Wittmann, William - Altar Making

7/25/2019 Wittmann, William - Altar Making

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Altar Making

An Active Meditationfor Healing Your

Heart and forDeepening Spiritual

Meaning in Your Life

By William Wittm ann and FriendsAlexandra Gay ek

Char Sundust

Joelle Ly ons Everett

Kimberly Gallagher

Morris RonesSuzanne Wittm ann

Copy right William Wittm ann 2012 All Right

Reserved


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William Wittmann

4227 E. Madison, 2-C

Seattle, WA 98112

206.328.207 3


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Table of

ContentsTIP:To jump to a chapter, click the chapter name.

Thank Y ou

Free Goodies

Other Books Y oull Like from William

My Amazon Bestsellers

Books I Constantly Recommend To Clients

My Amazon Authors Page

Poem

Why Altar Making?

How This Book Came to BeWhat Do I Mean When I Say This Is Second

Nature

What Benefits Do Y ou Get When Y ou Make Y our

Own Altar?


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Y ou Receiv e These Benefits When Y ou Build an

Altar

When Y ou Use An Altar

What Can Y ou Do to Honor the Flows of the

Universe?

What Is an Altar?

What is a Shrine?

Why Y ou Want to Make an Altar or a Shrine?

How Do Y ou Build an Altar

Or a Shrine?

First What Is Y our Intention?

Clarity of Heart and Presence

Second Where Do Y ou Want Y our Altar?

Third What Elements Do Y ou Want To Include

In Y our Altar?

The Best Part,

Making Y our Altar

First, Get Present

What Does It Mean To Do Something In A Sacred

Way ?


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This Morning

Who Makes the Altar?

How Can Y ou Stay in Alignment with the Sacred

How Can Y ou Suspend Y our Critical Mind?

Inspiration from Two Mov ies

Sanctify Y our Altar

What A re Way s to Use Y our Altar?

Use Altars for Connecting to the Sacred

and for Worship

Use Altars for Pray er & Serv ice

How Y ou Can Make a Profound Difference in the

World without Leav ing Home World Work

Exercise

Use Altars for Rituals

Use Altars for Attracting Blessings

Use Altars for Giving Thanks

Jacks Shadow Altar

The Prayer Stick A Special Altar Form

Little Help from My Friends


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ltar Making as Vibrant Spiritual Practice

by Kimberly Gallagher

Contribution

Making, Sanctify ing,

Using Altars

By Morris Rones

Steps to Make an Altar

Sanctify ing an Altar

Contribution

How to Make an Altar

Conversation in my Head between William and M

By Suzanne Wittmann

rrev erent Altars

By Alexandra Gayek

ContributionThe Sage on the Dashboard

By Char Sundust

Pondering Altars

By Joelle Lyons Everett


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Strange And Wonderful Things

Contribution

Heres How to Rev iew Y our Book on Amazon

Friendly Resources

WilliamsPlayful & Sacred A rt

Williams Resources

Work with Me

Books by Others

Places to Contribute Money Flow and

Partnerships

Contact Information for Co-Authors

bout the Author


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Thank YouThanks for getting this book. Please be kind and

REVIEW this book on Amazon. I need your

eedback to make the next version better.

Obviously , y our rev iew helps others to decide to ge

he book or not.

f y ou dont know how to submit a rev iew tomazon. Y ou can read the steps at the end of the

book. Its easy , and its fast.

Thank you so much.


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Free Goodies

s a way to say thanks for getting my book, you can

go to my Free Goodies Pageto find more things

hat work for y ou.

=>

http://www.bodyandsoulmentor.com/index.php?

page=freegoodies

Consider sharing the book with your friends.
http://www.bodyandsoulmentor.com/index.php?page=freegoodieshttp://www.bodyandsoulmentor.com/index.php?page=freegoodies


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Other Books

Youll Like fromWilliamPeople hav e reported that all my books help them t

ive a life they lov e wholeheartedly body and

oul. Obv iously , y ou can browse the list below to

ee which ones might serve you next. Read the

books description on Amazon to find out all y ou

need to decide to get the book or not.


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My Amazon Bestsellers

Do More of What Works: A Practical

Prescription for Figuring Out Your LifeThis

book contains reliable ideas y ou can apply to y our

ife so that you can live a life y ou lov e body and

oul.

Drawing the Sacred: Com m uning with the

Sacred through Drawing An IllustratedJourney (Kindle Version)Y oull lov e the Trad

Paperback Edition. It makes a lov ely gift.

Simply Serene: How to Calm Down, Reduce

Stress, Deal with Stress, and Be Instantlylert and at Peace- I packed this book with

ffective strategies I want all my clients to know.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006HIJO24/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B006HIJO24&linkCode=as2&tag=williamwittmannvhttps://www.createspace.com/4243026http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DPYEMRA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00DPYEMRA&linkCode=as2&tag=williamwittmannvhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BXP7VXK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00BXP7VXK&linkCode=as2&tag=williamwittmannv


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Books I ConstantlyRecommend To Clients

Foolproof Relaxation: How to Relax Your

Mind Any tim e, Any where. I could have named

his: T he Really Short and Easy Get Back to

Sleep Book. Note: Simply Sereneincludes a

version of this.

T he Eight Fundam ental Secrets to Living

ell: How to Live a Happy Life and Live Life

o the Fullest Clients love this book.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006XDS5AU/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B006XDS5AU&linkCode=as2&tag=williamwittmannvhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004WG5LRA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004WG5LRA&linkCode=as2&tag=williamwittmannv


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My Amazon Authors Page

Because I keep adding books, you can go straight to

my Am azon Authors Pageand choose from the

est of my books. (http://amzn.to/vXKNbC)
http://amzn.to/vXKNbChttp://amzn.to/vXKNbC


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Poem

Altar,

holy space

place of honor

place of honoring ritual

Altar

ev okes energies,

offers a remindersymbolic invocation

Altar

touches into quiet,

meaningful waysof remembrance

Altar

rekindles mind

and heart


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to

reawaken (soul)

From an Anonymous Friend


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Why Altar

Making?


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How This Book Came to Be

Why the book,Altar Making? Why make altars?

f y oure like me, altars belong to the priest class.

Not to folks like y ou and me. But listen...

make Sacred Landscape Altarpieces. As y ou can

ee abov e, they re beautiful and people lov e them.

While I was promoting my altarpieces for people to

buy , it dawned on me,

William, not ev eryone knows

how to m ake an altarpiece.Shoot, they m ay not even know

they can. Som e m ight even

think its against the rules.

The thoughts in this inner dialog continued toumble out...

Som e people m ight not know

how to sanctify one. T hey

m ight not know what the

benefits are. Wow! And, Holy
http://vitalarts.net/art/sacredlandscapes.html


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Moly , they m ight never even

have thought about it at all.

To remedy this I decided to write this book of ideasor y ou.

Heres the big idea:

You can utilize altar m aking as

a spiritual practice to deepen

your connection to the Sacred.

s the idea for the book grew, I thought it would be

wonderful to have some of my friends who buildaltars add their ideas to the book. They thought it

was great too, and y ou can find their contributions

n the book starting with the foreword.


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What Do I Mean When ISay This Is Second Nature

build altars and shrines frequently, sometimes

daily in parks, my office and my home. Many

people from all ov er the world do as well. It seems

econd nature to them and to me.

Would y ou like to know why people create altars?

Well just listen to what happens to y ou and for y ou

when y ou build an altar


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What Benefits

Do You GetWhen You Make

Your Own Altar?


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ou Receive These BenefitsWhen You Build an Altar

First, because creating an altar puts you in a

state where time stops, you feel blissful, you

feel fully alert, and you may feel connected t

all that is. In other words, y ou have fun

building an altar.

