Spiritually Focused Blogs

Climbing Kilimanjaro was a thrill but I get ahead of myself. Let me start at a point much earlier in my life. In my twenties, I wanted a challenge so I decided to hike for a month in Peru. I had never done anything like that before and didn’t know what to expect.

We started by flying up to a town at 11,000 feet so we could start to adjust to the altitude. Just breathing was a challenge at that altitude. After a couple of days exploring the town and surrounding region, we started hiking. At first, I started hiking fast and was just focused on reaching the destination. We hiked for days without seeing another human being. As the days progressed, I learned to hike more slowly and enjoy my surroundings. I found myself becoming more content and peaceful. For the first time in my life, I realized that the hustle and bustle of my life was preventing me from enjoying what was happening on a daily basis and from learning about myself. As I hiked, I learned about strengths I never dreamed I had. I realized that I was strong, very capable, a natural leader, fun and adventurous. I also learned about some of my shortcomings like being impatient, judgmental and having high expectations.

I clearly saw the effects of both my strengths and my shortcomings. I remember very clearly reaching a river that we had to cross. Many of us crossed easily, but when we looked back one member of our group would not even get close to the water. It turns out; he was afraid of water and had never even hiked before. At first I found myself wondering why he did he come on such a hard hike and why was he being such a baby. Then the group started discussing how we could help him cross. We finally made a human chain and he held on to each one of us as he made it across that river. At the end, everyone was successful. He conquered a fear and the group worked as a team to assist him. I could go on about the metaphor of crossing a river in terms of my life’s journey, but I will get back to my story.

As we hiked to Machu Picchu, we walked through many Inca ruins. I had a strong sense that I had been there before, but thought that could not be possible. I had never been to Peru. We hiked into Machu Picchu late one afternoon. In the early morning, we had a private tour of the ruins and the most amazing thing happened. One time the tour guide said “This area was used as a sacrificial altar”. Immediately, I said “No, it was used as a common gathering place for celebrations.” I could not believe those words had come from my mouth. How did I know that? Yet, I was certain it was true. After a few more of those outbursts, I realized it was better if I kept the knowledge to myself. But inside, I was very excited. I began to become aware of something larger than myself.

When I returned from that trip, I was a different person. I had no idea that I would learn so much about myself, but I found that as time went on, I started to lose some of the appreciation I had gained. I also had no explanation for my experiences at Machu Picchu. My friends just thought I had made it up but I knew that was not the case. A year later, I was talking to a friend and he suggested I go to get a psychic reading and ask about my experience. I thought he was nuts- a psychic reading? Wasn’t that all hype and no substance?

I talked another friend into going with me. Little did I know how much that would change my life. I did have a psychic reading and the readers saw things in me that I had never told another person. When I asked about my experiences at Machu Picchu, they started talking about a past life. A what, I thought? As they continued talking, I realized it rang true and all of a sudden I was aware of that life and saw things they did not mention but I knew were real. I realized then, a year later, that my trip to Machu Picchu was really about my spiritual awakening. I was so intrigued with the spiritual information that I took the Meditation Class. As I used the spiritual techniques taught in that class and started to meditate regularly, I realized that I am spirit and that there is more than the physical plane. It helped me get a different perspective on my experiences at Machu Picchu and many events in my life took on a whole new meaning.