Sacred Space
Take a moment from your busy day to recharge the spirit, no fancy day spa required.
By Maggie Hamilton.
 Bogged down by deadlines and the relentless busyness of the city, who hasn’t daydreamed about a relaxing weekend in the country or escape to an indulgent spa? Escapes can be fabulous, but what you’re aching for most is to feel alive again. Achieving this in the city may seem impossible – or at least that’s what I thought - until I had a dream about a desert.
It was weird because I was a city girl with a big corporate job and deserts were the last thing on my mind. But a few months later I got the chance to travel to the United States. I said I’d go as long as I could visit the desert. I don’t know where the words came from – they just tumbled out. I ended up travelling through Arizona and New Mexico and as I stood atop the canyons and saw the vast desert before me, everything that had seemed so important dropped away.
What remained was the person I’d always wanted to be: free and truly alive. Days later I reached Monument Valley - the place I’d dreamt about. I’d never imagined my dreamscape was real. Before I’d time to absorb this miracle, my Navajo guide packed me into his jeep and we were bouncing along a dirt track into the heart of the valley. Minutes later he braked, and fixing me with his dark eyes, he said he knew I wasn’t there for the scenery. How did he know? When I said I’d had a dream, he simply nodded, and over the next few hours he shared his world with me.
I emerged from the valley totally transformed - inside and out. This, I now realise, is the gift of sacred space. Back at work I was desperate to hold on to the desert magic. That’s when I discovered we all have access to sacred places close by – a small park or windswept beach - that make the soul sing.
Often we don’t find the time to get to our sacred places, because other commitments get in the way. Sacred space is magic, because it’s the most life-enhancing space on the planet. When we visit our sacred places all the things that are holding us back begin to dissolve, and we enter a space of all possibilities. That’s why it makes us feel so good.
To get the most out of your sacred places it helps to spend time there as often as you can. Even an hour a week will make a huge difference. It’s important you visit your sacred space alone, so you can absorb all the good that awaits you there. The more you allow your sacred space to feed you, the more its life-giving energy will then flow through you into your relationships, your career, and everything else you care about. It’s not selfish to take time out, because everyone benefits.
Those around you will start to feel safe and inspired when they’re around you. When you spend time alone in spiritually peaceful places it will enhance you, until it’s natural for you to create sacred space wherever you are.
Author and publisher Maggie Hamilton gives regular talks, lectures and workshops, and is a keen observer of social trends. Her recent books include Coming Home, Love Your Work:Reclaim Your Life, Magic of the Moment and What Men Don't Talk About. www.maggiehamilton.org
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