Information and Inspiration

Here are a few books, sites, people and things that may help you find the magic on your own adventure to any of the seven sacred sites...

MACHU PICCHU and the Amazon, Peru

Shirley MacLaine’s books Out On a Limb and It’s All In the Playing include some of her adventures in Peru, from spiritual encounters, alien tales and past life experiences to being caught in storms, stranded without transport and getting sick. All of Shirley’s books are inspiring and thought-provoking, combining spiritual travel all over the world and the insights that triggered to her own exploration and investigation. She was the first to go out on a limb and talk about her spiritual searching – it’s hard to believe today, with New Age bookshelves in every store, that in the 70s and 80s it was a huge risk to talk about leylines, sacred sites and trance channelling, yet she was advised not to publish her ground-breaking books for fear of public ridicule. She opened the way, and people’s minds, with her fearless questing and questioning, and continues to do so today. Visit Shirley at www.ShirleyMacLaine.com.

For practical travel advice, guidebooks like Lonely Planet and many sites on the internet are invaluable for up-to-date information. Australians, Americans and British travellers, amongst others, don’t need a visa for stays of up to three months. Visit Australia’s Embassy of Peru: www.embaperu.org.au.

There are many books on shamanism and its different aspects, and many people offering spiritual courses and tours of the sacred places. Find out as much as you can about any teachers you choose to work with, ask lots of questions and trust your intuition. A New Zealand-based company, Lifestyle Journeys (www.lifestylejourneys.co.nz) coordinates trips to some of the most beautiful places on the planet, including Machu Picchu and Peru, so if you’d rather share your adventures with like-minded souls than travel alone, check out their site...

To sponsor a child in Peru, there are many agencies you can choose from – I’ve been doing it through Plan International for more than two decades. They help children in more than 60 countries, working with predominantly local staff to best identify need and implement change. It’s incredible to see the difference they make in a child’s life, and be a tiny part of it: www.plan.org,au.

UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, also does incredible work for kids in Peru (and all over the world), providing long-term humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers. It works to alleviate poverty, increase child health and education and reduce the maternal mortality rate, operating on the basis of need without discrimination, and having no political, racial or religious affiliations: www.unicef.org.

A billion people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition. Click on www.thehungersite.com each day to help feed the world’s hungry. Visit www.therainforestsite.com to help save the precious Amazon jungle, and www.thechildhealthsite.com to boost funding for preventatives and treatments to increase child health around the globe.

GLASTONBURY, the Sacred Isle of Avalon

One of the most enchanting places in Glastonbury is Chalice Well Gardens. You can visit for a few hours or all day, or stay in one of the two houses in the grounds, with 24-hour access to the gardens. Their site features information, links, workshop details, an events list and beautiful photos: www.chalicewell.org.uk.

The first time I was in Glastonbury there was a cafe in the building over the White Spring, opposite Chalice Well Gardens, with the sacred water running across the floor beneath your feet. It closed down, but recently a group began work to conserve the spring and its surrounds: www.whitespring.org.uk.

For articles, information, photos, links, inspiration and a uniquely local perspective on the town, visit the Isle of Avalon: www.isleofavalon.co.uk.

For a huge range of accommodation options, from B&Bs and self-catering
cottages to the local hostel: www.glastonbury.co.uk/accommodation.
And for Glastonbury Tourist Information Centre: www.glastonburytic.co.uk.

Journey to the Glastonbury Goddess Temple: www.goddesstemple.co.uk, and check out author, priestess and goddess conference facilitator Kathy Jones: www.kathyjones.co.uk.

For tours of the sacred places of the town, and brilliant local books that you can order from anywhere in the world: www.gothicimagetours.co.uk.
 
The Glastonbury Conservation Society is involved in many conservation projects, such as improving pathways to prevent erosion and tree planting, and volunteers are always welcome: web.ukonline.co.uk/jim.nagel/ap/consoc.

Great books: The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley is the beautiful story of the priestesses of Avalon in Arthurian times and the deep connection to nature that continues to be experienced by those who visit Glastonbury today. In the Nature of Avalon by priestess Kathy Jones outlines pilgrimage paths around the town that weave between the sacred places, and Glastonbury: Maker of Myths by Frances Howard-Gordon, The Isle of Avalon by Nicholas Mann, King Arthur’s Avalon by Geoffrey Ashe and The Avalonians by Patrick Benham will also deepen your insight into the place.

