The outside world can be noisy, confusing, and stressful. It is important to nurture and love yourself. Your home should be your sanctuary of peace and renewal to help you do so with ease.
It doesn’t matter if you live in a big house, a small apartment, a study or a bedroom, you can make your space a relaxing haven from the world.
Here are some ways we use to make sure our home is quiet, so that when we walk through the door, our mind, body, and soul instantly relax and feel safe. These five ways are connected to your five senses, your God-given gifts. Activate them to find inner peace and love. Here is how:
Smell
The candles and incense are great. Our favorites are vanilla and lavender. We burn them often before the guests arrive. It helps them to (leave their things outside the door), and to enter our space with peace. Did you know that some real estate agents burn candles when they show houses for sale? Statistics show that more houses are sold that way.
Caution: be careful. Don’t leave candles unattended, which is a leading cause of home fires.
We once did a workshop for parents. We like to play relaxing music and burn incense to help participants relax when they enter the room.
We were talking about a deep topic when we noticed that a lady had tears running down her face. We thought you were making a breakthrough and asked you to share your feelings.
He said he didn’t know if he should. We encouraged her and told her that she would help others. “Well,” she started, still crying. “My allergies are due to incense.”
A test of humility that taught us to burn incense only before the guests arrive at our house and our workshops.
Play
Make sure your pillows, sheets, and sofas are comfortable to the touch. You may have beautiful pillows on the couch, but when you sit on the couch with them, do they scratch you? Same with the sheets. They may be less expensive, but do they feel harsh? Spend a few more bucks and get a higher thread count (over 400) to help you rest and sleep more comfortably. Buy expensive towels like they have in 5-star hotels, so you can feast on them when you get out of the shower. You deserve it.
Other ways to use your sense of touch to relax: petting your pets, hobbies, gardening, and cooking.
Taste
We attend meditation retreats. During meals, participants are told to eat silently. This allows you to focus on tasting your food. Also, you don’t eat half. Tasting and swallowing your food is a meditation.
When we had our non-profit organization for children, we told them to eat in silence. The kids loved it this time too. They said their food tasted better and they relaxed.
View
Keep your home, your space, tidy. It doesn’t matter if you live in a bedroom and your roommate is messy. Keep your side of the room clean. They say if you want to see your state of mind, see how you maintain your house and your car. Disorder equates to confusion and scattered thoughts.
We keep ocean DVDs on our television all day. These are wonderful, because you will feel like you are on a mini vacation at home, when you walk into the room. It reminds you that you must regain your balance.
Listening
There is an option on some of the nature DVDs to turn on different types of music with the changing scenery. We prefer soft music or just the sound of the waves.
We love all kinds of music. However, we find that quiet music for meditation is the best for us throughout the day. It’s quiet and keeps us focused by playing in the background.
Buy small tabletop dishes, they are inexpensive. The sound of clean water.