Maria Shriver

New View, New You: Want to reinvent your life? Start at Home

By Xorin Balbes

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Change happens. Sometimes it happens to us, visited upon our lives by an external source, and sometimes it happens within us, as a new dream or an impulse that expands our outlook.

Sometimes the change is something we wanted, like a new job. Sometimes it is something we thought that we didn’t want, like a divorce.

Sometimes we even get so stuck in a pattern and an unconscious habit that we forget that change is always on its way.

Change is inevitable. We must be open to it, even as it seeks us. And as the interior design of our souls shift, the interior design of our homes must shift along with it to support, nurture and sustain us as we become more aligned with our soul’s calling, message and expression.

Where you live and what you live with is an extension of who you are: your living quarters are a projected physical manifestation of your emotional wants and needs, a mirror of your thoughts, dreams, hopes, wishes, and issues.

And it isn’t just about the four walls that surround you. It’s about the energy with which you fill your space and the emotions, thoughts and feelings that are attached to the objects in your home.

As a designer and a spiritual seeker, I noted long ago that whenever my awareness grew or evolved, it was incredibly important for me to support those new found parts of myself by altering my space so that I could support myself and be reminded of the shifts and the changes that had taken place…so that these shifts could be anchored deeper within.

I wanted the world around me to reflect the person I was becoming. Likewise, whenever I manifested a change in my surroundings, whether it was by adding an element or subtracting a possession that no longer fit, I would feel a corresponding shift within myself.

Of course, this is not a simple a=b equation. A new couch won’t give you a new life. A life-change doesn’t mean that you need to go out and buy a new couch. What I’m talking about is much subtler.

Consider for a moment that things are manifestations of our dreams, metaphors of our desires, and connections to other times in our lives. They are also placeholders of unfinished business, issues, belief systems, dreams and limiting thoughts we have about ourselves and the world around us.

What you think is just an old exercise bike or a set of dishes is really so much more. That old bicycle in the garage: is it a reminder that you need to reconnect to your body and support it through exercise? Or does it belong to an ex-wife or an ex-husband, like a dusty reminder of regret?

How about those lovely dishes, the ones that were your grandmothers? Are they really just dishes? Or are they a psychic connection to your family heritage and to a woman you remember fondly every time you see those plates?

The next time you walk around your house, take the time to really look. What do you own? Why do you own it? What does it say to you about who you were? What does it say to you about where you are going? What does it say about what you think you deserve?

In the end, if the messages encoded in your home don’t tell you that you are a creative, passionate, evolving person; if your belongings don’t make you feel like you’ve accomplished great things and will accomplish more great things moving forward, if your home is not seeded with images of your dreams: then your house is holding you back.

If your home is not filled with the beauty that lives inside you….then choose again.

When we wish to create change, we can use our environment and belongings as tools to anchor and ground our dreams, hopes and wishes so we can be supported while we manifest growth.

Then the exercise bike can fulfill its intention and help you raise your heart rate and lower your blood pressure—or it can be given to someone who will use it, who will not feel sadness every time they see it.

Then you can take those dishes out of hiding and use them on a daily basis, sharing them and the memories they hold with the other people that you love.

Once you understand the connection between what you see around you and the way you feel inside, and the connection between the way your moods and ambitions are expressed in your home, then you can work to create a conscious space in your home to support the life you want to lead.

This is the power of combining insight with intention, blending aesthetics with action, and imbuing your Space with your Soul.

By releasing that which is old and has no energy, you can release yourself from your past and harness more creativity and a fuller expression of yourself.

By choosing consciously, you can create a space that is full of your personal spirit, where friends and family feel welcomed and cherished, where your creativity can shine, and where your true self can take root and blossom.

Then, you will sail in the direction of your dreams.

It is my wish that SoulSpace: Transform Your Home, Transform Your Life encourages you to create an environment that truly is an expression of the authentic you.

Follow Xorin's Tips for Transformation...read his past blogs here.

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Award-winning architectural conservator, designer and philanthropist, Xorin Balbes is the founder and co-owner of the interior and architectural design firm TempleHome. Xorin is known for his remarkable restorations in the Los Angeles area, from Lloyd Wright’s 1927 Sowden House to Talmadge Villa, silent screen star Norma Talmadge’s 17th-century Italianate mansion in Los Feliz. His most recent project is Lumeria Maui, a luxury educational retreat center on the north shore of Maui.