Today, April 22, 2010, is the 40th Birthday of Earth Day, a day to take time out to appreciate the earth and rejuvenate the soul.
We have many sacred sites which can uplift us in times of need. Since the dawn of civilization, sacred sites or sacred places have had a mysterious attraction to people around the world. Myths and legends have grown up around these sites and modern day reports tell of extraordinary things that have happened to people while visiting these places.
Different sacred sites have the power to calm and enlighten the mind; nurture the body; develop creativity and psychic abilities, and awaken the soul to its spiritual calling, its life purpose. In ancient times people travelled long distances on pilgrimages to sacred sites to repent, be healed, and receive inspiration or direction from the ‘other world’. Sacred sites may be natural features, man-made structures, historic spiritual or religious sites or a combination of the above.
Some people have a natural ability to ‘tune in’ to sacred sites and access the ancient wisdom of the site. For the most part these people believe that the Earth’s physical and biological processes are inextricably bound to form a self-regulating system. This is known as the Gaian theory. The Gaian paradigm of Earth as a living system was first articulated by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis in the 1970s. Gaia is the primal Greek goddess personifying earth, Mother Earth. The idea that the fertile earth itself is female was not limited to the Greco-Roman world. In Irish mythology, Danu is the Mother Goddess.
The ancient people who discovered the power places and erected structures probably related to them by both feeling and knowing. In our overactive lives we have lost our sensitivities to connect with these sites. However, more and more people are opening up to the energies of the earth. Those who just wish to soak in the atmosphere and beauty of sacred sites can benefit from knowledge of energy fields, mythology, archaeology, history, geology and local folklore.
