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Sacred Spaces: Stations on a Celtic Way

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Seven is a magic number in many ways. In this book, 'Sacred Spaces: Stations on a Celtic Way', the author Margaret Silf walks the reader through seven traditional sacred spaces:

- the infinite knot
- the Celtic cross
- hilltops
- wells
- groves and springs
- thresholds and crossing places
- boundaries

Each of these spaces has a unique spiritual dimension in various Celtic ways of thinking and being. Silf devotes a chapter to each, reflecting on ways that this Celtic understanding can shed deeper meaning on our own lives. Drawing from scripture, Celtic legend and lore, and simple storytelling, Silf helps us chart our own journey through these sacred spaces.

This book is visually stunning as well as interesting to read, which helps the reader draw upon other senses as well as the imagination in pursuing this kind of sacredness. 'With our minds we know our lives are a mass of complication. If you think back to yesterday, or forward to tomorrow, you will surely become aware of a whole catalogue of problems, dilemmas, choices and compromises, beaten into some kind of shape on the anvil of your circumstances. A far cry from the perfect balance of the infinite knot. Yet in your deeper reaches there are whispers of simplicity, harmony, a joining of opposites, a reconciliation of irreconcilables.'

Silf uses personal reflections from her own life (a person who works at home, a person who has been trained by Jesuits in prayer and spiritual direction, a married person, etc.) to illustrate how these connections can be made for those of us in 'real life' situations. So often spirituality seems so disconnected from ordinary daily practice, and so difficult to incorporate into day-to-day activity, as if it is only possible to have 'spirituality' when the rest of life is done, or put on hold. Celtic practices strive to recognise the spiritual dimension in all that we do, and Silf's incorporation of sacred spaces can turn everyday activities as simple as walking through a doorway into a connection with the sacred.

Silf explains that Celtic spirituality holds thresholds and crossings in high regard. Thresholds are doorways -- this can be symbolic of any transition, major or minor, in our lives. A new job, a new child, a new relationship, a departing by moving or death -- all of these are thresholds we cross. We can remember each time we open the door to home of the sacredness of where we are, where we've come from, and who we've journeyed with. A lot in a small symbol, if we would but pay attention.

Other images -- hilltops (how often did prophets in scripture of various religions go to mountaintops or hilltops for a stronger connection with the divine?), the cross (strong symbolism for Christians, surely, but who else uses the cross, and in what ways?), wells and springs (pools of possibility, Silf calls them) -- all these images and more yield treasure to they who seek it. 'In every moment that we live and breathe, we are growing into it, dreaming and real-ising our own part in the Dream of all creation, reaching out to each new horizon along the Way that leads us Home.'

Noted spiritual writer Margaret Silf takes her readers on a Celtic journey in her book SACRED SPACES. Combining Ignatian spirituality with traditional Celtic spirituality and the beauty that is Ireland and Scotland, Silf looks at the natural beauty and some ancient human made artifacts to help readers take a good look at their own lives. Silf looks at moments in our own lives: times we may be facing challenges, times we need to grow, and times we need to simply appreciate God's creation, and the like, and pairs them with ancient landmarks and the natural beauty of Celtic places. She does this to enable the reader to see how these places revealed God's role in human life to the Celts and can do the same for us today.

The different artifacts and natural places focus on one area of a person's life and a chapter is devoted to the individual places or things. The chapters include:
The Infinite Knot which Silf sees as God's weaving in our lives.
The High Cross which were used to mark Churches and libraries can be seen as signs that point toward eternity
Hilltops which help us see the whole picture
Wells which challenge us to live our possibilities
Groves and springs which are signs of hospitality and generosity
Crossing places which challenge us to grow
Boundaries

One chapter flows into the other and the book can almost be used as a mini retreat, but more than likely readers will find themselves returning to this book to reread Silf's insighst as we face the different situations talked about in the book in our own lives. The book also contains lush photographs which will delight people who have visited either Scotland or Ireland and entice others to make a trip to either of these beautiful places.
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Margaret Silf is gifted with the ability to create a comtempletive attitude in Sacred Spaces. She invites the reader to appreciate with her the integration of the outer landscape and the inner dynamics we experience on our life journeys. I return to this book often, allowing myself to choose which chapter I will read according to where I am in my own journey. I have also used this book in a similar manner with others during guided retreats.

Sacred Spaces: Stations on a Celtic Way is an extraordinary book by Margaret Silf. It is written in a format that encourages readers to quietly read and absorb in contemplation the journey described, and more importantly, their own spiritual journey. Questions are interspersed throughout the sections to encourage readers to move beyond the book and into an exploration of their own personal story. The hardcover edition also is filled with wonderful photographs that add an even greater dimension to the book. Beware that the paperback edition does not have the photographs, and much is lost in their exclusion. I do not recommend the paperback edition. This book has had such a profound impact on me, that I purchased copies for each of my three adult children. It is a book to journey with again and again. If you are seeking a book that will awaken insights within yourself about who you are, and how you came to be where you are on your spiritual path, this book is for you. For me, it awakened a deep appreciation for moments of encountering the sacred in the everyday experiences, and an awe for the Celtic practice of marking the moment with stones as a permanent reminder of the moment. If you have the opportunity to purchase this book which is now out of print, don't let it slip by. But, be sure to get the hardcover edition with the orange cover.

Beautifully illustrated containing a wealth of deep spirituality.