When y ou make an altar, y ou get to be in the

present. The present is where you find the

kingdom of heaven. Therefore, when y ou

make an altar, you get to be in heaven.

Y ou connect to the Sacred.

Y ou align with Spirit, and y ou can bring thes

numinous qualities into y our daily life where

they belong.

Y ou get to add beauty to the world.

When y ou make an altar or a shrine, y ou

stimulate y our creativ e juices. These juices

and the sanctity y ou invoke and ev oke flows


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into every corner of y our life. Y ou can

bootstrap any project y ou want to begin by

first building an altar and listening to the

guidance and intuitions y ou get while y ou

build it.


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When You Use An Altar

The altar or shrine acts like an anchor. It

reminds y ou of y our experience of

connection that you had when you created

the altar.

The altar, once created, can bring you back

into Presence. This can happen for y ou

casually when y ou walk by it. It can ev entranspire when y ou think about it.

Finally, you can actively harness this

principle by consciously going to an altar o

a shrine for specific reasons.

Y ou can use the altar as a place for pray er

and invocation. Y ou can change the world b

using it as a focus for env isioning a blessed

world.

Y ou can use altars for healing y ourself,

others, and the world.

Y ou can use it to attract things to y ourself

that you desire such as true wealth, lov e,


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happiness, relationships, material goods, and

even money.

The altar acts as a model for others. When

y ou build altars and shrines, others will seethem and be inspired.

Pretty cool, y es?

Before we get started with the details about altars

and shrines and how to make them, I have a favor t

ask


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What Can You

Do to Honor theFlows of the

Universe?Bey ond paying a price for this manual, I ask y ou to

onsider doing something more in exchange for all

he benefits y ou will certainly receive from reading

and applying the knowledge in this wonderfulmanual.

t is a way for y ou to honor the Sacred and a way to

how gratitude for the gifts you receive.

Heres what I would like. Its easy.

One: If y ou find the ideas in this book

v aluable, pass the book on to every one who

might benefit. Send them to my website page

or to myAmazon Authors page.
http://www.amazon.com/William-Wittmann/e/B004WCI9LY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0


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Two: Make a contribution of time and/or

money to y our favorite sacred place or to

people who are doing work y ou appreciate

and admire. If y ou make a contribution, letme know to whom you gave your gift. I

would love to hear y our story .

lov e flowing money to these two places, y ou may

oo

The Heifer Project

The Heifer Projectfocuses on making micro loans to

people. They started with the idea of supplying

heifers to people in need of food. They have

xpanded in many wondrous way s.

s one of the guiding principles of the program, the

Heifer Project trains the recipient of the heifer to

ake care of the animal and its products. As part ofhe gift, the recipient then passes the gift on to

omeone else in the village. That means passing on

a breeding pair of animals or a pregnant animal and

raining the next person. Whole v illages transform

hemselves this way. They have gone from people
http://www.heifer.org/index.htmhttp://www.heifer.org/index.htm


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who needed gifts of food, etc, to people exporting

iches to others. It is marvelous.

More: http://www.heifer.org/index.htm

The Trust for Public Land

TPLstarted by purchasing tracts of special land

before the developers grabbed them up. Their focu

s to preserv e these tracts for future generations tonjoy . Y ou probably know; parks and beautiful

places nourish the body and the soul. Y ou may not

know there is now scientific research to support thi

obv ious insight. Visionaries in the past set aside

v ery park y ou and I have ever enjoy ed. Now, its

our turn to be the v isionary genius.

The mission has expanded from saving large rural

parcels to dev eloping urban parks in collaboration

with those communities. This work is very exciting

More: http://www.tpl.org/

encourage y ou to add y our flow to mine and help

make this a world that works for ev ery one.
http://www.tpl.org/%20http://www.tpl.org/http://www.tpl.org/http://www.heifer.org/index.htm


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My co-authors list their suggestions at the

end of their chapters. Y ou can find the whole lis

of wonderful places in the resource section under

Money Flow and Partnerships at the end of the

manual.


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What Is an

Altar?What is a

Shrine?What is an altar or a shrine? Any structure designe

or sacred use can be a shrine or an altar. Thats it.

will not make detailed distinctions here between

altars and shrines and will use the terms

nterchangeably . Shrines hold the possibility of

walking around inside of them, though this is not

equired, and shrines can contain an altar. The

onv erse does not apply .

s with St. Peters in Rome (left), they can be fancy

bey ond belief.

Or


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Altars can be quite

simple as is the one at

the beginning of the

chapter and to the left

Although the circle

ormed of sticks is quite simple, it serv es me well in


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holding my prayers for patients and others loved

ones in the basket encircled by consecrated rocks

and limbs.

include the altar on the front cov er of the bookbecause it is so simple. It liv es on the windowsill in

my therapy office. Although the altar contains

ymbols, balance for one, it is lov ely and centering

n its own right.

shrine possesses much the same power as an alta

but we can glean an additional insight from the root

definition of the word. The word shrine comes

rom old English and from Latin meaning a box or

ontainer.

Both altars and shrines are containers. But

ontainers for what? What do they hold?

Traditionally , they hold sacred objects such as the

bones or other relics of saints. But lets lookdeeper

Altars and shrines hold and

uphold our highest and best

selves. T hey hold the place for


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our m ost sacred connections to

the Divine.

think of them both as containers and as doorways

o the Sacred.

Can you remember a time when you knew Spirit

lowed every where and magic was in the air?

This is what altars can do for y ou. They remind you

of the fundamental truth.

Spirit Flows Everywhere. Everything Is

Sacred.


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Why You Want

to Make an Altaror a Shrine?n my y outh, I serv ed as an altar boy at St. Michael

n the Hills. I lov ed to participate in the ritual. I

hrov e on the direct connection to the Sacred that

he religious serv ices made apparent. It got so that

would only attend church when I was an altar boy

My participation in the ritual fed me deeply .

When y ou make y our own altars and/or y our own

hrines, you will benefit, too.

When y ou m ake an altar, yourheart will fill with the Sacred.

While y ou're sitting there reading this, y oull

discov er that an altar you create, possesses at its


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heart the ability to transform y our life.

The altar will do nothing in and of itself, of course,

until y ou imbue it with energy and faith. The very

act of creating the altar invests the inanimateobjects with meaning and power. Or it honors them

or their inherent meaning or power. Y ou gain y ou

power and the benefits from the process itself of

reating the altar. I will show you how later on.

ou can also benefit by using the altar as a sacred

pace in which to perform rites and ceremonies.

ou can employ an altar or a shrine to heal or

otherwise support y ourself and others. Y ou can

mploy it to attract circumstances and things to y ohat you feel will mov e y ou forward on your path.

Have y ou noticed that y oure ready to find out mor

and see some examples of peoples altars? Well, let

move on now to building an altar.


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How Do You

Build an AltarOr a Shrine?

The power of an altar and a shrine lies in the making

and the heartfelt attention and intention you bring

o the task.

The nature of its construction matters not. It

doesnt matter if its big or small, fancy or simple.our heartfelt attention matters the most.

Read Suzannes process for building an altar, it give

y ou the feel of it quite well.


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First What Is YourIntention?

What do y ou want the altar to do? How do y ou wan

o use it? What do y ou want to make easier in y our

ife? How do y ou want to deepen your heart life?

Do y ou want to use the altar or shrine

to be more present?

to feel the presence of God, of the

Sacred?

for healing?

for attracting wealth?

for connecting with the Sacred? My

favorite.

for supporting y our family?

for expanding y our career?

for finding y our true lov e? for strengthening y our marriage?

Whatever y ou choose, if it comes from the heart, it

will serve the right purpose and carry the most


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potent intention.

Most commonly , y ou will know what y oure aiming

at. Y ou will feel a calling towards something. Y ou

will feel drawn towards something. Often we aredrawn to just connect with the Sacred more deeply

We feel out of touch. Making something with our

hands literally puts us back in touch.

