, but they may also be placed with your intuitive care throughout your living (or work) spaces.

Consider including sound in the form of music, bells, crystal chakra bowls, cymbals or other sources that bring you relaxing and pleasing sound. Subdued light and the illumination of candles is helpful, and incense and essential oils brings in the element of air .Lavender is calming, rosemary energizing and the fragrance of rose brings joy.

The design and use of color of your sacred space may be challenging, but if you take your open heart into silence and allow intuition to flow, you are very likely to find a way to create a space that suits you and facilitates the flow of what you need.

To create a sacred space is a sacred endeavor, one deserving the best of your attention. Ultimately that space, be it meditation room, bedroom, living room, whatever, should be the embodiment of your hopes, dreams and intentions; it should be the embodiment, the physical manifestation, of your highest self.