Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Creating a meditation/ritual space

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Creating a meditation/ritual space

    So. My attic. It has gone from man cave to temp residence for a family of three and their dog, to messy storage, to a temp home for the BIL, to pig sty all in a year, more or less. Now we're aiming for a meditation/ritual zone. Said rituals would mostly be small types of things, in the warmer months we'd just go outside if needed and if we absolutely had to in the winter we could use the basement, so this isn't going to be the only space we use. And it'll be more directed toward the meditation aspect than the ritual one.

    So, tips and tricks? We're in the hauling out the junk space and we have plenty of time so there's no rush. DIY ideas? The edges of the room are about 2 ft tall and peeks at about 6 ft. The length of the house, about half the width. There's a huge closet type area that I'm thinking of turning into a lounge type area. And a landing/storage area that's big enough we fit a twin bed on it. It has a railing to keep people from falling off and I might use that space too.

    I want to do something to set it off, as soon as you go through the door to the stairs, to mark the transition. Upstairs, we have an entertainment center, a coffee table, and an end table which I'm planning to drape somehow an use as altar space. It'll be a family/friend area, but a quiet zone so the kids are only going to be allowed up there when they can be quiet, if they can't be they'll be sent downstairs to play.
    We are what we are. Nothing more, nothing less. There is good and evil among every kind of people. It's the evil among us who rule now. -Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood

    I wondered if he could ever understand that it was a blessing, not a sin, to be graced with more than one love.
    It could be complicated; of course it could be complicated. And it opened one up to the possibility of more pain and loss.
    Still, it was a blessing I would never relinquish. Love, genuine love, was always a cause for joy.
    -Jacqueline Carey, Naamah's Curse

    Service to your fellows is the root of peace.

  • #2
    Re: Creating a meditation/ritual space

    Originally posted by Shahaku View Post
    So. My attic. It has gone from man cave to temp residence for a family of three and their dog, to messy storage, to a temp home for the BIL, to pig sty all in a year, more or less. Now we're aiming for a meditation/ritual zone. Said rituals would mostly be small types of things, in the warmer months we'd just go outside if needed and if we absolutely had to in the winter we could use the basement, so this isn't going to be the only space we use. And it'll be more directed toward the meditation aspect than the ritual one.

    So, tips and tricks? We're in the hauling out the junk space and we have plenty of time so there's no rush. DIY ideas? The edges of the room are about 2 ft tall and peeks at about 6 ft. The length of the house, about half the width. There's a huge closet type area that I'm thinking of turning into a lounge type area. And a landing/storage area that's big enough we fit a twin bed on it. It has a railing to keep people from falling off and I might use that space too.

    I want to do something to set it off, as soon as you go through the door to the stairs, to mark the transition. Upstairs, we have an entertainment center, a coffee table, and an end table which I'm planning to drape somehow an use as altar space. It'll be a family/friend area, but a quiet zone so the kids are only going to be allowed up there when they can be quiet, if they can't be they'll be sent downstairs to play.
    Argh the possibilities are endless!

    On the point of setting it apart from the other areas... for our ritual room I made a curtain for the doorway out of some sheer black, full length curtains and some coat-hangers. It looks neat, and you then have to duck through the curtains to get in the door, which seems to be a particularly reverent sort of act. It also means that everyone who comes in our house has an automatic 'oooh, what's in there' reaction, whether or not they actually ask.

    To maintain the feeling of the room, you really need to be strict on the 'this room is sacred space' treatment. You train yourself not to go in there looking for something in a blase mood... we go in and out all the time, but every time you cross that threshold, the fact that this is sacred space is at the front of your mind. Torey sometimes stores random things in there on his side, and will use the powerpoint in there if he needs it, but it doesn't disrupt the energy of the room because it's done with respect, if that makes sense. Anytime I see a bit of lint on the floor or some rubbish or whatever, it gets picked up immediately. Things are always put away immediately, not left scattered as they are in the rest of the house. It's the only room in the house that is always immaculate and tidy. I don't dust in there all that often, but that's a personal thing where I find that settled dust sort of enhances the feeling of timelessness and sacred space... and when I do dust in there it's with deliberate care and thought, not just part of a general cleaning routine (which I don't have anyway, 'cos I hate cleaning!) We are always quiet in there, never yell to each other if someone is in there, and speak in semi-hushed deliberate tones. And that's all part of the energy. You feel it the second you walk into that room, there is an instant calm that settles onto you and makes you want to stay in there and quietly reflect.

    To me, the energy of the space is far more important than the dressings of the space, if that makes sense. If you can't create and maintain that sacred space feeling then it doesn't matter how beautifully it's done up. For us, it seems to happen mostly instinctively, and the rest of my family will either ask permission to go in there, or sometimes just stick their head through the curtain and bask in it for a second. It self maintains for the most part, but it's because of the way that the room is treated, both when you are in there and when you are in the rest of the house. If you respect the room, the energy will stay. If it becomes just another living space, then you'll lose that quiet, calm, reflective energy that descends the minute you go in.

    You'll have the benefit that yours is upstairs, so you'll have the physical act of going through the threshold and climbing the stairs to help trigger the change in space. But it's had other uses before, so breaking the habits of seeing it as the storage space or whatever may take some conscious effort. I would encourage you to try to make everything you do in there a deliberate action to create calm, reflective space, even if that's moving the storage boxes out of there. We are moving these boxes to create our meditation space. Everything is about the room and the reflective energy of the room. I am not opposed to pets in the ritual room (though we only have a lorikeet at this stage), but I think you need to be careful about the energy they bring in. Having said that, our noisy, highly interactive and playful lorikeet is quiet as a mouse and perfectly content when he's in the ritual room. So do you need a baby gate at the bottom or top of the stairs to make sure the pets don't follow you up there? Or are they capable of being quiet while in there too?

