Landscapes Of The Sacred - Christina Lobosco

Embedded in first few pages of Landscapes Of the Sacred, Lane categorizes four separate rules to use as guidelines to understand the character of sacred place in American spirituality.  These rules are also known as axioms that are described as “self-evident principles that underlie the way by which landscape is molded in the religious imagination.” Each axiom examines a new aspect of spirituality and sacred places, which could potentially contribute to the understanding that comes with each principle.  The first axiom is “sacred place is not chosen, it chooses.” I found this very interesting because it allows the place to be the determinant, rather than the people. This axiom takes away the power of the people and bestows it on God who created that particular place. Secondly, the axiom is said to be an ordinary place that is made extraordinary through ritual.  It was described by Lane, that places can be made extraordinary through different ways, in particular, through silence. Next, the third axiom specifies that a sacred place can be tred upon without being entered. In terms of flow, a sacred place could be walked on, but never truly immersed. The aspect of stress, clouded vision, or even headphones can hinder the flow experience and doesn’t allow the mind to be solely focussed on the sacred place.  Finally, the fourth axiom emphasizes the “impulse of sacred place is both centripetal and centrifugal, local and universal.” In hopes of achieving centeredness, the realization of God never being restricted to one location needs to be acknowledged. These four axioms better explain the condensed aspects of spirituality, without the breakdown of these axioms, it would be harder to connect to our spiritual life.