Sacred Sites, Transformational Travel, and the Awakening of Spiritual Consciousness, by Martin Gray

All photos in this article are copyrighted by Martin Gray and SacredSites.com and may only be used with permission. Click on pictures to see enlarged views.

Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, the Pyramids, Jerusalem, Banaras and Mt. Fuji. . . . Since prehistoric times, these and other sacred places have exerted a mysterious attraction on billions of people around the world.

Ancient legends and modern-day reports tell of extraordinary experiences that people have had while visiting these magical places. Different Sacred Sites have the power to heal the body, enlighten the mind, increase creativity, develop psychic abilities and awaken the soul to a knowing of its true purpose in life. These power places are found all across the planet in the form of sacred mountains, healing springs, enchanted caves, and sites of divine apparitions.

What is the key to the mystery of the Sacred Sites and how are we to explain their power? Why do millions of people flock to these holy and magical places every year? Seeking answers to these questions, I have traveled extensively in more than 80 countries to visit, study, and photograph nearly 1000 sacred places. On this rambling, global pilgrimage, I have discovered many fascinating things about the holy sites, their spiritual magnetism, and their legendary powers.

It is a curious fact that while Sacred Sites represent the most visited category of places on the Earth (as contrasted to cities where people live full-time), there has been little scholarly study of the sites or the great pilgrimages to them. Only recently have cultural geographers, social anthropologists and religious historians begun to study the ancient and enduring phenomena of people making pilgrimages to Sacred Sites.

Seeking an explanation for the vast popularity of the sites, scientists have suggested the momentum of religious tradition and, more recently, international tourism. But while it is certainly true that religion and tourism result in great numbers of people visiting the Sacred Sites, a fundamental question remains unanswered: How are we to account for the initial development of the ancient pilgrimage traditions themselves? What started them? Why did human beings originally come to and venerate certain places on the Earth?

Theater at Carthaginian/Roman ruins of Dougga, Tunisia. Millennia before Islam came to the lands of Tunisia in the 8th century AD, other cultures had found local power places and marked their locations with different types of temples.

My Journey Began with Visions

My own search for answers to these questions began in the autumn months of 1983 in a most unexpected way.

After spending twelve years in a highly disciplined practice of Hindu and Buddhist meditation techniques, I had begun to have unusual visionary experiences in which I was directed to travel to Easter Island, in the remote southern Pacific Ocean. Visiting Easter Island, and also the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, I had two more visions that directed me to follow the pilgrimage routes of the ancient religions — and to begin these travels in Japan.

So powerful where these visions that I left my successful business in the United States and journeyed to Japan. Bicycling around the country for eight months, I visited and photographed dozens of sacred mountains and ancient temples. Near the end of my pilgrimage, at the Shinto Sacred Site of Izumo Taisha, I had another vision. During this extraordinary experience of revelation and enlightenment, I was directed to continue my explorations of Sacred Sites all around the world.

There were several reasons given for this long journey. One had to do with gathering information and photographs of the Sacred Sites, material that I would later share with people through books and public presentations.

Pyramid of Kukulkan, Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico. This is an astronomical observatory, ritual site, oracular shrine, and shaman's tomb. You can sit quietly atop this pyramid and interpenetrate with the subtle energy fields conditioned by Mayan sacred geography.

A New Kind of Worldwide Pilgrimage

From this vision, I also learned that during the upcoming twenty-five years, large numbers of people from outside of the major religious traditions would feel compelled to visit the Sacred Sites. However, these people would not know where the sites were located, or understand the attractions they were feeling. The information and photographs that I would gather would assist people in responding to and finding the power places.

But first I had to locate the Sacred Sites myself. To do this I went to Washington, D.C. to conduct research at the Library of Congress and the map division of the Smithsonian.

After several months of research, I began my long pilgrimage. Traveling as a solitary pilgrim for the next sixteen years (the first five by bicycle), I visited, studied, and photographed nearly 1000 Sacred Sites and power places in more than 50 countries around the world. Living and meditating at the Sacred Sites, I continued to have experiences of visionary revelation, miraculous apparitions, and communication with the elemental devic forces of the Sacred Sites.

