Meditative Art for Personal Sanctuary

Recommended Books

Book recommendations with a link to Powell's Books online bookstore.

Vastu: Transcendental Home Design in Harmony with Nature

by Sherri Silverman

Vastu is a beautifully illustrated and detailed guide to harnessing the tremendous power of this ancienttradition to create tranquil, attractive living spaces that bring the home-and everyone in it-back to center by enhancing inner peace, joy, prosperity, and relationships through attention to the structure and design of living and work areas. Vastu actually enables one to not just leave a light footprint on the earth, but to also improve the environment while living in a home that supports, nourishes, and protects health, happiness, and fulfillment.

Vastu covers all rooms in the home, as well as directions (north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest, center), the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, and space), the importance of beauty and natural materials, clearing of clutter, and air quality. Vastu also provides tips that teach how to use the power of meditation, love, grace and gratitude, sacred archetypal energies, mantras, and yantras to bless a house, and much more.

Sherri Silverman, PhD has taught meditation, yoga, breathing techniques, and sacred text courses from the Vedic tradition since 1974. She holds a PhD in Creativity, the Arts, and the Sacred Application of Asian Concepts. Through her firm, Transcendence Design, she works with clients nationally and internationally, sharing the principles of Vastu for home, businesses, and community buildings. She lives in Santa Fe.

Synopsis:
Vastu is a beautifully detailed guide to using ancient Indian philosophies in every room. Following India's Vedic tradition, Vastu helps guide people to prosperity and tranquility in life by aligning architectural spaces with the natural world. Included is an informative discussion on the definition, origin, and sacred foundations of Vastu, along with Vastu's use of concentric squares and the elements earth, water, fire, and air in design. Author Sherri Silverman also discusses the power of meditation, organizing and clearing clutter, aromatherapy and sacred space. Featuring gorgeous, full-color photos of Vastu-inspired living spaces, Vastu offers solutions for those building, renovating, or just looking to improve the energy and atmosphere in an existing living space.

Altars of Power and Grace: Create the Life You Desire
by Robin Mastro

Synopses & Reviews - Publisher Comments:
You Desire, by Robin and Michael Mastro, is the first book by this internationally known scholar/architect/design team. With over 35 years of combined experience in the field of Vastu Shastra, the Indian science of environmental harmony that predates and forms the basis of the well-known Feng Shui, the Mastro's ability to bring the power and beauty of sacred space to life is unparalleled. This enlightening and informative book demystifies the powerful principles of Vastu with easy, concise instructions to maximize your potential, attract Universal support, and transform your life. Full color and lavishly designed by an award-winning design team, Altars is a wonderful gift idea for any occasion. Library Journal says, "With its brilliantly colorful photographs, clear charts, and helpful sidebars and appendixes, this book is a pleasure to hold and read..." Winner of the 2004 Best Spirituality/New Age Book ? USA Book News.

Altar Your Space: A Guide to the Restorative Home
by Jagatjoti S. Khalsa

Synopses & Reviews - Publisher Comments:
Review: "Khalsa, part owner of Venice, Calif. home furnishings store Tara Home, presents a guide to creating a peaceful living space 'that truly reflects and expresses who you are.' While he does address the literal incorporation of altars into one's home, the focus is on turning your home into 'a sanctuary for the body, heart and soul of you and your family.' Khalsa returns again and again to the idea of self-reflection and listening to one's inner voice ('At some point you may feel intuitively drawn to certain colors, tones, images...'), a valid but frustratingly obtuse point. Specifics are sparse: Khalsa includes few of his clients' goals (whose homes appear in photographs) and little information on choosing elements or room composition. What it lacks in detail, the book makes up for in abundant, lush photography; heavy on Tibetan, Chinese and Indian furnishings-there are multiple statues of Hindu and Buddhist gods, ornately carved beds, bureaus and dressers and rich, vibrant fabrics-these gorgeous full-color images will prove useful for anyone considering an Eastern approach to home decor." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Altars and Icons: Sacred Spaces in Everyday Life 
by Jean McMann

Synopses & Reviews- publishers comments
Don't we all crave a refuge from daily life, a haven of tranquility, regardless of our creed? Altars and Icons draws together 40 eclectic personal shrines in the first photographic celebration of its kind. Here are altars — formal and casual, secular and religious, heartfelt and whimsical — created to evoke contemplation, inspire creativity, amuse, encourage, or honor the memory of a loved one. Amalia and Carlos Vasquez celebrate the Day of the Dead in a bright-hued altar of roses. Harrod Blank makes his car an emotional sounding board, adding a new element (bottle cap, figurine, birthday cake) each time he feels the urge to express himself. Eleanor Coppola offers a sunny spot for family memories, while in other homes a kitchen table commemorates Kwanza and a living room altar showers praise on a beloved cow. Including interviews with the people who fashion these remarkable shrines, as well as plenty of how-to tips, Altars and Icons is inspiration for creating your own sacred place.

Guadalupe: Body & Soul by Marie-Pierre G. Colle

Bodhisattva of Compassion by John Eaton Blofeld

Altars: Bring Sacred Shrines into Your Everday Life  by Denise Linn

Sacred Space  by Denise Linn

Your Altar: Creating a Sacred Space for Prayer & Meditation  by Sandra Kynes

A Book of Women's Altars: Create Sacred Spaces for Art, Worship, Solace, Celebrations by Nancy Cunningham

Tibetan Buddhist Goddesses Altars  by Robert Beer

Little Altars for Spirituality by Josephine DeWinter

Altars Made Easy: A Complete Guide to Creating Your Own Sacred Space by Peg Streep

Altars of Power & Grace: Create the Life you Desire - Achieve Harmony, Health, Fulfillment, and Prosperity with Personal Altars Based on Vastu Shastra by Robin Mastro and Michael Mastro