A life of their own

   The use of specific locations for prayer and religous worship has dated back thousands and thousands of years. The repeated use of specific cites turned ordinary locations into something more. They developed a life of their own. They house years and years of history and tradition. It amazes me how the aboriginal people can moved so much by the rock caves that they pray at. It's as if they can feel the history that's within them. In today's society people shape the land to fit their lives, but the aborigines change their lives in order to protect the space.

          I can relate on some level to the aboriginal people. I am not religious, but there are places that house my history and memories that mean alot to me. My house for example is scared to me. I've lived in the same house for 18 years, and the house really does have a life of it's own. Almost all of the memories I have from my childhood are in this house. My parents built it when they first got married, and only our family has lived in it since then. There's a lot of love and tradition in the space. I hope people feel those emotions when they come here, similar to the visitors of the aboriginal territories.

        A space doesn't have to be religious affiliated to be considered sacred. A sacred space is a location with enough meaning and history to evoke emotions in people. It doesn't matter if it's one person or a whole group that feels those emotions, as long as there's one, that's enough. These spaces become alive with the history that they hold, and I'm sure if they were able to communicate with us they'd have some interesting stories to tell.

My Space

Sacred space can be a magnificently built cathedral or the site of a significant historical event. Sacred space can also be a specific chair or a bedroom. Everyone's idea of scared space is unique; it depends on where one feels safe, in touch with spirituality, or at peace. My bedroom sacred to me and no one else. It's what I come home to every day, where I do home work, and watch TV. I feel safe, and at peace. Another sacred space for me is the KHS auditorium. I've been in 9 Drama Club productions in the past four years and with each one I become more attached to that space. The amount of time I've spent backstage, onstage, in the costume closet and in the house is immeasurable. It's kind of become a home away from home; there are days when I'll stay till 10:30 for rehearsal. For some, the auditorium might just be a place to get away from class to see a presentation. But for me, it's a place where I feel at home and at peace.

Although an individual's sacred space is unique to him/herself, there are certain spaces with rich spiritual/historical heritages that have been considered sacred by generation after generation. These are sacred in a different way. Even though these spaces might not invoke the same personal emotions as an individualistic space, their mystery creates a sense of a higher power and a higher sense of being. Just the shier knowledge of a space's history can create these feelings. Going to stonehenge, for example, would be an incredible experience. I have no connection to this space other than the knowledge of it's past, but I would still feel the power of the space.

The loft

Sacred spaces are different for everyone. Personally, when I think of a sacred space, I think of a space where I can officially be at peace with anything and everything. When one sees the word 'sacred', they might assume that it has some sort of religious affiliation, I personally always did. I have never been the religious type. I was brought up in a household where God simply did not exist, and that there was no such thing as a 'higher power'. However, just because I was brought up not practicing or following any sort of religious belief, does not mean that I am a close-minded individual when it comes to the the study of religion. 


When I think of a sacred space, I think of the loft in my woodshed. It sounds extremely bizarre, but I used to spend hours up there sitting on the window sill that looked out into my backyard. I used to read books and (attempt)  to draw pictures. I always felt at peace when I was there. I hadn't gone up there in several years, for I thought I outgrew it-- it was something I used as a child to hangout and be alone. Toward the middle of this year, around Thanksgiving and into winter break, all I wanted to do was be completely alone. I didn't want anyone to bother me. When I got home from school one afternoon, feeling tired and detached, I immediately remembered the loft. It was November, so the weather was less than desirable, but I didn't mind. The brisk air felt nice and refreshing. I brought one of my all-time favorite novels up there with me, The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald. When I climbed the rickety steps up to the loft, I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I felt like a little kid again. I spent almost the entire afternoon and early evening up there, reading and remembering all that was important to me.


The aborigines saw their caves as sacred spaces. They put the bones of their deceased loved ones in them. The loft was like my cave. It felt just right. For the next three months I spent nearly every afternoon up in the loft (unless the weather was bad or it was freezing outside).  Even lately I have been going up there every once and a while. I think it'll always be a sacred spot of mine. 

