Sacred is what is private. It requires permission to enter, and still, few recognize the significance of what it means to be allowed to enter. This was what I realized on an intentional walk when I came across a deep red tree with low-hanging branches. Beneath the branches was an undisturbed bed of needles and bark.
This realization that sacred is a private space requiring permission to enter not only makes my moments in nature more significant when I practice this approach, I also understand the significance in my work with clients. That is why, even as I apprenticed on a quest, I have considered myself a partner pilgrim walking with others into their sacred space.
The idea of sacredness came up when a client forwarded me When Nature Speaks, Who are you Hearing? by Adam Frank for NPR. In the posting, Frank described his recent (and repeated) experience with nature. It is an experience of awe that, for some, points to the divine and for others, is a shift in perspective or an appreciation of context. It is the moment when you experience the “pregnant feeling of presence” that rises up to meet you or the “ability to hear the whispers of what lies beyond the boundary of the expressible and the inexpressible.” It is in this moment when you dance upon the “edges of our explanation.”
How would you define sacred based on your experiences in nature?
