Grounding, Protection and Sacred Spaces Part Three: Sacred Spaces

The final part of this three part mini series on Grounding, Protection and - this week's topic -  Sacred Spaces.

 Sacred Space Creation

Why do we need a ‘Sacred Space’? The answer is we don’t necessarily need one however they are useful for helping us feel reassured and safe; to get us into a happy mood or even to help us be more focused as we work with or on our Spiritual Practice and they are fun to create.

The great thing about Sacred Spaces is that they can be both external and internal and can be anywhere we want. We get full choice over location, construction, layout, contents and even who we allow in if anyone. Don’t like what you’ve created? No problem, change it, make something new, totally different. You have total and complete control and, especially with your Internal Space, can let your imagination run riot if you so desire.

In this section I’ll take you through how to create both external and internal Sacred Spaces and share how I use mine. For many of you already working in a Spiritual environment this most likely won’t be Hot Off The Press news, however here I’ll mainly be aiming at those who haven’t as yet created a Sacred Space or are unaware there was such a thing! That doesn’t mean, however, that you can skip this bit, because you just might pick up a couple of good ideas for your existing one! First off, let’s explore what a Sacred Space is and how they are beneficial.

It's really quite simple and straightforward and totally uncomplicated, which is how I like it as you now know. Yes there are, as always, some who may say or view things differently, but that’s their story and not my show. In a nutshell a Sacred Space is where you do your Spiritual Work and can be at home, in an external office, a Wellbeing Centre or similar. It doesn’t have to be huge or extravagantly decorated, but that’s up to you. Your Clients, if you are using your Space to work with them, won’t be impressed by the size and décor as much as by what you actually do for them. Afterall that’s why they have engaged you, right?

Your Sacred Space can be a small table in a corner of a room at home, in a garden shed, under the stairs or anywhere you wish, although disturbance free would be ideal. It can be very annoying if you are Zooming with a Client, in the middle of a Mediumship or Tarot Reading and the kids come in screaming or the dogs start barking or the cats are doing zoomies and climbing the curtains, or your Partner is playing their Xbox or whatever – best to avoid that altogether!

As far as setting up your Space goes, as in how to lay your table out for example, there are many and varied opinions. Some say it should be like an Altar and treated accordingly, and you should use certain implements such as candles, incense, crystals, purple table covering, more crystals and maybe pictures of Ascended Masters such as Jesus, whilst others say a clean cloth, a few crystals, maybe some incense is good enough. In reality it’s up to you, as always, because it’s your Sacred Space and if it feels sacred to you then that’s good enough. No-one will be popping round to inspect it, to make sure you are following the Rules and Regs or Guidelines – there is no Ministry of Sacred Spaces!

My external Sacred Space is my breakfast table which I set up every morning after breakfast and pack away in the evening. I have a cloth which I got with my very first Tarot card set, plus a Tarot mat. I have an incense stick holder, a few small crystals based on the Chakras, tealight holders, a large Amethyst, a Singing Bowl and a few other personal items such as family photos. Simple, straightforward and largely clutter free. At night I pack away the cloth and mat plus any card decks I’ve used and that gives me space for my Breakfast in the morning. Next to this I have a separate table where I do my writing. There’s absolutely no need to get ‘Religious’ about it, but if you want to that’s up to you.

Now, your Internal Sacred Space, well, that’s a different kettle of fish and more fun to create!

An Inside Job

This is where you can get really creative and design your Internal Sacred Space any way or where you want. For example, it can be your favourite beach spot, in a dark wood, by a river, up a mountain, on the moon, a fantasy world, absolutely anywhere you fancy. Another brilliant aspect of having an Internal Sacred Space is that you can go there from anywhere here in this 3D Reality just by thinking about it. If you want you can use a little ritual, such as a meditation or lighting incense, to get you into the mood before you enter your Space. And if you’re not happy with it as it is then change it!

I have three or four which I use as the mood takes me. I have a tropical Island space set in a beautiful bay with turquoise water and white sandy beach where I am the only human inhabitant. Another is set in an old forest clearing where a mighty Oak tree provides me with shelter, and where I like to use for meditation. I have another one which is set in a beautiful garden next to a woodland, and I have a summer house which I use as my ‘office’. I use both my physical and internal spaces in conjunction with each other if doing Tarot Readings, when I’m writing, or if Meditating.

The benefit of creating a Sacred Space, whether external or internal, is that it helps you to be focused on what you are doing. Once you enter that space you know you are there to work, mediate or simply chill. Plus, it adds an extra layer of security in the sense that it becomes part of your Boundary Protection, you feel safer there and more relaxed. 