Based on these mystical experiences and on my extensive studies of mythology and archaeology, ancient religions, shamanism, I developed a fascinating (and highly controversial) explanation to account for the mysterious powers of the Sacred Sites.

Avebury stone ring, England. This is the largest of the European stone rings, and lies at the crossing of major yin/yang earth energy meridians. It is neither a goddess-only or a god-only site, but is balanced as both.

The Power of Sacred Sites

I believe that there is a presence or numinosity at the Sacred Sites that accounts for the extraordinary — and often miraculous — experiences that human beings have on pilgrimage. This presence may be described as a field of energy, a spiritual ambiance, or a density of holiness that saturates and surrounds the Sacred Sites.

When human beings enter into these fields, they may experience a wide variety of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual effects. But a further question then arises: How may we explain or account for these mysterious energy fields? What factors contribute to their presence and powers?

Thus far, I have recognized twenty distinct factors that contribute to the localized energy fields of the Sacred Sites. We may classify these factors according to three separate categories:

the influences of the Earth

the influences of the structures that humans have built at the Sacred Sites, and

the influences resulting from the accumulated power of focused human intention.

Aerial view of Stonehenge stone circle, England. This is not a Druidic holy place, as many believe, but a much older astronomical observatory used for determing those periods in the celestial cycles when the earth energies are most radiant at the power places.

Influences of the Earth

In this category we may discuss the geophysical characteristics of the Sacred Sites, including localized magnetism, radioactivity, geothermal activity, the presence of underground water, ionization and ultrasound.

Also in the category of Earth influences, we may consider the aesthetic qualities of the Sacred Sites. Beautiful and unusual surroundings have always had transformative effects upon human beings.

Greek orthodox monastery of Rousanou, Meteora, Greece. Long before Christian monks came here for prayer and isolation, hermits, anchorites, and mystics had gathered here, magnetized by the power of the place and its stimulating effect on spiritual awakening.

Influences of the Structures

The second category of influence is the design, construction, and ornamentation of the structures that humans have placed at the Sacred Sites.

A particularly fascinating example is the Sacred Geometry used in the construction of the temples, mosques, and cathedrals at the Sacred Sites. Sacred geometry is the formulating geometry evident in many facets of the natural world. Ancient people, deeply observant of the mathematically repeating patterns of nature, sought to encode those patterns and proportions into the architecture they created at the Sacred Sites.

Similar to how the mathematically precise shapes of musical instruments create specific sounds, the purposeful shapes of sacred structures assist in the generation of specific fields of energy and influence. Contributing to and amplifying these fields of influence, ancient architects and craftsman also used sound, light, aromatic substances, jewel-encrusted icons, and mineral-plated sculpture.

Pyramid of the Magician, Mayan ruins of Uxmal, Yucatan, Mexico. The oldest myths tell of magicians and miraculous events at Uxmal, but these tales are really metaphors, revealing the specific nature of the local Earth Spirit.

Influences of Human Intention

A third factor contributing to the power of the Sacred Sites is the concentrated power of human intention. As photographic film records the energy of light, and audiotapes record the energy of sound, so also can the earth record the energy and intention of the millions of humans who have visited a Sacred Site.

Within the shrines and sanctuaries, priests, priestesses, and pilgrims have gathered for thousands of years. Dancing, chanting and praying, they have continuously charged the fields of love and peace, of healing and divinity. The megalithic stone rings, healing springs, sacred mountains, Maya temples, Gothic cathedrals, and Egyptian pyramids are repositories of the concentrated spiritual aspirations and attainments of humanity. Here, too, are the places where Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, and other sages and shamans awakened to the deepest realizations of spiritual wisdom.

I believe it is highly beneficial for people to make pilgrimages to the Sacred Sites. These legendary places have the mysterious capacity to awaken and catalyze within us the qualities of compassion, wisdom, peace of mind, and respect for the Earth.

