With all the decorating shows on TV now it's easy to see how we are affected by our living environment.  There is one show where a room is redesigned and made new simply by using items that are already in the home.  This show has me hooked because that is how I work with my clients in creating sacred spaces in their homes and offices.

Home altars are not new.  I grew up with them in my home and the homes of my friends and neighbors.  In an Irish Italian mixed community, many front gardens and lawns were adorned with statues representing saints or holy figures.  My first roommates were Jewish and they had many ritual and special items on display in a locked case.  When I was 17 I moved in with my friend, Nancy. Her heritage is Latino. Every time I visited her mother or any of her sisters I was invited to put out some food in front of the saints, statues with ornate backdrops and plates of fruit, bread and sweets.

Today carving out a quiet space for prayer, mediation or simply a visual dedication to beauty is easier than ever and it is sorely needed.  The pace of life can be exhausting; a simple walk by your special place, perhaps a glass of water or tea, a prayer, a candlelighting, helps to bring you back to a more livable vibration, a thriving energy. 

You don't have to follow anyone's rules. It doesn't have to be religious or spiritual in its nature.  You can create niches for your soul, your childlike nature, a place of honor or remembrance, an altar of gratitude, unlimited kinds of spaces, throughout your home or apartment.  Here are a few ideas on how to get started along with some photo examples.

This is an example of two spaces using an existing bookcase. The top of the bookcase is designed in line with feng shui wealth principles. The bookcase is located in the wealth area of the home; there is a sealed wealth jar along with chinese coins, red money envelopes, an original piece of artwork, candles and other items.  If you are interested in using feng shui items you can search them on ebay. 

The shelf below keeps to the red theme as that is a feng shui wealth color.  Added to this shelf is more whimsy as it brings family into it There is a photo of my son, my sister, a card from my sister, original piece of art, one of my childhood play magick wands, some toys, a love jar filled with blessings from friends and family and other items.

Most of these items were in my home prior to making the spaces.  I did add some specific items to the wealth jar but the cost was minimal.  When I feel stressed or out of sorts, I walk over to this bookcase and I am immediately transformed taken by the sense of beauty and wonder. It helps that red was my childhood favorite color ~ so it transports me back to some exhilirating and exciting times.

And this is the point ~ these spaces work for me.  It's yours to explore what will work for you.

A more traditional altar, here is my place of gratitude for my mentors and teachers.  Today I have Master Fu Wei Zhong's photo.  Along with this are two candles, a prayer, a chant and a rosary with water from Lourdes. Again, all these items were in my home before I assembled them as a special place of honor.

Ganesh is an elephant deity who captured my attention for the sheer beauty.  I have created many altar backdrops using Ganesh, the Remover of Obstacles, for friends and clients and as a thank you I have elephant objects adorned throughout my office. 

Finally, here is my special place for fairies and sprites to play, a garden on a dresser sitting a few feet from my computer.  When I am tired or my eyes are stressed from hours of writing, I simply turn my head to the left and there is my respite.

I invite you to create a space for yourself, one that soothes you, nurtures your soul, inspires your creativity.  Simply choose a spot where you can display some items safe from exploring children and playful pets.  If you can't devote an entire shelf or table you can designate the space by laying out a doily, scarf or placemat.  What items you choose and how you position them is all about how you feel when you see the finished product.  Simply walk through your home now and choose some objects that work together to bring you a sense of wonder, beauty, hope, healing ... whatever good thing you wish to feel now.

If you want to create more elaborate altars you can search on ebay for altar items, feng shui, art supplies, craft supplies, candles, incense, crystals - the list is almost limitless.

I leave you with this little story.. as a child I remember our yearly summer visits to Steeplechase Park in Coney Island.  The family would meet up on the F train and ride together out to the beach. The morning would be for the adults to gather while we kids were left to the sand and the ocean.  I spent my time filling my red, white and yellow sand pail with seashells. I favored the big white ones, unbroken and unmarked.  I spent hours collecting them and carefully placing them in my pail. 

For the rest of the day, through the rides in Steeplechase Park, the Nathan hot dogs and fries and the train home I protected my shells with great fervor.  The next day my mother would place newspaper out covering our kitchen table.  Together we cleaned each shell and after they were cleaned and dried, we painted them.  All colors, all designs, we painted them. Some with sparkles, some with rainbows.  All until we were left with the last two. These were the best two.  I painted one blue, she painted one red. And when we were done we gave each other the painted shells. 

My mother's color is blue, mine is red. On the altar in my home today where my mother's photo sits out draped in her pearl necklace are two painted shells, one blue, one red and when I see these shells I am transported back to those times. I can smell the bleach and the paints.  I hear us talking and laughing.  And I hear the silence between us as we work on the final shells, the two best ones.  This is what a sacred space is meant to do.

I invite you to bring the wonder and the beauty of your own life out into the open. Create a sacred space as only you can and enjoy it.