--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "hugheshugo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > In a few of these experiences I had a literal > > vision in that the present just went away, and > > what I was seeing and experiencing felt like I'd > > stepped into some kind of "viewer into the past." > > I tried to write up one such experience in one > > of the stories in Road Trip Mind, at: > > http://ramalila.net/RoadTripMind/rtm46.html > > Good story, amazing looking place too. I can see why you > moved there!
Where I lived in France was a couple of hours away from that place, but it was a 12th-century medieval village, so it had some power of its own. > I understand what you mean about power places now, some landscapes > really resonate with me, like most of the West Country of England, > but not just anywhere, stonehenge leaves me cold yet Avebury stone > circle blows me away. But there's a place called Waylands Smithy it's > an ancient burial mound just off the ridgeway, one of the oldest > trackways in England,and going there for the first time I got a > really profound sense of belonging, it was like I'd never been away > and man it's so quiet, a really holy place you can sit in the > entrance to the burial mound and time stands still whatever the > weather, any time of year it's beautiful. > > The white horse at uffington gets me everytime too. > > http://www.berkshirehistory.com/archaeology/white_horse.html > > http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/majorsites/uffington.html They all look like really neat places. The Stonehenge vs. Avebury phenomenon may be nothing more than "How many people have tromped their feet through there?" In my experience when dealing with supposed power places, the fewer the better. Also, what tends to happen over time that the supposed power places get frequented by "the wrong kinds of people," the ones who feel something of the power of the place and are there to "suck it" so that they can achieve things they want to achieve (as opposed to being there in a quiet, meditative state of mind with no expectations). This tends to make a place of power a little "lined out" and diminishes its actual power. For example, any of the so-called "vortexes" around Sedona, Arizona. Twenty or thirty years ago they had some power, but now...nada, in my opinion. Again, as compared to some place like Chaco Canyon or Canyon de Chelly. The former is so far away from everything that almost no one ever goes there, and the latter has strict rules that allow no one into the canyon on foot with- out being accompanied by a Navajo guide. > The landscape looks like nothing special in photo's, it's just the > atmosphere. There is a line in England and when I cross it heading > west it changes me, I feel more alive. Never associated it with > anything like reincarnation though, maybe because I don't usually > think in that way about the world, can't explain it though. The Rama guy I studied with described power places as, "You like to go there because they remind you of similar places inside yourself." There is often a *stillness* about them that, if you tap into it, makes it easier to access a similar level of stillness in your meditations. He also spoke of the need to practice mindfulness in a power place, because they are "amplifiers." It's not that they have a specific vibe of their own; they take whatever vibe and state of attention you bring to them and *amplify* it. Thus if you allow your state of attention to drop into states of fear or anger, you might have a pretty miserable time at a powerful spot. Whereas if you practice mindfulness and keep your attention high and shiny, *that* is what gets amplified. > I never had the time-slip experience but have read about it before, > wish I could rememebr the book title! It was about people visiting > ancient monuments and walking into the iron age and being able to > describe the clothes and jewellery, farm implements etc, even though > they weren't experts. Fascinating stuff. All I can say it that it can happen just like that. Whether it is in any sense a "real" phenomenon or purely a subjective one, or even an illusory exper- ience I can't say, but it sure feels real at the time. > > When the present just "goes away" and all of your > > perceptions seem to be taking place *in* the past, > > like some kind of vision, I tend to take those > > experiences a little more seriously than just > > having a vague feeling of familiarity about a > > time or place. > > > > Another type of experience that I tend to give > > more credence to and consider more than moodmaking > > is when I go to some place of power (as I am wont > > to do) and not only feel that I've been there before, > > I can describe what's going to be around the next > > bend or in the next room before we get there to > > other people who visiting that place with me. I've > > done that with Quéribus, the place I wrote about > > in the link above, and at other Cathar-related > > sites. I've had similar experiences in Canyon de > > Chelly and Chaco Canyon and in the basements of > > the Papal Palace in Avignon, where I was telling > > my guide where all the secret passages were before > > he could tell me about them. > > > > All in all, though, I just treat these things as > > entertainment. I may *enjoy* having these rare > > flashes, but I'm not convinced that any of them > > have provided benefit to my sadhana in any way. > > The visionary ones are more like seeing a clip > > from a movie that you starred in long, long ago. > > It's neat to see it, but you worked on that film > > *so* long ago that you're no longer getting any > > residual royalties from the Actor's Guild, so > > what use is it, anyway? :-) > > I guess no actual use, but nice to keep copies of old > movies just for the nostalgia. These flashes, together with similar flashes of time spent IN the Bardo between death and rebirth, also had the benefit for me of pretty much taking away any fear of death I might have ever had. Again, the experiences themselves could be illusory for all I know, but if so, the illusion is one that I find very comforting and that feels "real" to me, whether or not it is on some cosmic level of "truth." Since I don't actually *believe* in any such thing as a cosmic level of truth, I'm content with just feeling comforted.
