The things I keep around me are all soul makers. I take care of them because they are all sacred things. When they are clean and balanced, and my space is uncluttered, they are transformative. I work better when these things are taken care of. I spend many hours in my office. Usually my thoughts, feelings, and ideas ferment here.

The Persian mystic Rumi uses the image of a winery and the process of fermentation as a metaphor for soulmaking. Fermentation-a chemical change with effervescence-is one of the earliest symbols for transformation. After all, from the simple and natural process of fermenting the juice of grapes comes extraordinary results.

Similarly, the soul ferments in its environment and gets its nurturance not simply from its "food" per se but from the process of feeding. Even inexpensive grapes ferment to wine. All things and activities of ordinary life are potential sources for such sacred nurturing and fermenting of the soul. The objects, expensive or inexpensive, are the food of our environment, and cleaning them is the feeding process. Together they transform the place, whether home or office, into soulmaking.