Steven Chung The Paradox of Being Present to Place

On page 29 of Lane's "Landscapes of the Sacred," he begins to speak about the the Third axiom, a phenomenological category that describes how places are perceived in the the process of mythogensis. In the book, it states that "simply moving into an allegedly sacred place does not necessarily make one present to it" (29). And it goes on saying that "one can be there yet not be there at the same time." I believe what he is saying is true. Yes, a person can physically be at a place, but he or she can mentally, or spiritually be absent. It depends on the person's mindset, perspective, and view of that particular place. On page 30, Lane goes on saying, "perhaps the process of 'making strange' that to which one has become habitually accustomed--viewing it in a different perspective so as to enter it anew--can be seen as the most important manner by which meaning is continually renewed in any community." So what is an important factor in determining the "sacredness" of a place is how a person looks upon it; a waterfall can just be a cliff with water pouring from it, or it can be a special piece of scenery that has a significance for the person at its location.