Sacred Altars: a tool for peace

Lindsay Lusignea
Mar 9, 2015
4 min read

Meet my meditation altar. This is the home of my most personal practices such as meditation and pranayama (breath work). An altar in your home can serve as a focal point for meditation or simply a refuge where you return when you need a spiritual boost. Even if you simply pause for a moment as you walk by it, your altar gives you the opportunity to consciously reflect on things you may overlook through your day.

My altar is a place of peace. MC Yogi, one of my favorite difference makers in the world, exaplains that there is a traditional belief that objects hold the love that is bestowed upon them. “There’s a mountain we visited in India that’s been worshipped for thousands of years. It’s no different than any other mountain, but because humans have been devoted to it in an unbroken stream, it glows with power and energy,” he says. “Altars are like that, too. It’s a way to express love and devotion, but essentially, it’s a reflection of what’s going on inside you.”

Follow these 4 steps to create your altar:

Find the space. Clear the space. Place your altar in an area that is quiet and peaceful where you know you can sit without disruption. According the Feng Shui practices, place your altar anywhere except your kitchen or bedroom.
Set an intention. Why are you creating an altar? For what benefit? What do you want to bring into your life? Is it an all-purpose altar? Or for a specific reason of healing or growth?
Choose and arrange the items. The items you choose are the reflect and call forth your intention. If you have any hesitancy about any item, leave it out. Only have items that bring you feelings of positivity, centeredness and that brings a light into your life. Your alter does not have to please anyone but you. Make sure it is arranged the way you like it. Place everything with intention.
Clean your altar. Maintain the purity of your altar. Dust settles. Make sure to clean your items often. After a while, when it “feels” like the time is right, I place my crystals, stones, and mala beads in the sunlight to soak in the suns energy, recharging the vibrational frequency within the stones. If you are neglecting your altar, ask yourself if you are neglecting your spiritual life.

Feel free to change it up! Below is what is currently on my altar. It may change, and it does, sometimes the next day, or in several months. It will depend on my intention, goals, visions, and unexpected meaningful gifts. For example, because of plant life, I change the plants between greens and flowers every week. (Flowers/plants for my home and altar are part of my weekly shopping list).

What you decide to put on your altar is 100% up to you. Each item on your altar significantly represents something you commit to maximizing in your life. No item on my altar is related to religion of a belief system. Rather, each symbol is an archetype. When you sit before it, that energy is reflected back to you.

Here is what I have on my altar:

Lakshmi: Front and center is the most beautiful and powerful of them all. Lakshmi is a goddess of abundance of both spiritual and material, of a loving and balanced home, of generosity, and of beauty. I look into her eyes as my focal point and access to meditation. This technique was taught to my by two of my meditation and spiritual teachers. Around her shoulders I have draped mala beads- hand made and hand carved from a Tulsi tree in India. These were gifted to me by a dear student from a 2013 trip to his native home. When I am not using these mala beads, I drap them around her as a gratitude offering to her archetype.
Krishna and Radha: The top right statue, or murti, are the beloved Krishna and Radha in a swing together serving as an embodied archetype of romantic love. At the base of them is a mala bead that represents the harmonic balance of our own masculine and feminine energies.
Ganesha: The bottom right statue, representing the overcoming of obstacles, diligent flow in scribing/writing, tasting the sweetness of life, and more. Writing about Ganesha is also another article in itself!
Love hands: A home picture taken at one of my favorite times of day, sunset, representing to always act with love. May my actions, words, thoughts, and intention continually be aligned with love for all beings.
Various stones including a big and prominent Rose Quartz.
Various mala beads each with their own wisdom and meaning. I have mala beads of Tulsi tree, Jasper, Rudraksha (Shiva’s tears), Turquoise, Jade, and Rosewood. (stay tuned for another article about why mala beads, and how to use them).
The four elements: Air (an eagle feather), fire (candle- not shown), earth (stone and plants), water (at the base of the plants) to represent the Mother’s natural balance within and around us.