Why Digital Spaces Struggle To Feel Sacred

Many people wonder how digital gatherings make a difference in their communities.
Leaders ask whether online spaces can generate the depth they hope to create.
These questions grow stronger when there is widespread reliance on digital experiences.

What Creates Sacredness In Any Space?

Sacred spaces do not strictly rely on architecture.
They rely on the experiences there.
A sacred space is a place set apart.
People behave differently inside it in part because the rules are different there.
Time feels different there because of it.
People cross a threshold and agree that time there is different than elsewhere.

In physical spaces, the threshold is literal.
You can walk through a doorway.
You may enter into a circle.
We physically cross from ordinary space into set-apart space.
In digital spaces, the threshold looks like a clickable link.
For obvious reasons, this feels very different and the difference matters.

Asynchronous Digital Spaces Create Convenience And Little Shared Experience

Many online spaces operate asynchronously.
Someone posts words or videos.
Someone else replies hours later.
A member might join on Monday and catch up on Thursday.
This format supports convenience.
And it rarely creates shared experience.
If people can log in later and catch up, consider that no shared moment happened.
They consumed media and information.They did not participate in a moment.
Most asynchronous engagement does not create the experience that people describe as sacred.

Synchronous Digital Gatherings Help And They Still Fall Short

Real-time digital gatherings help people experience some presence.
A live meeting offers a shared moment.
Everyone knows that something is happening now.
This feels closer to a sacred experience.
It still remains a limited experience with limited power.
We learned this during the pandemic.
We replaced in-person gatherings with screens.
The screens offered some kind of value and they also drained people.
People knew something essential was missing.
People want the interpersonal experience and energy that screens cannot carry.
They want to convene in the same space.

Why Physical Presence Still Holds Greater Power

Research confirms what most people feel.
Physical presence creates a stronger connection than digital presence.
Leaders do not need everyone present at every gathering.
They only need enough people together to create relational gravity.
A powerful in-person experience anchors future relationships.
People can build on that experience online later.

You Can Create A Sacred Digital Space When You Use Clear Principles

Digital sacred spaces can exist.
They remain rare.
Leaders need to design them with intentionality.
Here are the principles that matter most.

1. Restrict Who Enters

Sacred spaces require clear boundaries.
People need to know they entered a protected environment.
They need a secret link.
They need a clear and particular reason to join.

2. Create a Threshold

Every sacred space needs a moment that signals entry.
A welcome. 
A ritual really helps.
People need to understand when the gathering time ends and the gathered time begins. 

3. Establish New Rules of Behavior

A sacred space cannot operate like every other online interaction.
People need guidance for how to behave.
The rules in the time shift.
Share the new rules.
Cameras on? No one listening who’s not invited?
Stay the whole time?  No computer work while gathered?

4. Include a Symbolic Act

Sacred experiences can feel more special with inefficiency.
A symbolic acting helps create that.
People can light a candle.
People can express gratitude.
People can honor someone.
People can speak a hope.
The usefulness of the action lives inside its symbolic use.

What Leaders Can Do Next

Leaders can create powerful experiences.
They only need to recognize the tools that work for powerful moments.
Gather people physically when possible.
If a full group cannot gather, gathering a smaller group is still better than online experiences.
Let the in-person experience anchor the relationships.
Use digital tools to extend the relationships later.
Make special rules for the sacred time so it is clear that it is, in fact, special. 

Reflection for Leaders

Where in your community are you asking digital tools to create depth they cannot carry?
What will shift if you physical gathering, even in small groups?

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