Greening the home has become a fad, which is a great thing, right? After all, rain barrels and low-VOC paints are a much better trend than shag carpets and inflatable furniture. But what happens when green goes out of style? Our planet can’t afford to have sustainable living be a one-hit-wonder. We can continue to spend our money on green products and services, even the trendy ones; however, we need to make sure that the sustainability movement is resonating with us on a deeper level so that it will last. So, how can we turn greening our homes into a sacred act? The answer lies in exploring the profound connections between our homes, our environment and ourselves.

Our ancestors built their homes in harmony with their natural surroundings. They used local materials and centuries of knowledge about their climate to build homes that protected them from the elements while still allowing them to be in close contact with their environment. Most homes in America are no longer built this way. It’s common practice to use materials that aren’t produced locally and build structures that don’t take advantage of the sun, wind and earth around them. Often, the way we currently build homes puts nature at a distance. It can sure be hard to appreciate nature’s beauty in a dark basement apartment. However, it is possible to look beyond the superficial and begin to transform our homes to enhance the deep interconnectedness of humans, buildings and the Earth.

Transforming our homes in ways that will restore the planet and rejuvenate our souls takes more than just changing out light bulbs. Both our homes and our lifestyles are unique, and each present particular challenges to work around. For this reason, no one else can tell us the best way to green our home. We know ourselves and what is beneficial to our spirits better than anyone else. We must also begin to know our homes in the same intimate manner. To do this requires us to go on a sacred quest for knowledge. This is an undertaking that will allow us to discover what makes us happy, healthy, comfortable and inspired in our homes. We can learn the systems and structures that provide the essential elements that allow us to maintain a state of well-being. It takes patience to learn so much about ourselves and our homes, but this process of empowerment can ensure that the improvements made will be beneficial on many levels.

As with most sacred endeavors, the first step is to look to ourselves. If you’re ready to develop a new relationship with your living space, try meditation or deep thinking to allow yourself to see much more about your relationship with your home. Meditation of any kind helps to heighten awareness and bring about a feeling of connection with our surroundings. While meditating, specific details about your favorite rooms that had always been there can start to enter your awareness and affect the way you experience your home. Pleasant patterns of light filtering through the kitchen blinds, for example, may enhance your morning cup of coffee. And it’s these types of experiences that can inform the decisions we make about how to remodel or what fixtures to buy in the future. Likewise, places in your home that are unpleasant or that make you have low energy or feel uninspired can become apparent. As you grow through this process of meditation, it’s helpful to take notes and to share your experiences with family and friends. Looking deeply together can help reinforce your feelings and help your realize just how essential your living space is to your livelihood.

Once you’ve worked on yourself, you can begin to work on your home. In many ways, a home is a living system that has vital organs that work to bring its inhabitants what they need to sustain life. Hidden behind the walls are the lungs and veins: the wires, pipes and ducts that work together in an almost organic system to bring us our electricity, water and conditioned air. As in our bodies, when one system is failing, it can be problematic to the whole. As we green our homes, we need to be mindful of how these systems interact. Learning about these functions of your home can give you a sense of reverence for the resources that you consume and a sense of pride in your ownership of such an incredibly sophisticated structure.

Finally, you can begin to look at how your home interacts with the outdoors. Each home has its own unique microclimate and ecosystem. To get in touch with your home’s unique ecosystem, take note of your home’s orientation with respect to the sun, wind and rain, and observe the plants and animals that live nearby. Much can be learned about your surroundings by simply observing the birds and the squirrels, and you can discover new ways to take advantage of the natural world and how to better incorporate it into your life. Gradually, you’ll likely find yourself becoming more sensitive to the impact that you have on your natural surroundings, and your lifestyle will reflect this greater awareness.

There are many decisions to be made about how to green our homes. Viewing the process as a chance, too, for your personal and deep learning will do more than save a few kilowatts of energy or keep a few parts-per-million of carbon out of the atmosphere. It will give you the inspiration and the know-how to respond appropriately to whatever challenges you face for living sustainably on Earth. Your homes will be healthier to live in, your consumption will decrease, and you will gain a sense of pride in your stewardship of the planet. If everyone took this approach, little by little, our homes and communities would be transformed into sacred living environments.

Torin is a certified home energy rater and currently provides energy audits in the Asheville area; he’s also currently developing his business, Living Environments, to provide green home consultation and education services to the average homeowner. He is also director of business operations for the nonprofit Green Opportunities, which provides green industry training to underserved young adults. Torin can be reached at 828-450-8636 or torin@greenopportunities.org.

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