A Thin Place -- Working

A Thin Place for them. A Thin Moment for us.

Back in 2002 at Nags Head, NC when I snapped this photo of 4 of our now 14 grandchildren, all of the adults in the room knew we were witnessing a very special scene. But our view produced a different response than the grandchildren’s. They were in the midst of a Thin Place experience, even as brief as it was – they were mesmerized by God’s pure beauty expressed so engagingly through some of his intrinsic symbols. As described in my book, light, color and space are three of the most powerful intrinsic (native, natural) symbols in nature’s toolbox. Humans are hard-wired to connect almost magnetically with intrinsic symbols, regardless of age, education or culture. That’s why their use is one of the preferred and timeless ingredients to include in our human-made environments. A skilled use of intrinsic symbols is a vital part of building people engagement. And people engagement is a vital part of a truly successful facility. Yet, people engagement – is what so many facilities lack.

Back to the photo. At the same time our youngsters were magically enthralled in this early morning connective pause, we adults were witnessing the process as a minor miracle. None of us has ever been able to secure such sustained devoted attention from even one child – much less four of them, and all at different ages. Part of the miracle was that all of them were completely relaxed and at peace with the connection. Look at them. That’s a good example of the power of a Thin Place.

How you might feel now looking at this scene may be very similar to how we adults felt then. As I acknowledged the spiritual-like captivation of the four, I sensed imaginary invisible strings held by each of their human spirits and extending to the Cosmic Holy Spirit parked within the sun’s brilliance. It was like watching a butterfly’s first appearance through an opening in its cocoon. To us observers, this perhaps was a Thin Moment for us, seeing this spirited connection of others as an example of a profound truth. Do you see the primary difference here between a Thin Place experience by the grandchildren and a probable Thin Moment experience by the rest of us watching that connection? There’s lots of wiggle room between those two terms and no specific yes-no answers. But to me, a Thin Place experience is like feeling the heat of several lightning strikes nearby, as the vibrations of its power shake my muted gratitude – finally awake. A Thin Moment may be more like catching an unexpected glimpse of the lightning as it paints a darting bolt in the sky miles away…then hearing the thunder mumble a reminder in the distance.

Had any similar experiences?

WELCOME

Welcome to all who are among this first post in our Thin Places and Thin Moments Blog, which is produced and encouraged by a few friends I met in the Richmond Christians Who Write (RCWW) writers group in Richmond, Virginia. Thanks to Rev Tom Lacy, Mary Moss and her library of friends. Thanks too, to all of those other fans, family and friends out there who shared their experiences of “Thin” times with me …when the veil between this mundane world and the spiritual world momentarily became thin to them as it has for many others throughout history. For it is during those times – that we surely sense again the Holy Cosmic Spirit whispering compelling adorations to us through our humbled human spirit. They are among the times when that spirit connection becomes genuine and authentic.

Our goal through this blog is to nurture those times, those moments and those places which foster that spiritual bond – and to uncover the fabric, structure and composition of those nurturing times – so that we might help in assembling other and new Thin Places and Moments for others through which they can use, celebrate, learn, work and worship in harmony. We invite you to join us.

This fostering search is a primary interest of mine and might be described as a process to discover purposeful recipes which cultivate spiritual awareness and spiritual bonding that appear to be built into certain places, in both man-made and natural settings. Not too long ago, five key ingredients in Thin Place recipes jumped out at me loud and clear one day after a ten year pursuit to determine how they are different from ordinary places or might we say “thick places.” Those five ingredients are described in detail in my book, Thin Places and Five Clues in Their Architecture.

Many of those who read my book later mentioned or e-mailed me that reading about some of my Thin Place experiences made them remember times in their lives when they happened upon a similar Thin Place – or a Thin Moment, when they lost their sense of time, or they had the strange feeling that they had been at this place before…but really hadn’t – or it appeared to them that the astonishing beauty at a particular place in front of them seemed to be presenting them with a message. We here would like to hear about your Thin Place or Thin Moment experiences. Do you now recall similarities of place, or word, or music, or silence, or other influences at those times or places? What happened?

Thanks,
~ Page

C. Page Highfill, AIA Emeritus
Architect (ret), author, artist, speaker