#3 in the series – Cultivating Emotional Balance in the HOME.
Create spaces that communicate love and care.
Our inner space and our peace of mind are affected by our outer space. Where do you go to cool down when you are angry, when you are worried, or just when you are overwhelmed by every day life in general?
Instead of making timeout a ‘punishment’ for kids when their emotional responses are inappropriate, a peaceful place to allow their mind to slow down and calmly reflect on what went wrong, may be more beneficial.
Likewise, adults could also benefit from a serene ‘ adult time out’ space to stop, de-escalate and replenish our bodies and minds with thoughts, words, and actions filled with kindness and compassion for ourselves and others.
HOME is not meant to be set up as a photo op, but as a space for you to feel comfortable, secure, and to nourish yourself, family, and friends.
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Mindfully look around your home and notice how each room, object, and piece of furniture creates a certain ‘feel’. Our built environment affects how we live, and how we interact, and are connected to others.
So think about your ‘intention’ when creating your home.
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- Does your home communicate love and care for yourself and others through the purposeful choice of placement, colors, and access to the natural elements for joy and genuine inner happiness?
And, what about a special ‘adult time out’ space, a little nook for you, or a special room for the family to ‘STOP’ and relax – away from all the busyness? Do you have one, or need one?
You may want to make this a habit -a way of life.
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- Does the ‘adult time out space’ allow you to touch deeply within yourself? All we need is a gentle reminder to take a moment in our day for quiet – a location, an image, or even a sound like a chime, the song of a bird, or the trickle of a waterfall to return home within ourselves to pay attention to what is going on.
- Is your body tense, do you have headaches, are your thoughts on the negative side? These are all clues to alert us that a ‘shift’ towards more peacefulness is needed.
- We just need to go to ‘ adult time out’ for daily meditation to mindfully pay attention, and try to understand what is really going on to make transformation possible.
Home, is a safe place to put gentle reminders around to ourselves – to STOP, and BE AWARE of what is really going on right now. Also, they are positive reminders to help set up the “right attitude for the day’. These can be placed on your bathroom mirror, at the coffee pot, on your desk, etc.
One of my favorite gathas, little poems, from Thich Nhat Han is:
Waking up this morning, I smile,
Twenty – four brand new hours are before me.
I vow to live fully in each moment
and to look at all beings with eyes of
compassion.
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‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’ LaoTzu
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Call Nadine at 510-525-1116 to start your journey,
and to set up an ‘adult timeout space’
If we make space for meditation and contemplation in our homes, then serenity and genuine inner happiness can be available to us any time.