This week I wanted to turn on the camera and talk about one of the *very* niche topics that interests me: the connection between theme parks and Celtic Thin Places. I wanna hear from y’all in the comments: what is a place that has been extremely transcendent or fulfilling for you, and why? Join the Patreon community: www.patreon.com/houstonproductions1
I think the Lincoln Memorial is a thin place for me. I've only been there once because I live in California, but the one time I was there I felt this indescribable feeling that was unlike anything I'd ever felt before.
I had never associated thin places with Disney World, but you’re right on. I remember reading about Walt’s intention as he dreamed up Disneyland. We were in the midst of the Cold War and the nuclear arms race and all the cultural anxiety that comes with the daily question, “Is today the day when we will get blown up?” Walt designed the park to counteract those anxieties, to give his guest at least a fleeting notion that all shall be well: someone has designed a place for you to be happy. I reckon “thin place” is about as good as any other description of that reality.
I love this video- especially your point about humility and stewardship despite not owning a place! I think that in addition to belonging but not owning something that helps me to find thin places is the knowledge that my situation won't last. I live on a college campus about eight months each year, but it's always in the spring when I know I'm about to leave again that the few acres that it sits on become particularly beautiful and spiritual. I grew up reading Narnia and I think the same principle applies. Narnia was always magical for the children. They had a full sense of belonging there, they were even leaders and stewards (Aslan, of course, was the owner), and they treasured their time in Narnia more BECAUSE they knew it wouldn't last. Maybe, these thin places are the glimpse of the renewed earth that I believe is coming where we will belong and that will last.
I love this comment, Amelia!! I’m currently (very very very slowly) writing a book called Theme Park Theology and one of the chapters is called “Temporal Transcendence Reflecting Eternity.” Whenever people try to live at Disney World forever, it doesn’t work - just like when Simon Peter tried to set up tents and camp out on the mountain during the Transfiguration. Eventually we all have to come down from the mountaintop and treasure the glimpses in our hearts...but that’s not the end of it.
I like that you covered the big and exceptional (Disney), the ancient (British manor), as well as the normal (aunt's house, local park). Finding transcendence in everyday places is very Chestertonian. I've never been to Disney but I love walking through theme parks just to analyze their designs and how the creators incorporated their plans with the natural landscape. Theme parks are like giant gardens, and there is artistry everywhere you look. My thin place: Last year on a whim I wandered down a steep ravine in the mountains/backyard and discovered a secret trail with a series of wooden bridges along it. One bridge crosses a stunning waterfall. Everything about it looks ancient and designed. It resembles something from Puzzlewood forest (which is 100% also a thin place).
Wow. Really got me thinking about how I used to feel about nature and "thin places" before I got older and too busy and had kids and didn't sleep for like 10 years and went through a pandemic. Makes me really want to reconnect to that. Btw, it might be different because you're already connected to Disney World, but Disneyland in California (if you haven't been there) I think would feel even more that way to you because it's more compact and there's just something special everywhere you look and just tons of little, personal touches that Walt Disney put in there himself. It's almost like you feel his presence there and that original spark that you talked about that originally inspired him to make Disneyland.
This was great! As a big fan of theme parks and Disneyland specifically, I felt this was really relatable. I think part of that feeling has to do with the willingness to immerse yourself in the world. We know it's not real, but it posits a type of hyper-reality that we choose to buy into. And together with everyone else there, it becomes a collective ritual that can be spiritual. That's what makes the best parts of the parks work so well and why people that choose not to take part kinda hate it.
Thanks for being here, Matt!! I actually hadn’t researched the word “hyper-reality” until people started commenting it on this video. Feels very applicable.
I'm half Finnish, and the old Finnish pagans believed that trees were a direct line to the Gods/spirit realm, so I always like of feel like I'm in a thin place in a woods.
Really enjoying these longer videos, and the conversational style of them. Loving learning these new things and really like the exploratory way of doing it, where it’s like we’re seeing you discover things as you say them.
Thanks for saying that Josh!! I’ve really enjoyed being able to turn on the camera and talk out stuff like this too. It’s made the discussion in the comments so much richer.
Oh man, you're video quality just keeps getting better. Maybe I just now noticed it, but you punched in when you would cut a lot more than usual in this video. I really don't mind jumpcuts in TH-cam videos, but man, when they aren't there it makes a huge difference; and the incorporation of footage you've taken yourself really adds a lot. In all honesty, I've never actually heard about the concept of 'thin places', but I'm glad to hear Christians didn't shun it away. As you were talking, I was racking my mind trying to think of times I've experienced thin places. Oddly enough, my two are similar to some of yours. A relative's house, and an amusement park. By far the 'thinnest' place I've ever been is my grandma and grandpa's condo. Yes, it's laced with a TON of nostalgia, but in addition to that, I think it just hits all the right buttons for me. The layout, the decorations I would never choose but love, the front door that we never really used, and so many more things. My other thin place is King's Island. Something about it is just special. I like some of the rides quite a bit, and it's certainly a fun place to be, but my favorite parts of it are the things that feel recreated. The decade-themed gift shops, the Festhaus, the Eifel Tower, the coal mine district near The Beast, and the old train that takes you through the woods and to the other side of the park. Those parts have a distinct feel of characteristic exaggeration. Like, they stripped away all the negative reality and were left with the best memories of each. It's fake, but it's tangible, and that's good enough for me. I'm new to this idea of thin places, so my views might be a bit off, but the way I look at it is that there may be universal thin places, like ancient monasteries and old churches, but maybe there are also personal thin places. Places where even though you're in the middle of a concrete jungle, you feel closer to home than ever before. I'm all for the idea of finding God in unexpected places. So if you say you feel Disney World is a thin place then it totally is.
Great video. I have felt that way about few places in my life. Particularly, my grandparents house in Anaheim makes me feel so nostalgic and comforting every time I visit. You can say it’s like my “Hogwarts” if you will. It’s not a big place. It’s just a small house where it gives off this humble vibe with its bedrooms, kitchen, and pretty backyard, every memory there is happy one. There’s also the bonus of it having this historical quality to it. It’s where my dad and all his siblings grew up in so it’s this pure family house that has become so sacred to be. I hope to preserve that house someday for many years to come.
I'm finding it hard to decide what places in my life really fit into this category. There's a rock by the lake that I go to almost every day, and I pray there often and appreciate the beauty of nature, but I think it's become almost too familiar to me to be a thin place. It feels more like a part of my own house. I also eat breakfast, read, play my ukulele, and feed the ducks there so it feels more like every day kind of joyful place. I think the hayloft in my Grandmother's barn fits the best. It has memory and family history and a kind of other-worldly beauty. There is both the memories of play and imagination in that space and the way the sun stabs through the walls and makes the hay and the dust shine like gold.
