Mental Sanctuary
In Karla McLaren’s book, Your Auras and Your Chakras: An Owner’s Manual, she explains a really creative way of grounding yourself by creating a peaceful retreat inside your head. Grounding yourself is a term used for your energetic body but it has effects on your mental and physical body as well. When I'm grounded, I sense my own center of gravity, my breath is steady, and I actively relax my raised shoulders. When I’m not grounded, I worry or overthink, crane my head forward, and unintentionally tense my body.
Instead of just telling myself to meditate more and be in the present, it’s helpful to find a technique that is internally peaceful, creative, and personalized. By creating a room in my head, there is always a safe place I can retreat to when life gets busy and I need a moment.
Start by setting aside 10-20 minutes to design this space. It’s custom to you so be mindful of exterior influences and see this exercise as your meditation prep work. The location of this space is in the center of your head. Imagine a cross-section from ear to ear and from the nose back. Instead of looking through your eyes like you normally do, set your pov a little back and notice your nose in your peripheral as if you're looking out of a control tower.
Once you get the hang of this kind of mental focus, imagine space inside your head. This is your sacred space where you can create a room of your own. If you've been in a float tank, this space can be like that kind of endless void, you could have the universe as your space if you want to. It could be a natural environment like a cave, treehouse, or igloo. It can be a built space with walls of any dimension. You have so much freedom to create a space that feels safe, inspiring, and enjoyable to you.
You can choose the materials for each surface, it doesn't even have to be realistic. The windows of this space are your eyes and can be fashioned in your favorite style. Place yourself in this room so you can get a good view out of the windows. Next, create a comfortable seat that is only for you. It can be a spectacular throne, a carved tree stump, or a heated cushion fitted to your butt. Personalize your space with decorations and surround yourself with personal things like plants, favorite paintings, or embroidered drapery. You can even park your favorite cars, sculptures, or giant crystals around you.
When your room is ready, get comfortable and cozy. Feel what it would be like to sit in this space, and extend your imaginary senses to how it might smell, sound, and feel. Once you're familiar with your space, look out the windows to a serene nature scene. This view can be vast from a mountaintop, smooth like sloping dunes, or have movement like a trickling river. Notice the details, the shapes of the leaves, the color of the sky, or the bend of the flower heads as the wind brushes by. Notice how you feel, this is designed to create a sense of peace, gratitude, and relaxation.
I'll share my mental sanctuary as an example. My windows are lowered to floor length and I've added refracting crystal panes on their outer edges. I covered the floor with one big Persian rug that changes colors to match what I wear that day. I sit cross-legged on a felt-wrapped apple box and behind me, there's a backlit wall made of clear quartz crystal that I lean against. There's sage burning, a sleeping cat, and curious snails on hanging plants. Outside my windows I see birds fluttering around blueberry bushes in an overgrown garden. Sometimes I roll out my mat and look out the window like a cat.
Whenever I notice my nose in my peripheral, I remember I can redecorate my space however I want, even change it entirely. If I learned about Rose Quartz in a crystal meditation class, maybe I'm inspired to put a big one right in front of me and continue to work with it on my own time.
If you're feeling creatively stuck, hop on Pinterest and save any images that strike a calm feeling. Each of these images is linked to their Pin and you can also check out my mental sanctuary board. I'm constantly adding new ideas, it's one of my favorite pastimes.
January 8, 2023