Sometimes I feel it is time to build a shrine and I

dont know what its for. In the making, I sometime

discov er what underlies the hunger.

f y ou are uncertain as to what y ou want, you can

alway s consult y our heart.


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Clarity of Heart andPresence

How do y ou find this clarity in y our heart? Well y o

ould create an altar to help support y ou in finding

he intention in y our life. Mostly , it requires y ou to

be still, quiet and centered. (My manuals, Lookin

Deeply into Presence and Simply Serene

Four Am azingly Powerful Ways to Benstantly Alert and at Peaceshow y ou ways in

depth to find that clarity .

Here is a shorter v ersion

T urn Off T he Greedy Fearful Yam m ering In

our Head

nsure y ou have a quiet space undisturbed for a fewmoments and then sit or stand quietly .

Breathe slowly and deeply in y our belly . Ey es open

et your ey es be soft. Gently gaze at something in

he distance. Then let y ourself ex pand y our v ision

o take in as wide an angle as you can. Leaving you


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y es focusing forward gently, note y our peripheral

v ision to the left and to the right. Then up and

down. Hold all of this at the same time.

Did y ou notice? Y our mind quiets downompletely . Y ou have just tasted enlightenment.

Do all the exercises and build the altars and shrines

rom this place. Whenever your chatty v oice in the

head comes back with words of worry , doubt, greed

or distraction, return to wide-angle peripheral

v ision.

When y ou look in this way and the mind quiets, y ou

have arrived in Heav en. Build y our altar from this

place. Pray from this place. Y ou have found the

most sacred place, this place of stillness, this placeof presence.

Now, from here ask this question, What is calling

me that will make my heart smile. Then drop the

question into y our heart.

magine it leaving your head and serenely dropping

peacefully down into your heart. Y ou can assist the

process by crossing y our hands ov er y our heart an

magine breathing through your heart.


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Dont think about the question in your head. Rathe

et an answer bubble up from y our deepest heart.

Be like the proverbial cat sitting at the mouse hole,

itting fully alert and completely relaxed waiting fohe mouse to emerge. Wait in this calm alert way fo

y our heart to respond with a lovely clear answer.


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Second Where Do YouWant Your Altar?

Where do y ou want this altar to be?

Do y ou want it indoors or outdoors?

Most of my altars live outdoors and only last for a

brief time. My fav orites often last only until thenext tide comes in or the nex t gust of wind puffs.

These short-lived ones are cousins to the candle.

People light candles to focus their pray ers. The

andle burns and then disappears. Beach shrines

act the same way .

Sacred Space

What is sacred space? One of the neat things about

he Muslim faith is that Muslims create sacred spacwhenev er and wherev er one places his pray er rug.

ou can make sacred space as simply and as easily.

Where would y ou like it to be?

ndoors


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Can you think of what the advantages to an indoor

altar would be for y ou?

Do y ou need to think about children or pets thatmight disrupt the altar or whom y ou might invite to

ontribute?

The Christmas ritual of a family decorating a tree

epresents a fine example of temporary community

altar making.


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Third What Elements Doou Want To Include In

our Altar?

Every thing in nature contains

all the power of nature.

Every thing is made of onehidden stuff.

Ralph Waldo Em erson

What sy mbols feed y our heart? Which sy mbolstimulate y our creativ ity ? Which remind y ou of

hose things you want to hold close?

Photos are good. Historically, people all over the

world use icons of some sort. Most religions fav or

tatues of saints in their altars and shrines. Not all,

of course, some prohibit the use of icons altogether

Some swim in icons. Y ou choose what works for

y ou.

like to build stuff, so I recurrently have stacked


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ocks as a component of my altars.

n the stick circle on page 13, y ou see a pine needle

basket in the center. I made it specifically for use in

his altar.

Those objects that just come to y ou carry the most

power. Some come to y ou while y ou walk in a park

or down an ally. Y ou stop and pick up a crow

eather, a shiny coin, or a rock. I once found a rust

silver watch with the queen of diamonds on the

ace.

Sometimes these artifacts come to y ou as gifts from

riends.

People often employ circles and spheres as well as

verticals, standing or stacked objects. If nothing

lse, they represent respectively the female and the

male principles. Y ou can see an example of both on

he cov er.

nd dont forget Williams Playful and Sacred A rt

)
http://www.playfulandsacredart.com/


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Hot Rod Devil Duckies And Rubber Buddhas

n my office desktop altar, seen on page 1 2, y ou wil

notice a Zen Buddhist monk drinking coffee andalking on a cordless phone. At first glance this may

appear to be sacrilegious mockery of the Buddha,

but from a Zen point of view one could not mock th

Buddha any more than they have already done fo

y ears. For instance:

If y ou m eet the Buddha on the road, kill

him!

For me the coffee sipping monk reminds me to be a

entered as I can be in my work and in the world athe same time. Jesus inv ited us to be in the world

but not of it. This little guy does this well for me. It

also pokes fun at my pretensions to holiness. Did I

mention that he is a squeak toy ? He squeaks out of

his fundamental orifice.

rchie McPheehas a wide range of wonderful silly

tuff. This is where I get the little rubber Buddhas

y ou see in the photo of my altarpiece on page 6.

nd they have the Dev il Duckies I so cherish. I hav
http://www.mcphee.com/


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he Hot Rod Dev il Duckie.

Good. Now, lets mov e on to the good part makin

he altar.


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The Best Part,

Making YourAltarWhen we make an altar we come into the present

specially when we make it in a sacred way.

T he Power Is in the Making.


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First, Get Present

start by breathing in my belly slowly, feeling the

low rise and fall of my belly . Nex t, I take in all my

urroundings. What do I see, hear, and feel? Use

he wide-angle vision, I told y ou about abov e in the

ection T urn Off the Greedy Fearful

am m ering in Y our Head. This will bring y ou

nto the present quite nicely . For more details and

trategies you can read my book Simply Serene Four Am azingly Powerful Ways to Be

nstantly Alert and at Peace.

For me, using these strategies brings me into the

present enough to start the process and to operaten a sacred way.

Others find that this is a good time to invoke the

Sacred to help in the process. Y ou can offer an

opening pray er of y our choice. Awareness becomea silent prayer for me a prayer of silence.

ou can light incense or a candle. Experiment.

Find what works for y ou.
http://www.amazon.com/Simply-Serene-Reduce-Instantly-ebook/dp/B006HIJO24/ref=la_B004WCI9LY_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1348084339&sr=1-3


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What Does It Mean To DoSomething In A Sacred

Way?By doing things in a sacred way , I mean being

espectful to the ways of y our spiritual path. If

y oure Buddhist, y ou bow. If you are a Catholic, y o

genuflect. If y ou are a Muslim, y ou bathe andpurify.

What acts, for y ou, show respect for y ou to God or

Universe?


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This Morning

While walking to my tai chi beach, I spied a bright

y ellow willow twig on the bright green grass. Ipontaneously made an altar this morning using thi

wig as the seed.

had no plans to make an altar. I only wanted

onnection with God before I worked with my first

priv ate client of the day.

The twig triggered the process. Whats nex t?

Elsewhere on the lawn was a bigger stick for drawin

a circle in the sand and maybe for placing in the

and.

explored the waters edge today where y esterday

big waves had scoured the sand smooth

uncommon for this beach. There I found a set of

hree stones simply arranged on the virgin beach. Idrew a two-foot circle around them with my newly

acquired drawing stick.

then planted my two bright y ellow willow twigs

nside the circle. I placed the taller one closer to th


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enter and the shorter halfway between it and the

outside of the circle. They pointed to the west. In

he medicine wheel archety pe, the Teacher makes

his home in the west.

stepped back and felt a much deeper connection t

he lake and to the Sacred.