Sacred Space: The Union of Physical Location and Spiritual Comfort

Sacred space is a phrase that carries dual meaning for me. On the more physical hand, it means a place of worship, of particular religious significance. It is a place where I can go and feel the power and glory of God and meditate in his presence. Yet humans do not all worship the same deity. Instead, we practice countless different religions, which in turn mean many physical religious locations. The religious demographics of our class are a microcosm of these phenomena: some of us are Christian, others Jewish, agnostic, atheist, or otherwise spiritual. Such a vast array of beliefs means that my physical definition of a sacred space is likely very different from that of you or another.

My other definition of sacred space is my soul. My soul is a place that is sacred and pure, indwelt by the Holy Spirit and a refuge from the troubles of the world. It is with me wherever I travel, at all times of day. I can go there at a moment’s notice, and stay there as long as I wish. When I am troubled, I seek refuge there, and always find comfort and peace. My sacred space gives me courage when I am scared, provides comfort when I am sorrowful, grants me peace when I am anxious, and offers forgiveness when I sin.

The ultimate sacred space, however, is when I can combine the physical location of a church with my internal space. When this happens, I feel completely carefree and at peace. No worries can breach the safety of this stronghold, and no sin can contaminate it. It is constant and powerful, allowing me a place to escape from the problems that I face each day. I am restored and reinvigorated by the power of God, and can leave with a new spring in my step and purpose in my life.

Turtle Rock

If I was to ask a random person on the street, "Uhm, good sir, can you define Sacred Space for me?" he would probably say it is a location that evokes emotions of sacredness, and a place where a higher energy lets us recognize and appreciate our creation.  I would then reply to the man, saying I agree full-heartedly.  I would reply in such an agreeable manner because this is how I perceive Sacred Space, and its concept is one of great power.  When I think of Sacred Space, I think of a place where I visit to appreciate what God has created around me.  I agree with what most people think of Sacred Space, and I respect the concept and definition behind its meaning.

When I think of Sacred Space I think of places I can go to relax and take in my surroundings, knowing I'm in a favorable life and environment.  The first place that comes to mind is the forest behind my house.  This forest is filled with lush trees, wild animals, an assortment of different plants and bushes, and above all, a place to think.  In my forest there is a big rock that I call Turtle Rock because it has a big, shell-like center and a tiny head-like end.  When I was younger I would go to Turtle Rock to contemplate my existence, resulting in thanking God, my family, and my friends for the life I had been given.  Turtle Rock was a sacred space for me, and if I ever want to reconnect to the spiritual awe of nature, I can return to the rock and find a window to God.

Because Turtle Rock meant so much to me when I was younger, I can comprehend and respond to the concept of Sacred Space.  Though some may feel they have no places of comfort or sacredness, the concept of Sacred Space is not hard to follow and find, and anyone can discover their own means of connecting to the world around them.  The theory of Sacred Space is one of great individualism, and I strongely welcome its effects on humans.  Not only does it allow an individual to become one with his surroundings, but it lets him experience a holy power in current life, rather than just in death.  The concept of Sacred Space is magical because anyone can find a way to appreciate their lives, and I suggest anyone reading this to find a sacred place of your own and acknowledge how lucky you are to be alive and well.

Defining Who You Are

Sacred spaces are made up of beliefs, comfort, and serenity. These spaces define cultures and humanity itself. Who you are defines what you consider your own sacred space. Sacred spaces are not limited to just architecture, but you can find elements of this concept in nature as well. These spaces are key points in humanity.

If you take a glance around the world, you will notice that the major "sacred spaces" define the culture that surrounds it. It seems as though these sacred spaces are built on rich culture and the beliefs of the people that worship and respect them. A lot of people look to these spaces as a place to practice their religion and show their faith. The most common sacred spaces would be a church, synagogue, or monastery. These are iconic sacred spaces, a place for faith, beliefs, and serenity. Not all sacred spaces are manmade structures, some people look to nature for their own space.

There is an aspect of paradise in the concept of a sacred space. The reason human beings visit exotic, natural places, is to experience the peacefulness and and beauty of sacred spaces in the natural world. These natural spaces to humans are absolutely idyllic; a natural paradise.

