7 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR HOUSE MORE SPIRITUAL

Spirituality is a dimension of human life that we all pursue at some point or the other. But did you know that you can make your house more spiritual just by making a few changes to how you keep it? Did you know that spirituality, in this sense, can become a way of life? We tell you how in seven different ways below.

Our houses are an extension of our selves. They are physical manifestations of how we lead our inner lives. It’s a long-standing joke among writers (grounded in some truth) that you should be able to write a character profile of a person by looking at their living quarters. So if we’re able to make your houses more spiritual, it follows that we will feel a little more spiritual on the inside too.

Here are a few ways you can explore this.

1. Link spirituality with sacredness
There doesn’t have to be a link between these two, but if you’re a religious person, setting up a small temple inside your house (like a ‘puja room’) or a place where all the Gods reside will mark it off from other ‘non-sacred’ parts of your house. That way, whenever you’re in need for inner peace, you can go to that room and engage in some form of worship.

2. Consider bringing in spiritual architecture into your home
Regardless of whether you’re religious or not, certain symbols carry spiritual meanings with us. For a scientist, a feature wall that has E = mc2 scrawled on it may have deep significance, whereas for an artist, it could be adorning his wall with abstract paintings. For a reader, this could be a stack of books. Make architectural changes to your house that incorporate these: having a book shelf mounted to your wall, or getting a feature wall done, or building a false ceiling like the inner sanctum of a temple – these are all good ideas.

3. Give silence its importance
Most spiritual places – like temples and Buddhist monasteries – are whisper quiet. The reason for this is that spirituality is a process of looking inward, and for hearing the internal voice that resides in us, we must first extinguish the external voices. In your house too, have rules for yourself such as not to constantly listen to music or have the television blaring at all times. By all means listen to music now and then, but have a quiet time set aside where you’re not listening to anything but that inner voice.

4. What kind colours do you surround yourself with?
Colours carry emotions. Your decor not only says a lot about you, but also influences your mood. Depending on the function of each room, choose the colours that suit the room instead of a common colour everywhere. Also, choose wisely when it comes to decorative elements in your house – do you go for big, numerous objects, or a small number of elegant items? All these decisions affect your spiritual path, so take your time researching the inner meanings of all of these.

5. Cleanliness and space are important
If you have clutter in your house, there will be clutter in your mind. Make cleanliness a habit, and keep things where they belong. As a generic suggestion, don’t be in a hurry to fill up all the space in your house with something or the other. Physical space has lots of calming qualities, so consider getting a size of bed that is smaller than what exactly fits the room, for instance. Also consider keeping a room completely empty but for a chair and table so that you can repair into it to think every now and then.

6. Welcome natural senses into your home
With the advent of air-conditioning and other artificial ways in which we can control temperature and weather, we don’t spend that much time with nature anymore. The average house today keeps its windows shut and bolted for the majority of the time. One of the most spiritual aspects of human existence is to experience its oneness with nature. So take an hour or so to open your windows every day, and feel the sounds and smells waft into your home. Also make sure that your house is well lit with natural light.

7. Chimes and other musical sounds
You can hang chimes that tinkle whenever you touch them at different places in your house. Choose these places judiciously, so that the air will fill with soothing sound whenever a breeze blows. You may want to experiment with instrumental music set at a very low volume so that it accompanies you during your chores and other activities. Slow, melodious music is recommended for this.