So, thats an ex ample of the process. Y ou can do

hat, cant y ou? Sure y ou can.


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Who Makes the Altar?

n a v ery real sense, I didnt plant the twigs or

draw the circle. I listened and heeded the requests

of the altar-in-making. When you shut down the

noisy mind, you disappear. And all there is, is all

here is.

When I make an altar, it feels like a collaborativ e

ffort between the location, the items, and me. Inhe process, we all become one with the Sacred.

More accurately , I remember I am one with all

iving things and Life itself.

T he landscape and the twigsalready know who they are.

T hey alway s remember.

The altar told me where it wanted to liv e. It told meo draw the circle. The twigs came to me and asked

o be placed, just so, in the west. The connection

with the sacred, with Life, y ou can see, occurs in th

process.

The product, the result has no special meaning to


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me. Except that it grew out of the connection and

herefore holds meaning and holds the connection

o the Sacred.

do appreciate it as a work of art in much the sameway I can be moved by the beauty of a fallen leaf on

he ground or the joy ous flight of a crow


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How Can You Stay inlignment with the Sacred?

To insure that I stay in alignment with the Sacred

and to honor the spirit of the objects I am

ollaborating with, I continually ask questions

nternally.

Here are the questions I pose myself. Y ou can mak

up y our own

Who wants to come to the altar? Meaning

what objects, but since every thing is aliv

it really is a who. Sticks, rocks, flowerspictures, icons, etc.

Where do they want to be?

Whats still needed, whats missing?

Is it complete, now? Most of us want to

add too much. Note you can alway s

remov e something if y ou go overboard.


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n the my th of Coco Chanel, the Celestial Empress o

aste adv ises, Just before y ou go out, stand in fron

of y our mirror and remove one piece of jewelry .

Her guidance works.


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How Can You Suspend YourCritical Mind?

ncidentally , I dont know what the images mean in

my altars. While y ou are making y our altar suspend

udgment. Dont second-guess y ourself with try ing

o figure it out. Just let y ourself hear the call. Feel

y our instincts, feel y our urges, sense y our intuitiv e

lashes.

fterwards you can figure it out if y ou wish. Often

y ou will receiv e useful hints on how to live y our

ife. The altar making process can act much like an

oracle for y ou.


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Inspiration from TwoMovies

ou can watch these two films on DVD to get ideas

on how to build the altars. As y ou watch these film

losely, y ou cant help but notice the spirit and the

ngagement display ed in the building of their altars

Rivers and T ides documents Andy Goldsworthyart. Goldsworthy takes found objects in nature and

reates a work of art on site using only the tools and

materials he finds at the site. For instance, he uses

horns to poke holes in things he wants to thread

ogether. Y oull see that he works much as Idescribed abov e.

lthough Goldsworthy might not say he constructs

altars, they share the same qualities as we have bee

alking about. His process and his heart bespeakworship. His art ev okes the Sacred. Watch and see

Still Breathing stars one of my favorite actors,

Brendan Fraser. In this story , Frasers character

builds cairns altars. For generations his family ha

been building cairns to attract their mates and to


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mov e the earth. The story revolves around his

istening to his intuition to find his wife.

Celeste Holm plays his grandmother, Ida, with

trength and sweetness. She also plays the tubawhile floating down a lov ely willow lined stream in

mall highly polished wooden rowboat.

ou can find out more about both from

Netflix.com. If y ou arent already a member, y ou

an sign up. Y oull be glad y ou did. (Y ou dont nee

o sign up to get information.)
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=oiTi*CTFMBk&offerid=78684.10000008&type=3&subid=0%22


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Sanctify Your Altar

What does sanctify mean? Sanctify means to set

omething apart for sacred use. Y ou get to decide

what setting it apart means and what sacred use

means.

To me set apart means out of the way a bit.

Perhaps, out of the way of possible disapprov al of

riends, disruption by cats, dogs, ferrets, husbandswives, or children. Note y ou can inv ite children

or any of the others to participate, y our choice.

Many parents have the kids help in decorating for

holidays. Y ou know what works best.

Dedicating the altar to some purpose or honoring

ome purpose sanctifies it. Y ou want to make it

worthy of your respect and that of others.

OK, now lets mov e on to ways to use y our altar.


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What Are Ways

to Use YourAltar?


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Use Altars for Connecting tothe Sacred

and for Worship

Worship means coming into relationship with the

Sacred. Worship connects y ou to the Sacred.

Worship means to honor and love. And to come ful

ircle, to honor and love presupposes a

elationship.

For me, the best use of the altar lies in the process o

making it. I dont ev er need to see it again. Myriend, Jack Blackburn, finds the same holds true fo

him.

ou can read how my co-authors benefit in their

hapters. Ev ery one gets different things from thealtars.

Morris Rones uses it to hold space. I value

athedrals for just this reason. They hold a space

or connection with the Sacred. I can count on them
http://www.presencingsource.com/


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o do that. Whenever I go to one of them, I know I

an settle and connect. The cathedral will hold me.

Likewise sitting with an altar can hold y ou. In time

of need, this holding can gently support and nurtury ou well.

n altar can remind y ou of Presence. This

emembrance serv es me by helping me to stay in

ouch with the source. I recall what matters. To

upport this, I have altars around me. (Recall Coco

Chanels warning about too much of a good thing.)

s others will say later on and I agree, Keep

hanging them to insure their freshness.


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How You Can Make aProfound Difference in the

World without LeavingHome World WorkExercise

We offer the following exercise as a gift. It is on

possible way a person can use inner forces t

espond to the call of the world for blessing and aid

f it feels right to y ou, please use it as you see fit.

This exercise has three major steps

ttunement, World Work, and Returneach o

which has stages within it.

Attunem ent

We begin by attuning to Self, Place, the

Sacred, and Allies

Honor Yourself


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As an inhabitant of this world, y ou have th

power to affect it phy sically, mentally , emotionally

nergetically, and spiritually. Y ou can and do mak

a difference ev ery day. Feel y ourself as a source o

pirit in this world, a unique presence. No one elsan contribute what you can. Y ou are invaluable a

an expression of indiv iduated sacredness. Y ou hav

he power to give the blessings of your spirit to th

world. Feel this power within y ou, the power to be

ource of lov e. Honor y ourself.

Honor Your Place

We all know that our phy sical env ironment ca

affect our vitality, mood, thinking and creativity

How often do we not arrange the space in which wind ourselves to better accommodate ourselve

within it? In the shamanic worldview, all of th

things in our space are alive and exude a subtl

presence and influence in our lives. They can b

allies in our work like a comfortable chair obeautiful work of art.

The soul of the world breathes throug

verything in your environment. In love

acknowledge this presence in all that surrounds y o


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and invite the assistance of the spirit of your plac

n the work of healing, blessing and v ision. Hono

y our place.

Honor the Sacred

Each of us has experiences of awe, wonder an

oy. We each have known the sacredness of bein

alive and the holiness of a moment. We ca

ecapture this knowing with the swiftness o

magination and stand in the presence of the sacred

he generative my stery within all things in which w

move and have our being. All World Work is t

urther the presence of the sacred on earth. Hono

he Sacred.

Honor Your Allies

We nev er act alone but are aided and supporte

by the sacred and by spiritual intelligences of th

arth and cosmos. You may have a speciaelationship with an inner guide, helper, teacher, o

ome other spiritual power who assists and protect

y ou. Or perhaps y ou can imagine having such a

ally, like an angel. If so, then at this time attune t

and in your own way call upon your ally, lovingl


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nviting its participation in your work. It brings it

own unique perspective, vision, and energy t

omplement your own in a partnership of resonanc

hat gives breadth and strength to your Worl

Work. Honor y our Allies.

