The glow of two days camping in the Sierra Mountains is still with me as if I had spent a weekend with a lover. Every vista, Every bend in the road, Every stream, Every aspen, Every brilliant star, Every squirel chatter, and every blustery breeze filling my soul with peace and gratitude.

Joanna Macy’s book “World as Lover World as Self”  is easy to read and inspiring.  It “teaches us to consider our world and its creatures as nothing less than an extension of ourselves.”

In it she quotes Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.

Being rock, being gas, being mist, being Mind,
Being the mesons traveling among galexies with the speed of light,
You have come here, my loved on…
You have menifested yourself as trees, as gress, as butter flies, as singeld-celled beinings, and as chrysanthemums;
but the eyes with which you looked at me this morning tell me youhave never died.

“This is a Sacred Place” (TIASP), is a community eco-arts arts project highlighting the links between art, place, community and the imperative for humanity to reclaim the earth as our sacred home.

Arts Sonoma Festival 2009

EVERYONE IS WELCOME! The goal is for participants to photograph places that represent the beauty and sacredness of the natural environment along with the TIASP symbol (see below.) Places can be anywhere we see them: home, work, on vacation, at play…anywhere.
How: Everyone can identify their sacred place with a bio-degradable sticker and post their photographs of the sacred place on the TIASP Facebook page at http://www.tiasp.org/ . The resulting images will be available for all to enjoy. No address is needed, so the location of your sacred space can remain a secret.

What: An opportunity to honor the sacredness of the natural world. Photographs of Sacred Places will be displayed on the web and at the TIASP Headquarters during the Arts Sonoma 09 Festival, August 29-October 4, 2009.

When: Photographs can be posted on the web now through October 4, 2009. In addition, three events in Sonoma County will bring people together for an opening and closing hands-on ceremonies, and third event to bring together people to build labyrinths (creating a new sacred place!) in their community.

FREE EVENTS:

• Opening Ceremony/Make a Stone Sculpture- Saturday August 29, 2009 5-8pm
  A family-friendly event celebrating the start of “Sacred Place” by creating art with natural materials. Have your work photographed and included on the TIASP website. People of all ages are welcome and remember “everyone is an artist”. Hosted at The Painted Door Gallery, 421 2nd St. Petaluma, CA 94952.
• Build a Labyrinth in Your Community – Sunday September 20, 2009
  A location in Santa Rosa will be announced. For information about how to build a labyrinth in your community, contact us and check back at the website http://www.tiasp.org/ for more information.
• Closing Ceremony/Community Picnic at Shollenberger Park, Petaluma Sunday October 4, 2009

www.saveshollenberger.com/
http://www.tiasp.org/
http://www.sonomaarts.com/artssonoma.html