All of us have certainly experienced the onset of particular emotions, depending on the
depending on the spaces in which we have found ourselves immersed: we have experienced a soft
melancholy before a sunset; a proud sense of freedom opening our arms in the wind,
looking at the sea; a childlike joy in front of a snow-capped mountain.
In those moments we experienced that a specific environment can
touch us and bring out emotions.
In nature it is easier to realize this because in this case the environment is something
so great that it takes us with it and pulls us elsewhere.
But architectures also have the power to affect our state of mind, to induce in
us emotions.
For example, upon entering a courthouse, even if only to visit it as a building, we may
feel oppressed by the sense of power above us: we will see soaring ceilings, doors
immense, a long staircase that will seem unreachable to us.
Architecture generates emotions, and buildings like these can make us feel inadequate,
unsafe.
Similarly, if we enter a Romanesque church, we are likely to feel at
peace, that the pleasure of silence will emerge in us: we will look around appreciating the
gentleness of the lights, the warmth of the materials, the intimacy.
Another kind of emotion brought to us by architecture.
We have all experienced that our emotions can be kindled or
transformed by the time we stay in a certain kind of environment.
Then it is interesting to ask the question: if these short-term experiences have
had the power to influence our emotions, how much can the house we live in influence our
interior the home we inhabit, the spaces we frequent every day, every night?
Is it possible that our home predisposes us to specific moods?
Certainly it does not do so as obviously as a Gothic Cathedral! ...But the house we inhabit, through its forms, its materials, its colors, produces frequencies capable of
dialogue with our senses and interact with our emotions.
It was 1886 when the Swiss art historian Heinrich Wolfflin wondered about the
mechanisms of emotional perception, asking: why do we feel emotion in front of
to a Greek temple? His thesis was that the forms of architecture, art, objects
of art are capable of exerting an impression on human emotions, and that
architecture is the protagonist of a true dialogue with the human beings who inhabit and
experience it.
What was an interesting insight for Wolfflin in the late 1800s is now explained and
supported by neuroscience: we humans experience the built environment
built environment with all our senses and emotions, deeply embedded in every
our relationship with the built space.
Today we also know with certainty that the spaces in which we live or work have the power
to affect our well-being and, pushing us even further, can support us on our
path of spiritual growth. We can be one breath with our home,
be in harmony with the objects around us and experience an environment that
fills us with vitality.
Yet we often do not know the spaces we inhabit: we use them since they are functional to our
our needs, but we do not imagine that we can relate to them and we do not
we know the way to be able to experience them!
The colors, shapes, materials, sounds, and scents that "inhabit with us" dialogue with the senses and
can vibrate the nervous system, emit frequencies capable of relating
with the energy world of the human body.
The home can be experienced as a true instrument of well-being, and for this purpose it is
necessary in the first place to know it.
The first step that can be taken to embark on the path of Conscious Living
is to listen to one's home:
1. Try sitting in the space in which you linger most, such as the living room, then slow your breathing and look around: observe the light coming in through the windows, the color of the floor and walls, the furniture how do you feel? What are you receiving?
At this point the mind will set in motion and turn on thoughts like "that white wall has tired me out" or "I need to get rid of some objects but I'm afraid I'll regret it"...it's the mind rushing to classify what it sees. You are still not listening.
2. Now, after you have satiated your mind a little, you can go back to listening, but this time with your eyes closed...what do you receive? Wait, give yourself time to get to know her, breathe and wait until you feel a shy warmth make its way into the heart area... now you are in touch
3. Repeat this exercise, it will take a few tries probably, but if you open yourself to the possibility of dialogue with your home she will respond.
It is important to begin to be aware of one's home as an organism
living, capable of remembering, speaking, interacting.
This will be the first step in discovering the spell of Dwelling.
Comentários