Thin Places

Have you ever experienced a moment where the veil between heaven and earth seemed torn asunder, as if there was no barrier between you and the Divine?

There are moments when I walk into a space in which I feel the weight of the sacred all around me, where something feels tangibly different than just a few steps prior. It happens when I am on a hike or when I enter a towering cathedral. Sometimes it happens when I read a beautiful line in a book or when I write a beautiful sentence myself. Perhaps it happens to you when listening to a song that moves you or after a period of prayer and meditation.

This feeling has existed, presumably, since the beginning of time. We are not that different from our ancient predecessors after all, with how we absorb information through our brains and our bodies. People have always created special spaces that appear to be fundamentally different than any other created space.

It was no different for the ancient Celts, who, like many other cultures, found the earth to be in and of itself sacred. When Christianity came into Ireland through St. Patrick and others, this belief didn’t really go away, and I think that is profoundly important. When we divorce ourselves from the earth to instead seek lofty ideas and ideals, we lose a bit of what it means to be human. We are of the earth after all.

The fusion of Christianity and Celtic spirituality made it unique at the time among various Christian practices. [Actually, it helped Christianity survive to this day, but that’s another topic altogether. The best book I’ve read on that discusses that in further detail is titled How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill.] The idea that there are spaces where heaven was physically closer to earth was important to these Celtic Christians. They created what they called “thin places” that marked off where the Divine was more intimately present than other spaces.

Thin places were often marked off by stone walls with an entrance, where upon entering you would have bumped up against heaven. Supposedly miracles took place here and various other happenings, but what is important to remember is that the Divine was more tangibly present here than anywhere else. Perhaps we have experienced a space like this.

I believe these spaces still exist today, and I believe we can help create these spaces. Western Christianity is often held up by ideas, that ideas are the most important aspect of our faith. We took our cue from Plato and spend so much of our time thinking about God. Physical spaces are not all that important to us because it’s really all about how and what we believe.

Now, I believe that ideas are important because we ultimately become what we believe. We naturally begin to behave in a manner that reflects our theology, who we think God to be. I earnestly believe that we should hone our beliefs, to learn as much as we can because our minds influence our actions. But I do not want to stop at simply thinking, believing that our mental assent is what defines us as Christians.

Perhaps we can take more seriously our physical spaces, to put a wee more emphasis on our bodies for our faith. After all, the Divine is omnipresent, existing all around us wherever we go. There is no place we can go to escape the presence of God, but there are places we can create to more intentionally experience this intimate Presence.

To be clear, I am not saying that if we create these spaces, we will inevitably experience something. Many Christians put too much stock in a physical experience, almost as if that was the sign of faith. No, sometimes faith appears mundane and no feelings arise. Do not take this as a sign that you are doing anything wrong.

Creating these physical spaces is more about the ritual of entering a place with the intention of acknowledging the presence of the Divine. Rituals don’t always spark feelings in your body, but it is a place where you can rest in the ritual, to be at peace in a space.

Perhaps you can create a thin place in your home. Maybe you’ll have to travel a bit to find a thin place: in a church, in the woods, or in a pub. Wherever you go, intentionally shape it in your own perspective to be a space where you acknowledge the presence of God, where heaven seems a little closer than anywhere else. Then maybe invite someone into that space with you.

Go, now, and enjoy the Presence.