Very interesting topic! I really enjoyed your musings on this, Houston. Thin Places was a new name to describe this for me, but I like that and have given this idea some thought at various times of life. In a church I used to go to, some of the leaders would say something like “the presence of God is thicker up front nearer the altar”. I struggled with this, though, as it conflicted with my theology and understanding from scripture. “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” Jesus’ death tore the veil from the Temple, meaning he no longer chose to limit his presence. Why can’t God speak to me if I’m at the back of the church hidden from view privately in prayer or worship? And I believe that he did. And yet, some places seem to hold special significance and can make them seem Thin to us, and yes, also to me. I like how you, too, wrestle with some of those challenges and this clash of ideas. Trying to reconcile these conflicting ideas, I think the place often might not be as important as the act of going to them. As you mentioned so eloquently, entering to a place in humility and wonder already puts is internally into a Thin Place and allows us to encounter that which we might otherwise overlook. I truly believe that if Christians fully realize the significance of living as Holy Spirit-embodied Temples, then it could be that in Abraham Kuyper’s words, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” I believe that every place we go could become to us Thin Places. That said, some places seem Thinner to me than others, whether by nostalgia or more spiritual reasons, and here are a few of mine: - Driving through the woods, especially on a certain curvy road a few towns over - Some areas of downtown Chicago, especially late at night - staring out the window of a plane - the city of Edinburgh, but especially the ruins of St. Anthony’s Chapel - The world of Azeroth, but especially Ashenvale :-) - Disney World, too, has had moments of this for me, and I too love the world area of Ecpot more than I can quite explain. By the way, I’ve read some very interesting things on the Disneyland / Hyperreality relationship, so this might be worth looking at since it’s also of interest to you: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperreality
I like the candor of this video. We are the thin places; these sacred sites, from Stonehenge to Chartres to Machu Pichu just put us in touch with the part of ourselves that longs for the Eternal. The experience of the Eternal is the goal of mysticism. These places seem to echo our own longing for transcendence.
This is fantastic! Well done video. I think thin places for me are places that are so immersive and so capture my senses that I can sort of forget myself. I think you hit it with the humility and the history piece-being a part something bigger, that makes me feel small. Maybe it’s also something to do with pure delight and inspiration. Disney is also a thin place for the Heimlers 😉. Thank you for this awesome, thought provoking discussion!
@@houston-coley Thanks! 😊 It's a stanza from a poem I wrote called Belonging (because I'm a person who goes around the internet quoting my own poetry. Make of that what you will 😄)
@@houston-coley that is one of the best compliments I've ever gotten. The rest of the poem is on my Instagram if you're interested instagram.com/p/CDOc5dTH6BY/?
This was a really interesting and engaging video. It’s so refreshing to hear you talk about Disney World with such a great balance of sincerity and self-awareness. Cynicism so often always goes hand-in-hand with discussion of anything Disney (as it probably should) but, as much as I’m always trying to be a good leftist, I can’t deny that connection I have to the parks. Disney World is a bit far away from me, but Disneyland Paris has really been a staple of my life. My family have never gone too long without visiting. And I’m fascinated by the different experiences I’ve had as I’ve grown up. I think it’s also given some nice opportunities for self-reflection. I think you tend to notice change in yourself a lot less when the world around changes too- it gives you nothing to directly compare to. But Disneyland has pretty much stayed the same my whole life. And I think that can be said for all the places in my life that I love and take comfort in. Elements of beauty, nostalgia, familiarity and inspiration for reflection. I don’t know much about spirituality, but there’s something incredibly authentic about how these places make me feel. This comment is too long lmao. I apologise, but I also thank you for giving me a reason to look inward.
Thank you for making this video. You put into words something that I've felt for a long time when I travel. Btw, have you seen the Wisecrack video on Disney World called "The Time Disney Built a Creepy Government"? You are saying the word, "real" to describe it, but they say it is, "heterotopia". Worth a look. Btw, I agree with you about Disney World being a thin place. I visited last year and I was so impressed that I took an online course on theme park design just to understand what was going on a little bitter.
I've never thought of this concept before, but after watching this, I'm absolutely fascinated by it. Semi-tangent here (bear with me, I'll bring it back around), but I'm in the process of maybe getting an ADHD diagnosis, and I recently did a bit of googling about how other Christians with ADHD operate with their faith, and I found out I'm not the only one who feels out of place in worship services, and I read that it's out in nature that people with ADHD are really able to focus on their faith. And in retrospect, all of my experiences that I think are closest to spiritual always happened in semi-outdoors. So yeah, nature definitely has to be involved for it to feel like a thin place to me. I think the "thinnest" place I've been was in this reading nook at my mom's friend's house. She lives out in the country-ish, I'm talking like, a stream in the backyard and some chickens, and this little hexagonal reading nook is overlooking this massive backyard and the sunlight is streaming through the windows. My younger brother was doing some kind of painting thing with these other little kids, so I slunk off to the reading nook, found The Book Thief, and even though I'd already read it for freshmen English, I cried when I reread the last chapter this time. Something about that place made it hit much harder than it had before? I felt... more raw, for lack of a better term, but not in a bad way.
For me I can't really name a specific location that I'd call a "Celtic Thin Place" and I think the reason for that is because places that stick out in my mind like that do so in a way where the specific location of where I'm at fades away and I'm just left with the location itself. For example I can remember a beach by a river that I was laying on, where the sun was setting and it reflected off the sand and water in a way that bathed the world in golden red. Though I can't remember exactly where this was, (some old church camp I went to in middle school) that place is what sticks out most in my mind when I think of places like what you've described. Other examples would be an arching rock structure I once was able to sit atop of after crawling under a boulder that was wedged at it's base or a certain New York Street where the light and it's reflection off the buildings lined up perfectly with the crowds and where I was standing to create an image that stands out perfectly in my mind. I think for me at least these places capture a spot in my mind where the child-like wonder you feel in them washes away anything else you may be thinking or feeling and all that you're left with is that memory that feels like dream from many years ago. (pardon the dramatic ending to this post but I think it's pretty appropriate)
I love this video so much. I go through that same struggle between loving being at Disney World and feeling like it conflicts with loving God and trying not to love the world. Disney World is my safe place where I feel completely at ease. I think about it every single day (which is probably too much). I've been listening to the Epcot music loop just this morning, planning out what I'd be doing there if I was there. Where I work, there's this room that kind of smells like mildew, but all I think is that it smells like Rome burning on Spaceship Earth and I love going to that room and taking a deep breath, even though it's not even a good smell. There's this weight off my shoulders when I'm there and it feels like nothing is being asked of me except to experience it. To live. To be happy. It's one of the few places that you're allowed to use your imagination and think of things being different than they actually are. As a storyteller, being asked to step inside a story and be that immersed in something so grand is why I love it. As a Christian, it does remind me of heaven in a sense. I know Disney is this capitalist company focused on getting money out of us (more and more money, making more and more cuts when it comes to what guests get out of their experience lately), but I still can't help but love what they've made. And while heaven is going to have work for all of us, I still believe it's going to have the sort of awe-filled elements that Disney has, except stronger and God centered. I'm sure heaven will have more technology than we imagine, and maybe there will be some form of Disney there (or theme parks, games, things that we won't be so obsessed with since God is more important), and I really hope so, but I do know that even if it doesn't it'll be more awesome than that. I like that you said Disney is hell to some people. I never understand those people who show up and didn't plan their trip and don't like rides that appeal to all ages, etc. To me, they would probably like it more if they researched before they went since it does take a lot of planning to know what order to do things, when the busiest times are, where to eat, and all the other hundreds of things. Kind of reminds me how God doesn't seem to appeal to people-I think He technically should appeal to all people, but it's just a misunderstanding and not knowing "all the facts" about him, if that makes sense. If I'm describing you, reader of this comment, I definitely don't mean any offense. Everyone is free to like or dislike or believe or not believe anything and that's fine. Free will is great. But Disney does seem to cause that same that reaction that God does in people-they either love it or hate it. Yet again, loved the video!
