From Chapter 1 of The Well-Centered Home

What Is the Well-Centered Home?

The well-centered home is one that has been adjusted and fine-tuned so that it becomes a place that helps you become centered. It is one in which rough spots and negative influences have been removed and the flow of energy has been improved so that the home fulfills its restorative purpose. The well-centered home performs the same task as meditation to ground and center you, but it does so in the background. You receive the benefits simply by living there.

You will learn in this book that the well-centered home:

• Provides a centering place in which you are free to live in the moment
• Eliminates friction in the form of distraction and daily annoyances
• Recharges you emotionally as your subconscious self creates a healthy relationship with your home
• Flows smoothly and is free of obstructions that hinder body and spirit
• Recognizes, reinforces, and resonates with life's natural rhythms to promote balance
• Is dynamic and changing, not static or rigid
• Is both anchored to the earth and open to the sky
• Is designed to fit your personality and lifestyle, not a prescribed idea of style

In a well-centered home, everything feels right. Many things contribute to this, including appropriate colors, a sense of scale, and a sense of fluid movement. In almost all the houses I've designed, I've looked for opportunities to present a view that captures your attention as you move about the space. For example, you may round a corner on the way to the bedroom and be presented with a work of art, or perhaps a Zen window that frames a lovely view. When properly arranged, this moment triggers your inner consciousness to go directly to that object, and you become less aware of your physical body as you walk along your path. That shedding of the consciousness is similar to what mediation does, and you are freer to enjoy living.