Jul 20 2008
Finding the Thin Places
This is a rare sort of blog…usually, if I comment on another work, I’m discussing literature that is at least 150 years old (usually older), only today I cannot stop mulling over what my pastor said this morning. I wouldn’t be surprised, too, if this particular sermon affects me deeply for the rest of my life.
I’m sure some of you are surprised that a sermon could really have that effect, and the rest of you wonder why it hasn’t happened more often. I am lucky to attend a church where this happens to me at all, honestly. My pastor (whom we affectionately call Pastor Tom) is a brilliant man who is also willing to ask himself hard questions. I have only had one other pastor who did the like (thank you, Pastor Jeri in SC!).
But that is not the point…today Tom spoke of a tradition in Celtic Christianity: a belief that some places are “thinner” than others…that some locations or states of mind allow one to feel closer to the Spirit (the Creator, the Great Father, Earth Mother, or however you may envision this entity) than other places or states of mind. The “veil” separating our mortal world from the spiritual world is “thinner” in these places.
I can’t say that I feel there are certain geographical or physical spaces where I feel more spiritual connectedness, but I realized through the sermon that I have most certainly found that connection in other ways, ways that link me to my more spiritual psyche. Music has a huge effect on me in this way, particularly classical or new age music. I cannot count the number of times a song has brought me a message with it, one that calms me, comforts, or soothes my mind and heart.
I also find certain activities spiritual. Painting, for me, serves this side, as well as walking outdoors (treadmills are no more than torture). I love to be outside, surrounded by trees and flowers, slugs and bees. I understand how the Romantic poets equated the natural world with the spiritual…for I do the same, to a large degree.
So, what are your “thin” places? Where do you find contact with the spiritual outside–and within–yourself?
