"Since 99 percent of our lives takes place within some type of building, street or designed landscape, any moment offers opening to the inexhaustible powers of the soul," writes Anthony Lawlor in The Temple in the House: Finding the Sacred in Everyday Architecture. The author believes that architecture can serve as an ally for those who are interested in finding wholeness in mind, body, and environment. Using more than 175 photographs and renderings, Lawlor demonstrates that the wall between spirit and matter is arbitrary: the sacred can be found in the dwellings we inhabit at home or at work.
In the first part of the book, the focus is on the temple of mind, body, and environment. Here Lawlor reveals how the eight elemental building blocks of architecture can be related to different aspects of thinking and feeling. Both the body's processes and the rhythms of the natural world are reflected in the design of buildings.
In the second part of the book, Lawlor presents ways of creating sacred spaces in our homes and cities. One of the best things about The Temple in the House is the inclusion of eight sections titled "Seeing and Creating" where the reader is given a series of exercises specifically designed to facilitate a soulful appreciation of one's surroundings.
Each room in your home can become a workshop for the spirit if approached with respect, creativity, and imagination. The same goes for city streets and buildings. The Temple in the House is highly recommended as a resource that can help you appreciate and nourish the soul of place in your life.
