Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/270286
that in your profane life would be merely ordinary, take on a new meaning and can become a cipher through which the sa- cred is revealed to you. Jonathan Z. Smith describes this process: "When one enters a temple, one enters marked-off space in which, at least in principle, nothing is accidental; everything, at least potentially, is of sig- nificance. The temple is afocusing lens, marking and revealing significance… The ordinary (which remains, to the observer's eye, wholly ordinary) becomes significant, becomes sacred, simply by being there. It becomes sacred by having our attention directed to it in a special way… The sacra are sacred solely because they are used in a sacred place; there is no difference between a sacred vessel and an ordinary one. By being used in a sacred place, they are held to be open to the possibility of significance, to be a see as agents of meaning as well as utility." Rituals can get us to see everyday things in a new way. Wine is just wine, until it's the Blood of Christ. A handshake is just a handshake, until it is used to reveal secret truths. Shoes are just shoes before you remove them to step on sacred ground. As you ponder the mean- ing of these symbols, they can, as Eliade puts it, "take you past the particular, into the universal" and grant you new insights into truth. Where is sacred space? When you think of sacred space, houses of worship most likely first come to mind. As you step through their physical thresh- olds, which are often accentuated by soaring arches or gigantic doors, you move not simply between the street and the sanctum, but between two modes of being – the sacred and the profane. Removing your shoes as one does before entering a mosque or making the sign of the cross with holy water as you enter a cathedral helps tangibly mark this passage. Many churches today, in an effort not to make potential members uncom- fortable with a physical structure and rituals they are unfamiliar with, have modeled their buildings and services on the edifices and entertainments of popular culture, making the transition from the outside world into the sanctu- ary as seamless as possible. In theory, this does limit the potential for worship- pers to experience the manifestations of the sacred as "something basically and totally different…like nothing human or cosmic." It has been said that sacred ritual disorients to reorient, and modern worship often skips the first phase. At the same time, however, buildings are actually not the central element that makes possible "irruptions of the sacred" (Eliade's wonderful phrase). Ritual, not actual physical structure, is what creates sacred space, so that it can be found anywhere one finds worshippers ritually tapping into the divine, from a church to a trailer park to a grove of redwoods. Conclusion If you often find yourself asking, "Is this all there is?" you may be due for an immersion in the sacred. You may need to find a place for ritual in your life, even if it's as simple as declaring part of your morning as sacred time or a room in your home as sacred space. If you wait for life to hand you texture and meaning, you'll feel flat forever. The modern world exists solely in the profane dimension; to access the sacred, the pathway is ritual. And beyond just giving the individual a sense of meaning and connectedness, ritual also mediates and builds the bonds of com- munity and brotherhood. It's to that topic that we'll turn in our next column.> The Art of Manliness Continued JOBS for TEAMS | 20 www.jobsfor teams.com JobsForTeams0314_manliness.indd 4 2/5/14 9:05 AM