What is Deep Design?
Inner & Outer Architecture for a New Earth
Holed up during lockdown, I had nothing better to do than revise all my years of work as an architect and synthesize them into a working model which represented a theory of everything. Life felt meaningless and horrifying, I used my skills at sensemaking to cope. This is how I came up with the workshop on Inner and Outer Architecture I began to share with online audiences during speaking engagements which were actually interviews and thus totally unrehearsed and on the spot. I loved speaking about how we could create inner architectures which support peace and healing, thus catalyzing global systems of equity and justice for all. By healing our personal wounds, the collective would heal too. It was a message which hit home with those who were just waking up to the interconnectedness the global pandemic highlighted for us all.
The idea of a New Earth isn’t a way of saying we are building something better and newer than the Earth we already have now, it’s a way of acknowledging the spirit of our Earth and her own process of evolutionary growth. Like a snake shedding her skin, Earth is ascending in the evolution of consciousness as we hurtle through these new realms of space with frequencies of energy never known before in the entirety of our 13.8 billion year story. Individuals waking up to higher aspects of consciousness which birth new ways of being are testimony to the occurrence of a great shift. We call it a new earth because that is how we will experience this dimensional shift, when in reality a new humanity is being born.
Deep Design is a way forward
The world is changing, outdated systems of oppression and power structures are crumbling beneath their own weight, meanwhile, multiple global crises come to a climax of urgency. The old paradigm will fall, but what comes next? We know we have to be the change, but how does it look and is it supposed to feel this hard?
We need a framework for building the new paradigm and a better world, a process for undertaking this work from the inside out. With so many limiting systems all around us, returning to the source of our own power and authority is essential. We are called forward to become masters of our inner territories once more.
Acknowledging how the poor and underserved of the world who live in poverty and homelessness will not be served by our world until we develop a way of building systems which include and support a hundred percent of all life asks us to look within for the part of ourselves which rejects another living being. We will not have sustainable cities or regenerative communities if we are unconsciously trying to separate ourselves from the Earth.
Alchemical Architecture
Deep Design is unique in its theoretical and practical applications, it is ultimately a holistic practice of alchemy. Taking into consideration the deep prejudices, fears, and aversions which have historically been relegated into the shadows, we can become a more evolved civilization of human beings. First we design ourselves, then we design our buildings, then they design us. If we are conscious of the feedback loops between ourselves and the environment, we will be able to harness the power of nature and all of Creation herself to create a regenerative system of reciprocity between ourselves and the Earth.
In this sense, regenerative development is not just a new sector of a growing capitalist market with global financial and ecological implications, it is also a spiritual practice of transformation. Building cities and towns is not a cold, mechanical, rote process of churning out the cheapest models of basic dwellings which take no account of the meaning of thriving. Growing our homes and villages is a practice of choosing who we want to be, as a society, and a humanity.
Deep Design is...
My preferred design methodology, based on more than a decade of architectural practice and sustainable design consulting
Inspired by the cutting-edge science of Geodesign and geographic information systems technologies
Rooted in indigenous worldviews, including permaculture principles
Grounded in nondual principles of Zen Buddhism as taught by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
Founded upon the non secular practice of alchemy and ancient principles including the axiom, "as within, so without"
Created to repair humanity's connection to the Earth using embodiment and spiritual healing practices
What we do when we tend our own flame while holding the vision of a world that works for one hundred percent of all life
Inner Architectures
The inner practice of architecture happens in what I call the Ensoulment Process. Anyone can connect with their higher self and become an agent for change, this type of soul-led life leads to the deepest fulfilment and greatest satisfaction possible, and it is a radically healing journey.
As we collectively witness the pain and suffering caused by the outmoded system of patriarchy, it is our duty to imagine a better way. We are called to remember how what came before this, matriarchy, was also out of balance and to ask ourselves what a balanced world order would look like. Deep Design presents a set of tools and practices for moving toward a paradigm of unity, harmony, and equality called synarchy.
Zen practices of emptiness and equanimity paired with alchemical practices of witnessing and resonance take meditation off the mat and move us into the world as agents for positive change.
Based on more than a decade of yogic study and holistic spiritual practice, I have created the Deep Design curriculum to teach individuals how the body acts as their bridge toward the future which works for everyone. The quantum leap begins within.
I support individuals in their alchemy and healing work as an Ensoulment Coach in single sessions and extended programs.
Outer Architectures
The synarchy starts within, but we need better communities around us, too. We cannot manifest the new paradigm inside of buildings which make us sick, cities that keep us separate, and communities which polarize. The modern world has been designed to alienate us from the Earth and at the core of our current sustainability crises lies this problem.
Humanity has fallen out of alignment with our true nature. We can use the buildings, cities, and spaces around us to remind each other of what it means to truly be alive. Climate change and the environmental sustainability crises are symptoms of a systemic rupture between ourselves and the source of life which sustains us all, Mother Earth.
Deep Design teaches the integral practice of sacred architecture which is based on listening to the land through the body. It is a holistic method of community development which centers on increasing our capacity for connection at multiple scales. Architecture should connect us to each other, the Earth, and ourselves. This curriculum shows you how.
Using sacred geometry, organic materials, galactic frequencies, archetypal technologies, ancient wisdom, indigenous practices, and visionary methods we can build a world that heals and unites us, it is possible NOW. Learn more about my approach to visionary architecture at the website below.
