#195465 - 11/16/10 01:28 PM
Do you have a "special" place?
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ghoti
Member
Registered: 04/06/02
Posts: 8469
Loc: Ishpeming, MI 75.128.229.255
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Is there a special place where you really feel in tune with your spirituality?
For some it may be the church they attend. My wife is Catholic and I attend services with her once in a while. The church (St, Peter's Cathedral in Marquette, MI) is a very impressive building and gorgeous inside but it just doesn't "do it" for me.
I feel most spiritual in nature, and there are many places that inspire me. I used to love to climb to the top of high hills that had a beautiful overlook. I could sit there for hours and just soak in the glory of nature but now I can't get to most of those places in my wheelchair.
These days I find my greatest sense of serenity and contemplation at waterfalls. There are dozens in this immediate area and I can get to many of them in my chair. There's just something about the sight and sound of falling water that brings out my spirituaal feelings and I feel closest to nature and the creator in those places. If the scent of pine trees are in the air it's even better.
How about you? Do you have a special place that just seems to bring out your spiritual feelings?
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#195466 - 11/16/10 02:49 PM
Re: Do you have a "special" place?
[Re: ghoti]
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Skylark
Member
Registered: 08/15/00
Posts: 17531
Loc: SoCal
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While I am Catholic and attend Mass on Sundays, and find comfort within my parish church, there is a special place for me and Dennis that speaks of God, purely and wordlessly.
It is at a campground not far from our home.
Dennis and I went there this past Sunday afternoon. The canopy of ancient live oaks, the cool crisp autumn air, the fresh green grasses sprung anew from all the recent (unseasonable) rain, and the surrounding stone mountains fill us with tranquility and peace ... and tranquility and peace are, in my view, synonymous with God.
We sat in sacred silence, awed and smiling, as if the hand of God was upon us... Yes, indeed: a religious experience.
I believe Nature and God are One.
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#195467 - 11/16/10 02:50 PM
Re: Do you have a "special" place?
[Re: ghoti]
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MerryA
Member
Registered: 01/10/04
Posts: 10887
Loc: Tennessee
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I love our little church especially if I am in the nave by myself - it is more than a pretty room to me.
Nature does it for me too. I put out bird seed for the first time in months and the birds are going wild in our back yard. I just love it! They are making so much noise. To see and hear all the birds with their different colorings and songs is glorious.
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"I was curious. Since I'm not a cat, that's not dangerous."
- Greg House
76.22.172.94
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#195469 - 11/16/10 08:06 PM
Re: Do you have a "special" place?
[Re: MerryA]
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Deo
Member
Registered: 02/11/08
Posts: 127
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I have tried to create such a place at my home. Kay and I are amateur birdwatchers and have planted fruit trees around the house to attract birds. We do attract snakes occasionally. We had a cook's tree boa as a house guest for a while. Before my disease onset I fulfilled this need to be with nature by hiking and canoeing.
Deo
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#195470 - 11/16/10 08:33 PM
Re: Do you have a "special" place?
[Re: Deo]
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Paulwa_dup1
Member
Registered: 02/12/05
Posts: 4951
Loc: Washington
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I wasn't going to post relgious posts anymore but this being an interesting thread just had to post anyway since it is not argumentative. I know what you all mean about finding certain places at certain times that seem to bring you closer to the creator or nature if you are not a religious believer. I found several of thesepockets of spiritual pleasure while out bowhunting for deer. Little pockets in the pines sometimes with snowflakes falling and it is lit up beautiful with ambient light. Grass poking through the light snowfall and gentle breezes swirling the flakes and the quiet with only gentle sounds of air moving through the pine fronds and no one around. I have found several of these special places but they are only special for that monment of time and conditons I think. As a believer I feel God wants us to see Him in that same way, that He is with us always if we will just be aware. That He is only a word away from us at all times and all conditions and that He is always listening to us and is aware of us each personally.
Paul
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#195472 - 11/17/10 12:04 AM
Re: Do you have a "special" place?
[Re: Paulwa_dup1]
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ghoti
Member
Registered: 04/06/02
Posts: 8469
Loc: Ishpeming, MI 75.128.229.255
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One thing I miss about deer hunting is sitting out in the deep woods in dead silence and watching snow flakes fall. Most of us never experience true silence like that since there's always TV blaring or some machinery running somewhere or at least a clock ticking.