A time to visit your sacred space is when you are defining yourself. Your perfect space will describe who you are. It will define your own morals, beliefs, and most importantly your own paradise. A sacred space should bring all aspects of your life together and bring you wholeness, peace, and happiness.

Permanence and Emotion

   Each and every person is described as unique. No one person can ever be expected to perfectly emulate another. A large part of this individuality is defined by the space each person chooses to inhabit  in their attempts to bring themselves peace. Some thrive in a noisy environment, seeking out sanctity in places with such characteristics, like waterfalls, a loud restaurant, or a windy mountaintop. Others seek places of silence, like a well insulated room, empty church, or even the middle of a placid lake. It is my belief that sacred space is a place personally defined as untouchable, a spot where everything is as it should be, and one can feel at peace with his or herself.
    People have sought such places for as long as we can imagine. Australia's aborigines defined and protected remarkable locations within the natural environment as their sacred places. Caves, rock formations, and other such permanent and essential components of their habitat often wore the mantle of sacred space. These places were watched over by specified elders who served as the priests and custodians. On the other end of the spectrum, people often hold their own personal sacred spaces that may hold no significance to any other person. This can break down even to the point of a specific rock where one had a powerful experience.
    Despite such a diversity on the opinion of sacred space, the general belief of what defines such places has changed little from time to time and place to place. Churches have taken the place of spiritual caves, a garden bench the place of the personally sacred rock. And yet the criteria for such holy places remains roughly the same. A reasonably permanent fixture, holding some emotional significance often based off of one's previous powerful experiences or those of another is the most consistent formula. As I conclude this post, I will retire to my sacred bedroom, which I view as untouchable and timeless, and is a place I have looked to for peace and silence since the age of two.

A Sacred Place: Anywhere and Everywhere

The Oxford Dictionary of English defines sacred as “connected with God or a god dedicated to a religious purpose and so deserving veneration.” From this, a sacred space would have to be viewed as an area that is specifically religious, or connected to a spiritual figure. The term “sacred space” has many connotations, and one of the pictures that come with “sacred space,” is that of religious buildings, or areas which religions hold as sacred.  While these distinct religious places can be sacred, they are not the only areas that people hold sacred.

Many devout people find connections with their god in nonreligious areas. One student writes, as a first thought on sacred space, “I am not tied to some arbitrarily chosen geographical location for spiritual meaning.” This religious student is able to find a deep connection with his or her god outside of a designated holy area, thus showing that there is no universal way to define a space as sacred, it is such because someone thinks it is so.

Though sacred and religious are so closely tied together, it is not only religious people who find sacred spaces in their lives. While the way in which the nonreligious person classifies sacred may be different from the religious person, it is important to understand all views. In his work, “On Cannibals,” Montaigne writes, “I would have every one write what he knows, and as much as he knows, but no more; and that not in this only, but in all other subjects; for such a person may have some particular knowledge and experience of the nature of such a river, or such a fountain, who, as to other things, knows no more than what everybody does, and yet to keep a clutter with this little pittance of his, will undertake to write the whole body of physics: a vice from which great inconveniences derive their original.” This stimulates several thoughts about sacred space. First, why it is important to consider the ideas of others—they may provide new knowledge and insights, which may enhance person views.  Second, it draws attention to nature, and aspect of the world in which many people find their sacred spots.

Nature is often held sacred for both religious and spiritual reasons. As Nigel Spivey writes in “How Art Made the World: Second Nature,” in the religion of the Algonquian people of Canada “ancestral spirits are deemed to reside in a tree of a boulder (128).” This is one example of many in which religious sacred spaces are found in nature.  A common idea throughout the students’ first thoughts is that a sacred space is anywhere one can go to be alone, and where one can feel at peace with the world. These places are often found in nature.

“A sacred space can be anywhere. It can be sacred to an individual, or a group of people. It can have a deep meaning and connection, or it can be arbitrary. A sacred space is somewhere one goes to do something that is sacred to them, whether it be spending time alone, thinking, reading, praying. A place is sacred because someone thinks of it as such.”

