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Machu Picchu – Starting At The End of My Spiritual Journey to Peru

Sometimes the one thing you think will be the best is actually the worst. I had high hopes for Machu Picchu – no pun intended.

I was hoping to have a peak spiritual or energetic connection to…well, to whatever is there. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is built between two mountain peaks and was home to the Incan empire.

And there’s not much official talk about the spiritual side of the site, other than the fact that the sun touches the Inti Watana stone at key times through the year.

Energetically Disappointing

Energetically speaking, Machu Picchu let me down. The sacred site was covered with bucket-listers, tour groups, teenagers, and frankly, the soul of place was hiding. After two or three hours I was ready to leave.

Yes, the views were spectacular. Machu Picchu is everything you’ve heard about and more, and it is well managed and maintained.

But if you’re hoping to find a connection to the ancient power lines, there are other, less visited archaeological sites where you can feel the call of the Inca, and of the ancients who lived in Peru in the before time. For example, we visited Tipon and Pumamarca and both and beautiful energy.

By all means, don’t take Machu Picchu off of your bucket list. I’ve heard stories of times when it’s not as crowded and you can feel the energy.

I mostly walked around and admired the views.

Machu Picchu

Stairs at Machu Picchu are steep and uneven.

The weather was stunning: clear blue skies and in the 70s.

Steep terraces. The orange areas are being restored or repaired.

You’re not allowed to go past roped off areas.

Machu Picchu was also swarming with tourists.

And yet, I managed to find a few quiet moments.

Llamas and alpacas graze freely. Tourists are not allowed to feed or touch them.

Agua Calientes

Although the energy at Machu Picchu was disappointing, I enjoyed the tiny tourist town of Agua Calientes (also known as MachuPicchu.) People heading to Machu Picchu blow into town on the train, sleep in a hotel, do Machu Picchu the next day, and leave.

A traveling companion and I had a blast walking around, admiring the scenery, and buying almost everything at the market near the train station. This was definitely the best and largest market for buying tourist apparel I visited; a close second is the market in Pisac. Look for the local food market or take a dip in the hot springs that give the town its name.

A local train goes right down the main street of Agua Calientes.

A chicken admires the roaring river in Agua Calientes.

Rupa Wasi Eco Lodge

I can’t say enough about the hospitality of the Rupa Wasi Eco Lodge and The Tree House Restaurant. Definitely worth walking and down 60 steps!

My trip to Machu Picchu was an add-on to the Women’s Retreat organized by Ashera Sefarty at Luminosity Healing Arts. I’m sure it took a great deal of effort to get set up: two hotels, two trains, entrance to Machu Picchu, and bus ride to Machu Picchu. The retreat was co-organized by Daina Puodziunas Awakened Potentials for Woman.

Spiritual Travel to the Sacred Valley of Peru

Thinking of traveling to the Sacred Valley in Peru? Definitely look at your options and make smart decisions.

Ashera Seferty and Luminosity Healing Arts

During my trip, I spent 13 glorious days in the Sacred Valley with a small group of women for a retreat called “Awakening The Divine Feminine and the Heart of Pachamama.”

Organized by Ashera Seferty of Luminosity Healing Arts, the journey was carried out with the utmost integrity. I would return to Peru for any event Ashera organizes.

Peru is one of those locations that’s been on my invisible bucket list for years. It’s an ‘invisible’ bucket list because I think I’ll never, ever be able to travel to any of these places.

And then Daina Puuodziunas, whom I’d met years ago during a sweat lodge, announced that she was co-leading a trip to Peru.

Who is Leading The Spiritual Travel?

To me, when you’re considering travel for spiritual purposes (which for me is meditation, experiencing the energy of the place, and camaraderie of like-minded companions) you need to be super careful about WHO is leading the tour and HOW the tour will be conducted.

Having worked at The Omega Institute for Holistic Studies for a couple of years, and having a whole ton of meditation experience, I can confidently say there’s a wild world out there of so-called spiritual travel, and it’s not all Eat, Love, Pray.

For example, while in Peru, a traveling companion talked with a woman who had come to the country to experience ayahuasca. She’d spent a great deal of money to go to the jungle, sit with a purported teacher, and take several doses of ayahuasca over the course of a couple of days.

There was little or no spiritual guidance offered. Needless to say, the woman had a miserable time.

Not that I have anything against you heading to the jungle to take ayahuasca. Just be really careful about the integrity of the trip. Always, always trust your gut feelings and intuition. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And you probably know it, too.

