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{"id":485,"date":"2009-10-12T20:34:00","date_gmt":"2009-10-12T20:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2009\/10\/should-we-visit-sacred-sites\/"},"modified":"2009-10-12T20:34:00","modified_gmt":"2009-10-12T20:34:00","slug":"should-we-visit-sacred-sites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2009\/10\/should-we-visit-sacred-sites.html","title":{"rendered":"Should We Visit Sacred Sites?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"\"$ <\/a>Avebury \u2013 2007<\/em> <\/p>\n

OBOD<\/a> Chosen Chief Philip Carr-Gomm<\/a> has an essay in Resurgence<\/em> magazine<\/a> that asks \u201cdo we really need to visit sacred places?\u201d<\/p>\n

On one hand, world travel is environmentally unfriendly, tourism is harming some sacred sites, and perhaps most importantly, if the whole Earth is sacred, why is one spot more sacred than others? On the other hand, people have taken religious pilgrimages since the dawn of civilization (and probably before), and there is no substitute for being in the presence of someone or some thing holy.<\/p>\n

My trip to England in 2007 was about half pilgrimage \u2013 it included visits to Rollright, Stonehenge, West Kennet Long Barrow, and the highlight of the visit, Avebury. This past year\u2019s trip to Mesa Verde<\/a> was a journey in search of a spiritual experience.<\/p>\n

For me, the experience of being there was fascinating and inspiring, but it wasn\u2019t anything I couldn\u2019t get from participating in a really good ritual or guided meditation. The real benefit of visiting was the commanding presence of the sites \u2013 realizing I was in the company of \u201csomething special\u201d focused all my thoughts on the Goddess and God, the Earth, and my ancestors. These sites were like giant centering meditations, causing the mundane world to fade away and bringing alive \u2013 if only for a moment \u2013 this one special place.<\/p>\n

I think eventually I won\u2019t need to visit sacred sites any more\u2026 but the curious traveler in me will always want to go and see\u2026<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"