New Zealand sacred sites
By Damien Cornford
I sit here typing this blog with tears in my eyes, as I am saying goodbye to a place which I can now call home. Pretty much all places on this sacred place we call Gaia I call home but New Zealand has touched my heart like no other. Sitting here in the airport waiting for my flight to India, I ask myself what lessons have I been taught here, how has this changed my life?
New Zealand is a place of natural beauty and that beauty is expressed in the eyes and smiles of the people that live here. From the very beginning we were welcomed into the home of Vicky Woo Woo with a big warm hug and that good old fashioned charming saying, “Would you like a cuppa tea or coffee?” and that’s where the stories and laughs begin.
We arrived on Thursday morning into Auckland, the sun was shining and the people were vibrant with colorful smiles. Colette looked at me in the eyes and said, “How do you feel?”, though it wasn’t until on the bus leaving the big city that the feelings began to sink in. The green countryside rolled for miles, dairy farms filled the land as far as the eye could see mixed here and there with corn and hay fields. An overwhelming feeling that I had been here before filled my very core, I was home.
The essence of the land can be seen in the kindness of the smiling faces that surround you, New Zealand is a different place. People here at every chance laugh and greet each other with the warmth of a huge hug. The best memories were sitting with family and friends and just listening to their stories and life. The secrets of life were shared here, with the simple truths that we all search for expressed in simple meanings in the stories told.
In the short time I spent in New Zealand these were the sacred destinations I visited:
Maraes
We visited two maraes, which are sacred meeting places for the indigenous Maori families; here ceremonies are held to celebrate life. From the death of a loved one to birthdays, families here celebrate together and share everything. The idea is if each person shares a little or what they can then there will be plenty for everyone. This is something we do not acknowledge in the western societies where most people are brought up to look after one’s self, and then we lose that sense of community. The celebrations at the maraes are huge and everyone has their role to play, and I tell you what – you will never go home hungry!
Tokahaere Rock
Tokahaere Rock is a sacred destination with a significant story to tell. The story goes that two brothers were in love with the same woman and both wished to marry her. They made a deal with each other that the first to walk to the sea would win the hand of the woman. The catch was that whoever didn’t make it to the sea would be turned to stone. Both brothers agreed to this but neither one of them made it to the sea or to ever take the hand of the woman they loved, and were turned to stone. Tokahaere rock is a reminder of this story and the divine love that each brother honored.
Wairakei Terraces
Later that afternoon we made our way to the town of Taupo and swam at Wairakei Terraces. These are pools of hot springs which are selenium rich and boil out of the ground at extreme degrees. When the water makes its way down the terraces it cools to temperatures suitable for swimming. Being Selenium rich makes this a place of deep clearing and cleansing, the selenium removes all negative energies from your fields – matrixes which no longer serve your highest and best good – helping to clear your chakras of all past pain and trauma. This sacred site is something that everyone should experience; feelings boil from the deep depths of your being and you feel like a new person afterwards. One feels more alive than ever and has a depth of peace in their heart that words cannot explain.
Huka Falls
Huka Falls, well this is a real surprise, if you are expecting to see a vertical waterfall with a huge drop you are wrong. Don’t underestimate the beauty of this though. You walk over a bridge and then your breath is taken away, your jaw drops with amazement from the pure energy of this horizontal waterfall. The water is pushed through a small gorge and the force of the energy can be felt. This is another big clearing sacred site, the rush of the water and air clears all your energy fields and matrixes from life trauma leaving you feeling amazing.
Lake Taupo
Lake Taupo is a huge lake on the town of Taupo. On the lake is a floating island made of pumice in which the dead are buried. It is told that when the island makes its way close to shore the spirits of the people on board are transported off the island to the mainland. All through this area hot springs make their way through the ground and run into the lake making it very rich in minerals and good drinking water. Here the peaceful serenity of the town and the lake meet making a quiet little spot to mediate on the shore and soak up the beauty of the area.
Raglan
The next day we walked around the town of Raglan, which is a beachside town. The people here are becoming self-sufficient, growing all their own food and supplying their own source of green energy through wind generators. The town is filled with arts and craft stores and we were welcomed into an art gallery opening with a glass of local white wine and some antipasto. This is what dreams are made of! The surf beach here is called Manu Bay and is very popular with the locals. Here we enjoyed the afternoon watching the surfers make the most of the last waves for the day.
Bridal Veil Falls
Bridal Veil Falls is one of my favorite sacred destinations we visited on this journey. From the viewing platform it is a quick 10-minute walk to the bottom. The drop of the falls is spectacular and the energy of this area is so peaceful and sacred. You can hear the chatter of the trees and the birds, the serenity is intoxicating. Here you are filled with a sense of peace and gratefulness, that the gods have blessed you and allowed for your journey to bring you to a place of such natural beauty.
