The peaceful nursery

Designing your life
Once you appreciate the power of the connection between your surroundings and your life, you can use this new understanding to organize and decorate your home so that it supports you in building the life you desire. As you design your home, you have the opportunity to design your life. What better time than when preparing to welcome a new baby to create the life you envision for yourself and your new family?

The most effective changes in your home will result not only in the physical transformation of your surroundings, but also in a transformation of your mind, body, and spirit. Your home offers an opportunity for change because it is a tangible reflection of your innermost feelings, yet it is separate enough that you can step back and be objective. It is often easier to address the state of one's home than one's state of being. For example, a disorganized home may be easier to identify and change than a disorganized life.

It is easy to only focus on the big events-such as holidays, celebrations, or entertaining out-of-town guests-yet it is the small everyday moments that make up the majority of your life. What seem like tiny annoyances or disturbances in your home can actually affect your well-being in much greater ways. Clutter on the kitchen counter may prevent you from cooking nutritious meals, which over time could affect your health. Searching frantically for your keys each morning might make you consistently late for work, which could then affect your career. Your home should nurture you by supporting your daily rituals. Your living room should be comfortable and lively so that your friends feel welcome. Your bedroom should promote peaceful sleep so that your immune system has time to recoup and your health is maintained.

Designing your home is both an inner and outer process. By making changes in your outer surroundings, you are supporting a change on the inside. If you want to bring more serenity into your life, you'll want to bring objects, colors, and art into your home that are relaxing. You could bring in a small fountain if you are calmed by the sound of water, or light candles if watching the flicker of a flame brings you a sense of tranquility. Whatever you choose to "do" or “bring” to your home you are also "doing" and "bringing" to yourself. To further achieve your goal of bringing more peace into your life, think about the changes you'd like to make within yourself, such as reducing stress, maintaining a positive outlook, or seeking clarity about personal issues. Perhaps you will choose to meditate each day, or to start each morning writing down everything that is "on your mind" to help you feel more at peace. As you bring peace and harmony into your home you are simultaneously fostering inner peace and harmony. As your environment becomes more and more a reflection of who you are, your state of mind and physical surroundings seem to blend. The more aligned your inner and outer world, the more you feel "at home."

Excerpted from The Peaceful Nursery by Laura Forbes Carlin and Alison Forbes Copyright © 2006 by Alison Forbes. Excerpted by permission of Delta, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Image courtesy of Pottery Barn Kids