Coming home to yourself.

Winter cycle altar

Hope you are exploring the conditions for awakening. I'm posting some of the things that work for me.  Creating a safe, peaceful place to meditate is important for me. I have an altar that changes and evolves. It is always in the same place and has the same basic elements. Candles, a bell, water, a green plant and a rock or mineral representation. I have a fabric covering (this changes with the cycles) and a male element and a female element for balance (this can change too). So for the winter I chose a white silk fabric. I have a black sitting Buddha, a gift from a friend. He is serene, from Thailand. I put a picture of White Buffalo Calf Woman to remind me of the Oneness with all of Life.  I like the Native American basket (a feminine element) which reminds me to be open and receive.  In the center of the altar is the Gohonzon. It is closed. Inside is a scroll of the Lotus Sutra in Japanese characters.  I open it when I sit to meditate.  I love sitting at the altar.  It is like coming home to myself.  Coming home to my True Nature.

My cat Gracie loves to sit at the altar too

 

Experiment with setting up a place to come home to yourself.  Inside or outside in your garden.
I came upon this altar (below) on a hike.  People left lovely objects as an offering. Kind of a communal altar.

 

My Grandmother had an altar in her bedroom.  I can remember the smell of the candles, the statue of St.Anthony, a picture of her brother Eddie who died in the war, and her rosary.  It was a Sacred place too.  I wonder if she felt the same way I do when she sat there?  Probably.