Throughout the United States and Canada, many wooded trails have rock stacks that are not just trail markers. Many of these rock piles are a similar purpose as those in Tibet, associated with patience, balance, and meditation involved in creating a good one.

I was told that in Hawaii, people build these rock stacks as a memorial to deceased loved ones. Building them is a kind of prayer or meditation. It''s hard to think of other things when you''re balancing rocks. It takes body, mind and soul.

In Tibetan Buddhism they have a practice that used rock piles. These rock piles are most evident in Tibet and the Indian Himalayas. Some of the piles contain stones which are inscribed with a Buddhist mantra to pay homage to the spirits of the sky and mountains and to ensure a safe journey. Other customs associated with the rock piles include walking around the pile 3 times in a clockwise direction and offering alms such as honey, sweets or alcohol.

Have you even seen a rock pile? Where and when?