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7 Sep 2002 @ 17:39, by Craig Lang
What is a sacred space?
As I watched the evening news, one story was about the current discussions on what to do with the site of the former WTC. Some want to leave it as an open air shrine. Others want to rebuild the towers, but most want it to be a sacred space of some type.
So, what is a sacred space? It has a different meaning to each person. But to me, it is a place with special meaing - a spiritual location where, to me, God is reflected in place. It is a place that we make, but God enhances.
It asks for love. And it softly, forgivingly requests that we respect it. Our sacred spaces are us, and they are God.
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I have wondered alot in the last few days - What is a sacred space? Is it some place where God has touched us all in a special way? Or is it something else? Is a sacred space always sacred? Or can it be just an ordinary place that at some times has special meaning?
Each evening, in meditation, one spot in my house - the east facing window of my family room - becomes my sacred space. At other times in the day it is a place with hustle and bustle of family - a place of love, and also a place of ordinariness.
Maybe that's what makes it so special - that there is nothing really special about it. At the designated time, it simply becomes a place to commune with God. Does that make it sacred? To me, yes.
It is a place which softly asks that we respect it. It is a place which reminds us of a sense of both history, and of deep heartfelt love. Above all, it is a place which has deep special meaning. It is sacred because we make it so. And in that sense, the sacred space is us.
Be it my family room late at night - with the warm echoes of another day of family love, or a multi-story pit in Manhattan where so many gave their lives, there is a sacredness there. To me, it is a place and time to be with God. And to me, at that time, that is all that counts.
God is with us always - both inside us, and in the universe around us. And in that place, at that time, it is an occasion to honor God in a special way - God reflected in place.
While others argue that Ground Zero is the most expensive land in North America, I would urge that it be set aside as a monument both to the worst and best that humanity is and can be. It should always remain a shrine of some form - a place to reflect on the special and mysterious ways in which God touches us - both from within and from without. For like any sacred space, Ground Zero is us.
Namaste,
-Craig
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Category: Spirituality
3 comments
7 Sep 2002 @ 23:27 by shawa : Thanks, Craig!
This is lovely. You touch my heart.
For me, my involvement at NCN is sacred space, in the way you decribe above. I don´t mind at all that other people don´t see it that way. For me, it is so.
Yes, we all are Ground Zero, and there should be a monument to that. As the anniversary approaches, I feel love in my heart for all Amerikan citizens. Don´t give up, or darkness will engulf the Earth.
12 Sep 2002 @ 11:19 by : Sacred Spaces are US!
What a wonderful name for a new store - y! Love ya man!!
12 Sep 2002 @ 12:22 by neolux : no monuments please
i don't think that any monument built would be true to the memories of the massacred, until one is built in baghdad and kabul, one of democracy and freedom from tyrrany. Until then, any monument built in NYC will just be a hollow shell to me. Spare us the teddy bears and the candlelight vigils, and the day long tv specials.It's easy to build a monument, place teddy bears and flowers, and light candles.All of those will crumble to dust someday though.A legacy of freedom and educated elightenment can last for eons.
There is nothing noble in being a victim. Instead of reading the names of the 3,000 victims,lets name those who are responsible for these atrocities and shine the light on them. What those victims families need is our silent unyielding determination to root out the evil that caused their fall...I enjoy your writing Craig. Peace y'all.
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