The Spiritual 'Thin Places' of Ireland

It's hard to believe that it's been officially two years since I was fulfilling a life long dream and exploring around Ireland, specifically the Dublin, Malahide & Bray areas, with my two young adult sons. It's also hard to believe it has taken me two years to finally write about it. 

Together we set off on an adventure of self discovery, spiritual growth, dream fulfillments and simply finding our joy once more after several years of exhausting physical, emotional and spiritual bombardment.

Of course we had no way of knowing what was still yet to come both personally and worldwide, but that will be a story for another day. 

For now,  we can emphatically say our one week getaway to Ireland was the most spiritually refreshing place that we have ever been to and it was definitely what we needed to give us all a special feeling of Hope once again. Our circumstances for how it all came about to travel there was definitely guided by God's grace and I am very grateful for that as God knew exactly what we needed.

For as long as I can remember I've been the type of person who feels, sees and experiences the spiritual world around us very deeply. And, since I was a young child I've had dreams about going to and even living in Ireland. It's much like the old sayings of how Ireland calls people home. From the moment we stepped off the plane I felt a strong sense of belonging, understanding and welcoming. The air was fresher and filled with calm. The people around were kind and content. The spirit in the air had an energy that immediately filled me and brought light. I was right where I needed to be, I was home. 

Part of my quest for going was to seek out a spiritual refreshment as I was feeling so deeply drained. In Canada I often sought out what some here call, "High Places", for that refreshment and I had read that in Ireland and many other places, they are called, "Thin Places".  So I did a bit of searching and found that Ireland has a lot of them around. 

On the question of what are 'Thin Places', I found a great definition of them on a travel blog called 'What are Thin Places by Thin Places Mystical Tour:

    "Thin places are places of energy. A place where the veil between this world and the eternal world is thin. A thin place is where one can walk in two worlds – the worlds are fused together, knitted loosely where the differences can be discerned or tightly where the two worlds become one. Thin places aren’t perceived with the five senses. Experiencing them goes beyond those limits."

While in Ireland we found several 'thin places' some very strong and some just a whisper. Over the next few weeks I hope to take the time to reflect and share some of the places we found and our personal experiences with them. From the hills of Bray, Dublin City, Malahide Castle and all the places we felt led to in between the goal is to share a small taste of the magic of Ireland and the amazing spiritual side that helped re-energize this old dreamer once more!

It truly was amazing to experience and if you've never been, I highly recommend taking a trip, even a short one, just to embrace what Ireland is. Yes, I definitely plan to go back again and explore a lot more.

Just a Footnote as to some of my family history and another reason, as I have learned, for my connection to Ireland: 

Two of my Great Grandfather's and one Great Grandmother were from Ireland and I've been recently learning a great deal more about my families history there. Another Great Grandfather was from Wales and married and Irish women, their line is where I've been able to find the similar spiritual senses I have being quietly shown and told about through different family members, including my mother. Obviously, it's no surprise as to why I feel a link to Ireland, but when I was younger without ever seeing it, I often had dreams, vision and images of places that only now as I am older, I've been able to know are real.