Adam Hahn- Landscapes of the Sacred- 1

“Sacred place is not chosen, it chooses.”

The first and possibly most important axiom for defining sacred place, this idea that sacred place is not chosen, for me at first seems to be illogical. For thousands of years humans have been practicing in some form of worship. When thinking of sacred places from a Abrahamic point of view I did not see how this applied. Rome is a historic city and is also home to the leadership of the Catholic religion, although Jesus never stepped foot onto Italian soil. It was built up over centuries into the grandeur it holds for so many. Only when I began to think of spirituality was I able to realize the meaning of the first axiom. It came to me that I was using two words interchangeably when in this context they have two different meanings. Religion is a practice, associated with a higher being. Religions have a foundation and normally are centered on certain practices unique to a specific sect. Spirituality on the other hand, can exist with out religion. It’s the feeling associated with a place. I might feel a strong sense of spirituality in a church but it is not only limited to a religious setting. When examining the practices of the Inca I discovered through their sense of spirituality the first axiom. While looking at pictures of Lake Titicaca I realized how the first axiom could be true for the ancient Inca. With a spirituality based on nature this great lake high in the Andes must have seemed to be sent from the heavens. The secrecy and stunning visual aspects associated with the lake have the ability to awe people even to this day. For those people inhabiting the area centuries ago this great landscape must have been sent from god himself.