The engine strained as the bus climbed the steep twisting dirt road up the mountain. Gazing out the window I felt the presence of the Apus, the mountain spirits, looking down on me. The mountains stood before me like living beings, the aware intelligence I felt left me humbled.
Rounding the last curve, I could see the Crystal City in the clouds. My eyes filled with tears, my sense of urgency relaxed, once again I felt like I had come home. This place, the Lost City of the Incas, Machu Picchu, Peru, calls to me like an absentee friend when we are apart. Now it was time for us to be together once again.
Machu Picchu’s aura is like a fairy-tale, enchanted, magical; shrouded in mystery, remote, alone, and breathtakingly beautiful. Perched high on a mountaintop in the Andes, it is the Tibet of the Americas. This lofty city, sitting at an elevation of 9,000 ft. eluded discovery until the Yale University archeologist, Hiram Bingham, revealed it to the world after he “stumbled” upon it in 1911. Mr. Bingham’s personal journals tell of his own emotion and astonished disbelief with his first glimpse of this majestic city of stone.
The Spanish conquest of the prosperous Inca civilization in 1532
destroyed many of the Incan sacred sites; but they never found Machu
Picchu. It’s isolation and difficult mountainous accessibility spared
Machu Picchu from ravage and dishonor. Peru is often referred to as the
most powerful feminine energy vortex on the planet. Perhaps the
spirits of the ancient ones hid Machu Picchu away like a blessed
virgin. Holding her in silence like a mysterious secret, keeping her
protected, unblemished, holy. So that modern day pilgrims like myself
would have the opportunity to experience the spell of her innocent
beauty and the transformative power of a place so pure.
The journey through central Peru to Machu Picchu takes you to many very
powerful, ancient sacred sites. Beginning at the huge ceremonial
center, Sacsaywaman, outside of Cuzco, the Incan capital, I offer 3
cocoa leaves to the Pachamama (Mother Earth), asking for her blessings.
I balance my male and female aspects at the waters of Tambo Machay. As
I touch the huge stone altars at Kenqo, I feel a tingling in my hands,
there is a life-force here, a presence.
Traveling overland, as I descend to the Sacred Valley of the Inca’s, I
feel myself descending deeper within my own consciousness. I recognize
a metaphor of my life, a series of emotional peaks and valleys? Often I
resist the valleys and fight desperately to leave them. This Sacred
Valley is fertile, rich with crops, which nourish the people. I
recognize how “rich with revelation” my own emotional valleys can be if
I relax and enjoy their bounty.
At Ollantaytambo I am awed by 3 enormous pink granite stones. There are
large Puma’s carved on them representing the physical plane. There are
many other huge stones here, said to have healing properties. I am
guided to lie on one of them, I begin to feel the stone working with
me, bringing comfort and peace into my body.
The next morning, feeling physically restored and spiritually in tune, I board the train to Machu Picchu..
Gazing out the train window, I am lost in the beauty of the Andean
scenery. Majestic snow capped peaks tower over me, I can feel the Apus
spirits watching. The high Andean glacier called Veronica is easily
visible; she watches over and protects the Sacred Valley. I look down
and see the Sacred Urumbamba River; the flowing river represents my
consciousness carrying me forward, deeper into the beauty and mystery
of my own being. Huge boulders in the river represent obstacles that I
feel I have in my own life. I watch the water easily glide over or
around them….this river of awareness says to me….never stop moving
forward.
An hour and a half later I arrive at Aguas Calientes and board the bus
which will take me up the mountain to Machu Picchu. This is a ride
filled with excitement, anticipation, exquisite views and deep emotion.
I feel I am being called back home by this enchanted place.
Machu Picchu’s allure is its on-going mystery, which evokes question
after question, yet reveals very few answers. Machu Picchu is also
called the Crystal City in the clouds. The stones of the city are white
granite, composed of 40% quartz crystal. I feel as if I am inside a
huge giant crystal city that is vibrating around me. My days are
filled with walking and climbing the never ending stone steps and
terraces but I do not seem to tire. I seem to be continually
rejuvenated by this power source of crystal energy.
Peace and serenity fill me as I stroll through maze like stone
passageways leading to secret rooms. I climb to the Intiwatana,
hitching post of the sun, and have a short meditation. From the Temple
of the 3 Windows I gaze down onto the plaza, at the sacred Pachamama
stone I reconnect with Mother Earth. I pay my respects to the Inti at
the Temple of the Sun with its gigantic stone altar.
Machu Picchu is a place of balance; the male and female come together
in harmony. The tall peak of Huyanu Picchu on one side of the city
holds the feminine energy and the masculine peak of Machu Picchu
mountain stands tall at the other end. The smaller peak of the
Putakusi mountain, sits between the other two and holds the place of
balance, drawing the male and female energies together in harmony.
Peace is found when everything is in balance….Machu Picchu offers a
healing message to the world.
I feel myself moving deeper into balance, remnants of chaos and turmoil
churning around inside of me dissolve. Love and acceptance wash over
me. This magical place comforts me; the stones speak silent messages,
giving me insight and clarity to my own inner questions. Everything
feels effortless. Sitting quietly in meditation is easy; I don’t fidget
and resist being with myself as I do at home. All confusion and cobwebs
disappear from my mind, my thinking is so clear. Revelations and
creative ideas pop into my awareness, it is truly startling! Never
before have I felt so wise.
I sense I am not alone here, I turn around and look behind me, feeling
someone is there. This is not scary; it is a comforting experience. I
feel a familiar presence, an invisible personal guide, a mentor, a
teacher, guiding me to places that have what I am searching for on a
consciousness level. Illusions of the “outer” material world don’t
exist here….genuine wisdom is found in simplicity…..reality is found
“inside” myself and this is where I create the experience in my “outer”
life.
Machu Picchu has once again reminded me that life is not
complicated…..I’m the one who makes it so. All the answers are inside
of me….I just keep forgetting to look there……..Machu Picchu has once
again brought me home to that place of love inside myself. These
ancient stones are like old and trusted friends, helping me reconnect
with simple truths that I have blinded myself to with outer
distractions. Spirit elders have welcomed me with open arms like a
wayward child coming home for comfort and assurance. I sit with them in
council, in ancient temples of stone and feel their wisdom flow into my
subconscious and once again I feel whole.
A few days at Machu Picchu is like accelerated therapy for me. A shift
has happened, I have moved into a deeper level of my own
self-knowledge. As I leave I carry this energy home with me to my day
to day life. I know that it will ooze out of me like rich thick honey
spreading its sweetness to all I come in contact with. The wisdom and
power that Machu Picchu has shared with me will sustain me until I
return once again as a humble pilgrim. Traveling on an “outer”
discovery adventure but most importantly on an “inner” journey of
discovery for my spirit.
Gayle Lawrence, owner of Journeys of Discovery, will be hosting her 8th
Andean Mysteries tour to Peru and Machu Picchu, with Andean shaman
guide, Jorge Luis Delgado. August 17 – 27, 2006. A Wild Dolphin Swim
and women’s retreat in Bimini, Bahamas is also scheduled in Aug. 2006.
2007 tours include: Africa, Humpback Whale encounters Dominican
Republic, Ireland, and Galapagos Islands.
http://www.ajourneyofdiscovery.com or contact Gayle at (727) 785-5563.
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
|
