Stones of Peru
I recently co-facilitated a women’s retreat in the Sacred Valley of Peru. We stayed most of the time at the local, breath-taking Samadhi Retreat Center with 360 degree views of the magnificent Andes Mountains. But, one day…
We went to Machu Picchu.
The most memorable experience I had was Om-ing/humming into the stones of the ancient walls of Machu Picchu. There were rectangular recessed “windows”, which I eventually discovered were very alive portals into another realm. There were many holes one could actually see through, and then there were the recessed rectangles that were not open.
Recessed Portals within the Stones of Machu Picchu
Julien, our guide, was very grounded, calm and connected to the land and mountains surrounding this sacred space. I felt we were lucky to have him. He didn’t give us a slew of useless data, but instead guided us to walk in slow, mindful silence as we climbed the ancient steps into Machu Picchu. It was a hike not for the weary.
Eventually, he invited us to sing the sound of Om just once, nice and long, into the recessed stone openings as we arrived at one of the many spots that housed them. I, for some reason unbeknownst to me, decided to continue to hum into the stones with my head and shoulders reaching into the crevice with my eyes closed. There was an alluring, deep, resonant echo to the sound of my voice as it liberated into the stones. The guide and other participants were chatting as I hummed into the stones several times with elongated breaths.
During one of my pauses (while inhaling silently), all of a sudden, I - Heard - The - Stones - Hum - Back !!! The stones of Machu Picchu communicated back to me clear as day! I heard the guide and others talking as if in the distance while I focused intently, so as not to lose the magical moment. I was SOOOO happily shocked to very crystal-clearly hear the stones mimicking back my call. I know it wasn’t an echo, as it didn’t happen with any of the other OM’s my voice carried. Then, all of a sudden, a woman guard reprimanded me and told me I had to stop. I immediately withdrew my head from the chest-height portal of stones and tears started streaming down my cheeks.
The Stones of Machu Picchu Are Alive
I’m not sure what the tears were for. It was so powerful to my entire being - overwhelmingly powerful - to hear the Spirit of the stones in this way. I felt so very deeply connected to the land, the stone beings and the epic mountains that held and protected the site. I cried for about half an hour. I couldn’t stop crying, and let the river of tears flow freely. I cannot explain the depth of movement + feeling this other-worldly experience awakened in me. It’s one of those situations where words can’t quite grasp the translation.
Now, as I look back, I love to think about how I left some of my own sacred waters in that land (my heartfelt tears), and in that way my energy will always be there. I’m not sure what it all means. that’s candy for the ego, anyway. I don’t need to know. All I can say is that these stone beings, Machu Picchu and Peru herself will always have a timeless space engraved in my heart. This is one of those meaningful memories, a gift from Spirit, that I know I will never forget.