The four attunements you have just complete

ome together to create a field of energy for service

his field is a foundation for y our World Work

World Work

Now call to mind a situation to which you wis

o bring healing, wholeness, blessing

mpowerment, and vision. Imagine the particularof the situation. Step into the situation holdin

about you the field of service you have create

hrough your attunements. You do not need t

project any action or change into the situation. Y o

tand as one who delivers cool water on a hot dayallowing the people and forces within the situatio

o draw what they will from the field you presen

Without personal agenda but with compassion y o

tand and create a larger, more spacious place fo

pressure to subside, for negative energies to b


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buffered and transmuted, and for the sacred to hav

oom to act for the good of all.

Be sensitive to any impressions or suggestion

hat may come that may lead you to take particular action. Be aware of you own desires fo

he situation. If y ou wish for a particular outcome

tate it clearly, and then let it go. The sacre

ntelligence seeking to unfold within the situatio

will respond to it or not. Y ou are there in spir

tanding as a radiant agent for the highest and bes

development for the whole situation, for all of th

players, for every being involved; human and no

human alike.

Return

When y ou feel complete, take a neutral positio

owards the energies with which you have bee

working so that nothing attaches to y ou. Ask y ouallies and the sacred for your own cleansing an

protection. Then direct y our attention back to th

place you are sitting. Thank the ones you hav

alled upon who may have helped in your work an

hose who may have come to help unbidden. Le


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hem go. Give thanks to your environment that ha

held you while you did your work. Appreciat

y ourself and y our willingness and ability to do th

work.

To close and ground the energy, touc

omething in the place where you are, such as you

hair, and let the blessing of the moment flow int

y our immediate env ironment. Mov e around

tretch and do whatever you need to connect full

with y our ev ery day life, knowing that the work y o

have done will be a blessing.

BLESSING

When y ou bless, y ou provide one of the most poten

erv ices y ou can. Blessing fits in with pray er.

t times when you feel impotent or helpless to

prov ide comfort or a serv ice that will help restoreomeone or a situation to wholeness, I recommend

y ou bless.

David Spanglers book, Blessing: T he Art and

he Practicehttp://tinyurl.com/ctbhz draws
http://tinyurl.com/ctbhzhttp://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=1573229342/williamwittmannvA/


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many useful distinctions and can show y ou the way

Heres what the Amazon rev iew says

Blessing, a tender book byinternationally recognized spiritual

leader Dav id Spangler, teaches the

art of invoking and receiv ing

blessings. Y es, it sounds

straightforward. But diving into the

core of this book, we discov er how

blessings represent the crux of

spiritual dev elopment--the ability to

hold the world (and oneself) in the

palm of lov ing kindness, and to

develop a practice that sheds goodintentions upon the world.

couldnt say it better so I didnt.


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Use Altars for Rituals

Every morning, my friend, Kathy Rossol steeps a

up of green tea and steps outside her sliding glass

doors out onto her deck. In the rainy season, there

s enough of an ov erhang that she can stay dry .

Kathy rises early due to a long commute into

Seattle, so many days she steps out into the

predawn darkness of a northwest winter. Still sheinds her dy ing father, her angry husband, and

eenage daughter all being at peace while she is out

here. Even though the circumstances have not

hanged, life is in balance.

Kathy describes what she does:

When I first started doing this, it was

the dead of winter - cold, dark, often

rainy. I would shut the door behindme and stand under the eaves,

cradling the cup of tea in my hands.

I started by breathing deeply , as if

getting ready to meditate. I would

sip my tea and wait for the world to


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sink into me - the sounds, the odors,

the feel of the air, the pattern of

darkness and light.

It's odd how I became attuned tojust that cup of tea and those

impressions. With each sip, with

each breath, I felt more peaceful,

more serene. It was easy not to

think about my problems.

Now that it's so light out (at 6 am),

the world seems a different place

and I initially found that unsettling.

Sipping my tea, I remind myself that

the same world is out there, justclothed differently . The green belt

behind my house contains an

immense fir tree that creaked and

groaned during the winter but now is

silent. Raucous bird song nowgreets me when I walk out on my

deck. Were those birds there before,

sleeping in the dark hours of the

morning or were they in some warm

clime down south?


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My friend Cristie tells a similar story about her

ituals in Simply Serene.


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Use Altars for AttractingBlessings

Many use prosperity altars to attract the best of life

o themselves or for lov ed ones.

ou can follow the basic guidelines of any altar and

add sy mbols and prayers for what y ou want toattract. Careful ask for what y ou want; not what

y ou dont want.

No more debt may be something y ou think y ou

want. When y ou create a mental picture of no

more debt though, the picture necessarily contain

debt.

Better to make a picture of easily paying all your

bills with bundles of money left over.

See the difference? Ask for any thing and ev ery thin

y ou want. (See Simply Serenefor more details.)


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Use Altars for GivingThanks

Giving thanks naturally follows after attracting

wonderful things. When y ou feel poor or the

goodness of life seems scarce, pay attention to all

he blessings y ou have right now. When y ou focus

on whats missing, you can easily ov erlook all yourblessings.

Count y our blessings. Populate an altar with what

y ou treasure about what y ou are, do, and have righ

now.


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Jacks Shadow Altar

Jack Blackburnplaces images of his shadow self as

an offering to God. His shadow contains thelements where he carries shame, hurt, anger, or

mbarrassment. He places these shadow elements

on the altar for healing and as a way to honor the

wholeness that humans are. He places them there t

become humble.

We have egos that when under duress go into

defensive or attack modes. We act in unhealthy

divisive ways. We control and we bluster. We make

people wrong and ourselves right.

What would it be like to offer up all y our shameful

parts to God? Would it heal y ou to admit y our flaws

before the Beloved? Is there freedom in humility ?

Experiment with y our shadow.

For more on the shadow read Robert Bly s gem A

Little Book on the Hum an Shadow.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0062548476/williamwittmannvA/http://www.presencingsource.com/


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The Prayer Stick

A Special AltarFormSome Christian churches, most notably , the Catholi

and Orthodox Christian churches utilize the lighting

of candles as a way to energize their prayers. As

ong as the candle burns, the prayers waft to

heaven.

The Tibetan Buddhists hang pray er flags and spinprayer wheels.

The Lakota people of the Great Plains create a

prayer stick to achiev e the same result.

The adorned stick is planted upright in the sacred

ground. Near the top of the stick a simple face is

arved and a variety of objects, such as ribbons and

lowers, tied to the pray er stick so that when the

wind blows as it alway s does on the plains, the


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objects will mov e and the wind will faithfully carry

he pray er to the Great Spirit.

Suzanne and I hav e used pray er sticks for importan

passages in our lives the birth of children, thedeath of parents. I helped my y oungest construct a

grandfather prayer stick when her grandfather died

We placed it up in the woods with some of her

deceased pets.

Enough from me, now. Lets hear from my co-

authors.

Read on...


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A Little Help

from My FriendsThis section contains the genius of some friends. I

nv ited these folks to add their v iews about altar

reation so y ou could have a broader perspective

han I could prov ide on my own.

thought it would be inspirational and fun for y ou.

Enjoy.

Altar, at the beginning of the book, a

Poem from an Anonymous Friend.

Altar Making as Vibrant Spiritual

Practiceby Kimberly Gallagher

Making, Sanctifying, Using Altarsby

Morris Rones

How to Make an Altar A

Conv ersation in m y Head between


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William and Meby Suzanne Wittmann

Irreverent Altarsby Alexandra Gayek

Sage on the Dashboardby Char Sundus

Pondering Altarsby Joelle Ly ons

Everett


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Altar Making as

VibrantSpiritual

Practiceby Kimberly GallagherI met Kimberly when she taught at

my daughters school. Kimberlyplays many roles these days. Her

husband, John Gallagher, made a

valuable contribution to my book

Sim ply Serene. Y ou may visit

Johns Learning HerbsHERE. You

may contact Kimberly at

[email protected]

n the last sev eral years, altars have become a

ommon aspect of my life. Before I had children, I
mailto:[email protected]://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=958571http://tinyurl.com/mbd4x


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usually created them on low tables where I could si

n front of them and light a candle and pray or

meditate. Now, I find a higher surface a shelf on a

bookshelf or the top of a dresser so my special

altar items will be safe from curious little hands.

