Roberts Four axioms - Landscapes of the Sacred

The four axioms for the study of a sacred place are defined and related back to Lane's story. Lane explains that he was hiking back home after a long day when he came to a clearing in the woods. He had been to this clearing before but he felt as if he should sit still and wait. While he was motionless, he heard a sound coming from brush. He sat still and waited to see what it could be. Then he saw a deer and it was looking right at him, staring. After a while, the deer continued on its way and walked in the direction it was going. How does this relate to Landscapes of the Sacred?
Lane relates this story to the four axioms. The first being that a place is not chosen, it chooses. Lane states that he did not set out to go to this clearing, that it found him. In that place, God chose to reveal himself.
The second axiom is that a sacred place is an ordinary place, ritually made extraordinary. By this, he says that the clearing in the woods was made memorable by the silence that fell over it. By him stopping at this opening, he encountered the spiritual connection.
The third axiom is that a sacred place can be tred upon without being entered. Lane had been to this spot before but never had the connection he did this time. This shows that he had tred upon this sacred place but it was never made sacred until now. Only this time had he seen the place as a distinct holy ground.
The final axiom is that the impulse of a sacred place is both centripetal and centrifugal, local and universal. This means that at times, one is focused on the encounter and at other times, driven away from it. Lane says that he constantly finds himself caught in the cycle between his work and this clearing in the woods.
The four axioms are a great way for someone to be able to know and become familiar with sacred places. The axioms are the four criteria that a sacred place must follow in order to be "real".

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