The creation of an altar is a sacred act, an act of power and grace. For a few timeless minutes you enter a dimension beyond ordinary reality, where light, sound, and energy merge into an exquisite state of being." The human urge to create physical sacred centers for our lives is so deep that we often create them unconsciously. Photos on the dresser, personal objects on our desk or around the computer are tangible tokens of our longing for balance and wholeness--and of our attempts to strengthen connections between our loved ones, nature and community, and other great sources of spiritual power. The internationally acclaimed author of Sacred Space, Denise Linn, speaks directly to this primal need for hallowed and holy places. In Altars, she demonstrates in photos and text how you can further enrich the areas around us at home or in the office by creating unique shrines for personal devotions, intimate centers for healing and contemplation. Beautifully illustrated and thoroughly practical, Altars shows how to - Create personal altars for prayer and devotion, stillness and listening, loss and mourning, relationships and love, and connecting with the life energy - Find the right place to install a home shrine, according to the points of the compass and the ancient and honored principles of feng shui - Select altar objects that are particularly suited to your special needs - Purify yourself and your altars with incense, prayers, drumming, and chanting - And much more! Everyone w