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Machu Picchu -- Magic
and Mystery
by Gayle Lawrence
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, and 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 feet, 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. Its 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.
Ancient sites
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 three 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 Incas, 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 three enormous, pink granite stones. There are large
Pumas 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, and 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."
Deep emotion
An hour and a half later I arrive at Aguas Calientes and board the bus that 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 ongoing 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 percent 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 Three 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.
Place of balance
Machu Picchu is a place of balance, for 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, as 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, and 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 that I am not alone here. I turn around and look behind me. 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"
of myself, and this is where I create the experience in my "outer" life.
Machu Picchu once again has reminded me that life is not complicated. I'm the one
who makes it so. All the answers are inside of me, but I just keep forgetting to
look there. Machu Picchu once again has 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 everyone I meet. 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 7th Andean
Mysteries tour to Peru and Machu Picchu, with Andean shaman guide, Jorge Luis Delgado.
July 14 - 24, 2005. For complete trip details and information on other magical journeys,
please visit: www.ajourneyofdiscovery.com or contact Gayle at (727)
785-5563. whalesongs@earthlink.net
Copyright © 2005 Gayle Lawrence. All rights reserved. |
| July 2005 |
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