![]() There are also human-made power places such as the Great Pyramids in Egypt, the megalithic temple of Stonehenge, and the mind-boggling subterranean passageways at Chavín de Huantar. Soul Places can also be shared by collective groups of people.Įxamples of collective Soul Places include Bear Butte in Wyoming and Uluru in Australia. While a Soul Place might sound personal, it isn’t. While this rite of passage sounds terrifying to the Western mind, these women report not feeling alone or scared because they feel a great depth of relationship and bone-deep kinship with the land. ![]() This sacred site would then be the place for birthing their child. Saharan women who are pregnant occasionally wander into the nearby desert with the intention of finding – or being found by – a sacred site. As the youth wanders, they avoid all human interaction, going in search of a place they feel at home.Īnother example can be found within the indigenous people of the Sahara, the Tuareg. Here in Australia for example, the aborigines have a cultural tradition called the “ Walkabout.”Ī walkabout occurs when an aboriginal youth wanders through the bush completely alone for weeks, sometimes months. Unlike our modern ecologically disconnected cultures, their awareness of the Spirit realm allowed them to create ceremonies that were specifically aimed at initiating them into spiritual maturity through nature-based practices. Indigenous cultures and shamans have known for thousands of years that there are special places in nature that have a sacred personal connection to us. If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you, If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here. Must ask permission to know it and be known. Wherever you are is called Here,Īnd you must treat it as a powerful stranger, The trees ahead and bushes beside youĪre not lost. What We Can Learn From Indigenous Cultures In finding that place, we also find and reconnect with the soul within us. The Australian aborigines, for instance, believe that each person has one place in the natural world where they most belong – a place that is as much part of us as we are part of it. We all have at least one Soul Place in this world.Īs I mentioned before, many eco-centered cultures knew of Soul Places. In essence, a Soul Place (or power place) is a special site or spot where we experience unique feelings of belonging, empowerment, expansion, and energetic rejuvenation. We see mentions of this fascinating concept from ancient shamanic cultures who believed in power places to modern psychologists such as Bill Plotkin. The concept of having a special ‘Soul Place’ in this world is not new. Just like this rock, we too have places and spaces that most resonate and ‘fit’ us.Īnd when we’re put in foreign settings that don’t match our energy or essence, we inevitably feel out of place. I pondered his words and realized that something (a stone in this case) only retains its beauty and value when in its own setting.Īway from the Outback, the sand dunes, and the sun, the stone simply becomes a “thing” to be hoarded and left to gather dust on a bookshelf. The Aboriginal man that was with me laughed, shook his head in disbelief, and exclaimed, “It’s strange! Usually, white man always wanna own everything he sees and touches.” After picking it up and admiring it for a bit, I put it back down and continued walking. On a walk, I found a beautiful stone lodged into the earth. ![]() Lessons From the Magical Australian OutbackĪ few years ago I had an experience in the Australian outback. Your Soul Is Not Only Yours It’s Also Part of the World’s Soul.Do I Have to Find My Soul Place to Be at Peace?.What We Can Learn From Indigenous Cultures.Lessons From the Magical Australian Outback.
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