How to Create a Sacred Space for Creativity?

Note: This article is based on writer Diana Raab, in which we talk about the need to create a special space for creativity.

In her book, A Room of One’s Own, author Virginia Woolf discussed the importance of the title's concept. Still, her use of the phrase was obviously metaphorical and deeper than referring to a physical space. She believed that all writers, especially women, needed a space where they could go to write and feel secure and safe, a space that both supported and inspired them.

Using a Room of the House:

Your creative space could be a room in your house, a portion of a room, or even a place you feel comfortable. However, if you decide on a room in your house, you might want to include special items that motivate and uplift you, such as souvenirs from happy vacations or heirlooms from your family that remind you of specific periods in your life.

Setting the Room:

In the room where I write, there are scented oils and candles, prayer beads, and pictures of my family all around me. I'm surrounded by typewriters as a reminder that I wrote my first book ever, Getting Pregnant and Staying Pregnant: A Guide to High-Risk Pregnancies, on one of these machines back in the 1980s.

I remember reading years ago that some big companies used coffee-scented candles in their workplaces to boost productivity. I currently have one of those candles on my desk and find that its scent awakens my senses and boosts my energy, perhaps similar to how I feel after drinking coffee. I have a bookcase behind my desk that contains all of my favorite books, and there is a chair close by where I sit every day to meditate. Also, my room has a reading chair and a sofa overlooking my garden. I haven't always been blessed with such a private space, either because I was traveling or because my home didn't have enough room for it.

Tips for Creating a Creativity Space:

The Following Are Some Tips for Creating a Creativity Space Wherever You Are:

1. Be comfortable.
2. Close your eyes, straighten your legs, take a deep breath, inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth, listen to your breath, and focus on it.
3. Imagine yourself entering a room that holds significant significance in your life. It's OK if you don't have one and want to visualize a fancy space.
4. Try to imagine the room in all its details, and when you are ready, open your eyes.
5. If you're a writer, pick up a pen and write about this space in great detail; if you're an artist, try to draw it. Concentrate on the present and try to be creative without looking around. What can you see in your space? When you are in this space: How do you physically feel? How does your heart feel?

Joseph Campbell, a mythologist, also emphasized the significance of this sacred space being required for everyone, saying that you need a place where you are not in contact with other people or the outside world. A place where you are free to be alone and authentic, or at the very least, be who you aspire to be in the future. This place can be considered a space for creative thinking. Although creativity won't come to you right away when you're in this private space, its very existence inspires us.

Creativity Places’ Diversification Importance:

Sometimes it is good to diversify your creativity places. Working or writing in a different place gives your creativity a different perspective. I've spent a lot of time in coffee shops and bookstores, and I've written some of my best pieces there. It could be the background noise, the smell of the coffee, or the fact that I'm surrounded by books.

I find that listening to classical music can sometimes help me focus at home. However, listening to music with lyrics can be challenging while writing, even though the lyrics of some musicians, such as Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan, are inspiring for some people.

As a teenager, my grandfather taught me the art of observing people in Parisian cafés. We used to watch people for hours while talking about them. I still find inspiration in the clamor of cafés. I kept doing this after my grandfather passed away and expanded to include coffee shops and bookstores.

When I wasn't working on my projects, I used to write in my journal what I observed. I described people I saw, wondered what they were doing, and occasionally documented conversations. It was a fun activity. Also, for another change of place, I enjoy writing in the garden when the weather is nice because it's an excellent place for people-observing. If you're an artist, sitting by a cafe or in a garden may give you the inspiration you need to set up your sacred creative space.