BUILDING
with the
BREATH of LIFE
Chi Energy and the Sacred in
Design
TOM BENDER
Draft Two - Full text - © 8 Jan.
1999
Revised and illustrated book is now published, available from Fire River
Press
.
CONTENTS
PART I - ENERGY, PLACE, AND THE SACRED
Chapter 1. OUR NEED FOR THE SACRED IN OUR SURROUNDINGS
Chapter 2. BUILDING WITH THE BREATH OF LIFE
* OUR SURROUNDINGS AS MIRRORS
* A CHI-CENTERED UNIVERSE
* PRINCIPLES OF ENERGETICS OF PLACE* UNFOLDING A NEW SENSE OF THE POSSIBLE
- Maya Community Portals to the Spirit World
- Initiatory Temples of Egypt
- Setting Intention of a Nation in Han China
- Feng Shui of Chinese Cities
- Water, Chi, and the Spirit World in Khmer Water Temples
- Learning from the Dagara to Heal Our Ancestors
- Living in the Belly of A Bird in a Kawakiutl Village
- Visits of the Kami at Izumo Shrine, JapanChapter 5. RESTORING PLANETARY BALANCE -
An Evolutionary Perspective on Change* PARADIGM SHIFTS - ENERGETICS
* RESOURCE EXHAUSTION, POPULATION GROWTH, AND THE END OF OIL
* THE NON-ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF SUSTAINABILITY-Curing Diseases of the Spirit
- Life Without Fear
- An Economy of Giving, not Taking
- Living from the Heart
- Sacred Surroundings
- Change from a Legal to a Sacred Basis for Society
- Life without Failure
- Vital Resources are Inner Ones* CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ENDURING SOCIETY
* MULTICULTURAL SYNTHESISChapter 6. THE THREE "I"S - Core Elements of Energetic Design
* THE THREE "I"S
- CHI - Subtle Energy
- LI - Intention and Purpose
- TUMMI - Trusting Our Guts*- SIGNIFICANCE and DURATION
* ELEMENTS OF ENERGETICS OF PLACEChapter 7. ORDER AND CHANGE - Chi in a Meterial World
* YIN and YANG - Relationships and Transformation
* SO - Numbers, Resonance, and Injunctive Experience
* HSING - Outward Forms of Appearance
* CHIH CHUNG - Relationships at a Distance
PART II - TOOLS
Chapter 8. ENERGETIC DESIGN TOOLS
* HAVING CLEAR GOALS
- Becoming Native
- Resources and Communities
- Free Nature
- Affirming the World We Believe In
- What does Gaia want?* MIND TOOLS
- Looking at the World Whole
- Following the Threads* PLACE TOOLS
- Empty Minds and X-Ray Vision
- Maintenance and Caring* ENERGETIC TOOLS
- Spiritual Centering
- Trance Design
- Ritual
- Working with Chi
- Earth EnergyChapter 9. GETTING TO KNOW A PLACE
* SURROUNDINGS
- Natural features
- Human Elements
- Invisible Forces
- Chi and Intention* NEIGHBORHOOD
* SITE AND SITE BUILDINGS- Topology and topography
- People - past, present, and future
- The Past, the Present, and the Future
- Connections and Barriers* INSIDE BUILDINGS
* POSSESSIONS
PART III - PUTTING INTO PRACTICE
Chapter 10. BUILDINGS WITH A SOUL
*BUILDINGS WITH SOUL
* ENTRIES
* INSIDE HOMESChapter 11. GARDENS OF THE SPIRIT
* SEEDS OF HEALTH
* SPIRIT OF PLACE GARDENS- Winter Gardens
* GARDENS OF THE SPIRIT
- Computer Zen Gardens
- Gardens of Death
- A Garden of Time* GARDENS OF CELEBRATION
- Cloud Gardens
- A Wind Garden* WHAT MAKES A CITY LOVEABLE?
* FINDING A PASSION
* CHANGING COMMUNITY CHI* HOLDING PLACES SACRED
* VARIETIES OF SACRED PLACES
* EXPRESSING SACREDNESS
* THE SHRINE OF THE MOUNTAIN AND THE WATERS* SEWAGE IS ART!
* THE COLOR OF LIGHT
* A PLACE OF THEIR OWN
* INSTITUTIONS HAVE HEARTS
* TAKE CARE WHAT MIRRORS REFLECT
* THE RICHNESS OF EDGES
* HONORING THE SPIRITS OF ALL LIFE
* THE PEACE OF SANCTUARY
* BE WITH, NOT ABOVE
* SILENCE AND INTENTIONChapter 15. ALL THINGS IN TURN
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
APPENDIX A - Life Force Energy List