Let us turn to the West: the place of oncoming darkness, the place of the departed spirits and of letting go; the home of Bear and night-time dreams and the season of Autumn. We thank you for your gifts of Mystery and Transformation.
~ from the Seven Directions Prayer* (This prayer has many versions, source unknown)
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The divine presence that we sense in sacred places is often reinforced by architecture and decoration that reflect our aspirations toward the heavens.A sacred place requires a clear spiritual focus and separation from its physical surroundings.The word "temple" (and the associated activity of contemplation) -- Latin templum --means a piece of land marked off from ordinary uses and dedicated to the divine.Sacred structures provide expressions of, rather than merely a shell for, numinous experience
~ from THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF THE SOUL by Jane Hope