5 things for making a sacred space

The other day I blogged about keeping sacred spaces sacred, so today I thought I would give you some pointers to how to create your very own sacred space for your writing, or really anything that is important to you. So here are five things to include in your sacred space. If you have other things you need in your space, please include them in the comments my list is not exhaustive.

As a mother of two, a wife, and for a time the full-time caregiver to my mom I knew the

frustration of having no place to call my own. Just as a mother, I didn’t get to go to the

bathroom by myself for ten years or more. But as I struggled more and more to keep my writing a priority and as the world crept in taking away my ability to do the thing, I loved I knew I needed at least a visual representation of how important my writing was to me. I decided if I wanted it to take up space in my heart and in my mind, I should have a place where I could see that I was giving it importance in my physical space as well. Here are five things I did to make this happen.

1. Space is a relative term when square footage is at a premium

I now have an office all to myself, with doors even. However, when I needed to hash out a spot special to my writing time, every room in the house had a body attached to it. My answer was that I chose a place, for me it was in the living room, but for you it could be the corner of the dining room table, or a bean bag in the family room. Wherever you “feel” that you will write is a good space. It should have good lighting, and a comfy for you chair. Then I got a pretty basket. I wanted every aspect of my writing space to be as “me” as possible. A place that I would want to sit and do my things. I then began the task to prettying my space.

2. Finding the mood of the space

Obviously, when I mentioned a pretty basket above it was obvious that this space was not a permanent one. It would become my space when I was occupying it. Again, if you can snag a whole room to yourself, go for it. As soon as I was able, we added onto the house for mine, but before that my space was a comfy chair and a basket of things.

But what was that basket of things? In my office I have items that I need for my craft like

my computer, my outline or writing notebook, and reference books or materials I will etc. But I also have items in my office that bring me joy and help to trigger my writing habit

like my favorite candle, or a wine glass filled with crystals for creative thinking and empowerment. I also need headphones if there are other people in the house and a blanket because I am perpetually cold.

Make a list of those things you NEED to make you feel in the zone, or comfortable enough to get into the flow of creating. It can be anything at all. It is your space. Try to have a table or area where you can sit down and make part of your ritual of writing setting those items around you if you as well need to use the basket method. Hold the items and enjoy them for a moment before setting them in their spot for the session. This can help to ground you into the moment, and if done regularly it can become one of the triggers for your mind to get ready to sit and write.

3. Set an intention every time you go to your space

The reality is that any space, an office, the dining room table, a chair in the living room is just a room with furniture and stuff unless you set an intention for what you will do in that space while you are in there.

Once you have set out your items or entered your space and have it how you like it with lit candles, or maybe lighting and music decide what you want to accomplish during that session. It doesn’t have to be fancy or woo woo just stating into the space what you expect to happen will prime you for getting it done. Do not, I repeat do not, get your space all set and then decide that you are just going to check Facebook quickly before you get started if that is not the intention you have for that space. Only do what you intend to use the space for when the space is set up. Hard stop. Period.

4. Set boundaries

To jump off my last sentence above your space and your family are not going see the importance or respect the space for what it is, if you don’t respect it for what you want it to be. You need to set boundaries with yourself, but also with your family. “When mommy is burning her candle and has her computer open in that chair it is her special time and you need to go play until I am finished.” It may take a few times of reminding, but the same thing will work for a husband who may need to understand that you your sole purpose for being on the planet is not to find the katsup in the fridge on a whim. It is good to have boundaries, but if like many a person who puts others before themselves this could be the beginning of programming everyone in your house including you, that your time does matter.

If your plan is to eventually do this thing you have given space to in your environment and in your heart full time, then a lesson in boundaries for everyone in your life is important. When I began writing full time and therefore, I was home it became exceedingly difficult for people to understand that I was giving my time at home the priority just as if I worked in an office. I had to say a lot at first, but eventually people began to understand that I had time filled with things important to me and that I could be disturbed during whatever hours I had deemed my workday.

And, as I stated above internal boundaries about what you will and won’t do in that space is crucial to making this work. If this thing is important enough to you, this is where you need to do the hard work to make so.

5. Always show gratitude for the time you get in your sacred space

The older I get and the more I understand about the world around me and the energy in

our lives the more I understand how important gratitude is to everything. When you are finished in your space take a moment to reflect on your time there. Did you get words

written? Any words? Because chances are if that is your designated writing space you wouldn’t have written any words if you were not sitting there in that moment. How does your body feel? Relaxed? Calm? Fulfilled? Compare it to how you felt when you entered your space. Leaving your space with a sense of accomplishment will make the next time more of an anticipation, so acknowledge what the space has given you. You may also like to read my article on how to Keep your sacred space sacred.

Hope this gives you some things to consider when making a sacred space in the middle of the mess that is life. Do you have a sacred space? How or what do you bring to that space to make and keep it sacred?

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