Great art: I have a framed print of John Shannon’s beautiful Lady Avalon on my wall, and it enchants me with the magic of Avalon, and the priestesses of old, each time I gaze upon it. See it, and his other artwork, at www.jeshannon.com. I also have a few of Jessica Galbreth’s enchanting goddess and fairy paintings in my office, and they lift my heart whenever I look at them, and help unlock the wisdom I have within me, inspiring me to connect to my own self and write my truths. Check out her beautiful art at www.enchanted-art.com.

ANCIENT EGYPT, Africa

More has been written about Egypt and its history, gods and goddesses than any of the other places in this book, but a good starting point is www.touregypt.net, which has travel tips, maps, news stories, history, photos, tour information, weather, consulates, puzzles and much more.

Like Peru, there are many spiritual tours of Egypt, led by shamans, healers and authors. Lynn Andrews (www.lynnandrews.com), Nancy Joy Hefron (www.heartlights.net) and Australian Elisabeth Jensen (www.isismysteryschool.com) are just a few who lead inspiration tours that incorporate healing, ritual and ceremony.

The Fellowship of Isis (FOI) is dedicated to honoring the goddess. It was founded at Clonegal Castle, Ireland in 1976, with the priest/esshood is derived from a hereditary line of the Robertsons from Ancient Egypt. There is a beautiful temple to Isis set up within the castle, which people can visit, dedicated to honoring the religion of all the goddesses and pantheons throughout the planet. The FOI provides information, articles, books, international centres, spiritual practises, magical events, and also incorporates a College of Isis that confers degrees and initiations. Visit: www.fellowshipofisis.com.

For a modern twist on an ancient land, the famous Sound and Light shows play at the Pyramids of Giza and the temples of Karnak, Philae and Abu Simbel. Lighting, laser and projection technologies bring the pharaohs and deities to life to tell their stories and help you visualise the mysteries of old: www.soundandlight.com.eg.

The islands of HAWAII

Great books: One of the most beautiful books I read about Hawaii was Voices of Wisdom: Hawaiian Elders Speak. Compiled by journalist MJ Harden, it includes interviews with 24 Hawaiian kupunas, or elders, allowing them to explain their culture, history and beliefs in their own words, covering topics such as nature, spirituality and healing, craft, preservation, entertainment, genealogy and activism. Rima Morrell’s The Sacred Power of Huna is also a moving book that explains the spirituality and shamanism of Hawaii from a more modern slant. And Dan Millman’s Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior blends fact and fiction into an adventure through the jungles of Hawaii with Mama Chia, a mysterious kahuna who teaches him the principles of ancient huna wisdom.

The Big Island’s tourism, activity and attractions website has volcano updates, adventureactivities, music, eco tourism, travel stories, accommodation, weather, festivals, museums: www.bigisland.org.

For all the details on Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, from volcano and weather updates to plant and animal info: www.nps.gov/havo.

Check out the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy Visitor Information Station: www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, perched on the edge of Kilauea Caldera, furthers scientific study of the volcano, researches all the volcanoes of Hawaii and works with emergency-response officials to protect people. Their site features updates on the lava flow and amazing photos of the new land being created. It also has a weekly newsletter with details about the Big Island’s volcanoes and other scientific information: volcano.wr.usgs.gov/kilaueastatus.php.

Mauna Kea Summit Adventures take people to the top of massive Mauna Kea on eight-hour adventures, teaching about the geography, geology, history and culture of the mountain and offering amazing sunset views then a night of stargazing: www.maunakea.com.

The Nature Conservancy in Hawaii preserves the plants, animals and natural communities of the islands by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. They have protected almost 200,000 acres by buying land to provide vital habitat for threatened native species. They even organize field trips through the land they protect: www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/hawaii.

To experience the little-visited Forbidden Isle of Niihau, you can take a half day tour, as guests of the owners: www.niihau.us.

To swim with dolphins around the islands of Hawaii: www.sunlightonwater.com, www.joanocean.com, www.dolphinjourneys.com, www.dolphinessence.com and dolphinquest.org, amongst many more. And for whale watching cruises, contact marine mammal biologist Captain Dan McSweeney of the Wild Whale Research Foundation – you can even adopt a whale and become part of his vital research and conservation work: www.ilovewhales.com.

STONEHENGE, Salisbury Plain, England

English Heritage protects and promotes England’s spectacular historic environment, from Stonehenge to ancient monuments, abbeys and castles and even the house where Jimi Hendrix lived in the 1960s. The website has lots of info on Stonehenge – and you can organise inner circle access after hours: www.english-heritage.org.uk.

The National Trust is a charity that preserves and protects the coastline, countryside and buildings of Britain, in particular caring for the mysterious ceremonial landscape of ancient burial mounds, processional walkways and enclosures that surround Stonehenge: www.nationaltrust.org.uk.

