In buddhist practice, they remind their students to take refuge. Taking refuge is a commitment to walking a single path and following it to the end.
At Organic Erotic, we believe the best place to take refuge is in one’s body. We design rooms, spaces, and other dwellings to have our customers feel good in their space and by extension feel good in their body.
Each person on this earth is destined to walk their own path. Our belief is that path is dictated and directed from the body. How can we hear what path we are meant to follow if we do not live in a place that has us feel good in our body?
I recently moved from the bustling city of Harlem, NY to a more quiet, yet still active city in NJ. Transitions for me can be adventurous, fun, new, and yet, I can find myself losing track of my sense of self and true north inside of myself. The first step I take in my home is creating a space that reminds me of what I want in life. I want feelings of life, ritual, sanctuary, and depth. I create with this feeling in mind. Below is an example of the refuge I created in my new home.
As the product manager, I hand-pick and curate each piece for our customers based on the felt sense they desire. Peace. Sanctuary. Safe. Warm. Comfortable. Feeling of home. Depth.
Each person comes to us with a different felt sense desire and we curate with products accordingly.
With each box I choose, I ask myself, “will this item bring this person closer to their felt sense desire? When they witness, observe, and touch this product will they feel closer to peace, sanctuary, depth etc?“
Each product is chosen to build upon this felt sense desire, working together to lead the person back to their body.
As the product manager, I encourage the customer to place the items close together creating a location in their home where they can come into contact with the items that remind them of the felt sense of the path they want to take.
I think of these locations in their home as their refuge. A place they can stand and witness these products and drop deeper into their felt sense desire.
A few tips on how to make this space in your home:
- Find an area of your home that is clear of clutter. If this space, doesn’t exist, take a few minutes and sit with your items, keep what you love and place the rest in the closet or donate it to a local nonprofit *I recommend donating to Free Food Harlem, this is the nonprofit Organic Erotic partners with, they recirculate extra food and clothing to the homeless of Harlem, NY
- Select items that inspire the felt sense you want, I have a tendency to curate in threes and fours, group them together, creating layers and levels.
- Add products that add life. Greenery. Earth. Aromas. These inspire and awaken the body.
- Stand back, witness and take refuge.