    Personally I like the idea of the short walls of your attic being lined with book cases, because I personally like a wall-of-books. I also wonder if you want to make a little reading nook for the kids? Where the ceiling is short, have short book cases for the kid's books, with a plush rug and cushions for them to sit on, all of which is semi partitioned off so they have their own little reflective space within your space. I plan to have vertical altars on the walls for the four elements... a combination of artwork, hanging items, tiny shelves and pinned items, perhaps all attached to a large board for each and hung on the wall (I haven't done it for the current ritual room as we rent and we can't put things on the walls). Your space seems enormous (as compared to our little single room - Australia doesn't really do attics and basements), so I'm seeing little partitioned nooks where people can either sit together in a little lounge or have their own individual space, maybe a space for their personal altars or personal items that is just their space, with the shared space in the larger area?

    Comment


    • #3
      I wanna come over your house now!!

      I'm jealous of you people!!
      ThorSon's milkshake brings all the PF girls to the yard - Volcaniclastic

      RIP

      I have never been across the way
      Seen the desert and the birds
      You cut your hair short
      Like a shush to an insult
      The world had been yelling
      Since the day you were born
      Revolting with anger
      While it smiled like it was cute
      That everything was shit.

      - J. Wylder

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Creating a meditation/ritual space

        I'd definitely like to put in bookshelves. Main problem there is that it'll probably get expensive, either in cost for tools to make them or in paying for someone else to. I don't think I'll be able to find bookshelves that short at the store which means I'll need them custom made.

        For the entryway, I'm liking the idea of a bamboo curtain type thing. Parting the veils, etc. I think the symbolism there would be a great reminder. I might paint something on it, but maybe not. We'll see. We have an actual door there as well, so it'll probably just be something on the door, or just inside it, signaling the transition. And the door works quite well at keeping animals and kiddos out. We are planning to make that the cat space for awhile at least, while they are transitioning to our home at the very least.

        I want to make the drapes/altar cloths myself, but I need to find my sewing machine. And that'll be a big project for me 'cause my sewing skills are minimal.

        Right now, cleaning up there is the big challenge. We don't even have a working vacuum because everywhere else in the house is hardwood so we never replaced the vacuum when the dog ate the cord (the second time). Once we actually get it clean, I'll probably do a cleansing of some sort and then we'll start assembling. We barely have enough money to pay bills right now, so I fully expect this is gonna take quite awhile to manage, simply because even buying the little things will take time. Fabric, wood, various altar items. Music player of some sort. We'll probably change the lighting to something more soothing than your ordinary bulbs. Then there's stocking things like essential oils, incense, etc.

        I've attached an image of the layout of the attic. The black blotch in the middle is the chimney, it's just a big block going straight through the middle of our house, from back in the day when they actually used a fireplace to heat a house. Now it's the air vent for the furnace, etc, according to my husband. Can't really get rid of it though I'd love to.
        Attached Files
        We are what we are. Nothing more, nothing less. There is good and evil among every kind of people. It's the evil among us who rule now. -Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood

        I wondered if he could ever understand that it was a blessing, not a sin, to be graced with more than one love.
        It could be complicated; of course it could be complicated. And it opened one up to the possibility of more pain and loss.
        Still, it was a blessing I would never relinquish. Love, genuine love, was always a cause for joy.
        -Jacqueline Carey, Naamah's Curse

        Service to your fellows is the root of peace.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Creating a meditation/ritual space

          Something that I am going to be doing that you might like the thought of as well is to make the room as natural and as organic looking as possible. I spent the past 30 minutes or so carefully stripping the bark off of a few large, fallen trees which I plan on using to "wallpaper" the walls with.
          "The streams called Ice-waves, those which were so long come from the fountain-heads that the yeasty venom upon them had hardened like the slag that runs out of the fire, - these then became ice; and when the ice halted and ceased to run, then it froze over above. But the drizzling rain that rose from the venom congealed to rime, and the rime increased, frost over frost, each over the other, even into Ginnungagap, the Yawning Void. Ginnungagap, which faced toward the northern quarter, became filled with heaviness, and masses of ice and rime, and from within, drizzling rain and gusts; but the southern part of the Yawning Void was lighted by those sparks and glowing masses which flew out of Múspellheim. Just as cold arose out of Niflheim, and all terrible things, so also all that looked toward Múspellheim became hot and glowing; but Ginnungagap was as mild as windless air, and when the breath of heat met the rime, so that it melted and dripped, life was quickened from the yeast-drops, by the power of that which sent the heat, and became a man's form. And that man is named Ymir, but the Rime-Giants call him Aurgelimir" - The Gylfaginning

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Creating a meditation/ritual space

            What kinds of items should you include in your sacred space?
            Amarres de Amor

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Creating a meditation/ritual space

              I don't know how you do your prayers or worship, but I kneel/sit/lie (depending on the day and how well I feel). If you do the same, I suggest getting a comfortable blanket to keep just for that purpose (I store it under my altar). Kind of like a prayer rug, I guess?
              “You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.” -- Bruce Lee

              Army of Darkness: Guardians of the Chat

              Honorary Nord.

              Habbalah Vlogs

              Comment

              Working...
              X