The Soul of Your Home
By Laurel House
Is there a place in your home that feels safe and sacred to you? According to Jagatjoti Khalsa, founder of the home store, Tara Home, in California and Arizona, and author of the new book Altar Your Space (Mandala Publishing, 2007), your home should comfort you. “A home environment should bless you, uplift your spirit, keep you holy-minded, embrace and support the fullness of your worldly life, and emanate the energy, atmosphere, and fragrance of that which we call the sacred,” he says.
Khalsa believes that the family room is the soul of the home. Traditionally the living room is the central room in the home. But it doesn’t have to be traditional. It doesn’t have to be a “showcase” room. It can be as formal, casual, whimsical, or exotic as you are or want it to be. “The main thing in creating an environment is that it be consistent within itself, and have its own singular harmony, mood and expression.”
Here are a few tips to make the living room the soul of your house:
1. Make everything in this room feel, touch, smell, etc. to serve your senses and inspire you—inspire you to relax, communicate, hang out, talk, read, listen to music etc.
2. Fill the room with comfortable furniture that encourages company to sit. The more used, experienced, and enjoyed the more the living room becomes the center and soul of your home.
3. Create a living altar. A place to put fresh flowers from the farmers market, gifts, pictures, statues, mementos of your journey’s, and other objects that have a special place in your heart. Put your soul on display.
4. Choose a color for the walls that makes you want to be there. Choose colors that soothe, relax, and balance your spirit.
5. Choose lighting that compliments and inspires you. Use pink light bulbs to soften the space. Use lampshades that cast a warm light.
