Thin Places

Thin Places are places where the eternal world and our physical world meet and mingle.

The term is widely used by mystics and those who write about Celtic Spirituality. The term thin place comes from the pre-Christian culture in western Europe - particularly Ireland - and refers to a place where the veil between this world the "other world" or the "eternal world" is thin. Old tales tell of people and beings of the other world being able to pass back and forth between worlds in thin places.

Why would anyone want to visit a thin place?  Because it exercises your spirit, makes you more in tune with your own spirituality.  Prayer seems more powerful.  Answers come more readily.  The sense of peace is overwhelming.

Santa Fe, NM

Tent Rock, Santa Fe

Many of us have had a personal experience of a thin place and, if we are really lucky; several thin places in our lifetime. I remember back to some of mine: My retreat in Old Snow Mass, Colorado, sitting alone sensing God talking to me. The Grand Canyon in winter. Oak Creek Canyon in the fall.  Summer hikes in the woods of Flagstaff.  A meadow in Greer on a  brisk winter  night; perfect silence, stars so close you could touch them.  Spying a herd of elk at sunset in the White Mountains of Arizona.  Summer rainstorms in  Flagstaff.  Thunderstorm rolling across the spacious skies of Cave Creek.  Walking the beach in San Diego. Breathing the freshest, sweetest air at the top of Haleakala in Kawaii. Snorkeling in Belize. Sunsets in Marco Island. The sacred Redwood Forest. Sedona RedRocks. The Arizona desert in springtime. Attending a concert, eyes closed, music filling my entire being... Contentment.  Wellbeing. Peace.  Breathing in.  Exhaling.

Wouldn't it be lovely if we could go back and forth between the thin place and visit our loved ones who have left this world? I would give anything for a moment with my sister, Beth or with my Dad....

Tent Rock, Santa Fe

I often remind myself of this thin veil between us. I want to believe that my sister and dad are right here,  closer than breath. Sometimes I'm blessed with a dream-visit. When I feel their  presence, happiness washes over me.