Why do we always need scientific proof? I was musing on this idea as I participated this week on a panel featuring “Design Therapy”: a discussion on how Interior Design can influence Health, Wellness, and Pleasure. Our panel was poised to bring enlightenment, no pun intended, to the subject of evidence-based design as it relates to our field.
Firstly, the idea of Design Therapy has always been a tongue in cheek term that I had coined between my staff and myself, every time a client was suffering from the anxiety that is ironically produced when in the process of manifesting and interior design project. It is almost an inevitable part of the journey of creation because so many factors and variables are involved in bringing the non-physical into the physical. Not to mention that once you add a substantial financial investment to anything the expectations grow exponentially and whenever expectations are high, disappointment is right around the corner ready to bite you in the butt.
This is par for the course in anything we do, from “creating” a baby in the womb to preparing a delicious meal for our family. It is a process that takes time and we might as well enjoy the ride with all the good, bad and ugly because it is always worth it in the end. In fact, anything worth doing is a bit messy in the process. The best way to learn this lesson and avoid this angst is to observe and mimic the world of Nature. It’s beautiful ebb and flow in the creative process seems effortless and yet as much as we are a part of it, we think we need to “control” our environment and it is in this resistance that we become a part of the problem instead of letting go and surrendering to it.
I often find myself offering Design Therapy, I comfort, inspire and remind my clients to focus on everything that is right and be in gratitude and appreciation for being privileged to explore professional interior design service in the first place. Unfortunately, our society has conditioned us very well to look at what is wrong vs. all that is right. Another interesting observation I have made over the years is the phenomenon produced by the Law of Attraction. I have discovered that once one thing goes wrong in a project, it creates a momentum to continue on this trend of negativity. It takes a super hero’s’ style of power to reverse this momentum and shift it into the “light” side.
Why am I sharing all of this?, because these days, I don’t need scientific proof I just “know” when it “feels” right, or doesn’t. We humans get stuck on the scientific, technological side of things and forget to listen within for the answers to our deepest desires. As much as it is nice to have science back us up, I know in my heart the influence that the amazing work we do when we create spaces that produce wellness, health, and pleasure we really don’t need proof in order to know its truth.
I know how I FEEL and my clients FEEL when they walk into a space that I have just completed that aligns with them and their very personal and authentic lifestyle. Maybe someday there will be a way to measure these emotions, but for now, I know what I know to be true for me and them.
What I do is at once a skill a talent and a gift and yet its the intuitive side of me that I rely upon to understand those individuals that I create for. It’s that sixth sense that creates the magic.
I don’t know about you, but I think that we could all use a little more magic and a soul and a little less science and technology. When all else fails we can just step outside and experience that grandeur and perfection of nature to remind us that all is right in the world and we just have to get out of our own way.
With Love & Gratitude.
The Design Enlightenment™
This practice is just one way in which I encourage you to start thinking about your home and the spaces you occupy in a different way. I created a movement called The Design Enlightenment™ which is about finding out what is right for you in regards to the spaces we give labels to, without the preconceived notions of someone else’s life. This is totally about what works for you, and I grant you the FREEDOM and permission to use your rooms as you wish.
The story behind Design Enlightenment is how I was able to consolidate the two things that are most meaningful for me: design and soulfulness. It’s how I was able to make sure that I couldn’t begin the process of creating Interior Design without it starting from a foundation of soul.
If you’d like to learn more about the Design Enlightenment movement, please visit BpilaDesign.com where you can subscribe and receive a free four-step video series that’ll help get you started on your journey to Design Enlightenment.