Feb 26, 2010, 12.00am IST
MARGUERITE THEOPHIL.
In parts of Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England, there are certain sites that locals call ''thin places" .
Here, it is believed, the distance between heaven and earth shrinks, the veil between the two worlds becomes so thin, one is actually able to perceive something of heaven itself, receiving a glimpse of the glory of God.
Sensing the deep spirituality of these sites, ancient Celts built many of their places of worship here, or simply marked them with stones, and later Christians also built churches, monasteries and cemeteries here. Visiting these sites even today, one can lose all track of time and space, feeling deep inside that one is on holy ground.
Yaqui Indian Shaman Don Juan Matus, with whom Carlos Castaneda apprenticed, spoke about how most people are unaware as to why they stop to rest at certain places in the environment, but they do so because these are places of power that hold a more conscious focus of energy.
It is not surprising that thin places, where we step from one plane to another, are most often associated with wild or remote landscapes unfamiliar territory where our usual modes of control do not work, where instead, the unknown actually becomes our means of discovery. Many religious traditions have stories of their teachers and saints experiencing intense life-changing encounters with God in the midst of nature.
M K Gandhi, in a spiritual message to the world, spoke of an indefinable, mysterious power that pervades everything. "...I feel it, though I do not see it. It is this unseen power that makes itself felt and yet defies all proof, because it is so unlike all that I perceive through my senses. It transcends the senses."
Some people notice thin places. Others do not. The thing to understand about thin places is that whether they are 'marked' or not, it requires a kind of reflective and receptive capacity to discern them.
Another factor is that some respond to a particular thin place; the same location leaves others cold. You know that you are in 'your' thin place when you feel the boundaries of time and space disappear. There is no yesterday, today or tomorrow; only eternity.
Having experienced the blessings of a thin place, you return to your life refreshed and renewed, graced with a new awareness of similar places in everyday life. The glimpses of glory in those sacred landscapes should also enable us to experience the divinity all around us. A verse from the Gnostic text, the Gospel of Thomas, has Jesus saying: ''The kingdom of God is spread upon the earth, and men see it not.''
Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk and inspirational writer observed: "Life is this simple. We are living in a world that is absolutely transparent, and God is shining through us all the time... If we abandon ourselves to God, forget ourselves, we see it... But, of course, for most of us, myself included, it is hard to see these thin places, much less travel through them."
In fact, it is beautifully said that these thin places are simply 'the way Home'. One of the precious gifts of realisation of eternal time and space is that when you cannot physically go back to these places, you can return repeatedly to them in your memory and imagination.
Take some time off to think about and remember the thin places in your own life. Recall a place that refreshes your spirit and opens out to the threshold of the sacred, and return to this place in your imagination and once again, wherever you are, experience God's loving presence.
(The writer is a Mumbai-based personal growth coach and workshop leader. E-mail: weave@vsnl.net )
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