To Each His Own

What classifies something as sacred? Is it necessary for the place to be connected to a religion of some sort, such as the Kaaba or a cathedral, or is it possible for a more simplistic location to be sacred? Australian Aborigines saw certain rocks as a sacred location, the place where their ancestors dwelled, and the Celts believed that certain caves were entrances to the spirit world. Today, we have forgotten the ways of a natural sacred space in favor of a manmade one. People flock to cathedrals and churches not only for religious services, but for a more tourist-like approach. Either way there is no denying a sense of awe that you feel as you stand below the expansive ceiling decorated in ornate designs. Those who go to the churches for religious reasons feel the place as sacred, but it is possible that nonreligious people do as well.

Although many sacred spaces have a form of religious connection, many do not. Those on a grander scale appeal to many people, but a scared space can also have just a personal connection, it simply needs to evoke a greater sense of thought and emotion than that which you can feel in the everyday world. These places can be a place in nature or manmade yet hold the capability of transporting your thoughts elsewhere.

Throughout my eighteen years, I have had a few personal sacred spaces. The first was what I called my “Lilac Fort”. From the ages of about five to eight I went to that fort and let the fragrance of the flowers overwhelm my senses as I read or simple sat and pondered all the mysteries that the world held in my childhood. After I moved away from the house with the lilacs, I needed to find a new sacred space. That came as I gained mobility in my car. As I drive around back roads with music playing, I feel a sense of peace that I felt in my fort. Talking to a friend, I discovered that my feelings were similar to those as she sat in a church pew.

We all have something that makes us at peace and gives us the feeling of connectedness to a god or some unknown being, depending on your beliefs. Whether it is the Holy Land of your ancestors, a building erected in a connection to God, a secluded location in nature, or something of your own design, it is your sacred space that gives you an escape from the real world.

Toilet Time

There are not many things that are sacred any more. At one point in the not so recent past, people had sacred places all over their lives, places where they could be completely alone with their thoughts. Something that becomes a personal ritual to a person, becomes sacred to that person, however trivial the task or moment. To me, fishing is something that is sacred because I can be totally alone. I can just contemplate life and enjoy each and every detail of life. However, in modern day times, a lack of privacy has destroyed sacred spaces to the brink of extinction.
There really aren't many forms of media or literature concerning this in the public eye, but some satirists have managed to use grim humor to portray the loss of human privacy. The writers of  "South Park", Trey Parker and Matt Stone, have released the first in a set of new episodes of their adult cartoons on Comedy Central.
The plot of the episode (without any spoilers) depicts an infiltration by an agency to the most sacred of some every day activities, Toilet time. "Toilet Time is the last bastion of American Freedom", states the comically-overweight main character Cartman. This episode is a statement against the intrusion of the government into private affairs, and thus against the destruction of sacred space.
It is easy to see that everyone has some sacred space, but the abundance of such spaces is dwindling. The trend of such exposure in modern media is beginning to gain a following. Soon, it may be a mainstream issue. Keep watch for depictions of sacred space as it means to the current generation, and how it may become a memory in the not so distant future.

Russian Nesting Dolls

The idea or concept of an individual’s sacred space can be defined in two ways. The first is a person’s own unique sacred place that he or she shares with no one but him or herself. The second is the ultimate connection that humans share with a god or gods, and can be shared with many, many people. Although both sacred locales differ immensely from each other, as humans, we all have both residing within us.

In our everyday life we all are presented with different circumstances that have unique stresses. Coping with these stresses is extremely difficult and strenuous at times, making it challenging to handle everything without any added help. Thus, we created our own distinct and pure sacred place. These special sacred places allow us to escape from all the realities of our world and society. “It forms a stable backdrop to ordinary life, which is dominated by death, flux, the endless succession of events, and the cycle of the seasons” (Armstrong 13). When we go to these meaningful spots, sometimes your room or the top of a mountain, we lose our grip on reality and get lost in a fantasy world. Anything seems accomplishable and nothing is going to stand in your way, but when you leave this place you know that that ‘dream’ is most likely ungraspable. And yet, we revisit this place repeatedly. Why? We do so because our minds need a break from the exhausting cruelties of the world, an escape, and to have something to look forward to, whether or not it is out of reach.

