Finding “Thin Places”

At the next meeting we transition from thinking about what a meaningful life looks like to experiencing a life of meaning and fulfillment. How does that happen? It often begins with having an encounter with the transcendent; when we discover what Marcus Borg called a “thin place”.

Here are some notes found at the Marcus Borg Foundation website They are from a sermon he gave almost 10 years ago:

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Thin places are where the border that separates us from that reality becomes porous and permeable. Thin places are where the veil that blinds us to the reality of the sacred momentarily lifts and we have a sense of the reality of god. In Celtic Christianity thin places can literally be geographical specific islands or pilgrimage sites like Jerusalem or for instance. Thin places is not restricted to geographical locations, they are anywhere where our hearts can be opened to the reality of the sacred. In other words a thin place can be a sacrament or mediator of the sacred. There are many kinds of thin places for example the experience of nature and wilderness, or the experience of music, experiences of illness, while in a guided meditation, showering, driving in silence at night, … (I personally added a few to the list above / not a direct quote from the website).
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The point is that thin places can be specific to the person – anything that makes the membrane between the transcendent and the material world more porous.

At our next meeting we will explore some of the practices that others use to find thin places for themselves, and we will take turns sharing about finding thin places in our own lives: where we were, what we we doing, when it happened (time of day / during a ritual or holy day such as Easter or Christmas), what we experienced, and just anything significant about the experience that others might find benefit in hearing.