Great books: Stonehenge Complete by archaeologist Christopher Chippindale is a fascinating scientifically based book that also includes the more magical theories. Stonehenge in its Landscape: Twentieth Century Excavations is a drier archaeological report commissioned by English Heritage. Ancestors of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L Paxon presents a fictional imagining of the way Stonehenge was constructed. And The Sun and the Serpent by Hamish Miller (www.hamishmiller.co.uk), while not really about Stonehenge, discusses the leylines of England and the energy of the earth.

For special inner circle access tours:
www.salisburyguidedtours.com and www.stonehengetours.com.
For weekend archaeological excursions: www.andantetravels.co.uk.
And for longer tours: www.sacredbritain.com.

For information and displays of historical artefacts of the monument,
Devizes Wiltshire Heritage Museum: www.wiltshireheritage.org.uk and
Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum: www.salisburymuseum.org.uk.

To find out how you can help protect the circle: www.heritageaction.org,
www.thestonehengeproject.org and www.sacredsites.org.uk.

To buy a piece of the same bluestone as Stonehenge or some bluestone jewellery,
check out: www.loststones.co.uk, www.celtworld.co.uk, www.rhiannon.co.uk,
www.stonehengestones.com and www.thegemtree.com.

To learn more about druidry and paganism, the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids: www.druidry.org, which has links to international member groups; the Druid Network: www.druidnetwork.org; and in Australia, the Pagan Awareness Network: www.paganawareness.net.au.

THE CAMINO, Northern Spain

There are many fantastic resources on the internet, including blogs and online image galleries, and several guidebooks that give detailed instructions and suggested itineraries, and many countries now have their own pilgrim association to provide guidance. Good sites include: www.xacobeo.es, www.jacobeo.net, www.caminodesantiago.me.uk and www.caminosantiagocompostela.com.
The official site of the destination city, www.santiagodecompostela.org, also has a lot of information, as does the cathedral’s site: www.catedraldesantiago.es.

The Confraternity of Saint James, www.csj.org.uk, has a lot of information about the route, as well as providing credencials and having a great online store for Camino books and guides. The tiny laminated A5 booklets are brilliant, focusing on essential details like refuges, bed numbers, distances, food and prices of specific Camino routes. Their Australian page is at: www.csj.org.uk/australia.htm, and has local contacts.

In the US: American Pilgrims on the Camino, www.americanpilgrims.com.
In Canada: The Little Company of Pilgrims, www.santiago.ca.
In Ireland: The Irish Society of the Friends of St James, www.stjamesirl.com.

To get a credencial, write to or visit Accueil Saint Jacques, 39 rue de la Citadelle, 64220 Saint Jean Pied de Port, or the Oficina del Peregrino, Rua do Vilar 1, Santiago de Compostela, or an abbey or refuge along the way.

Great books: Lonely Planet’s Walking In Spain book has a chapter on the Camino, giving basic information and outlining a 30-day schedule with directions, refuges and where to eat. The Camino by Shirley MacLaine and The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho have few practical details but are inspiring and entertaining.

Great art: US pilgrim Melissa West displays her striking Camino-inspired artwork at www.mswest.com, Benedictine monk Father Jerome Tupa’s colourful, surreal paintings can be viewed at www.jerometupa.com, and several other artists feature at www.sacredstepsinspain.com.

ULURU, the Red Centre

To stay close to Uluru, you’re limited to Yulara, the Ayers Rock Resort, which boasts five hotels, from basic to luxury, and a campground plus all the shops and amenities you need. They can also book any of 65 varied tours and activities: www.ayersrockresort.com.au

Anangu Tours is an Aboriginal-owned company providing tours for visitors who want to learn about this sacred place from the local perspective. Discover the meaning and history of Uluru as passed down from the ancestors. Anangu guides lead all tours, speaking in their own language with a skilled interpreter translating into English: www.ananguwaai.com.au.

Discovery Ecotours also offer informative and fascinating tours including the Uluru Walk, which follows a path around the entire Rock, explaining the creation stories as well as the geological development: www.ecotours.com.au.

Pitjantjatjara tours and Bush College: www.deserttracks.com.au.

The Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park site includes activities, opening hours, maps, accommodation information, park history, geological insight, permits for photo use and much more: www.environment.gov.au/parks/uluru.