Outside of our individual selves, there is a much larger sacred place and that is the one between humans and the divine. Similar to our singular sacred space, it also serves as in escape from reality and an answer to our questions, just on a much broader scale. The human race cannot relax if there is an “unknown” factor in the world. The divine or God fills this void and creates a sacred place for humans to go to and connect to an unreachable dimension. Usually these places are churches and other holy ceremonious buildings. But other cultures, such as the Australian Aborigines, performed ceremonies to become closer to their god and this was their sacred place. For example, they would travel into a trance state named ‘Dreamtime’ and they reported to have journeyed into the spirit world. This is a completely different experience from the individual sacred place because it is a shared one. You are allowing others to take you to another world, and not relying just on yourself. It brings humans much closer together because they have to trust one another to carry them to their most sacred place, God.

Secret, Sacred

I keep everything in my head. The world, physical and social, is open to everybody. I have paces in the woods I know well and visit often, but they are shared with all of the organisms that reside within that space and can be visited by all. To have a sacred space it must be the most special and unique (and secret) place. It is a place where memories, emotions, wishes, and all other aspects of self can be stored without fear of discovery. This place is the brain. It is impenetrable.

My emotions are always readily displayed on my face, but the thoughts that run underneath my malleable flesh are mine to keep. Rarely do I completely reveal the contents of my brain. I think often. I make connections, and I analyze. Some things that I think about are not significant to others, so I keep them inside where they will be appreciated. Others thoughts are personal, they may be treasures or wounds. My favorite place to hide is within my head. That's why I am often quiet; it is not for a lack of thoughts, but for an overwhelming abundance of them. The things that I think have great meaning to me. They help me place in pieces of the world so that I can create a fuller picture. The process of creating this imagine, and the image itself are sacred to me. For this reason, my head is my sacred space.

Cathedrals and temples are conventional examples of sacred space. These are places of worship. But why are these places so significant to human spirituality? It is within these walls that people find beliefs and follow them. They think. Clarity is found by worshiping the sacred because it helps the people better understand the world in which they live. It helps them to better understand themselves. For these people, 'worship' resides within their minds. The building is simply a physical representation of the beliefs that are being celebrated. Much like me, they are grasping to fit together the pieces of human life. It is our brain that acts as the spiritual house, holding all our secret thoughts.

Stick This In Your Pipe And Smoke It

  Sacred Space is established throughout all human groups. The Australian aborigines believed certain caves possess spirits that would not allow humans to enter the sacred caves. All Muslims, who can afford it, make way on a pilgrimage to the Kaaba at least once in their life. It is required because the Kaaba is the most sacred of places for the Islam faith. Transcendental writers find that nature is the essence of  serenity and holiness. These writers earn a new perspective of being at one with themselves after experiencing the spirituality of the forest. 


  In my opinion, sacred space is somewhere a spiritual experience can be had.  A place I find truly sacred is a pond I've hiked to for many years of my life. My father and I would camp over night there. I was able to hike around this pond by myself, in the woods, where no car will be heard. This pond made me view life in ways and understand myself. Where ever sacred space is, it somehow affects spirituality.

   Spiritually is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as "1. relating to or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things" Sacred space and spirituality belong together as tobacco belongs within  it's pipe burning slowly. Location is the importance of this space, but at the same time the location is in the eye of the one on the hunt for their spiritual journey.

My Body is a Temple

Sacred space is any place where we mortals can connect with the divine. “A place of tranquility where people could be at one with the spirits of the place’ (Spivey 132). All people have important places that keep us tethered. The difference between people is whether we seek a sacred place or make the sacred come to us.

The Aborigines know the places where their ancestors reside. They know “the shape of a particular rock, some configuration of cracks and striations in a cliff” (Spivey 128) and go to the spirits to commune and worship. Eastern people build temples to house and enclose ancestral spirits. Celts worshiped in groves where the divine live, but westerners seem to have a different approach. Though we have sacred places to pilgrimage to, for everyday worship we go to a man-made building where the divine is summoned.

