Stone and Spirituality

Stone has played a role in spirituality from the

very moment humanity externalized its sacred
vision. Humans gave form to their devotion by
scratching images of their deities into rock faces,
carving holy statuary, and building stone shrines.
The earliest of these were nothing more than
simple piles of rocks that honored sacred places,
revelations, people, and events. Following in the
footsteps of this ancient tradition provides us
with an simple and beautiful way to externalize
our own spirituality. In your travels, you may
have encountered on the sides of roads, trails, or
pathways stacks of stones that look like random
sculpture. Add a stone blessed with a prayer to
such a mound, and your intentions merge with
those who have left stones before you,
empowering you all.

Associating a prayer with a particular stone
alters the substance of both, and the formation of
a prayer mound can balance and intensify the
energy of a site. The mere act of choosing a stone
can inspire mindfulness, as we lose ourselves in
the moment seeking a pebble that speaks to our
souls. And placing a prayer stone on a towering
cairn is a meditation in patienceslowness and
stillness allow us to find our stone's center of
gravity so the delicate ceremonial structure
before us remains intact. Be cautious, however,
when you feel guided to place a prayer rock upon
stone mounds you see intermittently alongside
well-worn but unmarked hiking paths. Hikers
often use small cairns as guide markers to ensure
that those who follow in their footsteps will not
lose the trail. When in doubt, begin a new prayer
pile slightly further away from the path itself and
consider adding a relic of some kind to help
others understand its purpose.

When you mindfully place a prayer by beginning
a stone heap or adding to an existing mound, your
thoughts and intentions are left in the care of fate
itself. The cairn of which your prayer was one
part may be unintentionally knocked down or
destroyed by Mother Nature's own hand. Try not
to let this weigh heavily upon your spirit. The
potent energy of your prayer was released by this
destruction, ensuring that the purpose
underlying that prayer will spread outward in the
direction of the furthest reaches of the universe.