CNY Inspirations: The Transformative Power of Sacred Space

CNY Inspirations: The Transformative Power of Sacred Space

By InterFaith Works of Central New York

This feature is coordinated by The Post-Standard/Syracuse.com and InterFaith Works of CNY. Follow this theme and author posted Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday

Madis Senner

The idea that a sacred space can be transformative, healing, possess the ability to answer our prayers and can send us on a mystical journey seems almost nonsensical in our modern technological age. Yet, I have experienced many such places. A particularly precious one is nearby, the Peacemaker's Sanctuary along the West Shore Trail at Onondaga Lake Park.

In 2002, God answered my prayers about violence in Syracuse and encouraged me to organize a prayer vigil there. At the time, I had limited knowledge of sacred space and was questioning why this place? After Thanksgiving that year, 25 of us gathered for a prayer vigil and ceremony. I would continue to pray there daily until Jan. 19, 2003 when the next murder in Syracuse occurred, marking one of the longest periods of peace in the city. The year 2002 would mark a peak in murders, that is, until 2016.

I am not alone. Others experienced visions or found resolution and healing from trauma at the Peacemaker's Sanctuary. At a summer solstice gathering in June, one person broke into tears and started to have a catharsis.

We are told to meditate in the same place because a sacred space is like a muscle that, if exercised, gets stronger through prayer and ceremony. Fortunately, the Peacemaker's Sanctuary has been exercised for millennia. One of the reasons we hold prayer vigils there after national tragedies, such as the Las Vegas shootings, is to build an increasingly stronger place of healing.

The important thing to realize is that a sacred space can be powerfully transformative and healing. I encourage you to make your own sacred space. While you're there, keep your thoughts positive and focused on love or the divine. Exercise it with prayer, ritual or meditation. Such a space can help with your spiritual practice and be a wonderful gift for those that follow.


Madis Senner is a former global money manager who left Wall Street more than 20 years ago to follow a spiritual path. His fourth book, "Sacred Sites in North Star Country," recalls the rich history of reform and spirituality in upstate New York.