Jesus Christ, Houston.. this is only the 2nd video I’ve seen of yours but in both you’ve managed to put into words my thoughts on faith, cinema, and theme parks. Why am I just discovering you?? Subscribed ✔️
This might sound hokey of me to say. But I would say that for me even virtual places can be thin places. Sm64's peache's castle. The first level of Yoshi's island etc, for me anyway. Places that exist almost more in your mind and heart than in a physical location. But it still gives you that heightened state of feeling. Hearing you mention Hayo Miazaki, and making me think of the places in those movies(Howl's moving castle especially) that bring such serenity peace and joy just experiencing it, part of me thinks that on a personal level while a place can certainly evoke feelings discussed to general public, it also is very much an individual factor for what might become a thin place as well.
It doesn’t sound hokey at all! In my time playing Zelda: Breath of the Wild, I’ve definitely experienced some moments that felt remarkably transcendent. I actually made a whole video about the relationship between videogame design and theme park design!
@@houston-coley oh it's been so long since I've seen that video I didn't realize it was you that one's fantastic! It's funny I thought about that idea for years but never jumped on it glad you did with a video.
So I'm on the other coast, and as you would expect, there are parts of Original Disneyland that feel that way, that feels welcoming and real in a different way and old in the best kind of way and all that sort of thing... And you know so very many people have been through Disneyland in the decades and decades since it was built... (One of my favorites, is riding the train around that outer edge of the park, especially at night). But I had that same immediate sense from the three broomsticks pub in the Harry Potter section of universal studios Hollywood? Which, when I went through there, it had really only been open a handful of months... But when they designed it they did such a good job providing a complete experience that I very much had that sense. I could have sat in there forever. I could have just sat at a table in the corner and had something nice to drink and happily would have stayed there for hours and hours and hours, especially when sitting in the right corner, with a view of the trees and the Hogwarts castle out the windows. Also also, I have had that experience Repeatedly while in Scotland. . If you haven't read any of the Young Wizards series by Diane Duane... You might enjoy them. Your discussion here gave me pretty strong vibes of the way that magic and spirituality and purpose operate and are discussed in those books. Thanks for the vid!
If I had to mark any thin places in my life I would definitely point out the Gaylord hotel in Wisconsin. I remember my first time going there I felt a sense of wonderment. There are these three atriums that are each town to nature with trees and plants and artificial creeks. The ceiling is entirely composed of glass so daylight shines right through and at night the strings of lights hang from the ceiling like stars. Another location I’d consider a thin place for me is The Luthor Collage campus in Dechorah Iowa. There was a music camp that would be held there every year and I went every summer for six years. You would basically go and take classes and live in the dorms, eat the campus food, exetra. But during the days between classes I would love to sit down and read or wonder what I was going to write that day. I would see other campers sitting down and relaxing or playing volleyball and I would feel completely content and present in the moment. I would look forward to going every year because it was that place where I always felt safe and full or appreciation for the world around me. I’m also happy about the new personal style your video have taken, keep up the good work.
I think Disney world, and thin places alone are not going to be defined by clear definitions. I don't see why Disney world couldn't be one because it brings joy, and I think that's really all a thin place is. I don't know what a thin place would be to me, it's vague. I'd just say the vibe, placed where the world acts a little more quiet perhaps. Like the world quiet and yet bustling on Christmas Eve, or at least here, when it rains and snows. I also feel like on top of buildings, where you can just watch the world pass by without you having to influence it. I guess that's humbling, and that thought might depress some people but for me it's calming. Maybe it's because usually those quiet places mean we're about to go on an adventure, like waking up really early to make a flight for vacation. I think the main factor though is the soft quiet and calm in a world that's usually about fast paced things, constant gratification, etc.......
That *wow* feeling of Thin Places that you describe getting at Disney World is the same feeling I get in cathedrals and cemeteries. I think the Oldness has something to do with it, the knowledge that the place has seen lifetimes of humanity. I also love ruins. Ruined castles or abandoned buildings. Something about nature reclaiming the space, and how it screams "All human things are vanity! Everything is vapour!" Another Thin Place for me is the forest, especially when there's fog or mist. The humility you describe makes me think of the humus--the dirt we're gardened from--that makes us human. Gardening is my favorite image, and I think it applies to every level of human existence. I think what you're describing about the hyperreality of these places is that they're all gardens. A garden is a space where human care and cultivation and thought and design intermingle and mesh together with God's. Gardens are systems that are bigger than us but actively shaped by us, slowly, nonetheless. They are places of belonging but not owning (ideally). In Genesis, humans were placed in the Garden in Eden "to work and to keep it." It speaks to a kind of co-creation with God; experiencing something bigger than yourself. I would say that your Aunt Sarah's cottage, the manor house, and Disney World are all gardens in their own ways. I've definitely felt the (to me) icky feeling of being enchanted by Disney. I've only been to Disney Land once, when I was 19. I kinda hated how magical it felt and how delightful the design was because I knew it was carefully crafted to make me feel wonder. But man, the joy of going through the Haunted Mansion for the third time? It left me conflicted. I'm inclined to agree with your assessment of the fallen beauty of Disney. Wow. Beautiful yet cursed dreams. I love that. 'Glorious ruins' is how I've often thought of it. Thank you for making this video. I just discovered your vids a few days ago, and I'm so glad you're asking these open questions and pondering such "weird and niche" topics.
“Glorious ruins” is one of my favorite phrases - it was coined by Francis Schaeffer! Schaeffer was also the creator of L’Abri, the place where I was staying at the manor house in England. Such a cool thing whenever I see any references to his worldview materialize here and there. Agh, your comment is just lovely. The idea of places where humans and nature are united and cultivated together, both tamed and untamed, is definitely best summarized with “garden.” I tend to believe that everything divine exists in the tension between two good things - from humans and nature to the lion and the lamb.
@@houston-coley Oh now *that's* crazy cool. What a strange connection that somehow makes perfect sense. Not entirely sure when the phrase entered my subconscious. Before I published my comment, I had "Majestic ruins" but it didn't feel quite right. I wasn't sure why. By the time I finished with the rest of it, I realized that 'glorious' felt more correct. Tension between two good things... that's a new framework for me. Grace and truth from John 1:14 fits, I think.
Hey Houston, thin places is an interesting topic. I wonder though if the thin place is purely based on the individual perception, like the subjective experience of the person inhabiting that place, such as with your theme park example. I don't know if I necessarily think that a thin place is a constant force, like a place that is and always is a thin place, I think it completely depends on the individuals experience of it. In that way then, to me a thin place has nothing to do with physical location at all but instead the subjective experience of the world. Something I'm interested in is achieving this thin place feeling in different contexts that don't relate to location, where your physical place stays constant but you begin to experience the effect of being in a thin place. I'm a musician who plays some jazz music and theology is a common subject among the greats of jazz, creating an environment where the musicians can communicate with each other, communicate with an audience, and communicate with a tradition within themselves through music. Through the creation of novel improvised ideas. The way I see it, the great jazz musicians in the moment of improvisation create an emotionally overwhelming energy and connect with a subjective sense of self that can communicate something of value about the universe. They manufacture a thin place, almost through trust and faith in one another, that can allow for clear and novel improvisation. I like the idea of a thin place being physical places we can go for this enlightened clarity of thought but I think we can get the same effect of a thin place without any change in location at all from our typical reality. I'm also Irish and have heard of things similar to thin places but just through folk tales growing up, old story tellers and what not, and so my understanding would be different from yours as mine would relate specifically to where I grew up and who told me the stories.
