Sacred Places and their healing powers

Visiting sacred places can have a profoundly positive impact on people’s lives. Our amazing planet is dotted with power centers where people have experienced visions, healings, prophecies, inspiration or insight into the meaning of their lives.

Stonehenge in England, Machu Picchu in Peru, the Pyramids in Egypt, Sedona in Arizona and Mount Shasta in California are among the world’s best known power sites, but there are over 1,000 stone circles, holy wells, sacred forests, healing springs, oracle caves and pagan temples across the planet that have been attracting visitors since ancient times.



The healing power of sacred places
Only 30 miles from Santa Fe, New Mexico is El Santuario de Chimayo where 300,000 visitors each year come to scoop sand from a hole in the floor of the “Room of Miracles.” Its walls are lined with letters and photographs from hundreds of thankful pilgrims who say they were healed here.


My home of Cornwall, in the southwest of England has more than a dozen holy wells where, like Lourdes in France, miraculous cures have been reported for hundreds of years. Here is a recent photo I took of a holy well...


The energy of sacred places is very subtle. The healing capacity of a place can aid the healing process similar to the way that prayer can. When someone goes on a pilgrimage believing they may be healed there, they can set powerful forces into motion.

Vision quests lead to self-understanding
Going on vision quests is a North American native tradition that has become a popular New Age practice. It involves spending time alone in an isolated, often wilderness setting, in hope of receiving a message to guide one’s life. An increasingly popular spiritual place attracting visitors looking for spiritual healing and enlightenment is Sedona in Arizona.

Sedona vortexes stimulate creativity
A friend once told me of a magical place called Sedona in Arizona. This stunning place is home to one of the most power energy centers in the USA. Once a secret known to few outsiders save for Hollywood crews who filmed countless western movies in its picturesque canyons, Sedona became an artists’ colony in the 1950s when surrealist painter and sculptor Max Ernst and author Kahlil Gibran moved in.

After the 1987 Harmonic Convergence was held in Sedona, it became the New Age center of the country. A 1995 study by the Chamber of Commerce found that 64% of Sedona’s 4 million visitors per year come to find “some kind of spiritual experience.” The focal points of Sedona’s power are four energy vortexes, identified in 1980 by trance medium Paige Bryant.

It is a rare visitor who does not feel invigorated by the Sedona Vortex and it's energy. Many people who retire to Sedona because of its mild climate and beautiful scenery suddenly develop an interest in painting, sculpture or crafts work, even though they had no previous artistic interests. It is not uncommon for visitors to fall in love with Sedona, buy homes there, and then a few months later have to move out because they are unable to withstand the constant force of so much energy.


Sedona retreats are becoming very popular with specialist companies offering spiritual vacations. Sedona is also the headquarters for dozens of astrologers, psychics, spiritual counselors, massage therapists and other energy workers. A local psychic association member joked that “Sedona is the only city in the world with 1,500 channels and no TV station.”

Sedona, Arizona on the map


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How to get the most from sacred sites
People hoping for a transformational travel experience can enhance their chances of a non-ordinary event by preparing in advance of their visit. Before a native youth went on a vision quest, he or she would train with a shaman to learn about the spirit world. They might take part in extensive prayers, fasting, drumming, chanting, dancing and even psyotropoic herbs or mushrooms.

You can’t expect to have a similar quality experience if you simply show up at a place like Stonehenge or The Pyramids, buy a ticket, follow a tour guide around and take a few pictures. You need to approach a pilgrimage site with an attitude of openness. Since you are going there to be affected by the place, you have to allow yourself to be affected. At the very least, you should approach a sacred place with a humble attitude and ask permission from the spirits before you enter.

Recommended Sacred Places Books

See the Northern Lights

A collection of cool northern lights pictures. You can see the northern lights and below we have given some tips on travel companies offering excursions to see the famous aurora.


See the Northern Lights!


Norway
When cruising the coast of Norway with Hurtigruten, passengers get wake-up calls to see the aurora. A three-night cruise from Tromsø to Trondheim starts at £566 including flights, transfers and half board. Packages coinciding with Tromsø’s Northern Lights Festival in late January are also available.


Iceland
The smart option for a fun weekend break, Iceland offers a fair chance of seeing the Northern Lights. Discover the World has packages to Reykjavik from £308 including flights and breakfast. Excursions out of the city to look for the aurora in a superjeep cost £89.

Canada
Frontier Canada offers tailor-made trips to snowbound retreats such as the Inn on the Lake outside Whitehorse, with every chance of spotting the aurora. A seven-night package via Vancouver costs from £1,775 including flights, transfers, all meals and activities.


Alaska
Fairbanks is a city of aurora-watchers and its university posts useful aurora forecasts. Alaska Tours.com arranges trips to viewing points such as Bettles Lodge. A five-day package costs from £720 including two nights in Fairbanks, two at Bettles Lodge, transfers, taxes, hire of winter gear and most meals. KLM has flights to Fairbanks via Seattle from £434 return. Prices are per person for travel in February 2009, flying from London.

Six tips for seeing the Northern Lights

1. Go for several days; if the aurora appears, there is a good chance it will be seen on subsequent days.
2. Get away from urban areas – ships, wilderness lodges and remote camps are good locations.
3. September to October and February to March are good months for aurora spotting. The optimum time to visit will depend on local conditions; telephone ahead for advice and consult a lunar calendar to find darker nights.
4. Ice hotels look their best at the start of the season. At busy times, book activities in advance.
5. Wrap up, but don’t buy lots of kit – many hotels will provide or rent it.
6. Read up beforehand to get the most out of the experience. Aurora: The Mysterious Northern Lights by Candace Savage (Firefly, £10.15 ) is a superb introduction; The Northern Lights by Lucy Jago (Penguin, £6.99) tells the life story of Kristian Birkeland; Lapland (Bradt, £13.99) is a useful guide to Arctic Scandinavia.

Beautiful Northern Lights Time Lapse Video



Recommended Northern Lights Books