How Do You Create a Meditation Altar?

Building a meditation altar can help you increase your ability to stay focused and manifest your desires quickly; however, there are no special procedures or methods for creating one.

Over the years, experience has taught me that creating a meditation altar does not require you to have a designated or special room for it.

Most important is having a space in your room or any part of your apartment to set up your altar (a small table or console) dedicated to your meditation practice.

Benefits of Building a Meditation Altar.

There's no doubt that building a meditation altar is a great way to kick-start your spiritual path. Below are some of its benefits:

• It creates a unique space to focus and concentrate while meditating. sacred, tranquil atmosphere

• It provides a sacred, tranquil atmosphere that is conducive to intensifying your meditation practice.

• It helps you stay consistent and intentional about meditation.

• It helps you create a regular daily meditation routine, making it a natural part of your life.

• It’s a daily reminder to be grateful, mindful, and present throughout the day.

Choosing the Location for Your Altar.

Finding a quiet and serene spot in your home for building your meditation altar requires a conscious and cautious approach.

The reason is that you are not just constructing a physical setting for meditating but also preparing a sacred haven where your mind and body can retire from external distractions and noise.

Finding a quiet and serene spot in your home for meditation keeps you focused, present, relaxed, and connected to your divine being.

Here are some tips to consider when choosing a safe, serene, and comfortable spot for meditation:

• Find a quiet, comfortable spot in your home, free from distractions. This could be a separate room, a corner of your bedroom, or an outdoor space like a garden.
• Maintaining a clean and organized space promotes a calm, tranquil environment, making it easier to focus during meditation.
• Opt for natural or soft lights like candles and low-intensity lamps to create a relaxing atmosphere.
• Introduce calming scents using essential oils or scented candles with fragrances like lavender, chamomile, or sandalwood to help relax your mind and body.
• Add plants, stones, and other natural elements to your space to create balance and connect with nature.
• Use soft cushions and rugs for sitting or lying down during meditation, ensuring comfort and proper posture.
• Decorate with simple, meaningful objects like tranquil landscape images, inspirational quotes, or spiritual symbols that resonate with you.
• Incorporate soft sounds like calming instrumental music or nature sounds to help soothe your mind and support your practice.
• Create a regular meditation schedule and treat your space as a sacred place to disconnect from daily stress and worries.

Finally, remember that the ideal meditation space is the one that works best for you.

Feel free to experiment with different settings and elements until you find the perfect space that reflects your needs and preferences.

D.I.Y. Meditation Altar Ideas

• Choose a place that is suitable, easily accessible, and far away from any distractions in your home.
• Place a small table in that space. I recommend you use natural materials like wood or glass for your table.
• Place a cushion or mat close to your table that gives you good posture while sitting.
• Place the statue or photo of your divine being or ancestors in the middle of the table.
• Place some flowers, incense, crystals, water, and candles. All of these represent the elements you need on your altar.
• Place mala beads and a religious text.
• Give an offering.

Essential Elements of a Meditation Altar.

The essential elements that should be found on a meditation altar are water, fire, air, earth, and spirit. You are good to go once you have all these in their representation.

Anything else added to the table is based on individual preferences.

Below is a table of these essential elements and what they represent.

Incorporating A Mala into Your Alter:

I have improved my meditation practice using a simple yet effective tool called a Mala.

A Mala is a counting device comprising 108 beads plus the teacher or guru bead. It’s best used when chanting your mantra, as this helps to keep your mind focused on what you are chanting.

Different types of Malas are made from other objects, like wood, crystal, granite, gemstones, etc.

Once you have received a mala, place it on your middle finger. The middle finger represents the heart.

It's important not to touch the Mala with your index finger as it represents the ego, and mantra chanting is about going from the mind to the heart.

Although you can touch it with your index finger after the practice, during the practice, it should be on the middle finger.

The next thing is choosing a mantra you feel comfortable with and want to connect with.

Then, chant the entire mantra either out loud, whispering, or silently within yourself, and after finishing the mantra, you take your thumb and roll down on the bead.

So every time you say the mantra, you take your thumb and roll down on the bead.

The teacher bead is the bead that helps you keep track of where you are in the practice, so you must start with the first bead.

After the teacher bead, and as you're going around the entire Mala, you stop at the last bead before the teacher bead. And that signifies one round.

It's possible to do this more than once; however, you must always stay in the teacher's bed.

To start all over, you turn the mala and go the other way. So the last bead now becomes the first.

As you start doing this practice more and more, the mala will begin to contain the energy of the mantra, and it's vital never to touch the mala on your feet or the ground. Please keep it on your meditation altar when you are not using it for your practice.

If you are wondering where to buy your Mala beads, shop our current collection on our website. We also offer you the ability to customize your very own Mala. 

Personalizing Your Altar

Now that you know how to set up your meditation altar, it would be great to make it more personal by adding inspirational quotes, affirmations, gifts, and images that mean a lot to you.

It’s important to change or rearrange these items to reflect your intentions, spiritual journey, or change of season.

For example, images of the solar system or flowers you used to reflect a particular season should be changed regularly to reflect the current season.

Maintenance and respect.

Maintaining the sacredness of your meditation space is as important as creating it.

Here are some tips to help you have a space that always exudes tranquility and encourages serenity.

• Keep it clean. Remember, a clean space promotes tranquility and mental clarity.

• Maintain privacy.

• Shut out the noise. Choose a space that is quiet and conducive to meditation.

• Declutter your space. While it’s vital to have essential elements and decorations in your space, overcrowding can disturb your focus. Keep it simple and sweet!

• Remember, it's a sacred place; don’t let it become just another part of the room. Don't neglect it.

• Don’t bring work into your meditation space; it's meant for tranquillity and reflection, not work.

Conclusion

Creating a meditation altar is a great way to embark on a spiritual journey. However, it’s not just the physical setup that matters; a conscious approach of devotion, cleanliness, sacredness, serenity, and tranquillity should be the bedrock of its creation in the first place. Being intentional with your meditation practice will help you connect with your divine nature and authentic self, help you manifest your innermost desires, and bring you more tranquillity and peace.