Coming from the Catholic perspective, I definitely get senses of thin places in the world. Places where the Holy Spirit remains strong and omnipresent throughout time. As someone with the spiritual gift to distinguish the nature of what is holy and what is not (it’s a charism called Discernment of Spirits), there is an additional dynamic to it of what is the nature of the spiritual intensity. I have been to places where there is peace and reverence, places filled with mourning and sorrow, and places filled with more unsettling emotions. We bring the Holy Spirit with us and can fill the spaces around us with that grace; but there is something greater and full of awe that I experience in thin places. Regardless of what fuels that intensity.
Glad to see this topic addressed and discussed. I have always felt that when someone does something to the best of their ability, when they create something beautiful, they are bringing glory to God and channeling the creativity that God has given us. Since God is the ultimate creator and artist, when I go to Disney World and see such beautiful places amidst beautiful music and am reminded of the beautiful experiences I have had with those films and characters, it certainly can be an emotional, spiritual experience that makes me think on the goodness of God. At their core, most Disney films are rooted in good and evil, redemption, hope, family, excellence, and inspiration. As a Christian, it is almost impossible to disconnect those things from my faith, and it lends a power and gravity to things throughout the parks.
I feel like in some ways, I can relate to how you feel but I think my view of spiritual places differs from yours slightly. I wonder if part of that is my Islamic and Southeast Asian upbringing. And I think what a place is physically doesn't really affect my feelings towards these places too much because I'm a person who lives primarily in my head. It's honestly hard for me to remember clear physical details of even my favourite places to a degree that most people would. My memories are very focused on my sentiments, emotions and how I perceive things. For me, a thin place is just felt. It has nothing with how beautiful or how much I feel like I belong at a place. I have been at places where I don't really find anything about it physically charming or I don't feel like I truly belong there. However, whenever I go there, I feel a strong sense of spiritual awakening. A number of mosques and natural places I've been to are thin places for me. I feel calmer there. I feel like I can connect my brain to my soul in a way I may struggle to elsewhere. I feel my thoughts gravitating towards God and worship and I want to stay there because I feel truest to myself here. Then there are places where I feel so comfortable, so at home and yet they are not necessarily spiritual places. For me that was my late grandma's house, my first school, and a particular place by the window of my old home when the azan (the call for prayer) is being called. All of these places makes me feel so accepted and being there feels like I can finally physically live out the emotions I have within me. The emotion is closer to contentment than fulfilment. Most of them are sentimental but some of them really don't make sense. And yes, I have one at a theme park too as my place of belonging (not Disneyworld, I've never been there). The place that I love in particular is up at the top of this play area of a theme park between two roller coasters. I really can't explain why I like it up there but every time I go to the park, I will find the time to just sit there with my diary, sometimes writing, sometimes just feeling. I usually went during week days (perks of homeschooling) so it's relatively calm but the occasional band of rowdy kids simply add colours to the ambience. And I will feel a special sense of contentment if a kid suddenly gets too scared to go down the slide and I can help them to overcome it. I guess you can say that a place of belonging connects me to my heart and a thin place connects me to my soul. A thin place is what you would call extremely transcendent and fulfilling. The air is heavy with a sense of peace that silences my ever-racing thoughts and I can finally hear my own true voice from deep within. I feel closer to carrying God's work even in the simplest of tasks. A place of belonging is a place where the very wind that blows within it is in sync with the beatings of my heart, echoing secrets I have unconsciously kept shut. Sometimes it even feels hedonistic to me because the emotion feels very self indulgent but I think for the most part that is just my anxiety induced irrational side talking. I like your point on humility and stewardship and I think I feel these feelings with thin places but I tend to swing between a sense of stewardship and feeling territorial over what I own on a daily basis. I am taught in my religion that we don't truly own anything but are simply given stewardship over them but I think I am somewhat territorial by nature. Thus, with places of belonging, I think I feel more territorial towards them because these places get me. It's less of a "I own this place" kind of feeling but more of a "I deserve the right to experience and appreciate this moment" and I have to consciously address the thought whenever I catch myself. Thank you for another thought provoking video. I appreciate them very much.
Is there a complementary concept of 'thick places' that are spiritual? I think of the Las Vegas strip at night as possibly such a place. I am by nature a 'less is more' person but Vegas at its most bright and ridiculous feels sublime to me as well as being very unpretentious. What I mean is that Vegas does not pretend to be anything other than what it is - a place that is designed to dazzle you out of your money and give you such a good enough time that you will want to come back again.
One of these places, for me, is Coligny Plaza on Hilton Head Island. When I think about that place, I'll get these fleeting moments where I'm back to who I was a long time ago. I can smell the scent of bread coming from a sandwich shop there, and that's all it takes, to see the world from an entirely different perspective, if only for just a second. It used to make me long for that time again, now it makes me appreciate where God has put me, and the people he has put in my life.
I believe God uses money (Which is the root of all KINDS of evil. Not all individual atomic units of evil) as an amoral tool. The thing about Disney World that's so beyond our world is the stories it invites us into. It's one of the closest experiences we can feel to stepping into Narnia. And it's because the main purpose of Disney World is to create that experience. One of the kindest things you can do for any person is to make them happy. It is an act of charity that slowly turns into fellowship. Requiring a cover charge to maintain the existence of that fellowship is in itself a kindness to others who've yet to experience the magic, and to those who'd like to relive it in the future. That being said, is there greed? Of course. But giving as many of the Disney execs and employees a living is our end of the fellowship, and while I wish the prices were lower and more efficient, I am happy to uphold my end of the magic.
I can’t figure out why I subd to you, but all of this god ish talk is too much for me. Maybe I misinterpreted your channel or this video but whatever, unsubd
This week I wanted to turn on the camera and talk about one of the *very* niche topics that interests me: the connection between theme parks and Celtic Thin Places. I wanna hear from y’all in the comments: what is a place that has been extremely transcendent or fulfilling for you, and why?
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I think the Lincoln Memorial is a thin place for me. I've only been there once because I live in California, but the one time I was there I felt this indescribable feeling that was unlike anything I'd ever felt before.
I had never associated thin places with Disney World, but you’re right on. I remember reading about Walt’s intention as he dreamed up Disneyland. We were in the midst of the Cold War and the nuclear arms race and all the cultural anxiety that comes with the daily question, “Is today the day when we will get blown up?” Walt designed the park to counteract those anxieties, to give his guest at least a fleeting notion that all shall be well: someone has designed a place for you to be happy. I reckon “thin place” is about as good as any other description of that reality.
I love this video- especially your point about humility and stewardship despite not owning a place!
