peaceful ambience

Mia Staysko, an interior designer and certified Feng Shui Professional, has communicated with me a couple of times this past year responding to the website and newsletters.  She has contributed this story about creating a sacred space to resume her daily meditation practice.  She lives near Calgary.  Thank you Mia!

I have recently returned to my meditation practice after about a year long hiatus. I was diligent for nearly 18 months in making sure that I ‘sat’ every day. After setting up a special corner, a sort of ‘sacred space’ for myself I have come again to the silence. It is easier, I think, to meditate when we have a space to call our own. A sort of self imposed ‘time out’ place that we can go to when we need to know ourselves.

A corner, room or spot which is set up just for the purpose of reflection, meditation or prayer draws us in and calls us to practice. It waits patiently for us to take up the offer and just be, if only for a few minutes. It also will not judge us when we are unable.

While it can be hard to carve out a little niche for something which can seem self indulgent, it really makes a big difference to the consistency of our daily sit.

Mia Staysko

Feng Shui practitioner, Calgary, AB, Canada

mia@whitelotusinteriors.ca

www.carryoutkindness.com

My friend Carol McKeag has sent this blog describing a very recent insight, enjoy….  Nancy

I’ve spent twelve summers at my current home and just this morning found a new, delicious, serene and nurturing space in which to do my morning practices. My normal morning ritual is to go downstairs, make coffee, bring it upstairs and get very cozy in my comfortable bed with big pillows and do my daily reading/writing/meditating in that space. I love my bedroom space. I can look out the window and see the seasons changing; it is light and airy, spacious and warm.

This morning instead I took my coffee outside on the back patio deck and sat and watched the beautifully colored wild birds dance around the birdfeeder. Saw hummingbirds examine the new feeder and come back to eat! The air outside was coolish; this space gets afternoon sun so is shaded in the morning. I was surrounded by blooming roses, green trees and a bubbling fountain; just me, the birds, nature and my books and journal. What a joyful, peaceful and soul feeding experience that was.

Sitting there I was struck with the awareness that I had lived in this space for thirteen years and never experienced the gift of morning time on the back deck. I spend lots and lots of afternoon time in the sun there. I wondered how many other wonderful experiences I have missed because of my tunnel vision, seeing only what had become familiar to me. How easy it is to keep returning to what I know and trust and is routine rather than taste something new.

My reading this morning included Alan Cohen’s message for the day from his book A Daily Dose of Sanity, and it was so on target. It was entitled “Peripheral Vision” and discussed how when we are fearful that fear narrows our corridor of sight. I wasn’t fearful this morning, yet my corridor of sight was very narrow. I think “routine” narrows our corridor of sight.

As I was completed my morning practices and was ready to return in to the house I saw two white butterflies flying together in an upward spiral as though they were dancing…up, up, up and away. And I thought about the joy and peace that comes from seizing the moment; don’t wait to seize the day. Revel in, enjoy, roll around in and taste, seize this moment and soon you will have a whole day.

“You can assess the sate of your mental health by

the number of options you are aware of.”

unknown

Carol McKeag, CPC

Life Coach & Spiritual Mentor

www.Coachingforlifeandspirit.net

Natural Salt Lamps

February has brought harsh weather to much of the country. Here in Portland, it’s just chilly and damp, typical for this time of year. I keep my salt lamps on all day and they seem to improve the ambience in a number of ways. The warm glow and gentle light from the salt lamps and candle holders create a relaxing atmosphere at home and in the office. It has long been known that warm salt crystals create negative ions purifying the air near computers and televisions. Some office workers, particularly sensitive to florescent lighting and computer monitors report considerably less fatigue and headaches if the concentration of negative ions in the air is increased. How that works for salt lamps is not entirely understood.

Personally, I find them to be a lovely accent light in any case, and if they are beneficial to health, all the better.

Pyramid Salt Lamp

My favorite is the Pyramid Salt Lamp shown here but actually the Natural Salt Lamp shown above has been more popular with CQS customers. Also, the votive and tea light holders are a wonderful gift for yourself or a friend. I have three salt crystal tea light holders around the base of my Kwan Yin Standing on Lotus and the lighting is subtle and lovely.

Small Tea Light Holder

The salt from these lamps is removed from mines in the Himalayas although there are mines in Russia and central Europe where salt lamps originate also. A salt lamp is made from a chunk of mined salt that has been hollowed out to allow room for a light bulb or tiny candle. Some chunks are more refined to a particular shape such as the pyramid lamp. The light glows through the medium of the salt crystal, which can range in color from a salmon pink to a pale orange.

The best selling salt lamp on the website is the Fire Bowl that includes 10 salt crystal chunks each with a hollowed out space for the light, a 110V light string with 10 bulbs and a ceramic bowl.

Fire Bowl

What do you do to take care of yourself during this challenging winter? You are welcome be be a Guest Blogger and share your stories of how you create personal sanctuary. Email your story to nancy@creatingquietspaces.com.

Nancy Goodwin, Owner

Creating Quiet Spaces