Sacred and Profane, is an electro-acoustic music cycle of five works. The title suggests one way of dividing the nature of the universe, and as well, that of time. Most specifically, it can define day of rest (the Sabbath) as separate from the other six days of the week (the profane). In a musical context, it describes, or alludes to, sacred moments that are set up, by the more profane moments of the piece. In this extensive work, it is used to describe the basic materials of the five pieces, as well as a general framework for understanding the various pieces. At the same time, there are clear moments of the sacred in the profane pieces as well. This is a mirroring of the awesome aspects of the natural world.

Three of the works, An Awesome Silent Fire, Like Smoke Towards Heaven, and Cry (Your Cry Will Be a Whisper II) are drawn from the sayings of Rabbi Nachman of Bratislav, a leader of the Hassidic movement in Poland of the 18th Century. These texts were used for their poetic imagery, and the words (or word), as spoken by Kip Haaheim, are the sole materials of these three pieces. These pieces represent, for us, a human search, or striving for the divine. Thus, the sacred aspect of this work.

The other two pieces, Mercury and Chromium, form the profane part of the larger cycle. Each of these two works are in three movements and are formed solely of synthesized (MIDI or computer-generated) sounds; thus their more profane origination. They reflect a look at the natural and human world at the same time. These works incorporate dance elements, a quiet sense of humor, as well as a subtle reference to sounds of the natural and man-made world.