Simon Robson - Surfing Viewed Through Lane's Axioms

         When we started this class and began talking about sacred place and the kind of spiritual feelings that it can lead to there was one specific experience that it made me think of. Surfing. When I go surfing although I am not great at it this is where I feel a connection with something greater than me. I feel a similar feeling as to what Dr. Redick defines as flow and I leave behind all kinds of earthly thoughts and worries and I am at peace. As a result of these feelings and the definitions of sacred place we have discussed I felt it would be appropriate to compare surfing (although it’s not a particular place), to the axioms of sacred place as defined by Belden C. Lane in his book Landscapes of the Sacred. 

The first axiom that he talks about is that sacred place is not chosen, it chooses. I felt as though this definitely applied to surfing because although I choose to surf and I often anticipate this feeling, I never actively chose to have the experience that I do. Especially the first time that I realized I felt this way from surfing it was not something that I anticipated or chose, but rather it was an experience that chose me. 

The second axiom is that sacred place is an ordinary place, ritually made extraordinary. I feel as though this axiom applies very specifically to surfing because although many people go to the beach, get in the ocean, and do all kinds of things in the same places as people surf, the surfing is what really makes it extraordinary. This is also a feeling that other surfers have confirmed to me that they feel as well. In this instance surfing is the ritual that makes this place extraordinary. The act of it brings you into a new kind of peace and a connection with the ocean and therefore a connection to something even greater. 

The third axiom is that sacred place can be tread upon without being entered. I feel like this also applies well to surfing in a similar way that the second one did. Many people enter the same spaces as surfers and they do not experience anything out of the ordinary. Additionally, there are also surfers that do not experience the same feelings of connectedness and flow as some do. In this way surfing is a sacred place that can be tread upon without being entered. 

The final axiom states that sacred place is both centripetal and centrifugal; local and universal. I think that this also applies to surfing because it does not matter where in the world you may be surfing you can experience this feeling. It also can stay with you and you may experience similar feelings outside of surfing or you may remember a time that you were surfing and go back to this feeling. 

Surfing has always brought me these feelings and made me feel connected to something greater than myself. It brings me into a state of flow where my consciousness and my physical movement merge together. Through this process I have found a lot of peace in surfing and gained a lot of respect for sacred experiences.


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