Thank you to our friend Vicky for showing us around and being our tour guide for the time there, for welcoming us into her home and sharing her family with us. This made New Zealand home.
Connecting with Crop Circles
By Diane Hopkins
In the summer of 2011 I travelled through the English countryside to explore the mystery of crop circles for the first time. Interestingly crop circles are considered to be ‘temporary temples’ that carry powerful energy frequencies similar to that of ancient sites and other sacred destinations. Their temporary nature means that a new set arrives each year during spring and summer, and aerial photographs of newly spotted circles can be found at the Crop Circle Connector website. In England crop circles start appearing every year in April, increasing in frequency through to July and August, and are most commonly found in the Wiltshire County close to the ancient sites of Stonehenge and Avebury.
Spiritual symbols and sacred geometry
The spiritual symbol of the circle/sphere, common to the majority of crop circles, is about unity, wholeness, completion and cycles. The circle also has cosmic connotations, representing the sun, moon and planets and their orbits.On our tour the three crop circles we visited each has their own distinct geometric pattern. The first circle we visited was a series of concentric circles and rings, the second was made up of eight connected circles of decreasing size linked by a set of rings, and the third an intricate pattern resembling Celtic symbolism.
Click here to see Photos of Crop circle 1: Concentric rings
Click here to see Photos of Crop circle 2: Planetary spheres
Click here to see Photos of Crop circle 3: Celtic swirls
Sacred geometry – the universal patterns used in the design of everything and seen most clearly within nature and sacred architecture – can be found within the crop circle patterns. The spiral/vortex, a common form of sacred geometry, could be seen within the crop circles we visited on the tour. The barley and wheat stalks were bent and laid into distinct spiral patterns along the ground. Many of these forms within crop circles have been found to match the Golden Ratio, a mathematical set of proportions that is used by nature to create organisms.
Crop circle theories and cosmic messages
The origins of the crop circles have created much debate over the years. Although many people claim that they are extraterrestrial and there have been numerous UFO sightings coinciding with the appearance of crop circles, others insist that they are man-made hoaxes. Many are concluding that a higher intelligence must be involved because they appear in full form overnight during the height of summer when there is only four hours of darkness and because of the precise way in which the crop stalks are bent rather than cut.
Many of crop circles patterns correspond to mathematical principles such as the Golden Ratio or Pi which some have suggested represents a universal cosmic language. The conclusion here is that the circles may represent a form of extraterrestrial communication.
Sensing energies and sharing experiences
Many of the crop circles appear in an area of the Wiltshire countryside that is known in spiritual circles as the England Triangulation – the physical locality between Stonehenge, Avebury and Glastonbury that offers particularly strong access to spiritual energy.
My personal experience of visiting the crop circles was a strong sensory exploration, gifting me with a heightened sensitivity to feeling and recognising different energy vibrations. As we crossed the farmland to reach each circle we walked in single file along the tramlines with our arms outstretched brushing the top of the crop stalks to start sensing the energies at each site. We each wandered around exploring the circles in our own way, at times sitting or lying down on the ground to absorb all we could from the experience. Many within the group felt strong physical sensations within the circles, some seeing colours and others finding words to represent their impressions of the sites. We watched with interest as pendulums spun wildly and changed directions at key places within the circles.
At the end of each visit we came together for a guided group meditation. Some members of our group were able to decipher the circles as specific codes of communication and others found they received personal messages from their guides during the visits. We found that there were shared understandings of the crop circles among the group as each one seemed to carry its own unique vibrational signature. In the second circle we visited each of the interconnected spheres had a distinct quality of vibration, perhaps representing the different chakras or dimensions, and many of the group felt that there were doors or gates separating each sphere. At this site everyone seemed to have a different favourite sphere that they wanted to sit in and enjoy.
Grounding to Mother Earth
Walking through the crop circles there was a strong feeling of being grounded and supported by Mother Earth. As we explored the land amongst this scenic landscape the group sank into an effortless sense of simply Being. We sat and lay on the ground, finding our own special spots to connect more deeply with the power of these temporary sacred sites. Many areas within the circles almost looked like they were specifically designed for quiet reflection and meditation! I felt an overwhelming sense of belonging right here and now in this very place and moment in time. It was so pleasant simply soaking up the nurturing energy of the circles that we needed to be rounded up when it was time to leave.
As we wait to see what new crop circles are discovered in 2012 I look forward to re-connecting with these temporary temples once again.