I think that in addition to belonging but not owning something that helps me to find thin places is the knowledge that my situation won't last. I live on a college campus about eight months each year, but it's always in the spring when I know I'm about to leave again that the few acres that it sits on become particularly beautiful and spiritual. I grew up reading Narnia and I think the same principle applies. Narnia was always magical for the children. They had a full sense of belonging there, they were even leaders and stewards (Aslan, of course, was the owner), and they treasured their time in Narnia more BECAUSE they knew it wouldn't last. Maybe, these thin places are the glimpse of the renewed earth that I believe is coming where we will belong and that will last.
I love this comment, Amelia!! I’m currently (very very very slowly) writing a book called Theme Park Theology and one of the chapters is called “Temporal Transcendence Reflecting Eternity.” Whenever people try to live at Disney World forever, it doesn’t work - just like when Simon Peter tried to set up tents and camp out on the mountain during the Transfiguration. Eventually we all have to come down from the mountaintop and treasure the glimpses in our hearts...but that’s not the end of it.
@@houston-coley Dude. You're so cool. That's such a good point about the Transfiguration.
Wow, I love how you’re so openly honest in this video. Great job
This should over a million views, great video!
Watcing Again!! Great insight, Thin places is a great concept of that their is more to life than what we can only perceive or touch.
I like that you covered the big and exceptional (Disney), the ancient (British manor), as well as the normal (aunt's house, local park). Finding transcendence in everyday places is very Chestertonian. I've never been to Disney but I love walking through theme parks just to analyze their designs and how the creators incorporated their plans with the natural landscape. Theme parks are like giant gardens, and there is artistry everywhere you look. My thin place: Last year on a whim I wandered down a steep ravine in the mountains/backyard and discovered a secret trail with a series of wooden bridges along it. One bridge crosses a stunning waterfall. Everything about it looks ancient and designed. It resembles something from Puzzlewood forest (which is 100% also a thin place).
*cheers for Chesterton*
Wow. Really got me thinking about how I used to feel about nature and "thin places" before I got older and too busy and had kids and didn't sleep for like 10 years and went through a pandemic. Makes me really want to reconnect to that. Btw, it might be different because you're already connected to Disney World, but Disneyland in California (if you haven't been there) I think would feel even more that way to you because it's more compact and there's just something special everywhere you look and just tons of little, personal touches that Walt Disney put in there himself. It's almost like you feel his presence there and that original spark that you talked about that originally inspired him to make Disneyland.
This particular TH-cam channel is also a bit Celticly thin.
This is the best compliment of all time.
True. There's something really special about it.
This was great! As a big fan of theme parks and Disneyland specifically, I felt this was really relatable. I think part of that feeling has to do with the willingness to immerse yourself in the world. We know it's not real, but it posits a type of hyper-reality that we choose to buy into. And together with everyone else there, it becomes a collective ritual that can be spiritual. That's what makes the best parts of the parks work so well and why people that choose not to take part kinda hate it.
Thanks for being here, Matt!! I actually hadn’t researched the word “hyper-reality” until people started commenting it on this video. Feels very applicable.
Your intro makes me feel so peaceful.
I'm half Finnish, and the old Finnish pagans believed that trees were a direct line to the Gods/spirit realm, so I always like of feel like I'm in a thin place in a woods.
Really enjoying these longer videos, and the conversational style of them. Loving learning these new things and really like the exploratory way of doing it, where it’s like we’re seeing you discover things as you say them.
Thanks for saying that Josh!! I’ve really enjoyed being able to turn on the camera and talk out stuff like this too. It’s made the discussion in the comments so much richer.
In a way, this channel has become a thin space for me
Oh man, you're video quality just keeps getting better. Maybe I just now noticed it, but you punched in when you would cut a lot more than usual in this video. I really don't mind jumpcuts in TH-cam videos, but man, when they aren't there it makes a huge difference; and the incorporation of footage you've taken yourself really adds a lot.
In all honesty, I've never actually heard about the concept of 'thin places', but I'm glad to hear Christians didn't shun it away. As you were talking, I was racking my mind trying to think of times I've experienced thin places. Oddly enough, my two are similar to some of yours. A relative's house, and an amusement park. By far the 'thinnest' place I've ever been is my grandma and grandpa's condo. Yes, it's laced with a TON of nostalgia, but in addition to that, I think it just hits all the right buttons for me. The layout, the decorations I would never choose but love, the front door that we never really used, and so many more things. My other thin place is King's Island. Something about it is just special. I like some of the rides quite a bit, and it's certainly a fun place to be, but my favorite parts of it are the things that feel recreated. The decade-themed gift shops, the Festhaus, the Eifel Tower, the coal mine district near The Beast, and the old train that takes you through the woods and to the other side of the park. Those parts have a distinct feel of characteristic exaggeration. Like, they stripped away all the negative reality and were left with the best memories of each. It's fake, but it's tangible, and that's good enough for me.
I'm new to this idea of thin places, so my views might be a bit off, but the way I look at it is that there may be universal thin places, like ancient monasteries and old churches, but maybe there are also personal thin places. Places where even though you're in the middle of a concrete jungle, you feel closer to home than ever before.
I'm all for the idea of finding God in unexpected places. So if you say you feel Disney World is a thin place then it totally is.
Agreed on all points, especially the video quality one.
Great video. I have felt that way about few places in my life. Particularly, my grandparents house in Anaheim makes me feel so nostalgic and comforting every time I visit. You can say it’s like my “Hogwarts” if you will. It’s not a big place. It’s just a small house where it gives off this humble vibe with its bedrooms, kitchen, and pretty backyard, every memory there is happy one. There’s also the bonus of it having this historical quality to it. It’s where my dad and all his siblings grew up in so it’s this pure family house that has become so sacred to be. I hope to preserve that house someday for many years to come.
Really loved this video. There is something redemptive about it.
Real, reality.
Very impressed.
I'm finding it hard to decide what places in my life really fit into this category. There's a rock by the lake that I go to almost every day, and I pray there often and appreciate the beauty of nature, but I think it's become almost too familiar to me to be a thin place. It feels more like a part of my own house. I also eat breakfast, read, play my ukulele, and feed the ducks there so it feels more like every day kind of joyful place. I think the hayloft in my Grandmother's barn fits the best. It has memory and family history and a kind of other-worldly beauty. There is both the memories of play and imagination in that space and the way the sun stabs through the walls and makes the hay and the dust shine like gold.
Very interesting topic! I really enjoyed your musings on this, Houston.
Thin Places was a new name to describe this for me, but I like that and have given this idea some thought at various times of life.
In a church I used to go to, some of the leaders would say something like “the presence of God is thicker up front nearer the altar”. I struggled with this, though, as it conflicted with my theology and understanding from scripture. “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” Jesus’ death tore the veil from the Temple, meaning he no longer chose to limit his presence. Why can’t God speak to me if I’m at the back of the church hidden from view privately in prayer or worship? And I believe that he did. And yet, some places seem to hold special significance and can make them seem Thin to us, and yes, also to me.
I like how you, too, wrestle with some of those challenges and this clash of ideas.
Trying to reconcile these conflicting ideas, I think the place often might not be as important as the act of going to them. As you mentioned so eloquently, entering to a place in humility and wonder already puts is internally into a Thin Place and allows us to encounter that which we might otherwise overlook.