To me, all of life is sacred, and I choose things for

my altar that remind me of the sacred nature of the

universe. In this simple choosing, my altar is

anctified, and I have created a visual reminder for

my self of the beauty and sacredness of the earth an

of the importance of spirit in my life.


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Right now, I have a practice of completely changingmy altar with the seasons, choosing beautiful thing

rom nature as altar items. My personal winter alta

has ev ergreen boughs and holly berries and a

pinecone shaped like a flower winter beauty !

add candles, stones people have gifted to me or

hat I have found, and other small beautiful objects

hat embody the spirit of the season.

small dark rock, here, reminds me of the darknes


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at this time of y ear.

also have some nuts and a candle with the words

ex traordinary, ordinary relationship next to it.

These represent the golden seed, the little light thatam carry ing inside my self through the dark times

t is this seed that will sprout for me in the spring

and flower in the summer.

Changing the altar each season

keeps it alway s beautiful, fresh

and alive.

Changing the altar for me is a simple ritual

elebrating the changing seasons. My candle with

my intention and the nuts form part of anotherimple ritual. This ritual involves choosing these

tems and setting them on my altar to remind me of

he little light I am tending through the dark times

my intention of creating extraordinary, ordinary

elationship in my life). Each time I light thatandle, I remember my intention and keep it alive

within my self.

The concept of simple ritual has just come into my

ife in the last y ear and comes to me through Sally


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elebrations.

Each day from solstice until Christmas, the wood

lves bring a gift from nature for our children that

hey add to the altar. The gifts are representative owater, wood, fire, earth, and metal, the five

lements of Chinese medicine. So, by Christmas,

our altar has become a celebration of all of the

lements.

One other simple altar that I hav e recently added to

my practices is this stov e-top altar. Each new

moon, I light a candle and offer flowers to

emember our intention for our home. The stov e is

ymbolic of our hearth, the central warmth and ligh

of our home. So, I have written our prayer on abeautiful piece of paper: May this be a place of

abundance of health, happiness and prosperity .

May there be an easy flow of money and resources

o that we can be generous and also save for our

uture. May this home be a welcoming andnourishing space for family and friends. Each

month this pray er is placed with the candle and

lowers on the stov e and so each month these

ntentions are once again enlivened for all of us.


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Contribution

f this article inspires y ou to make a donation, I

ncourage y ou to gift some money to Raven Croft

Garden. They are not a 501C3 so your donation wil

not be tax deductible,but it will support the work o

his amazing learning center complete with a

permacultural garden and herbal apprenticeship

programs.

They are doing the work of helping people learn the

art of cultivating life, an essential skill in these

hanging times.
http://www.ravencroftgarden.com/


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Steps to Make an Altar

There are only a couple of steps required to make a

altar.

One is to be consciousof what y ou are

doing.

Two is to create a space that gives you a

sense of connection and comfort.

To be conscious in this case means to be aware of

y our self in relationship to the world. Be aware of

y our self as a phy sically embodied spirit in the

present moment.

t helps to be aware of y our breathing, your body,

y our mind and heart without thinking about these

hings. It also helps to have y our mind quiet or at

east not affected by the noise.

There are many different ways to create an altar. I

ometimes place objects that have meaning to me

on my desk in a particular area. I place them in a

way that feels right to me.


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I m ust literally feel

com fortable with the

placement and not just pleased

with the aesthetic com position

of m y little creation.

T his is perhaps the difference

between creating sacred spaces

and decorating.

s I create the altar from this conscious and

entered place, the altar becomes a place that hold

onsciousness and centering. I do not need to have

he altar be obv ious to others but it needs to be

obv ious to me.

t does not need to be the center of my room or my

desk or of anything. It does need to be in a place I

do not forget.

n altar does not necessarily have to have objectsn it. In fact, an empty space can sometimes

become an altar more easily without objects. The

objects need to connect with me, not distract me.

Sometimes, I have gotten focused on the object and

ost sight of the space it belongs to and the energy


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Sanctifying an Altar

Sanctify ing an altar is something I do without a

ormal ritual. While that is a useful approach, I like

o sit with the altar for a period of time (usually

day s) until it feels natural to me. Sometimes this

happens as I am creating it, but usually it is a

process of being with and connecting with the altar

and my self. Over a period of time, the altar

becomes capable of holding a space for me much astry to hold space for others. To be specific, it

holds a space free of judgment in which I can just

be. This fits with my belief of healing and living.

The way that a sacred space works is that it becomea physical, emotional, and spiritual holder of

unconditional lov e. If y ou have had a person in

y our life who loves y ou unconditionally , y ou know

he incredible v alue of being held in this space.

When this space holds us, ev olution happens for us

T he steps that happen are:

1 . Awareness we become conscious of some

pattern or behavior in ourselves.


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2. Acceptance we learn to see ourselv es

without negativ e or positiv e judgment and

come to a place where we do not need to

change ourselves in order to consider

ourselv es acceptable. This seems to be one othe most difficult positions to hold for

ourselves.

3. Honor we recognize how our behaviors and

patterns have serv ed us in very meaningful

way s. Not, of course, in a way we would

necessarily deem as positive. For example, i

I had a deep seated belief that I was a failure,

I would be able to see how a particular

pattern kept bringing me back to this

position. As is obv ious, these patterns andbehaviors are mostly or completely

unconscious.

4. Evolution this happens not when we are

able to eliminate behav iors and patterns butwhen we become aware enough of them so as

to be conscious or at choice. Often the

pattern becomes a tool we can use in a

conscious way to serve us.


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use my altars to help hold this space for me to

v olv e. I get to be my authentic self within this

pace. There is little as freeing and rewarding as

being accepted and loved for who y ou truly are as

opposed to who y ou or others think y ou should be.

Most of us have spent a lot of time defending

ourselves against the invalidation we have felt and

ose our connection with what is true to ourselves.

Sitting with or ev en near the altar starts to give us a

ense of being held in unconditional acceptance.

Life is about living, lov ing, and growing and my

altars keep me close to this.


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Contribution

support with time and money two of my favorite

organizations, Crisis Clinicand Three Cedars

School.

The Crisis Clinicis a non-profit organization

dedicated to being a support line for people in crisi

and as dissemination point with ov er twenty four

hundred local resources.

support the Seattle Crisis Clinicand would highly

ecommend others do the same as they hav e well

rained volunteers that are able to talk to people in

need of friendly and wise counsel and also able toocate tremendous number of available resources

uch as shelters, food banks, emergency mental

health support and much more. 206 461-321 0

My other favorite place to support is a school inBellev ue, Washington named Three Cedars. They

are a Waldorf school dedicated to bringing a level o

ducation to children that far surpasses others I

have found. (425 401 -987 4)

They teach children to recognize that they are a par
http://www.threecedars.org/http://crisisclinic.org/http://crisisclinic.org/http://www.threecedars.org/http://crisisclinic.org/


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of this planet and all life. At the same time, they are

bringing education to children in a way that instills

ov e of learning and curiosity . Helping children in

hese ways may be the best way for us to support a

healthier life for future generations.


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How to Make an

AltarA Conversation

in my Headetween William

and MeBy Suzanne WittmannSuzanne edits everything I write

and has known me for over forty

years, so it is easy for her toimagine w hat I will say to her in a

conversation. She also has a touch

of theater background, hence the

script format. NB: the WW in this

script is an imaginary William


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Now y ou find your place.

