Creating sacredness in our lives is a fundamental imperative in human nature. Humans seek the sacredness of places because this is our primary relationship to the realm of the physical: it is through the experience of space and time that our true nature as spiritual beings can be made manifest.

The summer solstice on is one of the key dates in the solar calendar. The sun has reached its highest point in the sky, thereby creating the longest day in the year. It is a traditional time for celebration and rejoicing, and cultures around the world have dedicated considerable resources and effort to mark its passing. In cosmic terms, the Solar God is at the pinnacle of his power.

Of all the transcultural characteristics common to the great world traditions, the Association of architecture with the human body is one of the most vastly disseminated. The vastu tradition of India, Chinese Feng Shui, Egyptian Temple architecture, the Inca seque system, and the Greek cannon of proportions have one thing in common: the reverence for architectural space as a reflection of the human body.

Patient-centered design has become the hallmark of most new construction in the health care field. This follows research that indicates that improved design can have a significant and positive impact not only on the outcome of the health care intervention, but on the bottom line as well. Patients and their families, furthermore, are asking for user-friendly environments that have a more natural feel and look.

Peace is a manifestation of Love, and because Love in the physical realm is derived from our relationship to the earth, it also includes other earth-based energies such as community, relationships and nurture. War destroys these manifestations of the human spirit, and replaces them with ideologies and dogma.

The visible aspect of reality coexists with another invisible realm, that of Spirit. Learning to discern its various manifestations is not only a way to understand Nature and its myriad manifestations, but also a way to create greater connection with the totality of existence.

Divination is closely associated with cultivation of the spiritual or supernatural realm, often understood in the form of deities, spirits of place, or ancestral relations. It can be said that the degree of success of a diviner is closely related to the quality of her or his relationship with these powers.

Identity begins with the self, but in a peculiar twist, it also includes everything and everybody we have come in contact with, including those that we have forgotten or are dimly aware of. It was my mother who taught me the importance of identity and how to find it outside of myself.

Ancient Peruvians believed that all of reality is held together by the principle of reciprocity they called ayni, the equal exchange of energy between people and things. The ancient Peruvians understood that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only exchanged. Gratitude for what we have received therefore becomes the way in which we repay for our very existence.