Spirituality: An Expression of Soul in Your Home

There is a magic in that little word, home; it is a mystic circle that surrounds comforts and virtues never known beyond its hallowed limits.

-Robert Southey

Coming home to a place of refuge and authenticity helps you to become a more fully actualized spiritual person.  Experts say that as humans are tapping into their innermost authentic selves in their personal routines,  Spiritual Home Design is a newly trending.  For many different reasons, people are looking at their living spaces in a more holistic, spiritual way.

Creating spaces that connect to your spirit and natural energy goes beyond the selection of traditional furniture and color schemes.  Thinking beyond just function and aesthetics, the trend is to view the home in the light of well-being.  Before now, this enlightening thought process only happened in the therapist’s office, church, synagogue, mosque, or yoga studio.  Well-being and balance on a soul level are being incorporated into a style that matches the homeowner’s personal spiritual journey.

The Benefits of a Spiritual Life

Spirituality affects our mental health in a variety of ways. You can be spiritual without belonging to a particular religion. Religious people are those spiritual folks who follow a particular path and may be connected with specific groups or traditions. In either case, studies show that by enriching your spiritual life, you deal with stress better and have a sense of peace, purpose, and forgiveness. In effect, spiritual people tend to have better relationships with themselves and others. Spirituality may also help you to make sense of your life in times of trouble. And, those in a spiritual community tend to receive more support in times of need. A spiritual community also provides access to a pool of like-minded people, thus upping your feelings of belonging and acceptance.

Ancient Philosophies of Spiritual Home Design

To be clear, there are several ancient philosophies that have focused on the soul-home connection. For example, Ayurveda and Feng-shui.  In Feng-Shui, the Chinese way of Life, the fundamental principles revolve around how the environment around you produces positive outcomes in your life.  It is believed that by using the different energies of fire, earth, metal, and wood in your home, Feng-Shui can balance your emotions and energy.  

In Ayurveda, a more individualistic approach allows for finding balance tailored to the understanding of an individual’s specific body energy.  The three types of energy are Vata, the energy of movement, Pitta, the energy of digestion, and Kapha, the energy of lubrication and structure. You will have a dominant, a secondary, and a least prominent energy in your body.  Like Feng Shui, in Ayurveda, it is believed that health issues and suffering arise when the body and soul are out of balance.  By using elements of these two ancient and other spiritual practices, the environment in your home can be manipulated to keep your body and soul in balance.

In the Christian faith, there are many references to the home holding our most precious treasures. Bible verses proclaim that the Christian faith practiced in our homes is the rock and foundation upon which we can stand against outside threats. Mathew 7:25 says; The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its’ foundation on the rock.” When we speak of Mastery in the WheelHouse process, we speak of not only mastering a trade but of mastering your spirituality and belief in something bigger than you.

The Lifestyle Foundations Approach to Spirituality in Your Home

By taking into account your faith beliefs, personality, bodily make-up, and level of health, we can use your home environment to address potential imbalances and use your home to be a place of refueling and reenergizing so that you can go back out into the world as your best self.  You can use different rooms or features in your home to address certain deficiencies or to provide lifestyle elements for each individual need in your home. Basically, this is the achievement of spiritual and soul fulfillment in the WheelHouse process.

It starts again with knowing who you are… your body type, your personality, and your current level of health.  By knowing what environments fuel and deplete you, you can create spaces in your home to tap into your more spiritual side and up-level your energy and mental health.  Pulling from your personal faith journey to add elements of design, functionality, and inspiration. As different cultures interact more and more with each other, new enhanced practices are emerging, blending beautiful rituals paying homage to a higher being, creating a beautiful blend of spirituality from around the world.

Practices from Around the Globe

Here are some examples of various practices from around the globe that might enhance the spiritual energy in your home:

• Meditate, read, journal, or pray first thing in the morning. Recite a prayer or listen to a guided meditation in the same quiet spot at the start of every day.
• Take a walking meditation in a nearby park or through your neighborhood.
• Sit by a pond or other close by body of water. It is thought the presence of water brings us to a higher state of being and closer to our creative selves.
• Use a quiet corner to reconnect with yourself or to read something spiritual.
• Take a break to sit outside in the sunshine to get some vitamin D, lift your spirits, and reconnect with nature.
• Keep a religious symbol from your chosen faith to hold or wave as you pray or meditate. Such as a rosary, crystals, prayer beads, and burning sage.
• Instead of watching tv or using a computer in bed, read a spiritual book. You’ll get a better night’s sleep and will have some inspiring thoughts upon waking.
• Engage in a spiritual community near your home. This helps to combat isolation and increases your level of support, especially as you get older.
• Hold a bible study or spiritual book club meeting in your home.
• Play inspiring spiritual or holiday music that helps celebrate special occasions as well as everyday worship or practice.
• Light a candle as you prepare dinner (or put take-out on a plate). Bless the food or state a gratitude before eating it to thank the people who prepared it. Ask our Creator or he Universe that the food will nourish you and strengthen you to then go out and do God’s will and/or good in the world.
• Recall at the end of the day things that you are thankful for and invite healing for those you have encountered who suffer. Make it a bedtime ritual before you read. This helps release your worries and set a positive tone as you transition from one day to the next.
• Create a prayer space on a table with candles, religious symbols such as Buddha, Jesus, the Virgin Mary, a mandala, and any other inspiring symbols that might help direct your to take time to deepen your spirituality.
• Create a small garden or even a few containers that let you get your hands in the soil. This has a grounding effect and reminds you that we all come from the earth and we will return to the earth. The circle of life is never more evident than watching plants grow from seed, flourish, produce sustenance and then wither and die after dropping seeds for new birth in the next season.

Spiritual Ascension

Creating space in your home that reminds you of your deepest values and dreams takes creativity, an understanding of yourself, and intuitive guidance.  Consequently, your home says a lot about your aspirations, beliefs, and what you think is important in life.  The decor and function of your home should be an expression of what fills you up and subtly expresses the benefits of your faith or practice.  Your home should be the sanctuary for your soul and the foundation for achieving your dreams.

We will be investigating ways to express your spirituality in your home further in Lifestyle Foundations. For a Lifestyle Lift in this area, click here.