I truly believe that if Christians fully realize the significance of living as Holy Spirit-embodied Temples, then it could be that in Abraham Kuyper’s words, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” I believe that every place we go could become to us Thin Places.
That said, some places seem Thinner to me than others, whether by nostalgia or more spiritual reasons, and here are a few of mine:
- Driving through the woods, especially on a certain curvy road a few towns over
- Some areas of downtown Chicago, especially late at night
- staring out the window of a plane
- the city of Edinburgh, but especially the ruins of St. Anthony’s Chapel
- The world of Azeroth, but especially Ashenvale :-)
- Disney World, too, has had moments of this for me, and I too love the world area of Ecpot more than I can quite explain.
By the way, I’ve read some very interesting things on the Disneyland / Hyperreality relationship, so this might be worth looking at since it’s also of interest to you:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperreality
I like the candor of this video.
We are the thin places; these sacred sites, from Stonehenge to Chartres to Machu Pichu just put us in touch with the part of ourselves that longs for the Eternal. The experience of the Eternal is the goal of mysticism. These places seem to echo our own longing for transcendence.
This is fantastic! Well done video. I think thin places for me are places that are so immersive and so capture my senses that I can sort of forget myself. I think you hit it with the humility and the history piece-being a part something bigger, that makes me feel small. Maybe it’s also something to do with pure delight and inspiration. Disney is also a thin place for the Heimlers 😉. Thank you for this awesome, thought provoking discussion!
Belonging is better than owning, it is better to lose than be lost, the sun will rise up in the morning, and my treasure is just a fine frost.
I LOVE THIS! Is this a quote from someone?
@@houston-coley Thanks! 😊 It's a stanza from a poem I wrote called Belonging (because I'm a person who goes around the internet quoting my own poetry. Make of that what you will 😄)
Man. I love that so much. Sounds like something Tolkien would write.
@@houston-coley that is one of the best compliments I've ever gotten. The rest of the poem is on my Instagram if you're interested instagram.com/p/CDOc5dTH6BY/?
GREAT OPENING!!!
This was a really interesting and engaging video. It’s so refreshing to hear you talk about Disney World with such a great balance of sincerity and self-awareness. Cynicism so often always goes hand-in-hand with discussion of anything Disney (as it probably should) but, as much as I’m always trying to be a good leftist, I can’t deny that connection I have to the parks.
Disney World is a bit far away from me, but Disneyland Paris has really been a staple of my life. My family have never gone too long without visiting. And I’m fascinated by the different experiences I’ve had as I’ve grown up. I think it’s also given some nice opportunities for self-reflection. I think you tend to notice change in yourself a lot less when the world around changes too- it gives you nothing to directly compare to. But Disneyland has pretty much stayed the same my whole life. And I think that can be said for all the places in my life that I love and take comfort in. Elements of beauty, nostalgia, familiarity and inspiration for reflection.
I don’t know much about spirituality, but there’s something incredibly authentic about how these places make me feel. This comment is too long lmao. I apologise, but I also thank you for giving me a reason to look inward.
Thank you for making this video. You put into words something that I've felt for a long time when I travel. Btw, have you seen the Wisecrack video on Disney World called "The Time Disney Built a Creepy Government"? You are saying the word, "real" to describe it, but they say it is, "heterotopia". Worth a look.
Btw, I agree with you about Disney World being a thin place. I visited last year and I was so impressed that I took an online course on theme park design just to understand what was going on a little bitter.
I've never thought of this concept before, but after watching this, I'm absolutely fascinated by it.
Semi-tangent here (bear with me, I'll bring it back around), but I'm in the process of maybe getting an ADHD diagnosis, and I recently did a bit of googling about how other Christians with ADHD operate with their faith, and I found out I'm not the only one who feels out of place in worship services, and I read that it's out in nature that people with ADHD are really able to focus on their faith. And in retrospect, all of my experiences that I think are closest to spiritual always happened in semi-outdoors.
So yeah, nature definitely has to be involved for it to feel like a thin place to me. I think the "thinnest" place I've been was in this reading nook at my mom's friend's house. She lives out in the country-ish, I'm talking like, a stream in the backyard and some chickens, and this little hexagonal reading nook is overlooking this massive backyard and the sunlight is streaming through the windows. My younger brother was doing some kind of painting thing with these other little kids, so I slunk off to the reading nook, found The Book Thief, and even though I'd already read it for freshmen English, I cried when I reread the last chapter this time.
Something about that place made it hit much harder than it had before? I felt... more raw, for lack of a better term, but not in a bad way.
For me I can't really name a specific location that I'd call a "Celtic Thin Place" and I think the reason for that is because places that stick out in my mind like that do so in a way where the specific location of where I'm at fades away and I'm just left with the location itself.
For example I can remember a beach by a river that I was laying on, where the sun was setting and it reflected off the sand and water in a way that bathed the world in golden red. Though I can't remember exactly where this was, (some old church camp I went to in middle school) that place is what sticks out most in my mind when I think of places like what you've described.
Other examples would be an arching rock structure I once was able to sit atop of after crawling under a boulder that was wedged at it's base or a certain New York Street where the light and it's reflection off the buildings lined up perfectly with the crowds and where I was standing to create an image that stands out perfectly in my mind. I think for me at least these places capture a spot in my mind where the child-like wonder you feel in them washes away anything else you may be thinking or feeling and all that you're left with is that memory that feels like dream from many years ago. (pardon the dramatic ending to this post but I think it's pretty appropriate)
I love this video so much.
I go through that same struggle between loving being at Disney World and feeling like it conflicts with loving God and trying not to love the world. Disney World is my safe place where I feel completely at ease. I think about it every single day (which is probably too much). I've been listening to the Epcot music loop just this morning, planning out what I'd be doing there if I was there. Where I work, there's this room that kind of smells like mildew, but all I think is that it smells like Rome burning on Spaceship Earth and I love going to that room and taking a deep breath, even though it's not even a good smell. There's this weight off my shoulders when I'm there and it feels like nothing is being asked of me except to experience it. To live. To be happy. It's one of the few places that you're allowed to use your imagination and think of things being different than they actually are. As a storyteller, being asked to step inside a story and be that immersed in something so grand is why I love it.
As a Christian, it does remind me of heaven in a sense. I know Disney is this capitalist company focused on getting money out of us (more and more money, making more and more cuts when it comes to what guests get out of their experience lately), but I still can't help but love what they've made. And while heaven is going to have work for all of us, I still believe it's going to have the sort of awe-filled elements that Disney has, except stronger and God centered. I'm sure heaven will have more technology than we imagine, and maybe there will be some form of Disney there (or theme parks, games, things that we won't be so obsessed with since God is more important), and I really hope so, but I do know that even if it doesn't it'll be more awesome than that.
I like that you said Disney is hell to some people. I never understand those people who show up and didn't plan their trip and don't like rides that appeal to all ages, etc. To me, they would probably like it more if they researched before they went since it does take a lot of planning to know what order to do things, when the busiest times are, where to eat, and all the other hundreds of things. Kind of reminds me how God doesn't seem to appeal to people-I think He technically should appeal to all people, but it's just a misunderstanding and not knowing "all the facts" about him, if that makes sense. If I'm describing you, reader of this comment, I definitely don't mean any offense. Everyone is free to like or dislike or believe or not believe anything and that's fine. Free will is great. But Disney does seem to cause that same that reaction that God does in people-they either love it or hate it.
