A Great Tide Carries Us

The great tide carries us

through currents of ocean desires.

Ignoring this, we flail and squawk,

drawing lines on the sea,

crafting stories in air.

Measuring streets on water,

and identities in sky

we build fluid cities

pretending solid ground

is under foot.

One day, the depths stir.

A mountainous force rises.

Sinuous as a dream,

it eludes perception

until its gargantuan mass

glides through the surface.

An enormous eye

meets our tiny gaze

and we are shocked awake

by the vast consciousness

staring back at us.

Prepare for this moment.

Caress the elusive life force

mysteriously appearing

in the slight gaps

between things.

Live the vast destiny

beyond your small self,

the great tide carrying us.

Beyond Mindfulness, Isfullness

In overcast light,

an old oak,

gnarled and moss-covered,

receives rain.

A wooden chair,

bleached grey by the sun,

is darkened with wetness.

Random tapping...

raindrops,

footfalls on cedar steps,

car door slams,

engine revs,

bird calls,

refrigerator hum,

more...

Sound, light, texture

fill space.

Senses move,

engaging.

Through the senses

mind flows,

filled with the miracle

of being conscious

in a body,

in the garden of the world.

To call this "mindfulness"

could reduce the world

to the space within the skull.

To call this "body-fullness"

might foster beliefs in the limits

of physical form.

To name this sensuous totality anything

may miss

the delicious permutations

of spaciousness

flowing as consciousness

as mind

as body

as world

as we know not what

as the sweet failure

of attempting to describe

the indescribable.

The best I can say,

Is-fullness....

In overcast light,

an old oak,

gnarled and moss-covered,

receives rain.

When Your Vision Meets the World

I've been rereading The Crossing of the Return Threshold, a chapter in Joseph Campbell's brilliant classic The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Campbell describes the archetypal return from a transcendent, life transforming experience into the world of day-to-day concerns. The journey though the mystical realms left behind the values and distractions of the conventional mind. From the viewpoint of normal waking consciousness, the wisdom brought back from a mystical experience is baffling. The formless being encountered in visions has no apparent use among the usual pursuits of efficient action focused on money,time, power and fame.

If you are lucky enough to have had your life turned upside down by a direct encounter with the mystical unity of existence, you know the disorientation that can happen when you return to daily life. You see people living fragmented lives imagining themselves as whole. If you try to share the vision that dissolved the boundaries of your isolated self and connected you to the wholeness of creation, you know the blow of skeptical looks. You've passed through the confusion of dear friends not having clue as to what you're talking about. You find that what is essential and revolutionary to you is meaningless to the conventional mind. You face a daunting dilemma: how can the elusive wisdom of what is beyond words be expressed in common language?

You may wonder, why re-enter the ego-centered, dog-eat-dog world? What's the use of sharing the priceless jewel of radiant consciousness with those who would slice up the gem and sell off the pieces as stylish trinkets.

Yet, there's no turning back. The transcendent vision of the mountain top is lost in the commotion of the marketplace unless it is integrated into the day job of living in the world. To be truly whole, we must survive the impact of limited minds. The task of translating the unexplainable into the explainable cannot be avoided. Engaging this impossible task while knowing it will fail, is essential to the individual ego becoming transparent to the radiance of the universal soul.

Crossing the return threshold is the beginning of a whole new adventure. Discovering the elixir of cosmic understanding in the depths of consciousness was only preparation for discovering that healing power shimmering through every grain of creation. More on that in the next post...

In this Society, the Soul Wanders Shocked & Homeless

In this society, the soul wanders

homeless and shocked.

The constant elbowing

and pushing ego

knocks it senseless.

Even the simplest of soulful ways,

moving to Nature's rhythms

and following Her song-paths,

becomes a constant struggle.

Processed inspirations are sold

as medicine for the aching soul.

But instant soup can't fill a belly

longing for real food.

So the soul retreats to its native habitat—

forests, mountains, honest books, raw poetry,

spaces where two hearts whisper secrets...

There, the soul remembers it is

the source of every thing.

It recalls how society was born

from Nature's wild womb and

returns to the workaday world

seeing its radiance

sparkling in the eyes

of every mask.

Trusting Spontaneous Gestures

I've Learned to Trust the Spontaneous Gesture.

For decades, I studied and experimented,

striving to get the work right.

All that work is paying off.

Beginning a design or writing project now

is not the same as it was in my twenties.

Every form my mind imagines,

every line my hand draws

has years of trial and error in it.

Is this wisdom? I don't know.

Is it repeating old patterns?

It doesn't feel that way.

All that experience actually frees me.

I've lost any desire to copy.

I live to experiment,

push the edge,

not give a damn what others think,

let the mysteries of life work through me.

