Do you have a sacred space? A place in your home, or in nature, that nourishes you? A place to relax? A place to feel safe and rested?
That was the question posed at a recent wellness gathering I attended. Many of the women, and the lone man, who sat in circle were practitioners in various fields of complimentary medicine; massage, Reike, relflexology, chakra balancing, and more. Not so long ago, these modalities were labeled alternative healing. Now that medical science has been able to prove their benefits when practiced together with our westernized concept of healing, they are more commonly referred to as complimentary treatment.
Most of those gathered smiled and nodded. Some shared descriptions of everything from personal altars, to designated rooms or garden corners tucked into their backyards where they could meditate undisturbed.
Some of the participants looked intimidated, out of their element until I offered up my sister's sacred space. She's not a big believer in complimentary medicine and if asked whether she had a sacred place she would likely scoff at the question. Yet every afternoon when the sun angles through the sliding glass doors on the south side of her kitchen, she sits at her breakfast bar, sipping coffee and reading a magazine. That is her bliss.
As soon as I shared, another woman told of her grandmother, who took a break every afternoon to sit at her kitchen table playing solitaire.
In my parent's later years, they sat on the porch swing of their lake home and watched the light of the sun reflecting in the water. After they passed, we sold their home. I so strongly felt their spirits were still there, watching the sparkling light on the water, that I spoke out loud, asking them to come home with me.
Their swing sits on my back porch now. Many summer days I watch the sun rise over the trees or set beyond my garden wall while swaying gently to and fro. It is but one of my many sacred places and is made more so when I feel my parents might be there with me.
Now, let me ask again? Do you have a sacred space that renews you?