The development of these qualities in more members of the human species is of crucial importance, considering the numerous ecological and social problems happening in the world. At the root of all these problems may be found human ignorance. Human beings are out of touch with themselves, their fellow beings, and the Earth they live upon. The Sacred Sites and their subtle fields of spiritual energy can assist in the transformation of human consciousness and thereby the healing of the Earth.

A Gallery of Martin Gray's Photographs

Click on the image to see the larger size,
or to page through all of the images.

St. Michael's Tower, Glastonbury Tor, England. The most visited alternative pilgrimage site in Europe, this area is a magnet for UFOs, a lair of ancient dragon energies, and a nexus of both yin and yang powers — surrounded by lovely countryside and a charming town.

Anasazi ruins of Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, US. Recent research reveals this site as being the ceremonial center of a highly sophisticated sacred geography spanning hundreds of square miles and based on astronomical observations of extraordinary accuracy.

Olmec stone head, Villahermosa, Mexico. A great mystery to the conservative schools of archaeology, the Olmec heads may be the remanant of culture from a time before the last Ice Age.

Round tower at Celtic monastery of Glendalough, Ireland. All across Irland there is a series of 100-meter-round towers positioned according to a sacred geography which mirrors the stars in a time far earlier than when the towers were actually constructed.

Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, Peru. Architecturally elaborated by the Inca in the 13th century, these ruins mark a holy place of a much earlier and wiser culture.

Intihuatana stone, Machu Picchu, Peru. At the sacred center of Machu Picchu lies this enigmatic stone, used for both astronomical observation and ceremony.

Itsukushima Shinto Shrine, Miyajima Island, Japan. Dedicated to Shinto goddesses of the sea and situated at the base of sacred Mount Haguro San, this shrine is one of the most beautiful jewels of all human art.

Navajo Sacred Site of Tse Bi dahi, Shiprock, New Mexico, US. The founding myths of the Navajo speak of this rock — visible from long distances across the desert — as the place where their people arose. Pilgrims do not venture near the rock, but pay their respects from afar.

Haleakala volcano crater, island of Maui, Hawaii, US. The largest inactive volcano crater on the planet, Haleakala is a place of stupendous beauty and power. There is a spirit here that has a birthing energy — that offers encouragement to new life and new endeavors.

Dome of the Rock, Temple Mount, Jerusalem, Israel/Palestine. A Sacred Site of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jerusalem, the "City of God," is the most visited place on the planet. More humans have gone here in prayer than any other single place on the earth.

Temple of Bodhisattva Kuanyin, Sacred Mount Pu'Tuo Shan, China. Originally a Taoist sacred mountain, this is now a Buddhist shrine of the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Pu' Tuo Shan has a rare energy of extreme softness.

Harimandir Golden Temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India. One of the most welcoming pilgrimage sites on the entire planet, Harimandir (the Temple of God) is the supremely sacred place of the Sikh religion.

Image of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, Mexico City, Mexico. Long before becoming the most visited Christian holy place in the Western hemisphere, the sacred hill of Tepeyac was the home of Teotinatzin, the Mother of the Gods.

Binu shrine of Dogon people, Bandiagara region, Mali. Totemic spirits of rocks, trees, and springs visit these shrines on specific days of the year, offering people the opportunity to connect with the sources of earthly power.

Martin Gray is an anthropologist, photographer and explorer who has visited, studied and photographed more than 1000 sacred sites in 80 countries. Traveling as a wandering pilgrim and living at hundreds of temples and monasteries, he has deeply immersed himself in the wisdom teachings and meditation practices of the world's great spiritual traditions.

Martin has written in great detail about Sacred Sites in "Places of Peace and Power," on his website at SacredSites.com. His site features hundreds of his photographs, extensive writings on pilgrimage, geomancy, earth mysteries and archaeoastronomy, an extensive bibliography of books on Sacred and Pilgrimage Sites, and a comprehensive listing of other websites that deal with these matters.

The primary focus of Martin's research and public speaking is the awakening of spiritual consciousness and love for the earth.