This is what I've learned, friend,

the more I trust the spontaneous gesture,

the greater the miracle life becomes.

Healing Space: New Architecture for an Emerging Culture

This is the first in a series of imagination design projects. It presents a new architecture for the new consciousness emerging in the 21st century. In this design approach, I draw upon ancient wisdom used to design sacred places for thousands of years. At the same time, it reflects innovative technologies that integrate mind, body, soul and nature. One of the core tasks of our time is mending the world broken by dualistic thinking in the scientific age. Splitting life into human and natural, science and art, money and soul has created an unworkable planet. Mending the rift involves reweaving the torn fabric of the earth. With this in mind, the first design of the new architecture is a place for personal renewal and revitalization.

HEALING SPACE

In life, most of us are wounded by illness, the death of a loved one, heartbreak or other incident. If this happens, we often long for a safe place to let go and allow the organic processes of nature and consciousness to mend the shattered circle of our lives. Yet, few places receive mind and body simply. Usually, we are pressured toward a quick cure. Yet, ignoring the soul’s true needs leaves us with an empty image of wholeness. Hidden wounds go untended and genuine balance is never regained. HEALING SPACE explores a design that invites the innate wisdom of the psyche to discover its unique path to remembering wholeness.

UNDERGROUND LEVEL FLOOR PLAN: WOMB SPACE OF RELEASE & VISION

(1) DEPARTURE THRESHOLD The threshold to HEALING SPACE is a jagged gap. It recalls the wounding incident that shatters lives. Pausing at this threshold gap, the power of the wounding force is fully met. Within the watery gash a circular steppingstone offers support for crossing. (2) DESCENT Stone steps lead into the earth, toward the womb of healing. Through downward movement, mind and body surrender to gravity’s pull toward a grounded core. (3) PASSAGE THROUGH CONFLICT At the bottom of the steps, two pillars frame a portal to the paradox of healing. The pillar on the right is carved with images of rebirth such as the sun, flowers and fruit. On the left, a waning crescent moon, withering plants and other images depict the decay, death and release, clearing the way for healing. (4) SURRENDER Passage between the Twin Pillars of Healing leads to an underground womb space. Floor paving depicts a giant serpent, an image of shedding what is worn and dead to reveal what is fresh and vital. Niches within the walls of the circular space provide pockets for surrendering what will clear the way for healing—broken beliefs, emotions, relationships to name a few. (5) PURIFICATION At the center of the space is a pool of warm water. Recessed below the surrounding floor, the pool creates a fluid place where rigid limitations can dissolve and flow into new patterns. (6) SLEEP & DREAMS To the east of the Purifying Pool is a place for resting and dreaming. A bed provides a safe, comfortable place to let go completely and settle in the depths of healing. (7) BURNING Fire is a primal force in cleansing what cannot be washed away or released through rest. A brazier provides a place for symbolically burning away obstacles healing and to transforming dense, dead matter into radiant energy. (8)VISION Release and deep rest clear the way for renewed visions of dwelling in wholeness. West of the central pool, a raised platform offers a place to meditate and cognize healing forms emerging from spacious silence. (9) EMERGENCE Rested and energized by visions of fresh possibilities, the Emergence Portal frames a return from the dark womb of healing. Similar to the Devouring Portal, twin pillars depict images of anticipation and trepidation. (10) ASCENDING From the Emergence Portal, a flight of steps ascends from the inward perspective of the underground space to the broader view at ground level.

GROUND LEVEL FLOOR PLAN: CREATIVE SPACE OF CONNECTION & EXPRESSION

The spectrum of healing includes assimilation and restorative play. This space provides varied opportunities for discovering patterns wanting to be expressed as well as integrating the knowledge of healing. (11) BODY/MIND An area for strengthening the body in connection to the mind through yoga and exercise. (12) CREATIVITY A work surface supports writing, drawing and other artistic exploration. (13) INTEGRATING STORIES A library books relating stories from world cultures about the human journey through healing transformation. A video monitor is provided for watching inspiring and funny stories that encourage healing. (14) NOURISHING A place to site and absorb beautiful melodies, forms, colors, tastes and fragrances of nature. 15) BETWEEN EARTH & SKY Openings in the floor and ceiling connect to the water and darkness below and the sunlight and rain from above.

SKY LEVEL FLOOR PLAN: ALIGNMENT & ORIENTATION

Complete healing includes connecting to the totality of earth and the heavens. The roof of Healing Space offers a place to connect the healing of the body, mind and soul with the wholeness of cosmic spirit. (16) ASCENDING Steps lead from the earth’s boundaries and shadows to the sky’s expansion and light. (17) POLE STARAt the apex of the ascent, a stainless steel instrument, tilted at an angle parallel to the earth’s axis, points toward the pole star. Orientation to this point about which the entire universe appears to rotate enlivens stability within change. (18) SKY VIEWING TERRACE A flat roof offers a platform for unobstructed views of the revitalizing patterns of the sun, moon and stars. Floor paving patterns indicate the direction of sunrises and sunsets on the summer and winter solstices and the equinoxes, marking seasonal transitions. (19) RETURN Steps descend to ground level. (20) REBIRTH Crossing the threshold of wholeness marks the return to world where healing can integrated into daily life.

