Sacred Architecture

Veronica Anderson is exploring Deep Design, an approach to world building that integrates inner and outer architecture as a foundation for a New Earth.

Alchemical Architecture

The world is changing, outdated systems of oppression and power structures are crumbling beneath their own weight as multiple global crises come to a climax of urgency.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 what does this feel like, how does it look?

Deep Design is a way forward, a framework for building the new paradigm and a better world from the inside out.

As a holistic alchemical practice, Deep Design is unique in its theoretical and practical applications.

Deep Design is...

• Based on more than a decade of architectural practice and sustainable design
• Informed by mastery of the cutting-edge science of Geodesign and geographic information systems technologies
• Structured on the indigenous worldview including multi-dimensional permaculture principles
• Centered around nondual principles of Zen Buddhism as taught by Thich Nhat Hanh
• Founded upon the non secular practice of alchemy and ancient truths including, "as within, so without"
• Created to repair humanity's connection to the Earth using the embodiment practices of the 13 Moon Mystery School

Inner Architectures

The inner practice of sacred 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 this problem is at the core of our current sustainability crises.

Humanity has fallen out of alignment with our true nature, and we can use the buildings, cities, and spaces around us to remind each other of what it means to 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. 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 by visiting City Sanadora.

Welcome to the sacred here and now.

Hello, beautiful soul.

I believe that we now live in a time of great awakening and that inside of you lies the power to shift our collective consciousness towards sustainable peace and unity right now.

My name is Veronica Anderson. I’m an ensoulment coach and visionary architect. Today, I’ll be your guide as we explore the sacred architecture of the here and now.

Deep Design

In this talk we’ll explore Deep Design, a practice of inner and outer architecture to build a new earth.

What is sacred?

First, let’s ask ourselves, What is sacred? To me sacred is the oneness. Anything that is sacred is divine. Sacred means love, the unconditional kind. And since we’re talking about architecture you probably have a sense of what architecture is already, but did you know it is considered the mother of the arts. Once ancient humans needs for shelter were met, the human creative spirit began to blossom. Space is transformational. This is why we cannot have a discussion about the architecture of new earth without referring to internal and external structures. They go hand in hand. First, we design our buildings and then they design us. We have created a world which serves only a few and oppresses many.

Today, we’ll talk about how sacred architecture is a powerful tool to help humanity actualize its potential as stewards of the earth, to heal trauma, and expand into unity consciousness.

But first let me share a little bit about how I got into this work. In 2007, I began studying how to use mindfulness to catalyze radical healing. I took my cues from the man who is responsible for bringing mindfulness to the West, Thich Nhat Hanh, a human rights advocate and peace activist as well as Zen monk. My own healing journey led me to study yoga and many other eastern philosophies. Loving kindness and compassion began to awaken in me along with a burning need to honor and protect the earth.

As a teen, I learned to accept the things I could not change and change the things I could not accept. And since climate change and wasteful development practices were things I could not accept, I devoted myself to the study and practice of sustainability. But after two professional degrees and a successful career in sustainable development, first in corporate America and later with the United Nations, I noticed the focus was always on money instead of an urgent need to act. I didn’t just want to design cities which work for everyone, build consciousness-enhancing communities, and create healing for entire nations. I knew how to do it, but no one would listen. Everywhere I looked, politicians, corporations, and decision makers were too entrenched in fear and powerlessness to act, while people were losing touch with nature, and the climate was rapidly changing.

So, I quit, and I followed my gut to Costa Rica, where I devoted myself completely to peace building work. I found projects where my skills as a designer were needed to build a more resilient and united human family. But still, money was the main focus. And that’s when I realized people had to change before the world could, if I wanted to build infrastructure and communities I knew were possible. First, there had to be a way to heal the fear and powerlessness I sensed everywhere I went.

After more than a decade, I discovered a way to address the overwhelm which stops people from acting to create real change. I’ll talk more about the inner architecture component of deep design at the end.

When I moved here to Costa Rica, something was awakened in me and I began to realize I could actually hear the voice of the earth speaking how to design truly sustainable spaces and places. Eventually, I became initiated as a priestess in the 13 Moon Mystery School and the spirit of the earth spoke to me through ancient archetypes like kuan yin, through sacred geometry like the flower of life, and through the Indigenous peoples of the land where I live, the Huetares. Gaia showed me a new way of living in harmony with the earth, with each other, and with ourselves. And this is what I’m sharing with you today.

Here are some core principles of sacred architecture to help us catalyze the physical manifestation of the new earth in our cities and world.

Sacred architecture is designed for people. That’s principle number one: it’s humanitarian. It’s made for who we are, to our scale, for our bodies, and based on our physical, psychological, emotional, and, above all, spiritual needs. Humans are children of the earth, her most conscious emanations, with the responsibility to mend the sacred hoop of life where it has been broken.

