Building Truth Altars
As a part of our Baja 4 worship on Easter Sunday, Rev. Matthew and the Baja 4 ministers shared the first part of Truth Mandala ritual: the gathering of a stone, a stick, a bowl, and dried leaves or grass (CLICK HERE to view.)
The goal of this ritual is to begin to build the means to witness our fear, anger, uncertainty, and our grief, so that we could honor the pain among us. We use items to endow them with these powerful emotions, so that we can then, witness the courage, justice, newness, and love that our pain uncovers.
The goal of this ritual is to begin to build the means to witness our fear, anger, uncertainty, and our grief, so that we could honor the pain among us. We use items to endow them with these powerful emotions, so that we can then, witness the courage, justice, newness, and love that our pain uncovers.
BUU Truth Altars
Matilda & the Blum Family
|
For her truth altar Matilda chose a glass flower bowl, dried oak leaves, a stick with a V at the top, and a stone that she found in the garden. She thinks that telling the truth is important because then you know right from wrong. She also added a porcelain peacock because truth is beautiful and a lamb and bunny because it's Spring.
|
Judy & John
|
This small table is by my front door, and I have used it as an altar for years without realizing that it WAS an altar. I have paper flowers in a vase of stones made by my sister, the Virgin de Guadalupe (who symbolizing the spirituality of the Santa Cruz valley to me), feathers I have found (finding feathers is a gift from those who have died, so one from my mom and one from my sister are special). There are some stones, shaped like hearts (my favorite shape) a book from the In Spirit bookstore of inspirational poems and a living plant. My candle has broken, but will get another soon.
I'd love to find a chalice, but no luck in my searches so far. |
Barbara L.
These things were scattered around my home, but looking at them I realized how important each one is. My theme is Hope and Strength. The door to another world I made a few years ago after Matthew had that as a sermon theme and I remembered it from an SOA protest. My chalice from Teotihuacan was a gift. In it is a sequoia cone - if anything represents persistence and hope, that's it. Little block and birch tree art from my arty sister. Dark stones are ancient tools. Sea shells, a dried cholla fruit with a tiny green earth marble. Pink quartz piece for healing and compassion. Books of wisdom.
Steps to Build Your Altar
There are more steps to the Truth Mandala (for the full ritual CLICK HERE), but more significantly the objects once collected need to rest somewhere. This week's Tuesday Truth is an invitation to build an altar in your home, if you have not already done so. And if you have, these steps might be rejuvenating of your sacred space in and around your home. Either way, this is also an invitation to share about your altar.
There are many, many, many methods of crafting an altar available on the internet. The steps shared below were created by Rosetta Thurman on her website HappyBlackWoman.com. Her method was chosen for the sequence, intention, and wisdom.
Step 1: Find a location for your altar
You will need to pick a special area of your home where you can set up your altar. This can be a corner of a room, a table or a nightstand. There is really no one “perfect” place for your altar, the point is to find just enough space where you can put your key items and be able to sit near them on a daily basis. I live in a small space here in Hawaii with roommates, so the best place for my altar is on the nightstand right next to my bed. Once you choose a location for your altar, you can move on to creating the altar itself.
You will need to pick a special area of your home where you can set up your altar. This can be a corner of a room, a table or a nightstand. There is really no one “perfect” place for your altar, the point is to find just enough space where you can put your key items and be able to sit near them on a daily basis. I live in a small space here in Hawaii with roommates, so the best place for my altar is on the nightstand right next to my bed. Once you choose a location for your altar, you can move on to creating the altar itself.
Step 2: Pick at least one theme for your altar
I recommend picking one or more themes for your personal altar that describes the purpose you have for the space. For example, my altar will serve as a sacred space for meditation, relaxation, inspiration and strength. A good question to ask yourself is: what do I want to bring MORE of into my life? Love? Peace? Joy? Money?
Suggested themes: Meditation, Relaxation, Inspiration, Strength, Peace, Healing,
Remembrance, Love, Protection, Abundance, Faith, Joy
I recommend picking one or more themes for your personal altar that describes the purpose you have for the space. For example, my altar will serve as a sacred space for meditation, relaxation, inspiration and strength. A good question to ask yourself is: what do I want to bring MORE of into my life? Love? Peace? Joy? Money?
Suggested themes: Meditation, Relaxation, Inspiration, Strength, Peace, Healing,
Remembrance, Love, Protection, Abundance, Faith, Joy
Step 3: Choose 5-10 key items for your altar
According to the theme you chose, pick out a set of items that inspire you and represent your highest self. Again, there are no “right” or “wrong” items for your altar, so just trust your intuition and allow yourself to be led to the ones that resonate with you the most.
Suggested items:
These are the key items I chose for my altar:
According to the theme you chose, pick out a set of items that inspire you and represent your highest self. Again, there are no “right” or “wrong” items for your altar, so just trust your intuition and allow yourself to be led to the ones that resonate with you the most.
Suggested items:
- Candles
- Fresh flowers or herbs
- Inspiration stones
- Crystals (especially amethyst or quartz)
- Spiritual or inspirational books
- Photos of people you love
- Photos of spiritual figures
- Printed literature that holds special meaning for you (such as poems, song lyrics, inspirational cards, etc)
- Elements of nature (such as seashells, coral, stones, feathers, etc)
- Bells or chimes
These are the key items I chose for my altar:
- Fresh flowers (for inspiration)
- Lavender-scented candle (for relaxation)
- Amethyst pyramid (for relaxation, meditation, protection and healing)
- Book of Awakening (for meditation and spirituality)
- Inspiration stones with the words “love” and “faith”
- Inspiration cards from friends
- My own business card (for strength and dedication to my vision)
- Photos of my father and grandfather, both deceased (for strength and remembrance)
Step 4: Bless your altar
When you feel that your altar is complete, set aside a few minutes to bless the space and invite good energy into this new area of your home. You can do this by saying a prayer and/or setting a positive intention for what you want to bring MORE of into your life. For instance, I simply lit my candle and said a prayer of gratitude for what is and what will be.
When you feel that your altar is complete, set aside a few minutes to bless the space and invite good energy into this new area of your home. You can do this by saying a prayer and/or setting a positive intention for what you want to bring MORE of into your life. For instance, I simply lit my candle and said a prayer of gratitude for what is and what will be.
Step 5: Use your altar on a daily basis
It’s important to actually USE your personal altar, not just make it look pretty and admire it as a decoration in your house. The best way to use your altar is to develop a daily ritual where you sit in front of it (or at least near it) each day to pray, meditate and/or set your intention for the day. As my own ritual, I like to light my candle in the mornings soon after I wake up or right before I go to bed, turn on soothing sounds on low volume (ocean waves or Tibetan bells are very calming for me) and sit still in meditation and prayer for at least 5-15 minutes. While I was already seeing positive results with meditation, my personal altar has added even more meaning to my mindfulness practice!
It’s important to actually USE your personal altar, not just make it look pretty and admire it as a decoration in your house. The best way to use your altar is to develop a daily ritual where you sit in front of it (or at least near it) each day to pray, meditate and/or set your intention for the day. As my own ritual, I like to light my candle in the mornings soon after I wake up or right before I go to bed, turn on soothing sounds on low volume (ocean waves or Tibetan bells are very calming for me) and sit still in meditation and prayer for at least 5-15 minutes. While I was already seeing positive results with meditation, my personal altar has added even more meaning to my mindfulness practice!