Q&A with Sacred Space Designer Elana Kilkenny

Elana Kilkenny is changing people’s lives—and living spaces—with her gift of seeing.

Since childhood, Elana Kilkenny has had the ability to see into the hearts and souls of those around her. After years of dismissing various healers’ observations that she had psychic gifts, Kilkenny embraced her abilities and embarked on a career as an intuitive counselor and sacred space designer. The mother of two lives in New York, and works to empower her clients and help them find clarity, live joyously and create a home and work environment that brings them peace and energy.

We asked Kilkenny to share where she finds inspiration, and more.

24Life: What are you most passionate about, besides your work?
Elana Kilkenny (EK): My family is my heart; my family is my home. I can truly say that I’m more deeply in love with my husband now than I was when I married him (and that’s saying a lot). He’s my touchstone. My two children, Liam and Rowan, endlessly inspire, teach, challenge and fill me with joy and gratitude. Love is everything.

24Life: Where do you find new ideas or inspiration?
EK: Everywhere. I derive so much inspiration and new ideas from so many places.

Nature is a big one for me. Wandering through New York City with eyes wide open endlessly inspires me. Travel inspires me, especially when I travel alone and can really be in the moment and flow with the experience. Art and artists of various disciplines inspire me greatly—actors, writers, directors, photographers, painters. Instagram inspires me, when I don’t get sucked into the toxicity of comparison. Acts of courage, kindness and resiliency inspire me at my core.

24Life: You have 24 minutes to work out. What do you do?
EK: If the weather is nice, I will take a walk outside. If I am at home, I will do some simple yoga asanas.

24Life: What’s your secret for getting stuff done?
EK: First, I write out the things I have to do and then I reorder them by their priority and timing (if something needs to get done by a certain date). I then schedule it in my phone calendar (because if it isn’t scheduled, it probably won’t get done).

If it’s work-related and something I’ve been stuck on or procrastinating about, I usually take it out of my home office and work on it somewhere inspiring like a café, a museum or a local hotel’s common area.

If I’m home, I usually get stuff done to music. I have numerous Spotify playlists for different moods. I often start with what I least want to do first, as it can suck the energy out of everything else when I don’t attend to it. But sometimes I reverse that and start with what I’m most excited to do so that I can build on that momentum to tackle the stuff I’m less enthused about doing.

24Life: Any secrets for getting a great night’s sleep?
EK: Having no electronics in my bedroom (no television, no phone, no computer). Creating a bedroom that I love—that’s the right design and energetic balance of yin and yang so that it is restful to aid in sleeping—is also important. Investing in a mattress that supports my body and feels delicious to climb onto. Committing to not going to sleep angry. Not keeping too much in my head during the day, scheduling what needs to be scheduled and doing any cathartic writing I need to do to balance my emotions.

If I’m having trouble sleeping, it’s usually because my mind is racing and/or I’m upset about something. In these instances, it usually works for me to close my eyes and focus on something that makes me happy or that I’m grateful for. I focus on this until I can feel it and this usually helps me drift off to sleep.

24Life: What’s your power food?
EK: Avocado, coconut water, almonds. (Not necessarily at the same time.)

24Life: What book is on your nightstand?
EK: “A Return to Love” is always near me. I have read it many times and use it often as a “tarot” by opening it randomly to a page. “Hourglass” by Dani Writer. I haven’t read it yet, but I’m so drawn to reading it and look forward to diving deep into it soon.

24Life: Best advice you can give, or have gotten, in 24 words or less?
EK: “Where you put your energy grows,” which is tied with, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time” (Maya Angelou). And “change your home, change your life.”

For more about Kilkenny and her work, read our September story.

Photo credit: Mark Kuroda, kurodastudios.com; Hair and Make-up: Mia Delina Escobar