And that finishes this mini series on Grounding, Protection and Sacred Spaces, I hope you have been able to take away something useful from them which you can use in your own Practice. I'd be interested in learning what you do to Ground and/or Protect yourself and do you have a Sacred Space of your own where you work or meditate? Let me know!

Until next time,

Namaste.

J Sadler-Scott 

Grounding, Protection And Sacred Spaces Part One: Grounding

 Do You Need To Ground Your Energy?

If the world of Spirituality is relatively new to you, you will hear a lot about Grounding, Protection and Sacred Spaces as you get more involved with creating a Spiritual Path or Practice. Obviously it will be up to you as to which you pay attention to and which you don’t, if any. Believe you me, there are plenty to choose from! 

Over the next three Posts I'll be discussing Grounding Exercises, Protection against Energy Vampires and creating Sacred Spaces. In this Post let’s take a closer look at Grounding. 

 

The idea behind ‘Grounding your Energy’ is known and practiced to a degree in Eastern Metaphysics however it has been mainly made popular in Western style Spirituality mainly by the New Age Movement. Those who teach these techniques swear by them and they seem to work. Somebody, somewhere, at some time must have come up with the idea and as we entered into the Millennium it became a very popular teaching.

From a personal perspective, Grounding is not taught in Reiki, or at least not in the Usui Reiki System, because it wouldn’t work. The whole idea of Grounding is to clear any excess Energy stored in your body after carrying out whatever Practice you were doing, such as Deep Meditation, Chakra Balancing, Past Life Regression, Tarot and so on, and which may have left you feeling a little spaced out or overly energetic. You then ‘send’ this excess Energy into the ground, in effect earthing yourself. From a purely Reiki perspective this wouldn’t happen because you don’t ‘store’ any Energy in your body in the first place, it flows through you because you are the Conduit and not the Vessel and this is what I base my view upon.

The thing is, as I see and understand it, we are all made of Energy. We are Energy Beings in a slow moving, lower vibrational, Energy Body which we, as a result, view as being physical. Quantum Physics has proved conclusively that we are all Energy and continues, from a scientific aspect, to explore this to see what else can be uncovered and verified and add weight to what Yogis and Mystical Teachers have been teaching down through the ages.

Therefore, if we are all made of and connected already to all this Energy, and that includes everything in, on and around this ‘University of Life’, why do we need to Ground ourselves? To me it doesn’t really make sense. Perhaps it started out as a course filler, an extra bit of teaching to round off a training or exercise which involved Energy work - and I’m certainly not against that by the way - and then it became popular as those who were taught it also passed it on with a little embellishment here and there. Or perhaps a Spiritual Teacher had an unsettling experience which they believed was resolved by using a Grounding Meditation.

That’s how it usually works, right? And also, just like Reiki in the early days, bits get added on to established practices and mediations as Teachers wanted to leave their own Mark and eventually it evolves into something else. We are very good at that aren’t we? We are experts in taking something simple and overdressing it, wouldn’t you agree it? I mean, look how the Victorians decorated everything in a very ornate way with swirls of flowers and intricate designs, from mundane kitchen floor tiles to Pumping Stations for Sewage!

However, on saying that, as I’ve said there may be other Spiritual Practices which could potentially leave Energy Residues in your body, and which may require a meditative exercise to help calm you, bring you back to Earth, as they say. I’m certainly not disputing that; my perspective is based on my personal experience, and I haven’t needed to carry out any Grounding Exercises after a Meditation or Energy Exercise or even Past Life Regression sessions, but then I also haven’t taken part in an Ayahuasca Ceremony and by all accounts you certainly need Grounding after that!

So, does that mean you shouldn’t try any of the Grounding exercises offered? No, certainly not. What didn’t really work for me may work for you. To be honest it was all the Ritualistic stuff attached to it that put me off. I prefer a more straightforward approach in the main, minimalistic to an extent – basically if it’s not needed then it’s purely decorative. But don’t let my personal opinions sway you, find out for yourselves, try them out and see if they work for you or not.

For me there is only one Grounding Exercise that works without fail and that’s getting out into good old Nature. There is nothing more calming as far as I’m concerned than being in the woods, especially ancient ones, or a beautiful park or by the sea or ocean. I love mountains too, just not the climbing bit so much!

By the way, for any Grounding Exercises or Meditations you don’t need to be sitting, standing or lying in a certain position, nor is there a need to carry out certain movements and the like, so there’s no need to feel left out if you have mobility issues of any kind. And that goes for any meditative practice, they can all be done in whatever position is comfortable and best suited for you and guess what? They still work!

 Do You Need Protecting From Energy Vampires? That's what I'll be covering in Part Two, see you then.

Namaste,

J Sadler-Scott