Seven Ways to Bring Life-Force into Your Home – Tips for Ecological Living
I’m especially entranced this late spring by the abundance of life-force bursting out of the earth! More than abundant – the growth seems to be the air that I breathe. Leaves everywhere, in many shades of green; stalks reaching further out each day; the scent of birthing life permeates every pore. Everything is wild – there’s no taming this!
Life seeking life – that’s our primal drive.
It’s beautiful how a plant is drawn out of the earth by the light and warmth. This reaching out unites the sky and earth, and their leaves heal our atmosphere.
In our own way, as a plant, we form union between the earth and sky. So does our home. All that inhabits the earth is part of a membrane that weaves the earth to the stars. We are all part of a constellation – imagine if we could travel from earth far enough to see ourselves as such – which is part of a universe, which is part of a cosmos, which is part of a unity.
The spaces in our homes can be thought of as being in dialogue with the flow of the earth’s life-forces. Many homes are discrete objects, holding hermetically sealed spaces cut off from life. Our home can unite us with our place, the earth beneath our feet and the stars above our heads. If we live with this awareness and desire, our home can be a vessel to put us in intimate relationship with the live-giving impulses we resonate with.
How can your home open you to an expanded relationship with your place?
What are the life-giving impulses that help you connect with the land around you?
Take a moment and sit still in the center of your home. Close your eyes, and concentrate on your breathing. Slowly your breath’s rhythm will be aligned with the world around you. Feel for and listen to what parts of your place speak to you.
- Maybe a bay window into a garden, creating an indoor haven to rest and relax.
- Paint a room the color of the plants outside your window, bringing their life-force into your home.
- Build a covered porch on the south, hot, unused part of your home, weaving your home into your place.
- Put in a new window that frames a view to a particular tree you love, reminding you to stay rooted while reaching towards the sky.
- Install a skylight that allows you to track the sweep of the moon.
- Add a sleeping porch above a pond with a waterfall, the sound of water bringing calm to your evening routine or a living porch as tree house as in the photograph pictured for this post!*
- Install a stone-tile floor that mimics a stone terrace immediately outside, which is expanded by a rock garden beyond.
Life seeking life, heart seeking connection, love permeating all. Love is a verb – through our openness, and deep engagement, we fall in love; we further know our Union. As we engage with our home, we become more alive.
*If you would like to explore the project featured on this post, head over to Arshia & John’s light-filled addition on the Helicon Works Architects website.