WW: How do y ou find y our place?

Me (With slight frustration): I dont know. Ifits analtar with artwork, you find a place in your home or

office where y ou want to be reminded, where its

lat, where y ou feel comfortable.

OK, you have y our place, and you put y our things

out.

Wait, wait, I m getting to it.

like groups of three. Three objects, three corners

hree textures.

also like to include as many senses as possible.

Sight is a given unless you are blind. Smell can be

cented candles or incense. Sound can be wind

himes or rain if y ou are by a window.

Touch can be ev oked by using different textures;

mooth rock, cool glass, rough paper, feathers,

uzzy plant leaves.


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Taste is hard. I like to include things from nature as

y ou may hav e guessed pine cones, feathers, fall

eaves, shells, rocks, flowers.

There you go!

WW (smiling): Thank y ou, Suzanne.


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Irreverent

AltarsBy Alexandra Gayek

Alexandra heals folks at many

levels. Her work with theScienceof Being Wellweb site inspires

and heals with gentle

encouragement and playful

kindness. Y ou may reach her

through her site.

Y oure in for a treat. What follows

is poetic in its feel and presentation.

To tell you the truth, my first thought of an "altar"

giv es me the creeps. What floods into my mind are

houghts of resistance.

Plenty of times along my colorful lifelong spiritual

ourney I felt confused, guilty, a fraud, or not-good

nough when I tried to take on somebody else's
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=201080


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deas of what "should" be meaningful to me (candles

obacco, cornmeal, little bowls of water, salt,

pictures of this or that spiritual teacher, cry stals,

ittle statues of Jesus or Kali or Kwan Y in,)

omebody else's ideas of the rituals or prayers ormeditations I "should" do on a daily basis,

omebody 's idea that I "should" have a special spot

n my house dedicated to some sort of spiritual

practice or focus. I'm ev en reminded of my

esistance as a child to the baby sitter who insisted I

get on my knees and pray before getting into bed.

William inv ites me to contribute to this ebook, and

n the asking, all my resistance melts.

Suddenly I realize I have altars all ov er the place.

There's the little display on my desk with Annie and

Peter's wedding photo, the little wooden turtle that

made me laugh so hard as its head bounced in that

windy morning with Catherine in the open market iCabo San Lucas, a postcard photo of red poppies

hat wrap up an incredible couple of weeks in

Provence, France, a bright paper sculpture Lynnie

ent me for my birthday, the hand-drawn sign of my

name that one of my friends made to save my seat a


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a life-changing seminar, the list of qualities I pasted

on the wall to remind me of my focus, the Frida

Kahlo card Eileen gave me just after our trip to

Costa Rica.

cross the room is the colored pencil drawing of

ardinals I bought from the artist in Y ellow Springs

one day when I was feeling so grateful to have the

means to buy art, the orange doily my cousin Tracy

made for me, the photo of a bird on the sand my

photographer friend Todd took on his trip to Alaska

next to the lop-sided basket I was so proud to make

with my very own hands.

On top of my stereo in the kitchen is a plant that I

ike to think thrives on the words and music I play,next to a bright Spanish grammar book I imagine is

mparting silent fluency to my brain.

What is an altar but something that makes me smile

or laugh, drop my shoulders, rememberpontaneous joy and surprises and lightness and

riends and gratitude and lov e and my own power.

t's all those feelings that sanctify it.

f you were to follow my solo wanderings in the


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wilderness, y ou'd find me making another kind of

altar.

t all started last summer when William groaned

with longing as I told him I was taking off for aweeklong wander in the mountains. We decided I

hould make little cairns here and there for him to

v icariously experience being there.

t was such fun, finding each spot I imagined he

would love, and building a little rock figure to take

n the view for him. Those rock people stand

witness in Goat Rocks Wilderness in the Cascades of

Washington, the Grand Cany on, Big Bend National

Park. Better than photos of the v iew, they capture

he full essence of those wonderful, deliciousmoments of playfully thinking of my belov ed friend

They also pull me back into those beautiful places

ike little windows through which I can watch the

louds float past, the goats and rabbits and elk anddeer walking by , the cy cles of day and night and

moon, stars, and seasons. It's as if a part of me is sti

quietly present in all those places, feeding me a

onstant stream of peace and deep energy to do

what needs doing in the city .


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s I think about what I'v e written here, I realize

hese little touches I'v e created are what bring me

back to Truth when I get distracted by the crowd of

unquestioned negativ e thoughts that seem to gatheo readily as I interact with the world. It's not so

different, I suppose, from setting up any other

ollection of objects that represents Truth for Y OU


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Contribution

contribute to and love both of Williams favorite

auses, and would add these:

The National Park Foundation

www.nationalparks.org) which I learned from a

ong-time park employ ee was the best way to

upport the parks. I'm so gratefulto those who hadhe v ision and donated the land and funds to set

aside places of such profound beauty and make

hem safely accessible to people from all ov er the

world, and especially , to ME.

nother of my favorites is FINCA International

www.villagebanking.org). It provides financial

erv ices to people (primarily women, who represen

he poorest segment of the population with the

argest responsibility for supporting families)in

frica, Eurasia, and Central America, allowing themo create successful small businesses, avoid

dependence on v illage money lenders (who often

ontribute to v iolence and drug culture).

FINCA also provides a safe means for family
http://www.villagebanking.org/http://www.villagebanking.org/http://www.nationalparks.org/http://www.nationalparks.org/


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members to send money home from work abroad -

very important in Mexico and Central America.

f y ou've traveled to these places, y ou will

understand the unsurpassed empowerment thatesults from people using their own skills, talents,

and ideas to create businesses that will support the

amilies and prov ide the means for health,

ducation, and physical safety .


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angle from my v isor. Howev er, they would

ometimes return to their source when I drov e on

warmer day s with the windows down.

My Datsun had a flat tray under the radio, for tapesand sunglasses. It soon overflowed with small

tones of unequaled beauty. They would speak to

me in their smooth voices, asking to go with me as

ompanions for a while. Once inside the car they

would find their way to the nooks and crannies

around the seats. On the dashboard, there were

tones ev ery where and I lov ed them all. As sacred

hings do, they would fan out to accompany me on

all my journey s. The final addition was what my

mother calls Nativ e American insurance: a long

prig of sage sliding back and forth across thedashboard.

have always noticed that people intuitiv ely place

hings of meaning around their rear-view mirrors.

On any road trip, the observant ey e can notice thisdelightful commonality. These include (but are not

imited to) fuzzy dice, cardboard ev ergreen trees in

assorted primary colors, dangles, feathers, beads,

dream-catchers, bells, cords, and the occasional,

but alway s ey ebrow-raising, leather strap.


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My car was unique, a force of nature inside and out

a lean, green shamanic machine, able to leap entire

ealities from 0-80 in sixty seconds -- or at least I

believed it was so. I truly loved that car, notbecause it was a 197 8 Datsun, but because my own

orm of wild safety was contained in its sacred blue

body . It was and is now essential to my well-being

o have spirited reminders ev ery where in my life,

both v isually as well as energetically .

A teacher of mine once told me that cars had the

worst feng shui possible. Perhaps my organic way o

making my cars into traveling altars is a way to

ransform that sha (bad energy) into chi (good

nergy). This was ev en before I ev er took a fenghui class or ev en had so much as a conscious clue

about good and bad.

For me that is what altars do. They transform

nergy and stabilize benefic energies that are alwaypresent and available. I can also take whatev er is in

my heart, and create a sacred site outside of me.

