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rwp@rockwalkpark.com

 

Rocks and Spirituality

Rocks have served as monuments to spirituality … ranging from the magnificent gothic cathedrals of Europe to the many examples of menhirs throughout Europe - especially France, to the stone temples of Malta, to the pyramids of Egypt and Meso-America, and to the prayer or medicine circles of North American native peoples.

They have even provided the medium for spiritual contemplation, as in the Zen gardens of Japan. Karesansui or ‘dry landscape’ gardens are one type, whereas kansho-niwa or ‘contemplation gardens’ are made from rocks representing mountains and sand representing flowing water.

Lalibela - church in Ethiopia hewn from  UNESCO's World Heritage List as of 1978. More info.

 

Volcanism on islands like Hawaii and New Zealand, by the very awesome power of its activity, has spawned spiritual belief in such deities as the Goddess Pelée. Indeed, some of the freshly formed volcanic debris is called Pelée’s tears.