A Home for the Soul :A Home for the Soul :
A Guide for Dwelling With Spirit and Imagination
by Anthony Lawlor
Hardcover (November 1997)
Clarkson Potter; ISBN: 0517704005
Synopsis:
Anthony Lawlor is known as the architect who brings soul to design. His
acclaimed book The Temple in the House showed how to and the sacred in architecture.
Now, in A Home for the Soul, he reveals 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 signifcance."
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 a bed, a bathtub, a pair of shoes, or a loaf or bread.
The author also offers practical suggestions for arranging or building soulful homes. He 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.
Finally, Lawlor shows us how to construct a Mandala of the Soul--a wood
cabinet with compartments for housing the symbols of home that have particular
personal meanings for each reader.
In these pages, we come to understand how all the rooms we live in can form
a sacred place of wholeness, a home that cares for and uplifts the totality
of mind, body, and soul.
Reviews:
A reader from New York , March 26, 1998
A fresh wind through the cells of your soul
This book is beautifully illustrated and great value for money. The author
explains how he has arrived at this work after a serendipitous path in his
youth. After creating his own 'special place' in which the burgeoning youth
felt secure enough to externalise the process of growth, the adult has now
presented the formula for creating our own 'special place', merely by making
us conscious of what makes us feel comfortable. A recent and equally wonderful
book by Richard Patton entitled "The Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth
and the Missing Years" also takes us down the inner path of youth to
establish a comfort zone in which the the adult can sally forth into the
outer world. Although at face value these books appear poles apart, they
are in fact kissing cousins. At their core, both attempt (and succeed) at
creating a satisfying meal for the Soul. Depending on how substantial a
meal you want - you takes yer choice! Definitely recommended.
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