[S3]Sacred Space For Lent

It can be said that wisdom is a combination of knowledge, experience, and understanding of life as you know it. Within this wisdom you can access striations of compassion, patience, appreciation, and grace. You naturally feel compassion if a friend's pet dies if you have experienced that sadness, too. You have tolerance for an elderly man who shuffles across the intersection; though he may keep you from making that all important left-hand turn, as perhaps you have had shuffling parents. Once, on a cross country flight, a seasoned flight attendant commented to me, ?If you can sit up and take fluids, it's a good day!? She knows. She has wisdom. Wisdom highlights the common threads of our humanity.

Your acquired, life-seasoned wisdom is certainly born from these three components?knowledge, experience, and understanding. Yet, you have a deeper wisdom. It lies at such a depth that when it suddenly emerges it can stun or shock you. This wisdom sparks you to say, ?Where did that come from?? Now, you're really speaking from that place of inner wisdom; the variety of which is the deepest treasure you hold. It is the sum of your soul's knowledge, experience, and understanding, marbled with the lessons learned from this life. This level of wisdom is delivered by your inner voice, your intuition. It is the voice of the eternal you; and you have access to it at any moment, 24/7. With it, you can solve all manner of problems.

So how do you access and activate your inner oracle, guru and self-contained life coach? We have all experienced it popping to the surface when it is needed by either ourselves or a loved one. But is that all we get? Don't get me wrong, it's wonderful when we receive or can pass on impromptu wisdom. However, can we create on-demand wisdom? The answer is yes!

To create on-demand, repeatable, and accurate wisdom you need to be willing to put in some practice time in order build your intuitive skill. Yes, we all have soulful wisdom; the hard part is accessing it, trusting it, and managing the skill that brings it forward. Enlightenment is easy, maintaining it is difficult. When we hold a new way of thinking, especially one that we believe will make our life easier, clearer and more gratifying, we tend to become impatient. Impatience is the antithesis of inner wisdom. You have to give yourself, and your inner wisdom, space and patience in order for it to become accessible and at your beck and call.

One key to strengthening your inner wisdom and intuitive voice is to create an environment in which you can meditate, visualize, and pray. This always plays a crucial role in the efficacy of your practice. Later on, as your intuition and spiritual nature develops and seasons, you will be able to stay calm and centered even in the most distracting situations and environments. It is best to have a sacred space in your own home in which to practice. Creating this type of space in your home will lead to a calmness and centeredness in your being and in your life, no matter where life takes you.

Your sacred space does not have to consist of an entire room or wing of the house; it can be simply a tabletop in your favorite room. Creating sacred space in your bedroom is always nice because as you enter sleep and the dream state, you already have a wonderful energy of consciousness surrounding you. Your consciousness is highly suggestible when you are in the sleep state, so why not be the one who creates the space in which your consciousness rests?

If you are really crowded for space, or housemates don't understand or resonate with your spiritual quest, you don't have to create a permanent sacred place. What truly matters is what resides in your own heart space?although having a sacred space in your home can lift you out of the occasional shadowed corner of the human experience and assist you through the periodic darkened night of the soul.

If space is limited or there are other constraints, you can create a portable altar. Simply take a small piece of cloth'a square foot works well?and set your sacred items on top of it to create a spiritual space. When you are not engaged in a sacred practice, you can simply wrap up your items and store them in the cloth. Place the bundle in a dresser drawer or a box when not in use. When you are ready to meditate, pray, or do whatever practice you use to enhance your spiritual growth, place your altar items reverently on the cloth before you begin. When you are finished, thank and bless the items for their assistance, gently wrap them back up in the cloth, and put them away.

What things might you put on your altar? A good foundation is important, so it is nice to have a decorative piece of fabric or cloth upon which to set your items. It is preferable to select something made of a natural or organic fabric such as cotton or silk. This type of cloth is easily available and comes in a wide variety of colors and patterns.

Items that you set upon your altar should have significant meaning for you; they need to touch your soul. You might want to have a bouquet of fresh flowers, or, if space is limited, even a single flower. Items such as rocks, crystals, fossils, or feathers that you have found or purchased from an interesting place add grounded earth energy.

You can place any size picture of a loved one or of an exalted master that touches you on your altar. Pictures of masters such as Jesus, Mary, Lord Buddha, Hindu gods or goddesses, Saints from any religion, a cherished guru (teacher), or pictures of indigenous guides and symbols are all appropriate. After all, this is your sacred space and your altar should bring to it the energies and levels of consciousness that are meaningful to you. Furthermore, having such masters present will help you stay focused on whatever level of consciousness you would like to resonate with and therefore achieve. When you sit quietly, pray or meditation you are invoking the connection to your soul's consciousness through the vehicle of your intuition.

It is also important to know that your sacred space, whether it is contained within a drawer, sits upon a tabletop or is spread throughout your living space, will most likely change as you change. As your spirit grows and soars, the demonstration of how you express your spirit and spirituality will change accordingly. All things are impermanent. Think of the beautiful and meaningful sand paintings of the Native Americans, or of the colorful sand mandalas of the Tibetan Buddhists. They are sacred spaces filled with holy artistic meanings, created to evoke energies and certain levels of consciousness for particular events. These beautiful creations are used for worship in their cultural context, and then destroyed, releasing the spirit and displaying a nonattachment to form.

As you begin the journey to discover the power and intelligence of your intuition, it is best to have a quiet, sacred space to which you can retreat. Your spiritual and emotional intelligence will open, evolve and you will experience the world in a different way. A way that involves the use of your intuition, spiritual knowing and healing abilities. Your intuition, your inner wisdom, is your soul's consciousness. Your willingness to create a sacred space in your living room, confirms your willingness to create emotional and spiritual space in your heart and in your life. Your personality helps shape this space. It doesn't have to look like a hilltop monastery or the Vatican. Allow it to reflect what exists deep within you.

It is totally up to you to choose to listen and respond to your wisdom. Your intuitive wisdom is a powerful tool that you can sharpen and hone to the point that you can rely on it in the context of your daily life. The decision to open to and trust what you intuitively receive is entirely yours. My prayer is that you will take this simple tool, one with which you were born, and work with it, develop it and commit to its use. If you do, you will have clarity, purposeful direction and your life will change.