Meditative Spaces

Book excerpt: The need to reflect, contemplate, and concentrate is an essential counterpoint to the rush of daily life and its surface details. This has been recognized since ancient times, and meditation in one form or another has been practiced through the centuries and across cultures, for reasons both sacred and mundane. In the modern world the motivations are more likely to be personal than religious, but the same dynamics apply in calming and focusing the mind. A prerequisite is the right physical space-somewhere to help set one's frame of mind and to hold back the distractions of the outside. Specifically for the purpose of meditation, the examples are from sources as varied and fascinating as contemporary Japanese tea-ceremony rooms, minimalist Western architecture, idiosyncratic chapels, artists' and writers' workspaces, and portable tented structures. The principles are all applicable to modern living, whether permanent or temporary, at home or in beautiful natural settings.With its crisp photography and inventive design, Meditative Spaces will appeal to a variety of readers, from architecture enthusiasts to those with an interest in Japanese style to anyone looking to find-and celebrate-serenity in today's hectic and rapidly paced world.