A Home For The Soul

Anthony Lawlor is known as the architect who brings soul to design.
His acclaimed books The Temple in the House and A Home for the Soul reveal how to find the sacred in architecture. He demonstrates how our houses and apartments can become havens of inspiration and renewal.
"From the moment we're born, we seek to find home." Lawlor says, "Yet, despite this primal longing, our dwelling places often disappoint us." In A Home for the Soul, we discover that the depth and meaning we seek is right in front of us if we but have the eyes to see. Lawlor teaches us how to develop a consciousness about the spiritual possibilities inherent in our interior surroundings; he shows how to recognize the sacred in material form. "Each time we bathe," says Lawlor, "we not only cleanse the body, we refresh the spirit. Each time we open our front door, we enter a universe of connection and significance."
Lawlor leads us on a journey through each room of the house, opening our vision to hidden possibilities. We discover, for example, how a stove expresses the transforming power of nature, how clothes closets reveal our inner personalities, and how home offices display our talents. Lawlor shows us the mythological and archetypal meanings within the common objects of daily life–such as bed, a bathtub, a pair of shoes, or a loaf of bread.
Lawlor explains how to use wood, tile, brick, and stone to express qualities of the spirit and how to use furniture and personal objects as allies in creating meaning.
 
ARRANGING A PLACE OF SOLITUDE
 
Set aside a room, a closet, or the corner of a room as a place of solitude. Mark this space with an altar, a special chair, or other seating. Create a focus of attention by arranging the seating so it faces a window with an inspiring view, a picture of a peaceful setting, or an object that invites contemplation.
Drape cloth over a table or shelf and place objects on it that give you a sense of the sacred: pictures, or statues of deities, angels, or spiritual teachers; stones, leaves, seashells, fruit, or flowers; bells, candles, and incense. Open a book to an inspiring quote or photograph and place it on this table or shelf. Changing the objects with the season can assist you in exploring various themes of solitude. Create an altar using these objects inside a cabinet.
In your place of solitude, create a setting that honors reading with a comfortable chair and lamp, a small desk for writing in a journal, or a spot for playing music. Honor the sacred directions of north, south, east, west, above and below by placing sacred objects facing those directions. Hang a wind chime outside the window. Set up a cassette player for listening to music and inspirational tapes that help you turn your attention inward.
 
REMODELING OR BUILDING A NEW PLACE OF SOLITUDE
 
When remodeling or building, consider the following ways of creating a place of solitude. Observe the qualities of the place you are going to remodel or design – shape and proportion; connection to adjacent rooms; size and placement of windows; qualities of light; and other features. Begin the design of a remodeled place of solitude or a new one by imagining meditating,reading,doing yoga, or listening to music in this room. Envision the furnishings and other elements that will best support your vision of solitude. Think of ways you might alter the existing room or shape the new one to support soulful solitude.
Buy or make a wooden bookshelf for honoring books that you have found which contain special insight and wisdom for you. Create subdued lighting with wall sconces on dimmers and candles. Cover the windows with fabric that transforms the sunlight into a luminous glow. Hang framed stained glass in the window(s). Soften the walls with tapestries or fabric. Hang fabric from the ceiling to create a billowing form, paint the walls and ceiling with colors that allow your mind and body to settle into a meditative state. Provide for active solitude with wall-to-wall carpeting, mats, or other equipment for yoga and/or exercise.
My ideal place of solitude is a circle twelve feet in diameter. On the east, west, north, and south are niches that hold sacred objects. Below each niche are built-in cabinets that hold sacred and inspirational books. To the southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast are windows that open to the view or are covered with removable shoji. The floor is covered with tatami mats. Low cushions around the room provide seating.
 
A Home for the Soul by Anthony Lawlor
Random House ©1997 Excerpts used by permission.
 
Website: www.anthonylawlor.com
Blog: http://dwellingherenow.blogspot.com