The Sacredness of Space

While living on the road for the last several years, my network of friends and acquaintances has grown exponentially. In fact, many of the people at my recent house party I had known for only a year or so.

To me this is a reflection of a conscious effort to expand my circle of friends by accepting many social invitations, embracing new activities, and widening my perspective.

With this bevy of people and personalities comes an inflow of energy; some uplifting and some that needs to be managed.

The result is a renewed awareness of my space and who’s in it.

Spatial Perception

Space to me has always been important. Which is kind of funny, since I’ve spent the greater part of the last 5 years without a space of my own.

For instance, I look for light, openness, air flow, and color in the spaces I inhabit. I prefer to live somewhere with an outside space for a bit of fresh air. I value an ability to walk out the door and get inspired by my surroundings – either nature or a lively neighborhood.

These are all important elements that help create a positive, nurturing and creative environment for me.

Protecting My Personal Space

But when I feel like my space is being invaded, I set out to protect it. Here’re three strategies I use:

Establish Personal Boundaries

I’ve learned over the years that setting personal boundaries is an important aspect of self respect. Knowing who you are and what you want helps to define your environment and your relationships with others.

Clear boundaries not only help foster healthy interactions, but also help me to recognize when someone or something has violated my comfort zone. I can then respond, clearly stating when I’m feeling uncomfortable and drawing the line against unwanted attention.

Keeping My Private Space Private

I’m also becoming more and more conscious of who I invite into my home and car.

Think about it…. Who you choose to inhabit these very personal physical areas dictates the energy flow that you surround yourself with. And this energy stays with you when you’re sleeping, relaxing, eating. During your most unguarded times.

For instance, let’s say I’m seeking to increase creativity in my life, I’ll seek out those people who are full of ideas and those who positively respond to innovation. These are the friends I wish to invite into my world. There is simply no room for those who might squash the creative spirit.

Cleansing of Bad Juju

If non-positive people do venture into my personal and private spaces, I don’t hesitate to clean out the bad energy.

I reclaim my space by burning sage, lighting incense, and playing music that is meaningful to me. In fact, I now keep sage in my house and burn a bit whenever negativity crosses the threshold. I’ve also heard of people using the feng shui act of physically sweeping the space clean.

Whether or not the sage actually clears away the bad juju is debatable, nevertheless the act of re-claiming my space helps me feel more in control over the type of energy that I accept into my life.

Precious Offerings

These three actions – establishing boundaries, issuing thoughtful invitations, and removing unwanted energy – remind me that I get to choose who I share my time and energy and ideas. These are life’s most precious offerings. And so I want to share them with only those I hold most precious.

How do you protect your personal space?

Tags: boundaries, personal space

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 11th, 2015 and is filed under Erin Right Now.