Source Designs is the result of long years of practice, study, and a lot of trial and error. I conceived the fellowship as something that was one package, yet at the same time encompassing many ideas. Some of the ideas may be off-putting to people who may be attracted to portions of the Source Designs message, but I feel all of the components of Source Designs are necessary for the fellowship to be able to participate in creating true sustainability.
Here are the principles of Source Designs, which I have included on the Source Designs about page. I would like to expand upon them a little more here, so that people who are interested can understand the mission.
1. The design and geometry of a space affect the energy flow of a space, which in turn affects how that space is experienced
As soon as I wrote the term energy flow, I envisioned many eyes rolling over at the thought of an idea as intangible as “energy flow”. Yet understanding energy is essential to creating beautiful space, and this has been understood by most cultures for thousands of years. It is fundamental to the 3000+ year practice of Feng Shui, which is essentially the conscious sculpting of space to maximize harmonious energy flow.
Recent discoveries in quantum physics have also supported the idea that our reality is supported by an underlying substrate of subtle energy, which again has been described as chi, prana and a variety of other names for thousands of years by several ancient cultures.
A simple visualizing experiment will illustrate what I mean when I talk about energy flow, geometry, and how these affect how a space is experienced.
First, imagine yourself in a square room, say 15′ long x15′ wide x15′ tall. The color of the wall is neutral, and there are no windows or decoration.
Square Room
Imagine yourself going to the center of the room and sensing what the symmetrical geometry of the room makes you feel. At first you will probably say nothing, because the energy being shaped is very subtle, but being in the center of a square room will most likely make most people feel quiet or in stasis.
Now, imagine yourself in another room, only this room is long and narrow. Let’s make the dimensions of this room 30′ long x 5′ wide x 10′ tall.
Long Room
Imagine yourself in the center of this room and sense how you feel. The energy here is moving and your feeling experience of this space will be totally different from the square room. In the square room the energy is quiet and balanced, while in the room shaped like a hallway creates a sense of motion and direction.
The geometry of any given space affects the subtle energy contained within that space, and the art of architecture in its ideal is sculpting space to create harmonious energy flow. Very simple. Energy flow is harmonious when it is going neither too fast nor too slow, but at a medium pace in gentle meandering curves. The ideas very briefly summarized her are far more complex than this outline, and it is the very core of creating beautiful space.
2. Designers and builders have a responsibility to create buildings and infrastructures that are self-sustaining, at least at the bioregional level.
This responsibility actually extends beyond designers and builders to include officials at the local, state and federal level. A given population in a given bioregion or watershed must be able to produce subsistence level amounts of food, water and energy without need for replenishment of resources outside the bioregion. Any other situation puts the bioregion and the population in a very compromised position that is subject to many calamities, both natural and man-made.
Additionally the whole idea of “waste” must go away. There is no waste in a sustainable world. There are only byproducts to be reused or recycled in another part of the societal living system. There is far more to be said on this subject, but this is the most tangible and quantifiable part of sustainability – the basic self sufficiency of our bioregions. It does not mean isolationism. It means independence that will lead to positive, synergistic interdependence, not ankle grabbing dependence.
3. Beautiful environments and life quality are intrinsic to sustainability
It’s unfortunate that this has to be spelled out for so many people, but I think that the vast majority of our civilization has lived at the basic survival level for so long, that most of us have forgotten just how important deep environmental beauty is. I am not talking about about superficial aesthetics. I am talking something that starts right in the bone marrow and radiates outward. True beauty is masterful functionality, simple, elegant elements, performing multiple functions and looking good doing it. I may have written this before, and if you read a lot of my work, you will probably see this again: If it isn’t pleasing aesthetically and functionally, it isn’t worth sustaining.
4. Compassion unlocks all doors, and is the only foundation that lasts.
Ultimately all I can speak to is my experience. I have crawled under quite a few rocks trying to figure out what makes this world tick. Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, The Qabbala, Hindu, Scientology….I studied them all trying to arrive at some formula for perfect happiness. What I learned is that there is none. The Wizard Of Oz is just an old man with a balloon, and he didn’t give anything to the Tinman that he didn’t already have. Our minds love to create formulas and models and plans, and we often end up chasing the carrot of these mental creations our whole lives.
It wasn’t until I consciously opened my heart to compassionate love for the whole universe that I felt the world shift beneath me. Something happened in my heart, not my mind, and I have never been the same. I have come to realize that my endeavors which our grounded in true compassion cannot help but succeed. The true matrix, the innermost substrate of the universe is compassion, and when you align yourself with this force, everything else seems so small. Creating lasting and profound change does not require some complex, dazzling plan. It requires living from the heart of compassion.
It has been an honor and a pleasure to have founded Source Designs, and I sincerely hope that those of you who read this check back often, because the is growing ripe for companies and ideas like Source Designs, and we are just getting started.
