Halter Landscapes of the Sacred


“The sacredness of a place may be highly ephemeral, subjective, and hard to define.” Pg. 217. This quote caught my eye while reading. Why is sacredness that way? Why is it hard to define? Then I realized that everyone experiences sacredness differently. We all have our own thoughts, feelings, stories, and experiences that make sacred places solely individualized. It’s hard to pinpoint a strict definition of it because it is unique to the person experiencing it. This belief was further demonstrated by the accounts of Dr. Redick in class when he discussed some of his sacred encounters with swimming in different bodies of water. I remember he explained that one of his encounters was indescribable just as the book explains sacred encounters to be. The book states that “Going back to the site never guarantees one’s being able to return to the experience.” Although this may be the case, the feelings that one gains from a sacred encounter will be permanent and one can always reminisce on the unrepeatable experience.

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