Yet again, loved the video!
Jesus Christ, Houston.. this is only the 2nd video I’ve seen of yours but in both you’ve managed to put into words my thoughts on faith, cinema, and theme parks. Why am I just discovering you?? Subscribed ✔️
GLAD YOU’RE HERE!!
Great video as always, its insane to me that some people don't care to ever revisit Disney world in their adult years with a new perspective.
This might sound hokey of me to say. But I would say that for me even virtual places can be thin places. Sm64's peache's castle. The first level of Yoshi's island etc, for me anyway. Places that exist almost more in your mind and heart than in a physical location. But it still gives you that heightened state of feeling. Hearing you mention Hayo Miazaki, and making me think of the places in those movies(Howl's moving castle especially) that bring such serenity peace and joy just experiencing it, part of me thinks that on a personal level while a place can certainly evoke feelings discussed to general public, it also is very much an individual factor for what might become a thin place as well.
Ooh I like this idea.
It doesn’t sound hokey at all! In my time playing Zelda: Breath of the Wild, I’ve definitely experienced some moments that felt remarkably transcendent. I actually made a whole video about the relationship between videogame design and theme park design!
@@houston-coley oh it's been so long since I've seen that video I didn't realize it was you that one's fantastic! It's funny I thought about that idea for years but never jumped on it glad you did with a video.
this was fantastic
So I'm on the other coast, and as you would expect, there are parts of Original Disneyland that feel that way, that feels welcoming and real in a different way and old in the best kind of way and all that sort of thing... And you know so very many people have been through Disneyland in the decades and decades since it was built... (One of my favorites, is riding the train around that outer edge of the park, especially at night).
But I had that same immediate sense from the three broomsticks pub in the Harry Potter section of universal studios Hollywood? Which, when I went through there, it had really only been open a handful of months... But when they designed it they did such a good job providing a complete experience that I very much had that sense. I could have sat in there forever. I could have just sat at a table in the corner and had something nice to drink and happily would have stayed there for hours and hours and hours, especially when sitting in the right corner, with a view of the trees and the Hogwarts castle out the windows.
Also also, I have had that experience Repeatedly while in Scotland.
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If you haven't read any of the Young Wizards series by Diane Duane... You might enjoy them. Your discussion here gave me pretty strong vibes of the way that magic and spirituality and purpose operate and are discussed in those books.
Thanks for the vid!
If there’s a thin place on Earth, it’s Pandora in Animal Kingdom
I think it is along the Rivers of America behind the pirate ship, in that quiet sitting area.
If I had to mark any thin places in my life I would definitely point out the Gaylord hotel in Wisconsin. I remember my first time going there I felt a sense of wonderment. There are these three atriums that are each town to nature with trees and plants and artificial creeks. The ceiling is entirely composed of glass so daylight shines right through and at night the strings of lights hang from the ceiling like stars.
Another location I’d consider a thin place for me is The Luthor Collage campus in Dechorah Iowa. There was a music camp that would be held there every year and I went every summer for six years. You would basically go and take classes and live in the dorms, eat the campus food, exetra. But during the days between classes I would love to sit down and read or wonder what I was going to write that day. I would see other campers sitting down and relaxing or playing volleyball and I would feel completely content and present in the moment. I would look forward to going every year because it was that place where I always felt safe and full or appreciation for the world around me.
I’m also happy about the new personal style your video have taken, keep up the good work.
Loved this video, gave me lots to think about
I think Disney world, and thin places alone are not going to be defined by clear definitions. I don't see why Disney world couldn't be one because it brings joy, and I think that's really all a thin place is. I don't know what a thin place would be to me, it's vague. I'd just say the vibe, placed where the world acts a little more quiet perhaps. Like the world quiet and yet bustling on Christmas Eve, or at least here, when it rains and snows. I also feel like on top of buildings, where you can just watch the world pass by without you having to influence it. I guess that's humbling, and that thought might depress some people but for me it's calming. Maybe it's because usually those quiet places mean we're about to go on an adventure, like waking up really early to make a flight for vacation. I think the main factor though is the soft quiet and calm in a world that's usually about fast paced things, constant gratification, etc.......
Wow I wrote way more than I intended too
This only had 85 views when I loaded it haha early viewer gang
That *wow* feeling of Thin Places that you describe getting at Disney World is the same feeling I get in cathedrals and cemeteries. I think the Oldness has something to do with it, the knowledge that the place has seen lifetimes of humanity. I also love ruins. Ruined castles or abandoned buildings. Something about nature reclaiming the space, and how it screams "All human things are vanity! Everything is vapour!" Another Thin Place for me is the forest, especially when there's fog or mist. The humility you describe makes me think of the humus--the dirt we're gardened from--that makes us human. Gardening is my favorite image, and I think it applies to every level of human existence.
I think what you're describing about the hyperreality of these places is that they're all gardens. A garden is a space where human care and cultivation and thought and design intermingle and mesh together with God's. Gardens are systems that are bigger than us but actively shaped by us, slowly, nonetheless. They are places of belonging but not owning (ideally). In Genesis, humans were placed in the Garden in Eden "to work and to keep it." It speaks to a kind of co-creation with God; experiencing something bigger than yourself.
I would say that your Aunt Sarah's cottage, the manor house, and Disney World are all gardens in their own ways.
I've definitely felt the (to me) icky feeling of being enchanted by Disney. I've only been to Disney Land once, when I was 19. I kinda hated how magical it felt and how delightful the design was because I knew it was carefully crafted to make me feel wonder. But man, the joy of going through the Haunted Mansion for the third time? It left me conflicted. I'm inclined to agree with your assessment of the fallen beauty of Disney.
Wow. Beautiful yet cursed dreams. I love that. 'Glorious ruins' is how I've often thought of it.
Thank you for making this video. I just discovered your vids a few days ago, and I'm so glad you're asking these open questions and pondering such "weird and niche" topics.
“Glorious ruins” is one of my favorite phrases - it was coined by Francis Schaeffer! Schaeffer was also the creator of L’Abri, the place where I was staying at the manor house in England. Such a cool thing whenever I see any references to his worldview materialize here and there. Agh, your comment is just lovely. The idea of places where humans and nature are united and cultivated together, both tamed and untamed, is definitely best summarized with “garden.” I tend to believe that everything divine exists in the tension between two good things - from humans and nature to the lion and the lamb.
@@houston-coley Oh now *that's* crazy cool. What a strange connection that somehow makes perfect sense. Not entirely sure when the phrase entered my subconscious. Before I published my comment, I had "Majestic ruins" but it didn't feel quite right. I wasn't sure why. By the time I finished with the rest of it, I realized that 'glorious' felt more correct.
Tension between two good things... that's a new framework for me. Grace and truth from John 1:14 fits, I think.
Hey Houston, thin places is an interesting topic. I wonder though if the thin place is purely based on the individual perception, like the subjective experience of the person inhabiting that place, such as with your theme park example.
I don't know if I necessarily think that a thin place is a constant force, like a place that is and always is a thin place, I think it completely depends on the individuals experience of it. In that way then, to me a thin place has nothing to do with physical location at all but instead the subjective experience of the world.