That deep-woods silence with no insects buzzing or birds chirping is so profound you can sometimes hear the faint sound of the blood pumping in your ears. It can definitely be a spiritual experience.
Edited by ghoti (11/17/10 12:05 AM)
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Feisty survivors populate this site. Avoid controversies unless you have a very thick skin.
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#195476 - 11/17/10 02:32 PM
Re: Do you have a "special" place?
[Re: ghoti]
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shakey56
Member
Registered: 03/31/04
Posts: 1889
Loc: where the wild roadrunners roa...
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Silver Lake just north of Yellowstone Park. It's actually a series of three lakes with the largest at the lowest point and the two smaller above feeding the bigger below. The large lake is surrounded on three side by pretty steep cliffs that vary in distance from the lake. The closest is just a few yards from the shore, and one is abt 200 yards providing a nice high mountain meadow. The elevation of the lower lake is abt 8,000'. The best part of this place is the south side of the valley which is open, and provides an amazing view into Yellowstone. You can see forever it seems from there. It's 15 miles from the nearest road, not well known and not often visited. It's a magical place where I saw a timber wolf when the species was considered to be extinct in that ecosystem.
Obviously, I haven't been there since I became dis, and I'm glad I can't get there. Mankind seems to ruin the magical places that are easily accessible, and I'd rather it remain relatively untouched.
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Against logic there is no armor like ignorance.
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#195489 - 11/18/10 07:09 AM
Re: Do you have a "special" place?
[Re: shakey56]
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ævory
Member
Registered: 04/04/05
Posts: 9657
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This is your brain putting forth as little as possible. Don't get me wrong, you all write beautifully and if I were to try the same, well...
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#195523 - 11/20/10 03:02 PM
Re: Do you have a "special" place?
[Re: ævory]
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ghoti
Member
Registered: 04/06/02
Posts: 8469
Loc: Ishpeming, MI 75.128.229.255
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Ronda, do you have a "special place"?
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Feisty survivors populate this site. Avoid controversies unless you have a very thick skin.
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#195540 - 11/21/10 11:48 AM
Re: Do you have a "special" place?
[Re: ghoti]
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ævory
Member
Registered: 04/04/05
Posts: 9657
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Do you believe in the Holy Ghost? And to what importance do you place our Holy Spirit?
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#195549 - 11/21/10 02:24 PM
Re: Do you have a "special" place?
[Re: ævory]
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sweetqt
Member
Registered: 06/13/07
Posts: 709
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Reading of all of your special places makes me think of a vision that I have had for years. Although I have places that I go when things seem to be difficult and they help for that moment, there is a place that I have dreamt of since I first moved to New Hampshire. This place has a particular presence and look. There is a tree, a certain tree that branches out in a distinguished way and a field. I have searched for this place for many years. I found a tree that was a replica of my thoughts, although the surroundings were not to be as I desired.
I know in my heart that someday, I will find this place. Along the journey, I enjoy the other roads.
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#195583 - 11/22/10 01:09 PM
Re: Do you have a "special" place?
[Re: ævory]
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ghoti
Member
Registered: 04/06/02
Posts: 8469
Loc: Ishpeming, MI 75.128.229.255
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Do you believe in the Holy Ghost? And to what importance do you place our Holy Spirit?
Why don't you stick to the topic at hand instead of derailing the thread with a completely off-topic remark? If you want to discuss the Holy Ghost, it would be more appropriate to just stant a new thread.
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Feisty survivors populate this site. Avoid controversies unless you have a very thick skin.
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#195652 - 11/23/10 12:08 AM
Re: Do you have a "special" place?
[Re: ghoti]
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Paul I
Member
Registered: 02/24/00
Posts: 7913
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My "special place" is in my mind.
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"...only the shadow knows"
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#195654 - 11/23/10 01:23 AM
Re: Do you have a "special" place?
[Re: Paul I]
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Paulwa_dup1
Member
Registered: 02/12/05
Posts: 4951
Loc: Washington
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When you boil it down to the last drop, everything we think or experience winds up in our mind, so that is the final experience of our special place for everyone, PaulI.
Paul:-)
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