A soul place is an island, a building, a city, or a natural vista that opens up a space within that you didn’t realize was closed.
Do certain places seem familiar? / Photo Djordje Korovljevic
Stepping off the train, the humidity settles over you, seeping into your pores, and the pungent mixture of spices, donkeys and sweat greets you.
The fig trees sway in the gentle Mediterranean breeze, cotton clouds scattered across the crystal blue-sky cast shadows over the plaza. Strangely, even though you have never been here before, you feel as if you’ve come home.
You have found a soul place.
A soul place is an island, a building, a city, or a natural vista that speaks to you in a language unheard. It opens up a space within that you didn’t realize was closed.
Jeffery Paine writes that a soul or sacred place is “a sense of connection between inner and outer landscape. The softening of the heart.”
Others would argue that the earth’s energy, things such as magnetic variances and ionization, creates an invisible sense of harmony and well being. This produces a sense of awe that is usually inspired by nature’s beauty.
Niagara Falls, a special place for many, is said to have the highest concentration of negative ions, caused by the quantity of the rushing water, in the world.
Memories From Our Ancestors
Richard Ford, Pulitzer Prize winning author, was born and raised in Jackson, MS. His wife’s job as a city planner took them to many cities but when they moved to New Orleans, Ford said he had “an instantaneous recognition.”
Whatever caused our ancestors to pilgrimage to these spots, it is still drawing us as well.
Even now, living in Maine, he considers New Orleans home.
Often we are inspired to build monuments on these sacred grounds: pyramids, cities, stone circles, churches, mosques. Whatever caused our ancestors to pilgrimage to these spots, it is still drawing us as well.
Scientists suggest that our genes may have the ability to carry memories from our ancestors.
Perhaps the earthy taste of freshly squeezed olive oil, never before experienced, causes you to feel as one with the rocky landscape of a Greek island. Could that be a mysterious taste welcoming you back to the land from which you came?
No matter the reason, we are inexplicably attracted to locations and feel a connection that we cannot readily explain.
In their special issue on Sacred Places, U.S. News and World Report states that that these spots are “as varied as the human sense of the sacred and as various as the world’s spiritual traditions.”
An Individual Definition
A soul place cannot be defined as purely a sacred place. The significance could be religious, spiritual, inspirational, or simply calming and peaceful. What defines a soul place is as individual as each of us.
Fellow travelers may experience different soul places on the same trip. The appeal of each location is as unique as the attraction between two people. A chemistry that flows, unseen and mysterious.
And like love, you can experience many soul places.One spot may appeal to your desire to play the guitar, another allows you an inner peace, while a third may feel like a comfortable old shoe.
Ask any group of people what their soul or sacred place is and the answers will be as distinct as the person.
In recent surveys, listed on Belief.net and on the U.S. News and World Report website, people posted a long list: Mt. Shasta, a civil war cemetery, a 250 year old oak tree, the Green Mountains of Vermont, the family farm and any number of religious buildings and sites.
The best thing about soul places is that they are an unexpected and welcome find. Keep an open mind and heart and you will discover yours.
Have you found any of your soul places? How did you know? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Jennifer Blair
Jennifer Blair is a production supervisor on feature films. Recently she rediscovered her passion for adventure and travel while hiking a mountain in Belize with a broken rib. Check out her exploits and ramblings at her blog.
译文:
你找到灵魂归属了吗？
走下火车，一阵湿润的气息扑面而来渗入毛孔。迎接你的是香料的气味，驴群和汗水。
无花果树在地中海的微风中轻轻摇邑，棉花般的云朵散布在水晶般湛蓝的天空中，在广场上撒下一地斑驳。很奇怪，你的第一次来访竟然给你一种回家的感觉。
你找到了你心仪神往的地方，这就是你灵魂的归属地。
灵魂的归属可以是一个岛屿，一座城池，抑或是一条幽静的小街，它们用无声的话语向你问候，开启了你尘封已久的内心世界。”
杰弗里-帕恩（Jeffery Paine）说过，灵魂的归属是一种感觉，是内在与外在的融合，是内心最柔软的部分。
还有人说，地球的能量，诸如南北两极的磁性互斥，构成了一种无形的生态平衡。人类由此对大自然产生敬畏之心。
尼亚加拉大瀑布，在众多方面尤为特别，据说这里的阴离子浓度是世界之最，归因于它湍急河水的大流量。
我们祖先的记忆
曾获得过普利策奖的作家理查德 福特（Richard Ford,），是土生土长的杰克逊人，他的妻子从事城市规划工作从而他们经常在各个城市中穿梭，当他们抵达新奥尔良时，福特说他体验到了“一见倾心”。即便如今身在缅因州，新奥尔良仍然是他的心灵家园。
人们从这些神圣的土地中找到灵感，他们在此修筑纪念碑：金字塔，城池，石头阵，教堂，寺庙。总有一种无形的力量驱使着我们，步入祖先们的后尘，踏上朝圣的道路。
科学家们提出，我们的基因有可能传承我们的祖先的记忆。或许我们对新鲜压制的橄榄油的喜爱是与生俱来的，那让我们仿佛置身于希腊岩石遍布的美丽岛屿。这神奇的味道会不会是源于故乡的召唤呢？
无论如何，我们被这些土地吸引着，被一种不可名状的联系牵引着。
个人见解
美国新闻与世界报道杂志（U.S. News and World Report） 在某一期有关圣地的专栏中说“这些圣地就如同人们对于宗教的理解以及世界各地的思维模式一般，是没有条条框框限制的。
灵魂的归属不能仅仅用圣地来涵盖。它包含宗教上，精神上，灵感上的范畴，或简单来说，是内心的平静和安宁。关于这个问题，每个人都有自己的独到见解。
旅行者们在同一段旅程中会有不同的心属之地。景对人的引力就像人与人之间的相互吸引一样独特，如同空气中进行了某种看不见的化学反应般微妙。
你一身中可能会心仪不同的人，同样你也会心仪不同的地点。第一处可能激起你为之弹奏吉他的愿望，第二处或许会让你的内心得以平静，第三处会让你感到穿着合脚的老鞋子般舒适。
若你向任何一群人提问，哪个地方最让你神往，答案一定不会是相同的。信仰网（ Belief.net） 和美国新闻与世界报道杂志（U.S. News and World Report）上列出了最近的一份调查，答案千奇百怪，有夏士塔山（Mt. Shasta），内战公墓，一棵有250年树龄的老橡树，富蒙特州的青色山峦（he Green Mountains ），一所家庭农场，以及不计其数的宗教建筑和景观遗址。
什么是灵魂归属？我能想到的最佳描述是，这将是一次不期而遇的令人惊喜的发现。抛开思绪，敞开心灵，属于你的正在等待你。