Jane Alexander - Spirit of the Home: How to Make Your Home a Sanctuary

Thorsons

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

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London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published by Thorsons 1998

This edition published 2018

FIRST EDITION

Jane Alexander 2018

Cover layout design HarperCollinsPublishers

Cover photograph Alberto Piovano/Arcaid, Simon Brown/The Interior Archive, Shoji Sato/Photonica

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

Jane Alexander asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

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Source ISBN: 9780008317478

Ebook Edition June 2018 ISBN: 9780008318093

Version 2018-07-04

CONTENTS

For Sophie with much love.

THIS BOOK WAS NOT BUILT SINGLE-HANDEDLY it is the product of many people and many years. Its foundations lie in the numerous places I have called home and the people with whom I have shared those houses and apartments. In particular, 29 Salisbury Road, Rosemary Cottage, 48 Park Lane, Jacks place, Rockport, 213 Tufnell Park Road, 111 Listria Park. All their inhabitants my family, friends and flatmates have been at my shoulder while I have been writing.

In more recent terms, I would like to give very grateful thanks to the following builders, plumbers and interior decorators of the soul:

. Sarah Shurety and Liz Williams, who are my feng shui geniuses thanks for keeping my chi flowing smoothly. Denise Linn and Karen Kingston the two great space clearers who have been so generous with their time, wisdom and inspiration over the years.

Jim Bultman of Green Street, a wonderful e-mail correspondent, for his help in tracking Hestia.

Jane Mayers, Richard Lanham, Beth Easdale and the members of the final Image and Myth group at The Pelican Centre Teresa, Marie, Nuala, Rachel and Lily for their inspiration and as great companions on a true odyssey of the soul. Without the Pelican there would be no Spirit of the Home.

Jane Mayers and Paresh Rink for holding me together body and soul during the writing of this book.

Adrian, for creating my own sacred space. Chris and Alice Eastland for their solid support, editing and web advice over the years and for all the English muffins.

Lynne Crawford for giving me a much-needed push from time to time.

Judy Chilcote, as always, for being way more than an agent a Friend (with a capital F) who does all the tough stuff.

Belinda Budge for being the editor of my dreams, full of sensible advice and soaring inspiration (the perfect combination) and a game house detective along the way. Michele Turney, the most meticulous copy-editor. Megan Slyfield and Hattie Madden in the press office, for their huge encouragement. And everyone at Thorsons, especially the unsung heroes in design, production, marketing and the sales team who make sure this book ends up where it was always meant to be: in your hands and, I hope, in your home.

Last, but never least, my love to the Old Rectory for its valuable, often tough, education process into the art of respecting spirit and soul in a house.

Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to quote material from the following works:

Facing the World with Soul by Robert Sardello, copyright Robert Sardello 1992, used by permission of Lindisfarne Books, Hudson, NY12534

Memories, Dreams, Reflections by C. G. Jung, Random House Inc. (US, Canada and open market), HarperCollinsPublishers (UK)

Pagan Meditations by Ginette Paris, Spring Publications

The Fragrant Pharmacy by Valerie Ann Worwood, Macmillan General Books

The Physics of Angels by Matthew Foz and Rupert Sheldrake, HarperCollinsPublishers Inc.

Owning Your Own Shadow by Robert Johnson. Copyright 1991 by Robert A. Johnson. HarperCollinsPublishers Inc.

The Pregnant Virgin by Marion Goodman, Inner City Books

The Bloomsbury Encyclopaedia of Aromatherapy by Chrissie Wildwood published by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc in 1996

Sacred Space by Denise Linn, Rider

The House as Mirror of Self by Clare Cooper Marcus, copyright 1995 by Clare Cooper Marcus, reprinted by permission from Conari Press

The Natural House Book by David Pearson by permission of Gaia Books Ltd, London

Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston reproduced and adapted by kind permission of the author and Piatkus Books

Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore, Piatkus Books (UK and Commonwealth), HarperCollinsPublishers

Places of the Soul by Christopher Day, HarperCollinsPublishers

ALMOST ALL OF US have somewhere we call home. Whether its a large, grand house or simply a corner in a shared room, if were lucky we have a place we can claim as our own. Each and every one of us sees home in a different way: some of us might claim we barely think about home its simply a place out of the elements where we eat and sleep. Others would insist that home is a vital part of life: a solid centre in which we can feel safe and secure. Yet more of us regard our homes as a symbol of taste and status, a means of indulging creativity or proving our social standing. However we experience home there is no doubt that the places in which we live are becoming more and more important to us. There is a huge proliferation of interest in houses, home-building, interior design and decoration. The newsstands are full to bursting with magazines on homes and gardens; coffee tables groan with glossy books showing perfect homes. Turn on the television and someone will be telling you how to revamp a kitchen or hide a radiator.

Theres far more to this than simply another fashionable trend. We have a deep collective yearning for an idealized image of home for ideal homes. Its as though we feel that if we could only make our homes look right, they would somehow be right. We would live perfect lives in our perfect homes. But if we think we can create a happy home from the pages of a magazine, if we think we can buy our way to a healing home, we are deluding ourselves.

This almost desperate interest in the external trappings of home the newest colours, the latest furniture, the best cooker, the freshest curtains disguises a more profound longing. In our hearts we want to come home to a real home. A real home is a place that nurtures us on every level. It gives us the creature comforts that make our bodies feel relaxed and comfortable. It provides the security and serenity that allow our minds and emotions peace and security. Above all, it nourishes our souls. A real home is not a show-home packed to the gills with expensive furniture, decorated by the most fashionable interior designer: it is a living space that has the power to make us feel safe in a troubled world. It is our refuge, our sanctuary a place we can walk into and feel a sense of relief and relaxation as we shut the world behind us.