Is it our fear of nature that prompts us to find god where there is none or is the congregation of humanity what makes a space sacred? It is said that the body is a temple and Genesis says we are made in the image of god and are creators. So does this mean when the masses meet together that all of our godly bits come together to create the divine?  In this line of thought, the human body is a sacred space and therefore must be respected by all people as part of the divine. I like that idea, that we all carry the essence of a higher being.

The divine demands respect whether it is in a rock or ones self and that is the most important part of sacred places. They are places in which we express our humanity. Our little piece of god.    

The Story of the Sacred

The story entwined with the environment, be it natural or man-made, is what creates a sacred space. When one steps into one of these places it is impossible to feel anything but awe and a sense of one's own impermanence. Be it a magnificent cathedral, such as the Notre Dame in Paris or a graveyard used by Native American peoples for hundreds of years, the immediate emotion of the sacred space is one of being only a small part in an ever unwinding tale of life on Earth. In the second chapter of Genesis, we are given a specific location for the Garden of Eden: the middle of Iran. What otherwise might have been just another bit of desert is given special significance through the story of Adam and Eve and reminds all who visit the land of our origins and just how massive the human legacy is.

Sacred spaces do not inspire this feeling of insignificance in devoted religious practitioners. As someone who does not adhere to a particular religion, I have always had a strange relationship with places considered sacred. I have never felt the sense of security in a church that Carolynn has described to me. However, I know exactly what she is trying to describe when she speaks of how small being in a church makes her feel. The Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde in Montréal is equally imposing to my agnostic self as it is to those who attend mass in the scale replica of St. Peter's Basilica every Sunday. Just the physical presence of the cathedral is enough to make one pause and think, however briefly, of the history behind the monument and the events far into the future to which it will bear witness.

Due to the nature of being held sacred, these places often stand the test of time better than other monuments or parts of nature giving them not only religious significance, but secular as well. While the religious context is often emphasized due to the zealous faith of believers, the importance of the secular history of a place cannot be discounted as unimportant. The obelisk of Hapshepsut in the Temple of Karnak is a testament to the ancient Egyptian gods Amun, Amunet, and Mut, however the wall built around it tells another tale of a vengeful nephew attempting to erase evidence of his Aunt's reign. The stories that converge with a space to make it sacred are continued through time and tell the history of entire nations through architecture, story, and what the peoples felt was worthy of surviving throughout time. This contribution to the world is just as important as the space's religious importance and gives us a secular reasoning for the significance of these places.

Churches, Cubicles, and Copland

A waterfall is not necessarily a sacred space. A meadow with sunflowers, marigolds, and daffodils blooming, bunnies bounding, and no civilization isn't necessarily a sacred space. I don't think the concept of heaven is sacred, nor do I think places like Kaaba or The Vatican are sacred. It is completely dependent on an individual's idea of his/her personal sacred space. To some, it might be the romanticized, previously-mentioned meadow, and to others it could be a cubicle. But, because somewhere has religious, iconic, or beautiful connotations does not make it a sacred space. An individual's reaction to a place makes it sacred.

Have you ever been somewhere new and felt as if you've already visited? I'm not referring to simple Déjà vu. I'm trying to describe a place that you feel you know every inch of. Or, a place where it seems some gigantic emotional situation occurred in which you can't return to normal. Maybe a place where you feel extremely comfortable, or maybe a place that makes your stomach flip. Somewhere that, for some reason, elicits such a powerful emotion that you can't leave. These, I believe, are sacred spaces. And, it's not to say that a church, for example, doesn't/can't do that for some people; it can. But, it doesn't do that for everyone. Nowhere will. A sacred space is a completely individualized location in which people have a primal, intuitive reaction.


One more point. Sacred space can be mental, too. It could be a state of mind, a feeling from a loved one, piece of art, etc. It's not necessarily a physical location. I think it's less about the location, and more the emotional reaction to it. If music, for instance, moves you so passionately that all thoughts wash from your head except a pure emotion, then it is a sacred space.

