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A practical guide to visiting ancient sites and “tuning in” with nature - Part 2

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When was the last time you had your bare feet on the ground? Over the last few years I have added grounding to my regular self-development practice.

What Happens to You When You Walk Barefoot?

“Your skin in general is a very good conductor. You can connect any part of your skin to the Earth, but if you compare various parts there is one that is especially potent, and that's right in the middle of the ball of your foot; a point known to acupuncturists as Kidney 1 (K1). It's a well-known point that conductively connects to all of the acupuncture meridians and essentially connects to every nook and cranny of your body. Interestingly, grounding—or rather the lack thereof—has a lot to do with the rise of modern diseases.”

Read more about the latest scientific research into grounding as well as listen to Biophysicist James Oschman, Ph.D being interviewed by Dr. Joseph Mercola. Various scientific papers presenting latest research on grounding can be found here.

Easy Ways to Incorporate Grounding Into Your Daily Life

"Earthing connects us to Nature and Nature is the ultimate source of health and healing." -John Gray, Ph.D

Grounding and ancient sites

Visiting ancient sites and grounding is a big part of how I connect to the environment. Walking barefooted around ancient sites has helped me to find some very powerful locations. Noticing the difference in the feeling/energy under my feet has opened up a new world of experiences to me.

Experience has shown me the human body and its senses are capable of picking up very subtle impressions and feelings. For example, many of us sense other people looking at us but this is something our technology is still incapable of replicating. If we train these senses we can start to rely upon them. Is it possible our ancestors used this approach as part of their selection process for the sacred sites they built? Could they sense/detect areas of naturally high energy? Did they build their sites to harmonize with natural energies and/or increase the effect of a subtle forces flowing through the earth?

One way to look at our beautiful blue water world is, the earth much like our bodies has a system of energy lines which the Chinese call Meridians, this forms a network of energy currents flowing across the surface of the planet.

Breathing techniques

Deep breathing or Diaphragmatic breathing is often used as a form of relaxation, when practiced regularly this technique could lead to reduced stress, anxiety, depression and other tension related symptoms.

Taking control of our breathing from the autonomous nervous system is a good way to bring our busy mind under control. If needed, we can recite a mantra to stop the flow of everyday thoughts. A simple mantra would be, I am breathing in, I know I am breathing in, I am breathing out, I know I am breathing out. Take long deep breaths while repeating this mantra. With practice you can extend the length of your breath by breathing more deeply into the bottom of your lungs.

Once you have become relaxed you may start to feel more connected with the location you are in, especially if you are in a location with a palpable atmosphere such as an Egyptian temple. The next part of the process is generally a growing awareness of my surroundings. For example, as I feel my own energy settle, I start to become more aware of the energy present in the environment. This state of mind can often lead to epiphanies or deep insights into our life’s path or purpose.

Mindfulness/meditation philosophy

Vipassanā meditation in the Buddhist tradition means insight into the true nature of reality”

"mindfulness of breathing," is used to become aware of the impermanence of everything that exists.

The practice of mindfulness and meditation helps to root our awareness in the present moment, we separate ourselves from our current stresses and problems, relationship issues and other thoughts that play on our minds. By being present we can get a sense of freedom and peace, which is very liberating. This feeling often leads to a sense of gratitude and serenity.

“Our exoteric evolution, through the Greek metaphysical phases, leading currently to an exclusive rationalism, has given us, owing to the necessity for analysis, a "mentality of complexity" which today prevents us from seeing simply.”

From Evolution of Consciousness by R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz

Meditation Scientific research

The Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA says the following. “Mindful awareness can be defined as paying attention to present moment experiences with openness, curiosity, and a willingness to be with what is. It is an excellent antidote to the stresses of modern times. It invites us to stop, breathe, observe, and connect with one's inner experience. There are many ways to bring mindfulness into one's life, such as meditation, yoga, art, or time in nature. Mindfulness can be trained systematically, and can be implemented in daily life, by people of any age, profession or background.”

“In the last ten years, significant research has shown mindfulness to address health issues such as lower blood pressure and boost the immune system; increase attention and focus, including aid those suffering from ADHD; help with difficult mental states such as anxiety and depression, fostering well-being and less emotional reactivity; and thicken the brain in areas in charge of decision making, emotional flexibility, and empathy.”

Meditation on the beach - SunsetThe power of sound to affect our state of mind

Most of us are familiar with the idea of being moved by music. We listen to music to change our mood, go to concerts, nightclubs, and even listen to music while jogging or down the gym. Yoga classes use relaxing music to create a calm space for people to relax in. If we take this a step further, it is now becoming clear that our ancient ancestors understood that certain sound frequencies impact how we perceive the world around us.