Something I'm interested in is achieving this thin place feeling in different contexts that don't relate to location, where your physical place stays constant but you begin to experience the effect of being in a thin place.
I'm a musician who plays some jazz music and theology is a common subject among the greats of jazz, creating an environment where the musicians can communicate with each other, communicate with an audience, and communicate with a tradition within themselves through music. Through the creation of novel improvised ideas.
The way I see it, the great jazz musicians in the moment of improvisation create an emotionally overwhelming energy and connect with a subjective sense of self that can communicate something of value about the universe. They manufacture a thin place, almost through trust and faith in one another, that can allow for clear and novel improvisation.
I like the idea of a thin place being physical places we can go for this enlightened clarity of thought but I think we can get the same effect of a thin place without any change in location at all from our typical reality.
I'm also Irish and have heard of things similar to thin places but just through folk tales growing up, old story tellers and what not, and so my understanding would be different from yours as mine would relate specifically to where I grew up and who told me the stories.
Coming from the Catholic perspective, I definitely get senses of thin places in the world. Places where the Holy Spirit remains strong and omnipresent throughout time. As someone with the spiritual gift to distinguish the nature of what is holy and what is not (it’s a charism called Discernment of Spirits), there is an additional dynamic to it of what is the nature of the spiritual intensity. I have been to places where there is peace and reverence, places filled with mourning and sorrow, and places filled with more unsettling emotions.
We bring the Holy Spirit with us and can fill the spaces around us with that grace; but there is something greater and full of awe that I experience in thin places. Regardless of what fuels that intensity.
I found that PEOPLE make a place special...
Glad to see this topic addressed and discussed. I have always felt that when someone does something to the best of their ability, when they create something beautiful, they are bringing glory to God and channeling the creativity that God has given us. Since God is the ultimate creator and artist, when I go to Disney World and see such beautiful places amidst beautiful music and am reminded of the beautiful experiences I have had with those films and characters, it certainly can be an emotional, spiritual experience that makes me think on the goodness of God. At their core, most Disney films are rooted in good and evil, redemption, hope, family, excellence, and inspiration. As a Christian, it is almost impossible to disconnect those things from my faith, and it lends a power and gravity to things throughout the parks.
I loved this video.
I feel like in some ways, I can relate to how you feel but I think my view of spiritual places differs from yours slightly. I wonder if part of that is my Islamic and Southeast Asian upbringing. And I think what a place is physically doesn't really affect my feelings towards these places too much because I'm a person who lives primarily in my head. It's honestly hard for me to remember clear physical details of even my favourite places to a degree that most people would. My memories are very focused on my sentiments, emotions and how I perceive things.
For me, a thin place is just felt. It has nothing with how beautiful or how much I feel like I belong at a place.
I have been at places where I don't really find anything about it physically charming or I don't feel like I truly belong there. However, whenever I go there, I feel a strong sense of spiritual awakening. A number of mosques and natural places I've been to are thin places for me. I feel calmer there. I feel like I can connect my brain to my soul in a way I may struggle to elsewhere. I feel my thoughts gravitating towards God and worship and I want to stay there because I feel truest to myself here.
Then there are places where I feel so comfortable, so at home and yet they are not necessarily spiritual places. For me that was my late grandma's house, my first school, and a particular place by the window of my old home when the azan (the call for prayer) is being called. All of these places makes me feel so accepted and being there feels like I can finally physically live out the emotions I have within me. The emotion is closer to contentment than fulfilment. Most of them are sentimental but some of them really don't make sense.
And yes, I have one at a theme park too as my place of belonging (not Disneyworld, I've never been there). The place that I love in particular is up at the top of this play area of a theme park between two roller coasters. I really can't explain why I like it up there but every time I go to the park, I will find the time to just sit there with my diary, sometimes writing, sometimes just feeling. I usually went during week days (perks of homeschooling) so it's relatively calm but the occasional band of rowdy kids simply add colours to the ambience. And I will feel a special sense of contentment if a kid suddenly gets too scared to go down the slide and I can help them to overcome it.
I guess you can say that a place of belonging connects me to my heart and a thin place connects me to my soul. A thin place is what you would call extremely transcendent and fulfilling. The air is heavy with a sense of peace that silences my ever-racing thoughts and I can finally hear my own true voice from deep within. I feel closer to carrying God's work even in the simplest of tasks.
A place of belonging is a place where the very wind that blows within it is in sync with the beatings of my heart, echoing secrets I have unconsciously kept shut. Sometimes it even feels hedonistic to me because the emotion feels very self indulgent but I think for the most part that is just my anxiety induced irrational side talking.
I like your point on humility and stewardship and I think I feel these feelings with thin places but I tend to swing between a sense of stewardship and feeling territorial over what I own on a daily basis. I am taught in my religion that we don't truly own anything but are simply given stewardship over them but I think I am somewhat territorial by nature. Thus, with places of belonging, I think I feel more territorial towards them because these places get me. It's less of a "I own this place" kind of feeling but more of a "I deserve the right to experience and appreciate this moment" and I have to consciously address the thought whenever I catch myself.
Thank you for another thought provoking video. I appreciate them very much.
Is there a complementary concept of 'thick places' that are spiritual? I think of the Las Vegas strip at night as possibly such a place. I am by nature a 'less is more' person but Vegas at its most bright and ridiculous feels sublime to me as well as being very unpretentious. What I mean is that Vegas does not pretend to be anything other than what it is - a place that is designed to dazzle you out of your money and give you such a good enough time that you will want to come back again.
I don’t really have one tbh so this is a comment for the algorithm Great video tho!
i cant wait to experience god at avengers campus😍😍
experiencing god at Disney Junior Live Onstage >>>>>>>
Disney World: A Thin Place behind a Class Gate.
One of these places, for me, is Coligny Plaza on Hilton Head Island. When I think about that place, I'll get these fleeting moments where I'm back to who I was a long time ago. I can smell the scent of bread coming from a sandwich shop there, and that's all it takes, to see the world from an entirely different perspective, if only for just a second. It used to make me long for that time again, now it makes me appreciate where God has put me, and the people he has put in my life.
I know Coligny Plaza!! Love that spot. Thanks for sharing my friend.
We can't conflate the idea that anything with the goal of making money has to also be bad or complicated.
I believe God uses money (Which is the root of all KINDS of evil. Not all individual atomic units of evil) as an amoral tool.
The thing about Disney World that's so beyond our world is the stories it invites us into. It's one of the closest experiences we can feel to stepping into Narnia. And it's because the main purpose of Disney World is to create that experience.
One of the kindest things you can do for any person is to make them happy. It is an act of charity that slowly turns into fellowship. Requiring a cover charge to maintain the existence of that fellowship is in itself a kindness to others who've yet to experience the magic, and to those who'd like to relive it in the future.
That being said, is there greed? Of course. But giving as many of the Disney execs and employees a living is our end of the fellowship, and while I wish the prices were lower and more efficient, I am happy to uphold my end of the magic.
Canceled video gang!
I can’t figure out why I subd to you, but all of this god ish talk is too much for me. Maybe I misinterpreted your channel or this video but whatever, unsubd
cool!