Home is a feeling, warm like the sun
Inside everyone needs a safe place to run…

Out of the many blogs I have written on home, good Feng Shui, positioning of the furniture, importance of elements etc, the one thing that underlines it all is “the feeling of home”. You may get everything right in your house per Feng Shui, but what really turns the house into your home is your connection with it, your intuition. I can never talk enough about the importance of a ” Home Naming Ceremony”(read previous blog) in this regard. Our homes are the reflections of our lives. The happiest and the saddest moments are often contained in them. And sometimes, unknowingly, we turn our homes into “houses of pain”.  This is a very subtle change that takes years to fructify. And it all starts when we start to overload our homes with things that do not bring us joy or serve us any purpose. Ah! the dresses in the closet that do not fit us anymore, but yes one day when we lose weight, they will…surely worth keeping them for a few years. My advice, if you don’t lose the weight within one year, donate them! For years I have been a victim of this thought process, until my senses gave up on looking at the same clothes in my closet that were not worn for years! And what about that wedding dress that is still hangs in closet after a divorce? Don’t forget the old tea set you inherited from grandma, she will surely be unhappy in heaven if you part with it now, even if you have never used it or never will.

The general rule to follow is, if you are not using something for over 6 months, put it in a box, in your garage. If you don’t miss that stuff in another 3 months, donate the box- pronto! Whatever brings your energy down, does not belong in your space. Get rid of the thought, ” what if one day I need it”, the chances are, if you didn’t need it so far, you possibly won’t in a couple years.  And that’s how you really honor your space and intuition. Learning to let go of old obligations to things that serve as reminders of what didn’t happen in your life, is an art to be embraced. Give yourself permission to throw them away. Let your home speak of your tastes, your life, your adventures and your happiness. I also would like to mention here that things bought in a garage sale, often have the energy of the previous owner, so unless you know the family well, keep away from other people’s seconds.

“Home is the starting place of love, hope and dreams. The magic thing is that it feels good to leave, but it feels even better to come back”. Your space is sacred to the memories you make, the relationships you build and where the laughter never ends. Such a space must be honored and taken care of. Keeping things clutter-free and organized, goes a long way in helping you connect with your space. Open the windows of your home to let the fresh air and sunlight seep in and bless your home. Invite birds via bird feeders and bird baths to stir up the chi with other life forms. Pet a fish or a dog or a cat or something! Keep your front entrance clean and beautiful and hang wind chimes. Bring in some plants and change those bed sheets every so often.  Keep a mental tab of what you own and how much. Often times we lose track of our possessions and they become a dead part of our homes blocking the chi.  Making a home out of a house does not require you to spend a lot of money, it just requires you to be conscious of your space!

Embrace your home. Make it the best feeling in the world!

Love and Light

Kanika Babal