Home Sweet Home

I am now back from my warm weather vacation to California with my equanimity intact!  I attended the Snow Goose Festival in Chico, and spent some time in the San Diego area visiting with friends, sightseeing, and touring 2 wonderful botanical gardens.  Bird watching and botany are 2 of my passions. 

Everything went smoothly with both my go-with-the-flow friend and the other one who likes to micromanage every little detail of her life.   I was able to take the observer stance most of the time and not take anything personally.  Having removed my chakras over a year ago has vastly reduced the amount of heavy energy, or “houcha” that used to get automatically funneled into my energy field from the surroundings, so that was a big plus on this trip.

I don’t often get to stay with out of town friends in their homes, so I am always intrigued by how they live, and how they manage their material world as it is reflected in their home environment.  I have experienced everything from a friend’s house that was so dusty (because of 3 cats and 3 dogs that were constantly coming in and out of the doggie door) that there was no place where I could sit without getting my clothes dirty to a house where my friend arranged my shoes at the door, rationed food, and swooped in to pick up any little crumb that fell on the kitchen floor.  Neither of those was during last week's trip, but they do represent the extremes on both ends of the spectrum.  One gets so used to the way they live that it can be a shock to be exposed to a lifestyle that is so very different.  None of my local friends have anything like that going on, or else we would have to call for an intervention! 

Consciousness wise, a lot can be determined by the way one keeps their house.  A messy house with lots of stuff can indicate a messy and unfocused consciousness.  A house that is rigidly kept in order can indicate a rigid consciousness that is afraid of change or upset.  What about a house filled with mementos from the past?  Does that mean that the owner can’t let go of attachments to people and events that may no longer be relevant?  How about a very sparsely decorated or “zen” home?  Is that person minimally engaged with life and prefers to stay in the arena of their mind? 

If we expand on this theme, recognize that lingering childhood issues can definitely play a part in what goes on in the home.  If there is any remnant of fear, insecurity, safety or security issues left over from a less than ideal upbringing, one may become a hoarder, a spendthrift, a recluse, or as I have seen in several cases, one who is extremely over controlling of their home environment so as to compensate for an unstable, fearful and uncertain childhood.  If you read my post on the bonding issues that can occur at birth, you will see the cause for much that I am describing here. 

The person who was arranging my shoes lives in a big beautiful house in a rural setting.  Sounds great, doesn’t it?  This is the only house that I have ever stayed in that had the institutional feel of a nursing home or similar facility.  There was no emotional energy, no heart.  The healing room had a cold, and again, institutional feel to it.  I can only surmise what the consciousness of the occupants was like. 

As I am rereading this post, I realize that most of the situations described here involve people who are ostensibly on some sort of spiritual path.  My point is that if one is deeply internally engaged, has an awareness of their issues and their surroundings and has a way to heal the wounds that they carry, especially from childhood, this should ideally reflect in their surroundings.  The heart of a home mirrors the heart and consciousness of the owner.  Upon entering, if one feels a warm and comfortable feeling, that is what is exuding from the person living there, regardless of what the décor is like.

In my post entitled “In the Groove”, I talk about how the “universe rearranges itself to accommodate your version of reality”.  When you visit other people’s homes, try taking a look around with an eye to seeing what their version of reality really is!