Ever since I read about Sarah Susanka’s “sacred space” in one of the Not So Big House books, I have been breaking the tenth commandment:
Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s meditation room…
I have tried to meditate in various places in my house and it just hasn’t felt right. Either I’m too out in the open or it just feels weird (like sitting on the sheepskin next to my bed).
In preparation for my cleanse, I decided to claim a sacred space in our house. It is a tiny closet inside our walk-through master bedroom closet.
Prior to this weekend, it was filled with instruments, books, dead laptops, gift bags, conference tote bags, framed diplomas, and random cables. It was not a pleasant space to behold.
Now all those things have a new home (either in our storage area in the basement or in the Goodwill/Best Buy electronics recycling box).
Once the space was empty, I cleaned the floor and created a small “altar” by covering a shoebox with a couple of lovely tablecloths that were sitting idle in the linnencloset. I topped it off with a scented candle that has been sitting in a cupboard for a year.
Today, I found myself with 15 minutes of free time between a 7 AM Wellness Committee meeting and an 8:30 AM hair appointment and decided that it would be a perfect opportunity to give my meditation room a test drive.
I lit the candle, grabbed a euro pillow from our bed, and set the alarm on my phone for 8:25 AM.
I settled down on the pillow and breathed in…
And breathed out…
And breathed in…
And breathed out…
I definitely pondered my to-do list more than I focused on my breath and clearing my mind, but it was a good start.
By the time the alarm went off (next time I need to remember to set it to a peaceful gong rather than the quite annoying alarm I use to get myself out of bed in the morning), I felt at peace and ready for the day.
I think my meditation room is going to work out quite well indeed.
No more coveting…
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Hi Tabita,
I love the idea of creating a space in my home to meditate and not spend so much money. I think your idea is very simple and practical. I have a closet full of shoes and stuff that has piled up and have no use. You just inspire to clean it out and make use of your meditation room idea. I don’t light candles because fear of a fire but I will probably take out the door and put sheer curtains and leave it open so natural light from the living comes into the closet. To bad i can’t put in a window above the closet so i can see the beautiful sky and the sky speaks back to me. Love your idea. I am going to make use of my closet. Time to get started.