This acts as a gentle reminder of all that is good in

my life. It is a tangible, authentic pray er; a way tha

can pray ev en when sleeping. Each one is a


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eminder of my deep rev erence for life and daily

elationship to God. The altars I co-create with

Spirit are a sustainable, practical way to walk this

my stical path with active participation, intention,

and responsibility .

n my counseling practice, I ask that people place

money for my fee on the altar in my office.

bove this altar is a framed Japanese picture of the

loating world, a mythical community where

v ery one works together for the highest good. On

he altar are images of Serenity , a raven, and a

tatue of a Buddha from Thailand. There are stones

giv en or gathered on journey s around the world,

andles to ask that my work be of light, and the evepresent sage for purification. There are often letter

of gratitude. I also ask that all energy that comes to

me from the Source be used for the greatest good o

all. My altars are organized and clarified

igorously . They are meticulously cared for withpray ers in the forms of symbols that are meaningfu

and authentic to me and my relationship with

Spirit. Although my altars are usually tidy, the

debris -- if any -- is a flurry of pray ers.


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cried the day that old Datsun died on the West

Seattle Freeway. In the way of things, it was

v entually replaced with my very first new car

v er. She is my traveling altar, and is named Luna.

She is silver like the moon, but she is, by no stretchof the imagination, what one could call tidy! All of

her is an altar.

Willingly , she preserv es memories in each foil and

paper wrapping, in each stray ticket stub, in each

wig, and in each feather. It was a much needed

acred addition to my life.

On our first road trip together, after settling into th

driver's seat, I was looking for room to place some

tones I had gathered from my walk. To my greaturprise, I discovered that there wasn't enough

oom to place all five of them where they wouldn't

become v ictims to sliding into the great chasm

underneath my seat. I balanced the small stones on

my emergency brake until I could get them home.

am driven by life as ceremony as though it were a

beloved poem or song. My car, for example, is like

lam poetry: a cacophony of my teaching,

mentoring, learning, and liv ing life. I was


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disappointed to find that Luna had so selfishly

afforded me only a small shelf; too small and

ounded to hold ev en two stones for an altar on the

dash. Now don't get me wrong. I lov e my car. It

ymbolizes freedom; and I treat my freedom withhe same respect that I treat any mystical form of

ransportation.

The dilemma of where to put the altar in a new and

omewhat pristine car haunted me until about thre

days ago.

My intuition guided me to a small leather box that

had once held a wallet; the perfect size to perch on

he little shelf in my car. Thusly would the various

tones, feathers and saints from different traditionsall be housed safely . All I needed was a little

double-sided tape on the bottom of said box to

nsure its perfect placement. I could also protect

my feathers from the wild winds of summer driving

and still have a constant, v isual prayer to remindme of serenity and gratitude when in traffic. This

would serv e to assist my meditations in the still

imes that I have before blessing a home or

business.


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n that little brown box is tremendous serenity and

onnectedness with Spirit. No matter where I am -

n downtown Seattle for a business blessing or in th

middle of Detroit for a wedding blessing -- I have

authentic elements and reminders of Spirit, my self,and Nature to support whatev er I am called to do.

This includes any ceremony, teaching, or medicine

hat would like to flow through me in that moment.

Because, you see, these bring me that essential

eminder to be still. After all, ev ery thing is already

n motion-especially my Native American insuranc

hat glides from one end of the dash to another,

v ery time I turn a corner.


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Pondering

AltarsBy Joelle Lyons

EverettJoelle is a consultant to organizations, a

facilitator of workshops, and the author of

Strange and Wonderful Things, a boo

of original poems. The focus of her work is

more on healing than on teaching. Y ou can

learn more about her consulting and

workshops at

www.SoundResources.org and contact her

[email protected]

walked around my house, looking at the sacred

paces I have created there, and asked my self, So,

what do y ou think y ou are doing? What is the
mailto:[email protected]://www.soundresources.org/


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antler by a woman I met in the Altai region of

Siberia, and a wheat stalk that was tied around the

program for a wonderful meeting in Denmark.

changing array of seasonal shrines and altarshow up all around the housea handful of fresh

hestnuts in a small bowl, new crow feathers, robin

gg shell, amazing twisted and rolled strips of

madrona bark, a thick chunk of white lichen. At

Christmas, I put cups and vases of fresh holly all

around the house, and primroses at Valentines

Day.

This y ear, at the winter solstice, I picked holly ,

edar, and Oregon grape, and piled them between

wo clumps of small white birch trees we plantedast summer. The intention here is not decorating

o much as it is ritualhonoring the changing

easons and the wonder of the natural world.

was pleased to see Christmas trees in Williams listof altars. I recently found a picture of my first

Christmas tree, an old photo tucked into my baby

book, right along with my first pictures and a

priceless photo of me, probably a month old, with

both sets of grandparents.


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Decorating a tree was alway s a family ritual, and it i

one my husband and I have continued. Trimming

he tree brings back a host of memories, with

ornaments from my parents and grandparentsrees, toy s and folk art weve brought back from

rips, things we made to trim our first tree, and

ornaments made by family and friends. When we

urn on the Christmas lights, I feel like the Season o

Light has arriv ed.

ts very easy for me to get caught up in every day

outines. Hav ing these informal house shrines and

altars helps me keep in mind that Spirit and magic

are always nearby , if only I give them my attention

n my pondering, I realize that the process of

making an altar is v ery much the same process as

writing a poemI bring together things that beckon

o my attention, mov ing them around until

omething within me is satisfied. Most often, thentention emerges from the finished poem, not the

other way around.

Heres a poem that is partly about making altars

he title poem from my book:


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Strange And WonderfulThings

I'm a scav enger of stories --

I will remember what you tell me,

Offer it on outstretched palm

To someone down the road who needs

Absolution, advice, a good laugh.

I'm a scav enger of stones,

Vacant shells, fallen leav es,

And black feathers, strangely silent.

I drop them, strangers, on the sill at sunset -

By dawn some alchemy is working.

I'm a scav enger of dreams,

Hauling from the far side of midnightA kind and handsome friend,

A sinister man who stalks me,

A priestess, and a child.

In an old house, in an old land,

This cast will perform


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Y our story , my story , the story of

Stone and feather, whose shadows by

moonlight

Point the way home.

The best fresh bread does not fill

All my hollows. A good pay check

Still leav es places in my soul

That hunger for stories and thirst for dream

And would do magic with stone, seashell,

feather, and a leaf as red as flame.

-- Joelle

Ly ons Ev erett

BlackCrow Press, 2000


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Heres How to

Review YourBook on

AmazonGo to the books page onAmazon.com. Scroll down

o the last rev iew and click the Write a custom er

reviewbutton. If y oure not logged in, Amazon wi

ask y ou to login now.

Give it a star rating. (Certainly , I like 5 stars.) Then

ompose a title for y our rev iew. Finally enter your

eview. It only needs to be 20 words. Y ou can do a

written or v ideo rev iew.

Tip: I always ty pe my rev iew in MS Word so the

pelling and typos get checked and then I copy and

paste that into Amazon.

Thanks, again.
http://amazon.com/


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Walk in beauty ,

William


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FriendlyResources


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WilliamsPlayful & Sacredrt

Well, this is where we started, of course. Y ou will

ind just the images of the artwork here, not in their

altarpiece format. Any image can be framed or

mounted as a sacred altarpiece for y ou. Y ou can

equest paper colors and ev en color of ink for thetching.
http://www.playfulandsacredart.com/http://www.playfulandsacredart.com/


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Williams Resources

ll of these resources help you build strength and

ase in y our body and soul.

The Body and Soul Mentorweb site

www.Body AndSoulMentor.com

The Body and Soul Mentorprivate mem ber web site offers

inspiring, effective life

coaching and potent

information at an easily

affordable price that em powers

you to liv e a life y ou

wholeheartedly love -- body

and soul.

Free Goodies

http://bodyandsoulmentor.com/index.php?

page=freegoodies
http://bodyandsoulmentor.com/index.php?page=freegoodieshttp://www.bodyandsoulmentor.com/


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Wittmann, William - Altar Making

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