The Energy of Places

British author Alfred Watkins first published his theory of ley lines about 100 years ago. His research and writing put forward the idea that there were grids of the earth's natural energy that people were tapping into, and that is why certain significant developments like cathedrals or ancient sacred sites could be plotted on a map in lines related to each other. In other words, people were drawn to place things that were important to them in certain areas because they sensed the natural energy present there.

Ancient Chinese sages who developed the art of feng shui plotted out the energy map of individual buildings as well as position on the landscape based on the principles that energy will flow through a house, temple or business relative to how it faces the directions and the elements, thus affecting the people who use the space.

If we look at ancient structures such as the pyramids of Egypt, we ding that they are oriented to true north and mirror the constellation of the Pleiades.

Quetzalcoatl's Pyramid in Mexico is aligned perfectly with the equinoxes.

Stonehenge in England is aligned so that it casts a perfect ray of light through a stone at the Summer Solstice. In Newgrange, Ireland, a structure built thousands of years before the pyramids, the sunlight penetrates through an opening over the doorway and illuminutes the inner chamber only at the Winter Soltstice every year.

Why would people pay such detailed attention to their relation to the movements of the sun and stars, and the energies of nature since long before anyone had any printed literature or precise instruments such as our GPS systems?

Our most awe inspiring places in the U.S. are our national parks. These are the places where people before us have felt a special sense of spiritual wonder and majesty. That is why we set these places aside to conserve them for future generations, and that is also why they are the destinations of choice both for citizens and international visitors.

Sensing the energy of the land is not just folklore lost in time. Even to this day, people use their ability to sense the energy of the earth to dowse for water wells.

In countries all over the world, there are sacred wells, places where people have come for generations to take the healing waters, immerse themselves in the hot springs and find pleasure in the rejuvenating powers of nature in these special places.

The special places where we can feel the energy of place exists on hiking trails that were animal trails before humans followed these paths. Special places are also man made. We can build energy into the way we structure our personal domains, where we live and work.

The energy of places is real. Does the energy of your place refresh your spirit?