Sacred is Religious

Sacred space is a religious concept. No matter how you look at it one must believe that it is sacred or there is no reason for it to be so at all. Each worldly religion has places that they call sacred. Sometimes they build things on these places and other times they just leave a mark. The sacred spaces are passed down through stories from generation to generation. As in “Old Man Arranges the World” from The Earth is my Mother the only way the Native Americans would remember that the Old Man slid down the Montana Mountains is for the older members of the tribe to relay the story to the younger ones.

 Some cultures may call all the places on Earth sacred spaces as they see the world as a woman “mother nature”. The World as Mother Nature makes some value the things on the earth much more highly than other people. The amount of honoring the land may become extreme especially when people believe only part of the land is sacred. When this happens some groups of people try to take and keep the land they call sacred.

This land is where they worship their god or gods and feel a connection to them. “Second Nature” from How Art Made the World tells us that “visitors to Kakadu may be content to enjoy the scenery … But even with earnest effort, they will never perceive the forms … of the land as the Aboriginal inhabitants do” (Spivey 125). As visitors to Kakadu see the land differently to those native to it, so too do people who feel a piece of land is sacred see it differently from those who do not. Those who do not see any land as holy or sacred often do not see reasons for showing respect to a plot of land. Logically, to our left brain showing respect to a piece of land makes no sense but with help from our right brain we can see that honoring the land is like honoring a country’s flag or a grave stone. The land is symbolic of what we are actually worshiping. The problems begin to arise when we lose sight of this or let our left brains takeover and see no reason for honoring anything not living and with this lose some of our emotions and humanity.

A Universal Respect

To me sacred space means a place of holy ground. This can be anything, a church, a mosque, a temple, certain land structures, etc… Mostly these places are filled with religious painting, carvings, and symbols that all have some particular meaning. In the How Art Made The World packet, it also mentioned how landscapes were an important part of sacred spaces and how they would help emphasize places that cannot be visited. For example, the packet talked about how heaven is perceived in religions.

Not only do I think that the places of holy ground are important, it is also the person’s view towards the sacred space. Every time I go into a church it has different atmosphere to it. People are extremely quiet even though they are not told to, and they tend to be a lot more cordial then they are outside the church. During the service I tend to glance around to see others perspective of church. Children mostly seem bored, and adults range from being really into the sermon to not so much. This got me realizing that everyone in that church had a different feeling toward this sacred spot.

It’s not just religious people that have that same attitude towards religious places. I have seen on quite a few occasions people who are not religious at all visit sacred places and act extremely different. They were respectful even though it is not their religion. I believe that sacred spaces give humans a universal feeling of respect regardless of religion. Not only that, but it gives a person an understanding of another person’s way of life, and show how diverse religion is throughout the world.

Emotional Thought

Say you have a brother: He is lying on a bed in the hospital in a coma. He is wearing nothing, but has a blanket covering his body. He doesn’t move. He cannot breath. You wonder what was wrong- exactly what was wrong. You compare his appearance now to that of the previous morning. Inventory is taken of every bump and threatening scrape on the visible skin. Undoubtedly, you would think everything thought related to your brother. The thoughts may be analytical, emotional, hypothetical, and so on. These thoughts cause you to feel. The thoughts and feelings tangle and mesh so that they are the same. Sometimes you cry when you think thoughts. You cry because you are human, and you can’t help it.

We think of human’s pursuit for knowledge as a blood-splattered battle for power, but there is another, purer, side to it. Complex ideas often run parallel to reality within the human mind. This helps us to make sense of non-literal thoughts and feelings. As humans, we have the unique ability to take up the physical world into our brains and add meaning to it. In this way, we add significance and depth to our lives.

Shlain talked about the transformation of the aleph-beth away from the original significance and into a tool that humans use in a way that further separates us from the natural world. I agree with Shlain that this has helped propelled us away from our original roots in the natural earth, which is a great shame for both our species and all the rest. However, it is also true that this evolution of writing has given us the ability to relate our many thoughts. Thoughts that help us combine our emotion with factual reality, a facet of our brain that is unique and separate from all other animals.