Good Essay On My Holy Place

In our present time, holy places are primarily in a closed building. It suits the expectations of our current society. People seek comfort in cool air, comfy pews, and embellished statues and windows as they worship. I happen to enjoy that as well. I feel like a holy place can be wherever there are holy people. But if I had the opportunity to build a place of worship centuries ago, it would be way different. The older I get, the more my holy expectations flourish.
First and foremost, I do believe that God speaks through nature. I feel that if you pay enough attention, the answers to so many prayers are all around us. The elements serve more than a practical purpose to us, but they also serve a spiritual purpose. I have grown to covet the infusion of nature into places of worship. I feel like a healthy relationship with nature is an important part of spirituality.
There are certain components that accompany a holy experience for me. My holy place would need: natural light, the four elements, darkness, and a silent place. For me, a holy place would have to be completely touched by nature. The things that God created speak to a different tune of existence. In order to get in touch with God, I feel like it would be necessary to be immersed by all things natural. Before the world became a concrete haven, there was a respect and a want for natural surroundings.
I would want my holy temple to be in the middle of a forest. There would be a paved path that would direct the worshipper to the holy place. I would not be spotted easily. The walk itself could begin the prayer/meditation process. One would be able to soak up the air, visual aesthetics, and the sounds. The path would be lit at sundown by lanterns. I would be sure that they were carefully constructed as well; I would never want to endanger the forest with fire. I’d actually like to think that I would be enlightened and smart enough to have known about solar power, because that is what I ultimately would want. The journey should always be important as the destination.
I would want the temple to have layers or different levels. The first level would be underground. It would be designated for the darkness. I think it is important to be able to be comfortable in the dark. I say that because the darkness is often associated with fear. Fear can be conquered by love. If a person can learn to love the dark, and feel at ease in the dark, then he or she would be able to conquer fear. Without fear, one experiences a complete kind of love. That is an essential part of holiness to me. It would also serve as a metaphor. Worship is blind and universal. The universe is a dark void, but all great things, such as Earth, came from the darkness. That alone, would be an embodiment of the power and love of God.
The next level would be silent. I would however want a natural creek running through it. It would be an area of silence prayer and purification. A worshipper would be able to pray/meditate, and then take a dip in the creek. I think all things in natural have some sort of purification properties by the authority of God. And I also know that back then, nature was revered on such a high level. Some people also do not like silence because it makes them feel uncomfortable, or they have to deal with their own thoughts. A person needs to be able to accept themselves as a whole. To love yourself entirely, is to love God entirely. That part of a temple would be so important to obtaining holiness.
The top of the temple would be screened. It would receive the natural sunlight and moonlight. The wind would also be able to flow freely through it. I would link the second in third level in a way that would capture the natural rain water and make it flow down into the natural creeks. The roof would be traditionally shaped, so that the water would be able to flow down into designated channels. I feel like the sunlight is an absolute symbol of God’s power and love. I would want the roof to be made of glass so that it would always have a clear view of the sky. I think that people should be able to pray and see the sun as a way of reassurance. It would allow the worshipper to see the scope of God’s power and have no problem with praying for help, guidance, and change. I think looking up at the sun would let the people see that nothing is impossible.
Collectively, if I was a priest in the old days, I would have wanted to be close to nature. I think that it would have kept the people well-grounded. I appreciate the temples of holiness that we have studied though. I also think those places served the purposes that the kings and priests envisioned. However, if I had a chance, I would have done it differently. It is my belief that the link between holiness and nature is there. I would have wanted to find it and use it to the benefit of all those that came to worship.