Tuesday, June 06, 2017

a thin place

time is so important when it comes to seeing.

and anything that slows us down is a spiritual practice

this post is about the cross symbol

the cross is considered by many cultures to be a symbol of perfection

and when we consider the standing human body with feet together, arms outstretched,

that too is a cross

so maybe this post is also about our bodies and about spiritual practice
this antique lead water pipe looks like a cross, doesn't it?

visual art is a language without words

we have such a high value in words

but can you really articulate a spiritual experience?

there are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground  (Lois Huey Heck)
more about the cross

it's a vertical (spirit) crossing through a horizontal (matter)

and where they cross, that is the thin place

sometimes thin places are intended

in Korea, I have read that the horizontal line of the cross represents the earth,

and the vertical line is the sky,

and the centre where they cross, is a human body

there, in the thin place
love is the greatest and hardest work (Brian Doyle)


The images in this post are of Levens Hall in northern England.  I wrote about Levens Hall topiary gardens here.  The patchwork (1708) in the two bottom photos is reputed to be the oldest in England and is the reason I visited in 2015.

Just rambling here, I cleaned out an old camera card and found a lot of interesting images.  I had forgotten about these. 

9 comments:

Valerianna said...

Beautiful cross. And in the ancient traditions, the thin places are places like Newgrange in Ireland and Stonehenge in England, and Sacred Wells and Groves. These "thin places" were where people felt there to be a opening between this world and the other world where the presence of the divine is more keenly felt. Its a very resonant term for me.

Mo Crow said...

Crosses always take me to the x-roads, that place of potential where anything can happen, a gateway which brings to mind-
"In the Universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors" - William Blake
http://artpropelled.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/doors-in-between.html
&
keeping in mind that "Hermes is the god of the hinge ... the mottled figure in the half light... who amazes and unmazes..." Lewis Hyde "Trickster makes this World: Mischief, Myth & Art"

Judy Martin said...

thank you Mo
thank you Valerianna

I learn so much every day
xo

Ms. said...

I went over to look at the topiary post (nice) and how beautiful the patchwork. Then I got involved in looking deeper into the meaning of the shape https://ministerofblog.wordpress.com/which-witch-is-which-testimonies-of-deliverance-from-the-darkest-pit/the-cross-the-true-history-of-a-very-pagan-symbol-the-inverted-cross-symbol-its-not-what-they-say-it-is/

Now I better go back to bed because it will be dawn soon enough.

Ms. said...

https://ministerofblog.wordpress.com/which-witch-is-which-testimonies-of-deliverance-from-the-darkest-pit/the-cross-the-true-history-of-a-very-pagan-symbol-the-inverted-cross-symbol-its-not-what-they-say-it-is/

Turtlemoonimpressions said...

A most interesting post, Judy! So full of thought and so well written. Wonderful images too.

Martha said...

I have learned a little about the thin places via a book by a Jungian psychologist. Your visual and verbal take on it sheds more light for me.Thanks.

Peggy said...

1708, oh my. I wonder what the oldest patchwork is in North America. Didn't know about the thin place on a cross, I like it. xo

Margaret said...

What Mr. Doyle said. Yes. Thank you.