Architecture by Anthony Lawlor

www.anthonylawlor.com

Sacred Geometry: Patterns of Awakening

The beauty of sacred geometry is

it unfolds within itself.

Circles overlap circles,

discovering intersections, revealing patterns,

no measuring, no calculations.

Knowledge of how one form evolves into another

is contained within the circle.

An exquisite precision of shapes

emerge through developing relationships.

They do not confine life,

but open it beyond form

to what cannot be confined.

Sacred geometry doesn't present codes

the mind can crack,

solving the problems of life.

It offers portals

for entering the mystery of creation,

cracking the mind open

to the wonders of being and becoming.

Through these portals,

made of nothing more than lines,

the circle of each life

encompasses the totality of life.

Sculpting the Edges of Infinity

I love moments when an object cracks its boundaries and reveals a hyper-reality words cannot hope to describe. Such objects are rare and usually occupy honored places in museums. Yet, I take special delight in stumbling across powerful works of art in unexpected places. It happened the other day in Carmel when I passed the tree pictured above. I almost missed it, hidden in a passage off the main street. But the shape of the trunk and leaves against the gleaming stucco walls framing it were at once so real, surreal and unreal that it stopped me in my tracks. I have no idea who the gardener/artist is. I have no idea if he/she works consciously with this tree to sculpt the edges of infinity. However it happened, this alchemy of nature, imagination and design hovers between the familiar and the abstract, the known and the unknown. It cracks open the world to reveal a priceless gem to whomever has the eyes to notice.

The Love We Overlook

Around Valentines Day we check our love balance. The mind can't resist measuring the fullness or emptiness of the heart. Except for a few golden moments, the mind finds a love deficit. Our lives can be filled with loving people, but the mind persists in finding some lack. One day, I saw through all that. In an unexpected place, I saw that there's never a shortage of love.

My connecting flight was delayed. Stuck in the United Airlines O'Hare terminal, I took a seat at one end of one of the long glass and steel arcades framing the space. Instead of burying myself in a book or busying my mind with work, I simply gazed down the gallery. Through the light-filled space passengers hurried toward departure gates and sauntered from arrivals. As they moved across the black and white checkerboard floor their steps took on the qualities of an everyday ballet. Some unseen choreographer guided the intricate patterns of action. No passenger crashed into another. Each step beautifully expressed the individual character of the person moving across the floor. The structure of the terminal was integral to this dance. Each element of the exposed steel frame worked with the other elements to shape an arcing space that embraced and encouraged harmony of movement.

My attention was drawn passed the surface forms of people and architecture. It traveled through the physical forces animating the gestures of legs and arms. My consciousness penetrated the structural forces holding up the building. Then I saw it. What created, activated and harmonized this place was love. It held together and fostered the countless whirling atoms of the floor, walls and roof. Love brought together and nurtured the hearts, minds and bodies of every passenger anxiously racing to catch a flight. It didn't matter if anyone noticed. Love constantly, skillfully and wisely caressed every detail in endless supply.

A voice echoed through the space announcing the boarding of my flight. I entered the ballet and re-entered the mind-stream of hopes and fears, breakthroughs and frustrations. When I recall that layover, I notice the scene in front of me and see the overlooked force bringing it all together: Love.

Architecture Reaches Beyond Shelter

Architecture opens beyond shelter. It does more than shed rain, mark cozy nests and provide square footage for office space. Architecture establishes a place in the world. It roots human beings in the living, breathing Earth while stretching toward the rotations of the stars. Architecture turns the functions of a kitchen into an alchemical studio for transforming raw materials into the food that embodies families and cultures. Its turns a hole in a wall into a portal marking the passages of life or a window framing the unnamable mysteries of space.

In the wrestling dance of spirit and matter architecture reveals the hidden characters of both. A granite stone and an oak tree are totalities within themselves. Yet, becoming participants in the span or an arch or a well-crafted roof beam, the stone and the wood realize dormant powers and forms that change the world by being expressed.

If you're lucky enough to encounter a building today that points beyond its form to a consciousness that eludes description, stop of a moment; appreciate what can come from the desire to reach beyond shelter; sense the connection between your life journey and the journey of those who created this place; sense the long tradition of architects and builders it embodies; and go on your way renewed by what others have created for you and what you might create for other.