Gianandrea Heyer : lanes last axioms

Lanes third axiom is " sacred place can be tread upon without being entered". By saying that, the author wants the reader of his book to know that even in somebody is physically in a sacred place, he might not enter it because he's not in with his spirit and mind. For instance, if the main character of "Cold Fever" would have been at that same river (where he performed the ritual) as a tourist, that would not be a sacred place for him.
The last axiom is " the impulse of a sacred place is both centrifugal and centrifugal , local and universal". This last axiom means that sometimes a sacred place can make you find God and is hence centripetal because it brings you to God. On the other hand, it can also be centrifugal because other times you won't find god, and you will be driven away from him.

Gianandrea Heyer: Lane's first two axioms

As we have seen in class, Lane's four axioms can help us to better understand the nature of sacred places. The first axiom is "sacred place is not chosen, it chooses". By writing this, Lane implies that god decides to appear only when he wills. If somebody has a sacred experience in a determined place, it does not necessarily mean that if he goes there again it will happen again. It is the holy that decides to happen and not the human being. As lane suggests in his book, he sometimes stayed many days in the wilderness looking for a sacred experience, but did not find anything. Then all of a sudden the sacred place choose and it happened when he met the deer.
The second axiom he discusses is " sacred place is an ordinary place, ritually made extraordinary". This means that when there is a sacred experience, a sacred place is full of constituency and becomes "chora". On the other hand, when there is nothing going on, that place becomes empty, without meaning, called " topos". A good example that relates to this axiom is the ritual that the young business man performs at the river. It looks like a normal place, but the ritual he performs make it become a " chora".

Rachel Goodwyn-Lane’s Phenomenological Approach

Belden C. Lane describes three approaches to understand sacred place in Landscapes of the Sacred, including phenomenological, ontological and cultural. The phenomenological approach states that places themselves participate in the perception that is made of them. Essentially that sacred place has meaning for and of its self. This approach also asks about how people perceive and experience a particular sacred place. However, the main point of this approach is to give a voice to the other participant in the perception of place and that is the place itself. The place in this approach presents itself as more than the sum of its parts. In the book it describes the sun and animals having a new meaning and new influence on the perception of the place.

Rachel Goodwyn- Lane’s Axioms

In Landscapes of the Sacred, Lane describes four axioms, or rules that help people understand the character of sacred place. The first axiom is that sacred place is not chosen, it chooses. For example, in the Bible when Jacob wakes up from his dream about angels descending and ascending a tall staircase to Heaven he says the rock where he had laid is head is surely a sacred place. Jacob did not choose that rock thinking he would have a dream there he just had a dream there and as a result the sacred place chose. The second axiom is that sacred place is ordinary place, ritually made extraordinary. Many people make the pilgrimage to Mecca every year and this ritual pilgrimage has made not only the destination, but also the journey sacred. Thirdly, sacred place can be tred upon without being entered. Many times people can walk through a sacred place without realizing it, because of their minds’ are preoccupied with what they should be doing. Lastly is the fourth axiom, which says the impulse of sacred place is centripetal and centrifugal, local and universal. Lane asserts that we are all driven towards centeredness or a focus on a certain place of divine encounter, but then we are driven out from that centeredness realizing God isn’t confined to one location.

Gianandrea Heyer : Lane's Ontologica approach

Lane' s ontological approach can also be seen in the movie we watched. The ontological approach tells us that sacred places are places of hierophany ( when the manifestation of the holy takes place) where supernatural forces have invaded the ordinary. A good example is when the main character of the movie is practicing golf in his apartment, and accidentally turns on the VHS of his parents asking him to go visit them. When power of this event completely changes his mind, and makes him decide to go to Iceland to perform the ritual. Another example of supernatural forces is when he unintentionally takes the wrong way and his car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. When he thinks he's going to freeze in his car, a fairy shows up, screaming very loud, making explode some ices behind her, but also magically repairing his car and saving his life.

Gianandrea Heyer : Lane's cultural approach

Cold fever also clearly shows Lane's cultural apprioach. According to the author, in the cultural approach the enphasis goes on the fact that the sacred is a social perception of reality.This suggestes the reader that different perople may think of a sacred experience in different ways. For instance,we see this when the young japanese man goes to his boss asking him for three weeks to go to a sacred trip . The boss is skeptical, and tells the protagonis that being superstitious is bad for business. On the other hand, the wise granfather is shocked when he hears that his grandson prefers to go to Hawaii to play golf rather than go to Iceland to perform the ritual. For him it is like a slap in the face.

Gianandrea Heyer : Lane's phenomenological approach

We can clearly identify Lane’s phenomenological approach in the movie “Cold fever We have seen in class”.
In the phenomenological approach, you approach a sacred place by looking at it. You also try to listen and feel it, so that you try to get in touch with the place. I think there is a connection between this and the movie we have watched in class. When the young man goes to Iceland and performs the ritual at the river, he uses a phenomenological approach. In fact, he goes down on his knees, he closes his eyes and breathes deeply . All these things allow him to have a better sacred experience , because he feels a deeper connection with his dead parents.