Trust Your Instincts

After a brief conversation with Daina, I had complete confidence in the abilities of Ashera Sefarty to maintain integrity and authenticity throughout this spiritual retreat in the Sacred Valley of Peru. I was not disappointed, and whole heartily recommend anything either of these two powerful women offer.

Ashera Seferty owns Luminosity Healing Arts. She is an accomplished yoga teacher, ayurvedic & energy worker. She is a full mesa carrier in the Peruvian Q’ero tradition and works directly with local indigenous healers and shamans. She lives in Peru, and travels frequently throughout the US and Canada.
Daina Puodziunas owns Awakened Potentials for Women. An accomplished ceremonialist and inner wisdom coach, Daina lives and works in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area

About My Journey

The following posts talk about the various activities during my 13-day stay in the Sacred Valley of Peru.

Sach’a Munay Retreat Center
The Q’ero, Despachos, and Munay Ki Rites
Tipon and Pumamarca Archeological Sites
Machu Picchu and the town of Agua Calientes
The Sacred Waterfall

Have you ever taken a spiritual journey to another country?

Dog Days of Summer

And so the dog days of summer have arrived.

Every day is hot and humid.

My house doesn’t have air conditioning, and the days plod by.

It’s all I can do to sit at the dining room table under the spinning ceiling fan, and wait for the night to come.

Fortunately, most nights are cooler than the days. .

But with sticky heat, the cool is still damp.

I often have two fans on me as I drift off to sleep. Both timed to run most of the night.

And as the heaviness of the day dissipates, I sweat while waiting for sleep.

Like the pebbles I balance each action with gravity, with potential consequences,

and I sigh with the slightest breeze.

Release all the things you hoped to do this summer.

Feel the season polishing you with heat, with rain, with love.

And breathe, friends. Just breathe.

As you breathe, listen to this short guided meditation of a journey on a hot air balloon.

Cover Up

Have you girded your loins? Are you ready to do battle? Are you one of those who have armed your self for the long fight ahead?

Isn’t it funny how so much of our language depends on duality, on the contest between us (the good guys) and them (the bad guys?)

Our most popular sports are even grounded on the concept of conquering the other guys.

This concept denies the fact that we are all one. Outward appearances, societal and cultural differences aside, at the very essence of our being, there is no difference between us and them, them and us, me and you.

Take off your armor.

Renounce the battle.

Engage in conversation out of curiosity, not to prove your point.

Focus your actions hyper-local in your neighborhood or community:

start a Little Free Library like my friend Beth Ann,
plant a garden and share the abundance with neighbors,
reach out to the Women’s Shelter or food pantry,
find a local organization that speaks to your heart and actively participate.

True, there are national and international issues that may concern you. Know that your local action plays a small and essential part of healing the whole of humanity.

And, if you feel so inspired, step onto the larger world stage.

And all the way, do not cover up. Do not hide your passion. Do not don your armor for battle.

For heaven’s sake (for humanity’s sake and for Gaia’s sake) take off the chain mail.

Put down the swords, the guns, the bombs, the vicious words, the Us versus Them mentality.

Be real. Be clear. Be mindful.

Bring love and compassion to the negotiating table.

Bring curiosity to the table and see how your difference in perspective changes everything.

River Water Tumbles Over Rocks

The calming blue of the river water tumbles over rocks, into a chasm of turmoil, and then returns to calm as it makes its way to the sea.

Over time the water carves river beds and smooths rocks.

September is the month of change: brisk breezes, green leaves begin to turn, school commences. The summer sun diminishes and, every so often, we see (brief) snow flurries here in Michigan.

Take a poll of your co-workers and friends, and many will say their favorite season is autumn – a time of change. Yet how many are resistant to change?

Advice tells us to “go with the flow,” but what does that really mean? What does it look like in real life?

To discover the secret, watch a river flowing gently over rocks, or over a great waterfall.

Can you imagine the water in a river complaining about the weather, news, family member, friend, or restaurant?

Never.

Yet our lives are comprised of significant amounts of chatter.

The water, on the other hand, pays no mind to the past nor worries about the future, and tumbles gleefully over the brink of change.

I’m not advocating that you do not prepare for the future. In fact, when I’m getting ready for travel, I routinely look at maps, read reviews, and do anything and everything to learn about the destination.

But when I embark on the journey, I bring the little I need, and let the rest go as it may.

I am as prepared as I’ll ever be, and that is enough.

This month, know that you are enough of everything you need for anything that may come your way.

Like the river water, tumble over the rocks of change with glee and be transformed.