The science of Archaeoacoustics

Many of the world’s ancient cultures seemed to use sound in order to access portions of the mind we are just now becoming aware of via modern science. Many ancient structures across the world show an understanding and use of sound frequencies. For example, the Kings Chamber in the Great Pyramid of Egypt, Newgrange in the Boyne Valley Ireland, The Hypogeum of Malta, and Chichen Itza in Mexico. All of these structures provide examples of sound amplification. Many ancient structures seem to be designed to amplify the sound range of 110 hertz. Sound frequency may influence human cognition, this is currently being studied at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA.

“A recent study evaluated the possibility that tones at these frequencies might specifically affect regional brain activity. In a pilot project, 30 healthy adults listened to tones at 90, 100, 110, 120, and 130 Hz while brain activity was monitored with electroencephalography (EEG). Activity in the left temporal region was found to be significantly lower at 110 Hz than at other frequencies. Additionally, the pattern of asymmetric activity over the prefrontal cortex shifted from one of higher activity on the left at most frequencies to right sided dominance at 110 Hz.

These findings are compatible with relative deactivation of language centers and a shift in prefrontal activity that may be related to emotional processing. These intriguing pilot findings suggest that the acoustic properties of ancient structures may influence human brain function, and suggest that chanting might have been used to enhance right brain activities.”

Please see this article for more information.

Psychoacoustics

“Psychoacoustics is an experimental science that examines auditory perceptual and cognitive responses of living beings to sound.”

Please see the latest research papers on the Stanford website.

The human ear can generally hear sounds in the range 20 Hz (0.02 kHz) to 20,000 Hz (20 kHz). The top end of the range tends to decrease with age; the majority of adults are unable to hear above 16 kHz. Under ideal laboratory conditions the lowest frequency that has been identified, as a musical tone is 12 Hz. Many ancient sites appear to take advantage of the body's sense of touch to perceive tones in the 4 to 16 Hz range. These frequencies are also used in the art of sound healing.

Ceprhern PyramidHow does sound make us feel at ancient sites?

One of the best explanations of how sound can touch us was shared with me by one of the guests from a recent tour.

“Like never experienced before, we had two hours private time in the Great Pyramid. I knew from the last visit, which is the right place to lay my back on the floor. The Universe was flowing and glowing through me while I was toning together with the voices of our magnificent group. I was no one and I was everyone, I was nothing and I was everything. Toning in such a large group produced extreme and excellent healing of all our bodies, and the resonance in the King’s chamber was absolutely indescribable and divine.” By Ksenija

I was part of the above experience; the sound we were using on the day was a variation of the OM sound. OM is often called the “sound of the Universe”. Many of us can no doubt dismiss a simple sound being referred to in that way, however, I ask you to consider the possibility the ancient yogis knew exactly what they were talking about.

Sound healing – getting involved

Sound healing modalities are becoming increasingly popular, for anyone interested in this area I suggest typing sound healing events or “gong bath” in to your search engine and look around your local area, you may find your local yoga studio or meditation center arrange events as part of their regular schedule. Most people are very surprised by the positive feelings they experience after a sound healing. I encourage you to give it a try!

Conclusion – we learn from experience

The Value of Experience:

If you knew the pain that would ensue when you ate the apple, you would not have eaten it.

You had to eat the apple to know the pain.

That does not mean that the apple is bad.
It doesn't even mean that the pain is bad.
Both are necessary to the experience of knowing.

Real knowing comes from experience.
That is why incarnation is necessary.
You cannot know in a detached way.

To know, you must become. You must experience.

 From Everyday Wisdom by Paul Ferrini

This is worth repeating, “You cannot know in a detached way”, I encourage everyone to try the ideas shared in this article, simply try the ideas and give them a fair chance. Note*, these are subtle techniques which practice will help improve over time.

It seems the various emerging sciences discussed in this article are starting to overlap with eastern mystical traditions; modern science is validating the claims that yogis and mystics have been making for 1000s of years. Hopefully as we understand the perennial wisdom of our ancestors our societies will develop holistic treatments for many modern ailments.

Part 1.

By Gary Evans

Find out more about the tours Gary organizes to ancient sites around the world at http://infinite-connections.co.uk/

 

Comments

Thank you. I agree with much of this article. Heres to 20 Days Mediation Honoring New Year: http://llavealhighway.com/20-days-meditation-for-new-year/

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garyevans

Gary Evans

Gary has been studying ancient cultures and Earth mysteries for 20 years. From his studies of ancient cultures around the world, Gary has realized how deeply our ancestors appreciated Nature; something many of us have become disconnected from... Read More

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