One of the problems I had and reason I
did work on creating a sacred space was that I had very high anxiety and panic attacks. I had
gone through so much and was extremely jumpy. As part of my sacred space, I
added ambient sound and purpose-specific sounds. I had a small purifier and
that added the white noise I needed to block out noisy traffic outside my first
floor window and my upstairs neighbor’s incessant walking back and forth wood
floors with her heels.
In San Francisco,
I lived on the first floor and I heard all kinds of noises outside including
people walking, having conversations and even sneezing. It was a studio and the
living room was the bedroom. I listened to my collection of music and
nature recording to additionally mask the unwanted noises. To create my own
sound while using my sacred space I would ring a special bell while doing space
clearing or meditating.
Space Clearing
Space clearing is a way of moving the
stagnant energy or “chi”, or uplifting a negative atmosphere. While I used
bells, some people also use gongs. Gongs and bells come in different shapes and
sizes which allow for different vibrations and frequency of sound. Many years
later when I moved back to New York,
I knew I was in for some major noise pollution. I was right. There are
emergency vehicle sirens every few minutes, air planes overhead, construction
projects everywhere, people playing music loudly in their cars and out their
windows, trains, cars and motorcycle screeching and much, much more. This can
drive anyone crazy. In fact, there was a recent 2015 study that found that
noise pollution was a major contributor to high blood pressure. But you don’t
need a study to tell you that noise can disrupt your sleep, affect your
concentration, make you feel impinged upon, make you irritable and affect your
whole quality of life. This is serious business. So what can you do? The best
way to handle it if you must be in place and you can’t just pick up and leave
is to either insulate or mask it. It is much harder to insulate because this
can be expensive or you may not have to right/permission to make certain
physical changes in certain places.
Masking Noise
When considering masking you have more
options. There is the use of white sound machines that specifically block out
unwanted noise. Therapists’ office use white noise makers often to increase
privacy while in a session with a client so others outside won’t hear what is
confidential. I personally used my purifier for multiple purposes. A person can
also add chimes, drumming or guided meditation audio. One of my favorite
aspects is the ability to use ones creativity. You use what you find either
relaxing or stimulating, depending on what your goal is. Another way to mask
noise is to use heavy drapes or materials to mitigate some of the offending
noise. If you can afford it or are able to, carpeting helps as well as other
soft materials like acoustic ceiling panels and sound blocking doors. Fortunately,
there are many more options available, even stick on wall panels, check this
link for an example: http://soundstop.co.uk/solutions/wall_solutions/wall_solution_1.php.
I knew someone who lost their spouse
and when they took time to grieve in their sacred space they would re-play the
last voice mail their loved one left for them. It gave this person incredible
comfort and also allowed them to release pent up pain and sorrow. The point is
that you are in control of your sacred space. There is no wrong as long as you
are not impinging on someone else’s space. This space is for your personal and
private process. It needn’t be shared with anyone else. It’s up to you what you
want to disclose.
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