IHIDAYA. According to a Dove on Distant Oaks

"Love all men, but keep distant from all men." (Isaac of Nineveh)

"Love all men, but keep distant from all men." (Isaac of Nineveh)

Mountains and deserts as depopulated areas have been significant symbols in the context of ‘escaping’ in the history. These landscapes act as sanctuaries for the people who long for being away or have been forced to escape from their communities for a while or for a longer period of time (examples can be found amoung Buddhist monks, in Eastern Christianity etc.) – often to find their true being, not determined by the limits of the society or their own ego.

'Ihidaya' has roots in Syriac language and refers to the 'solitary', 'singleness', but it is also used to describe souls that enter into mystical oneness.

When a man is all alone, facing himself, with everything that arises in solitude and stillness, the help that comes from 'above mountains' can be sought.