Great books: A beautiful book is Songman by Bob Randall, an Anangu elder and traditional owner of Uluru. It tells his life story as well as the history of the Rock and the spiritual teachings and sense of connection Aboriginal people to the land. He is also the subject of the beautiful film Kanyini, made with director Melanie Hogan, and the two have collaborated on the beautiful book Nyuntu Ninti, which encompasses much natural wisdom and spirituality with beautiful photos. Visit the website www.kanyini.com to order the DVD, learn more about the custodians of the Rock and their wisdom, and find out how you can connect to the earth and help Aboriginal Australians regain their connection.

The guidebook Australia Walkabout lists more than 370 indigenous tourism adventures across Australia, from cultural centres, cruises, walks, 4WD desert tours, fishing trips, hunting safaris and mountain treks to art galleries and performances: www.contactguides.com. Aboriginal Tourism Australia also lists many great experiences: www.aboriginaltourism.com.au.

Close the Gap is Australia's largest campaign to improve indigenous health: www.closethegap.org.au and www.oxfam.org.au/campaigns/indigenous-health.
Add your name to the Sea of Hands and join others calling for reconciliation at: www.antar.org.au.

To experience the cleansing, healing element of fire from the Red Centre, White Light Essences: www.ausflowers.com.au.

Central Australian Aboriginal art: www.desart.com.au, www.maruku.com.au, www.walkatjara.com.au, www.aboriginalart.org, www.worldvision.com.au/birrung.

INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION

UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, created the World Heritage Convention in response to people causing damage to natural areas, in an effort to conserve and protect the world’s cultural heritage for future generations. Its World Heritage Listing aims to preserve threatened sites and endangered species. The website has information on all the listed places around the globe, with descriptions, photos and the reasons for their inclusion on the list: whc.unesco.org.

Air travel does impact on the environment, although recent studies claim it contributes 1.5% of global greenhouse emissions compared to 14% from land transport such as cars. If you’re worried about the toll of flying, most airlines now offer carbon emission offsets – you pay a small tax (a return flight from Sydney to London via Singapore emits 3.858 tonnes of carbon per passenger, with an offset of $46.30), which goes towards greenhouse gas abatement projects such as tree planting, energy efficiency measures and renewable energy: qantas.com/flycarbonneutral, www.virginblue.com.au/carbonoffset, www.britishairways.com.
Or you can plant trees yourself, donate to a group buying land to protect our rainforests (such as www.worldlandtrust.org, supported by David Attenborough) or choose your own method of offsetting.

To boost awareness of the world’s sacred places and preserve them for the future, a campaign was launched in 2007 to find the New Seven Wonders of the World. Voted by 100 million people worldwide, they are: Machu Picchu in Peru, the Great Wall of China, Petra in Jordan, Mexico’s Chichen Itza pyramid, Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer statue, the Colosseum in Rome and India’s Taj Mahal. (The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.) Voting has now begun to determine the best natural site, with the Seven Wonders of Nature list. Throughout 2008 people voted to determine the 21 finalists – which include the Amazon rainforest, Ireland's Cliffs of Moher, Germany's Black Forest and Australia’s Uluru and Great Barrier Reef – and now people around the world can vote to decide the New Seven Wonders of Nature: www.new7wonders.com.

The people in Seven Sacred Sites

Postcard from Peru
Cuban-born Alberto Villoldo is a medical anthropologist and psychologist who has studied shamanism and healing in the Andes and the Amazon of Peru for more than two decades. He is an energy medicine teacher and author of several books that bridge ancient shamanic healing practices, modern medicine and psychology, including The Four Insights: Wisdom, Power and Grace of the Earthkeepers, Shaman, Healer, Sage and Courageous Dreaming. He founded The Sanctuary Project, which provides shelter to indigenous healers as they descend from the Andes, and documents their work to preserve their spiritual traditions. Alberto is the founder of the Four Winds Society and teaches shamanism and energy medicine to students around the world, culminating in an annual journey to Peru, where life-changing initiations take place at sacred sites with the indigenous medicine men and women of the country. Visit www.thefourwinds.com.

Postcard from Glastonbury
Colette Baron-Reid is a Canadian-born intuitive counsellor and the author of Remembering the Future: The Path to Recovering Intuition and Messages From Spirit: The Extraordinary Power of Oracles, Omens and Signs, which recount her own spiritual journey and include exercises to develop your psychic powers. She tours alone and with US psychic Sylvia Browne, teaching seminars and giving audience readings. She is also a singer signed to a major label, and has released two albums of her songs as well as the meditation CD Journey Through the Chakras. Colette has visited the magical town of Glastonbury many times over the last decade, and feels a strong past life link to it. She created The Wisdom of Avalon Oracle Cards to help other people connect to the energy that can be accessed in this sacred place. Visit www.colettebaronreid.net.

