Create A Sacred Place for Yourself
The outside world is a place of distraction.
Sensory experiences and information overload cause stress and burnout. Responsibilities pile on top of one another. Everyone wants your attention, and everything (news, phone calls, commercials) seeks to steal your focus.
To deal with all this, you should create a way to clear and clean your mind.
And that way can be to establish a personal sacred place.
The Two Types of Sacred Places
This is perhaps the most interesting way to rewind and focus.
Your sacred place is yours and yours alone. It is a place that is entirely dedicated to your well-being. No one else is allowed to trespass, and the zone involves zero distractions (as in, no phone or social interruptions).
Joseph Campbell distinguishes between two types of sacred places:
- Space: Your place is a clearly defined area with physical boundaries (like a special room in the house, or a specific part of the kitchen table), that you can seek out at whatever time of day that works best for you
- Time: Your place is tethered to a specific time of the day (like in the early morning, or an hour when everyone else is asleep), that you can seek out in whatever space that works best for you at that moment
(As Austin Kleon notes in Keep Going, the luxurious solution would be to have a sacred place with a consistent space and time to be used. This is not a necessity, though; many people struggle to allocate a specific and hour or area to use on a routinely and consistent basis, due to their circumstances. The deciding factor is that the place is used as intended, so it is not relevant whether the physical space or time of day changes for each use.)
Whether time- or space-based, the place is meant to be sacred to you.
The Benefits of Having A Sacred Place
Naturally, keeping a sacred place has various advantages.
This is especially true for those of us that have sensitive and creative minds — two traits that often coexist. Despite this, you do not have to be a sensitive person or have a creative passion to reap the benefits of a sacred place. We all have a mental health that needs tending and work that needs doing, which is what sensitivity and creativity often accelerate anyway.
Thus, sacred places can offer ways to nurture your health and career.
Psychological Benefits
As you already know, the outside world can be harsh and taxing.
To that end, Jenn Granneman and Andre Sólo, writers of Sensitive, suggest that you dedicate a specific area or time of day entirely to yourself. Within this safe sphere, you may unwind and do things that give you comfort (like reading a book, drinking tea, or working out). This can reduce your stress levels, sharpen your awareness and focus, and make you more prepared to handle the challenges of the outside world.
Whether you are an overworked employee or struggling parent, or just someone who needs a break, your sacred place is there to settle the peace.
Creative Benefits
Like the expert Kleon writes in Keep Going, creativity requires two things:
- Connection: You must connect with the outside world and other people to find inspiration and community, and to share your creative work
- Disconnection: You must withdraw from the outside world and people to connect with your creative mind and ability, and to create something
The amalgamation of these processes is the sacred place. A place that lets you disconnect from distractions, and connect with your mind and body to hone your creative side. A place that allows you to be fully focused on the art or work that matters to your heart and soul.
In your sacred place, your creativity and productivity will rise and flourish — and so will your concentration, skill, fulfillment, and general well-being.
You decide what your sacred place will be.
It can be the chair in the corner at six in the morning. It can be the home office with the glitter and glue. It can be the large blanket from your bed.
Whatever brings you focus and calm, make it yours to retreat to when the world offers only distraction and chaos.
