Anyone can build a Heart Temple. As a metaphysical or spiritual exercise, you can create a fully functional structure in two simple steps. Here's what a Heart Temple is, how to build one, and how it may support the emergence of a new species — or at least a new civilization. First, though, we'll look at the dynamics between the Inner and Outer Worlds and their connection to this process.

The Outer World: Culture, Biology, Psychology
Culture, biology, and psychology shape the Outer World and the Outer World shapes us. Within our culture, the media plays an important role. It subtly yet powerfully directs (and sometimes distorts) our perception of reality. It tries to sell us, among other things, the idea that we should buy products. Lots of products. If we do, then we will feel satisfied. We will become more attractive. Others will notice how special we are.

We discover soon enough that the thrill of our shiny new possessions tarnishes quickly and that being superficially "special" is only another wall of the ego. Especially today, the Outer World implies that we should neglect the Inner World: it's unrealistic and not profitable. At worst, only weirdoes or losers who can't make it in the real world believe in it. The truth is, greed is good, and the one who dies with the most toys wins. (What do we win?) The Outer World has so much more to offer than any alleged "inner life."

People who buy these ideas often advance to the next level of insatiable hunger: power. But there's more happening here than just rampant consumerism and clawing for power. The Outer World is where we deal with others and take care of the body's necessities. Biologically, the Other World influences everyone regardless of his or her culture. When we're hungry, we eat and are satisfied. Before long, though, our stomach rumbles and we're hungry again. That's how it works. With the body, satisfaction is short-lived.

Psychology, which combines materialistic theory and cultural bias, plays a role as well. At the core of psychological study is the mind, which operates on the principle of dualism. It detects differences by contrasting one object with another. Accordingly, the world is composed of opposites: black and white, ugly and beautiful, Left and Right, and many other relative distinctions that challenge our notion of oneness. When you notice that your spouse squeezes the tube of toothpaste haphazardly ("Oh, no!") while you roll it up neatly from the bottom, you acknowledge a difference. The brain then determines whether the difference is good or bad based on its experiences.

The mind uses other subtle tricks. For instance, I'm not the swiftest bird in the flock. When I compare myself to someone who "thinks faster on their feet" than I do, then I'm "slow." In a production-driven society, slow is bad. But there's good news for the ego. If I find someone slower than me, then I'm fast and he's slow.