Postcard from Avalon
Lucy Cavendish is an Australian white witch who embraces magic as a belief system of personal fulfilment and happiness. She is the author of White Magic: An Inspiring Guide to an Enchanted Life and the creator of The Oracle Tarot, Magical Spell Cards and Oracle of the Dragonfae. She is also an astrologer, ritualist and psychic, and a print, radio and TV journalist, and has released the meditation and space clearing CD As Above So Below. Lucy is deeply connected to Avalon, and teaches workshops that impart the wisdom and teachings of the druids and priestesses of the sacred isle. She has developed a homeopathic remedy from the waters of Chalice Well that helps link people to this ancient vibration, and a series of meditations to anchor Avalon’s energies in the physical realm. Visit www.lucycavendish.com.

Postcard from Egypt
Elisabeth Jensen is an Australian healer and psychic medium. She is the founder of the Angel Miracles and Isis Mystery School courses, and teaches around the world. She was a nurse and midwife, but now trains people in a system of spiritual healing she developed during her time in Egypt. She has also created the Isis Lotus Oracle, a set of divination cards based on the deities of Ancient Egypt, and produced three meditation CDs which help listeners manifest healing and access past lives. Elisabeth has long had a passion for Egypt, and the energies of this ancient land and its deities influence her healing methods and her life. She takes spiritual groups there each year and guides participants through rituals and ceremonies at some of the country’s most sacred sites. Visit www.isismysteryschool.com.

Postcard from Hawaii
American author Doreen Virtue teaches people around the world to communicate with the angels, increase their intuition and heal physical and emotional issues by opening up to spirit. A psychic, former psychotherapist and fourth-generation metaphysician, she’s written many inspirational books, including Healing With the Angels, Divine Magic and The Lightworker’s Way, as well as a novel, Solomon’s Angels. She’s also created several beautiful oracle card decks, such as Messages From Your Angels, Healing With the Fairies and Magical Mermaids and Dolphins, that help people tap in to their own inner wisdom with the help of angels, fairies and ascended masters. Doreen fell in love with Hawaii as a child, and now divides her time between California and her home on the Big Island, where she communicates with the menehune, swims with the dolphins and teaches her Angel Therapy Practitioner courses amidst the powerful energy of the islands. Visit www.angeltherapy.com.

Postcard from Stonehenge
Cassandra Eason is a British psychic researcher, clairvoyant, reiki healer and tarot reader. She’s had her own TV series in the UK, appeared on many shows and been the dream analyst on Big Brother. She is also the bestselling author of more than 50 books, including A Year and a Day in Magick, The Modern Day Druidess, Alchemy at Work, Becoming Clairvoyant and Pagan in the City. She originally trained in teaching and psychology, but became fascinated by the spiritual world in her late thirties when her young son Jack, namesake of his mystical grandfather, told her his father was falling off his motorbike as it was happening 50 kilometres away. Cassandra teaches inspiring magical courses in Europe and runs an extensive website with articles, original research and online classes. Visit www.cassandraeason.co.uk.

Postcard from the Camino
Shirley MacLaine is a Hollywood actor and author who has inspired millions with her own spiritual search. Books such as Out On a Limb and Dancing in the Light were ground-breaking explorations of her discoveries of other dimensions of herself and the world. In her mid sixties she was guided to walk the Camino, and a few years later she had processed her experiences enough to write The Camino: A Spiritual Journey, which is as much about personal growth and inner wisdom as it is about her gruelling trek. Shirley was one of the first to bring New Age themes to the mainstream, and has been challenging, educating and opening people’s minds about spirituality and alternative health for four decades. She has created a website that is a portal to spiritual information and transformation, which includes interviews, articles, environmental news and enviro-friendly products, chat rooms, a weekly radio show plus personal messages and guided meditations from Shirley. Visit www.shirleymaclaine.com.

Postcard from Uluru
Jude Currivan is a British scientist, healer, author and educator. She has a PhD in archaeology and a masters in physics, specialising in cosmology and quantum physics, and a few years ago quit the corporate world to help people understand the sacredness of the earth and reach their own inner potential. Jude has worked with the elders of many spiritual traditions, and is the author of The 8th Chakra, The 13th Step and co-author of CosMos. She also leads spiritual journeys, appears on TV and radio, gives talks and teaches workshops around the world. She has spent time at Uluru and the Red Centre of Australia, and was transformed by the beauty of the landscape, the energy of the earth and the wisdom of the people who have lived there for thousands of years. Visit www.judecurrivan.com.

The Book of Faery magic, Seven Sacred Sites and A Magical Journey are available from bookstores across Australia, distributed by Brumby Books, and through this website.

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