Rediscovering the Secrets of You in a Non-Contemplative World
“As adults in wealthy Western cultures what one material thing is valued more highly over all others? It is the home of course! A house or an apartment of your very own, is seen as the great goal, and or, an investment stepping stone to tremendous wealth; either way it is prized within our modern societies today. As many of us, work frantically toward this Mount Olympus like achievement, paying off large bank loans with monthly repayments, often at the affect of capricious interest rates, we can lose sight of who we are and what makes us happy. The focus on the goal, can overwhelm our sense of enjoyment in playing this game of life.
Why not, use the very thing that taunts and teases us, the carrot dangling before us, the hallowed home, as a device for getting to know ourselves and finding happiness? Discovering the secrets to what makes us happy, are found, not in some exotic foreign clime or obscure ancient text, but much closer to home. In fact, the clues to who we are and what we truly want, are all around us in every room of our living abodes. Welcome to what I call House Therapy.
“Your house, your home, is your castle not your prison and it is often wise to remember that you can move on if you need to. “
Of course, you do not have to own the home you live in to benefit from House Therapy, as your mere presence within your house or apartment defines it as yours. We all generally have some influence on the look and feel of the rooms within our home, and even for those uber minimalists out there, your very non-doing defines your home just as much. There is a Taoist flavour to House Therapy, as it employs the ‘Isness of things’ principle at work in our lives. The way things are – is the way things are – and that is for a reason, if you just take the time to look.
You do not need to be an architect or an interior designer, to benefit from the insights offered by House Therapy, indeed we are all to some degree designers of our own lives. If not you, who else is the most influential person in your life, and who knows you better? Who else, in your life, is defining themselves by every decision and choice made, as they make their way along their life pathway? Nobody but You!
There are several traditions, which employ some awareness about living circumstances and structures, Feng Shui is one from the Chinese culture, and Vastu Shastra is another from the Ayurvedic Indian tradition – these two philosophies share a concern with the lay-out and placement of your home in relation to the surrounding geography and the universe. I will be including some wisdom derived from both these sources in my House Therapy compendium, and this knowledge will be utilised in the form of things that you can do to help your situation. For example you may be advised to clear out old furniture which is connected to past relationships; or you might need to look at rearranging patterns and room functions within your home; and if all else fails where and what to move into, when creating a new home.
Your house, your home, is your castle not your prison and it is often wise to remember that you can move on if you need to. Mobility of energy is a very important aspect in our lives, if we are to be happy and free, and in some situations it is better to cut your losses and relocate. One of the most exhilarating and wonderful qualities we have as human beings is our ability to start again, to reinvent ourselves and feel the rush that comes with the new growth after the desolation of the forest fire. In these circumstances you can turn around that, ‘under siege’ mentality, which saps your energy as you feel like you have everything to lose, and discover the reborn refreshment available when we begin again. Life is an infinite cycle of beginnings and endings, so please don’t get stuck in the middle.”
©Sudha Hamilton – excerpt from his book House Therapy: Discovering who you really are at home.
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