House of Belief

In April I work towards a "house of belief", a concept that comes from one of my favorite books, by Kelee Katillac. She writes about "rituals of belief", by which she means the process of creating things that are a visual reminder of your values and what you aspire to.

A house of belief reflects the family that lives in it. I'm working towards clean rooms (clean floors, windows, dust-free surfaces); a comfortable amount of clutter (and a place to put each useful thing away); spaces that welcome and embrace all the ages of people who live or visit here; and visual interest - things to look at that spark the imagination, and communicate our love of nature.

Kelee Katillac says: "It is important to keep in mind that a ritual of belief is a belief plus physical action. A ritual of belief always ends in a positive physical form. Form is an object or expression that can be seen or touched. ... Form takes creative ideas and makes them visible." 

The premise of her book is that when we create representations of our beliefs and dreams with art and crafts, or seek out and surround ourselves with meaningful objects, our beliefs become concrete - no longer abstract - and we can more easily accept them as truth.

Agenda:

1. Read "The 5 Resets"
2. Living room joy

3. Practice visualization

House of Belief

A house of belief reflects the family that lives in it. I want to fine tune my interior spaces and my garden to better express my beliefs; specifically - simplicity, love, and unity with nature.

I'm working towards clean rooms (clean floors, windows, dust-free surfaces); a comfortable amount of clutter (and a place to put each useful thing away); spaces that welcome and embrace all the ages of people who live or visit here; and visual interest - things to look at that spark the imagination, and communicate our love of nature.

Agenda:

1. Read "House of Belief"

2. Deep living room cleaning

3. Hands-on projects

4. Autumn vignettes

Creative Anxiety

Creative anxiety is sneaky: It dresses itself up and hides out. You would think at my age I'd be able to recognize it quickly, but here I am, dealing with it again.

When I get sloppy with the art-work I'm doing, and begin to turn out messy, meaningless pieces, I forget that it's anxiety at the root and not that I've lost my touch. When I begin to feel lethargic and put off doing the work of art-making, sometimes for weeks, I forget that it's anxiety at the root and not laziness, or busy-ness, or disinterest.

When I face up to my anxiety, then I can make a plan.

Creative anxiety agenda:

1. Read the Creativity Book

2. Set an intention for summer creativity

3. Do the smallest thing

4. Lifeboat drill

February Sanctuary

A sanctuary is a sanctum, a sacred and protected place of beauty, grace and refuge. Our home and garden is a sanctuary for body and soul; it embraces us and brings us back to center. When we take sanctuary, even for brief moments, we are re-created, recharged, healed, soothed, comforted and at peace.

This week I hope to continue to define and upgrade our sanctum; it's an ongoing discipline of inner work (seeking inspiration, and upgrading my habits) and projects (creating a place of peace that expresses who we are) .

Agenda:

1. Journal queries on home and family

2. House of Belief

3. Home simplicity

4. Our huge garden project

5. Teamwork and mental health

House of Belief

Today I'm giving extra attention to my house and garden. I want this to be the year that I complete a cycle of care that starts like this:

• 
  January: Clean mold, paint the windows, plan and tidy the garden.
• February: Clear excess stuff from each room, start seeds and prepare beds.
• March: Spring cleaning, wash windows, early planting

And I also want to better express our family ideas and beliefs in my house and garden, with creativity and thoughtfulness.

Agenda:

1. House of Belief plan

2. Sanctuary intentions

3. Spirit of Winter meditation

4. House cleaning in the bathroom