Sacred architecture is also elemental. That’s the second principle put together air fire water and earth with consciousness the fifth element emerges: ether or space. With our consciousness, we manipulate sound and form using vibration to manifest healing, health, and well-being through the support of these four basic elements. Architecture is the design and shaping of space. It is an alchemical act, a transformative process, which speaks to who we are at a deep level. And at that level space exists in every aspect of our being. Sacred architecture reminds us of this.

Sacred architecture is regenerative. Never take more than you need. Always leave a place better than when you found it. Grow sustainably or not at all. Because when one person’s happiness is based on the suffering of another, we all suffer. The web of life is an interconnected network of universal energy. Our personal activities can contribute to the whole, detract from it, or be neutral. Each one of us must choose a hundred times a day which it will be, and sacred spaces make those choices easier.

Our built environment can help evolve humanity’s sense of unity consciousness by creating experiences of the sacred using these three principles. Sacred architecture connects us with the earth, with each other, and with ourselves. We can have streets that are sacred, homes that are sacred, plazas and parks that are sacred; whole cities and countries can be sacred. And just imagine our whole planet covered in spaces that are sacred.

What it comes down to is reciprocity: exchange with mutual benefit is the only sustainable kind of energetic relationship. We need reciprocity at all scales: global, local, and personal. And in order to harmonize humanity we need all three simultaneously to ground and stabilize the new paradigm.

At the global scale, reciprocity looks like symbiosis between ourselves and our planet. We need to recognize ourselves as stewards of the land and not owners extracting value from it. We cannot have peace on the earth until we have made peace with the earth. So, in order to do this we need systems in place at national and global scales which make visible our interdependence with the systems around us. This looks like implementing our technology in a way which measures and feeds back to us the impact that we are having on the planet and her systems in real time so that we can do better.

At the local scale reciprocity looks like synarchy, a new paradigm in which masculine and feminine energies and principles are balanced in perfect harmony. Currently, masculine values are placed above feminine ones. Female identified people still carry a history of oppression and experience it to this day. To create a culture of reciprocity, every being alive needs to do the work to honor within themselves the softer, sensing, resting qualities which have been denigrated for at least 2,000 years.

In community, we need to focus on healing our nervous systems, individual and collective, in order to release the fear of the unknown which is keeping us stuck in an unsustainable paradigm.

At the personal scale, reciprocity looks like an awareness of how peace in oneself directly leads to peace in the world. Each one of us needs to do the work to disidentify from the ego, which is attached to unhealthy power dynamics of oppression and conflict. This is done by working to acknowledge, process, and accept the trauma experienced during our own lives and which we inherited from our ancestors.

At the individual level, quantum ripples originate, spreading out from us, which cause action at the higher levels. And, so, by recognizing how the collective consciousness dwells in you, your own personal healing journey can directly impact humanity and the planet as a whole. When all buildings and spaces on earth encourage inner peace and cultivate unity consciousness, then we will know that the new earth has been fully manifested. Connecting with the higher self, the soul, the spark of divinity and the infinite which dwells within each one of us is the birthright of every human being.

So, the buildings humanity needs are contemplative spaces for healing, and the plans we need are for regenerative communities and ecological cities. But every building can be sacred, and every community can be regenerative.

The space within us is no different than the space around us. Sacred architecture brings us into contact with something bigger than ourselves. As I work toward a peaceful and just world, I look inside myself and see a desire to be surrounded by creative, empowered, and compassionate individuals. We can’t just teach people how to build better buildings and communities. We need better people to build those spaces.

So, now we’ve come to the part about internal architectures for a new earth. In deep design, the internal and external are the yin and yang of sacred architecture. Suffering people will always build societies which create more suffering. So, we cannot have peace on the earth until we address our suffering, and that means we must make peace with ourselves. Depression, chronic pain, anxiety, exhaustion, despair, overwhelm, rage, jealousy—all of these are symptoms of deep wounding which can be transformed into a source of empowerment and embodiment. Current social norms ignore the emotional and spiritual dimensions of life and tell us that we have to stay exclusively in the mind and the somatic realms so that, in the end, we’re only half alive.

I help sensitive, artistic, powerful people break through the limiting beliefs caused by this unsustainable paradigm to find the courage to be present in the life they have so they can create the life they deserve, because this world desperately needs us to think big and be bold now. It’s often the most creative and inspired people who endure the deepest traumas and who struggle the most just to get by. The process for building internal sustainability and resiliency which I’ve developed brings a person home to their true self, liberating creative energy and awakening a passion for life.

Everyone has the potential to realize freedom from suffering. You can transcend what holds you back and be a catalyst for the massive change now taking place at a global scale. Unshakable presence and a solid foundation of happiness grounded in the here and now is within your reach. You get to live in a world where it feels effortless to cultivate the joy of simply being alive.

I envision a world in which every place, every moment feels like coming home for every being, regardless of class, race, age, creed, ability, or nationality. Have you ever wondered what it would take to build a world which is in love with itself?

If you are curious, I invite you to join me on my mission to do just that find me on Patreon as the Lunar Nectar Hive, on Instagram as Guardian of the Sacred, and online at my website veronicasanadora.com.

Thank you for being. Namaste, and blessed be you.