Book Review: Where Heaven and Earth Unite: Powerful Places, Sacred Sites and You
Submitted by Runemage on Sunday, 16 March 2014 Page Views: 4851
Reviews
Their website Powerful Places.com gives a very good overview of the tone of most of the book.
The cover shows an illustration of some of the liminal places we encounter in nature, thresholds that are mentioned later in the text. Here at the Megalithic Portal, those of us who use the terminology Sacred Sites tend to think of stone circles and standing stones whereas the book has a much wider remit and timespan and includes places from the Neolithic through to recent churches.
In the preface one feature immediately stands out, the page numbers are in the side margins, in bold type, halfway between the top and bottom of each page, it is so much easier to find a certain page with notation like that, it should be universal. Visually, the book is made more interesting by including lots of relevant illustrations and photographs which break up the text on almost every page and add a little something extra.
This is one of a series of guidebooks for people who are looking for more than a guided tour, people who are interested in exploring deeper meanings in the sites and in themselves. This one is about conversations between Elyn, who sees herself in the student role, and Ferran who she sees as her mentor - so the reader is a silent participant in their exchanges. As is the nature of conversations, the topics ebb and flow, some points are briefly touched upon and others are later returned to for further clarification. It is difficult to put a lot of esoteric practise into words, let alone have a discussion that complete beginners could understand and be spurred on to discover more, but I think it has achieved that goal as well as anyone could.
As the reader, you don’t so much learn from the narrative, rather you absorb the particular pieces of information that are relevant to you right now. Reading isn’t all you do, throughout the book there are exercises to complete at a particular place in the text. Some are to be read as text on the page, others are online, QR Code and web links take you to podcasts and YouTube videos which are produced in such a way that they are like something a friend would send you with their thoughts on a particular subject, rather than being set lessons with a list of instructions. (Here's an example of one of the videos) The lack of glossy production gives them a homespun charm.
At first, I thought some of the centre-ing exercises were only diluted forms of accepted disciplines like Qigong, Taoism and Buddhist Mindfulness, and couldn’t understand why none of the ‘correct’ terminology was used then it dawned on me, this way is so much easier for beginners to follow because they don’t have to get to grips with complicated and odd sounding names and concepts for different actions, the informal way Ferran presents these exercises is simple but when you do them, they are also very effective.
On page 24, Ferran says “A sacred site is where Heaven and Earth unite. It’s not just a place but also a state.” This is a continuous theme throughout the book. Being receptive through carrying out specific exercises, knowing when to carry out the exercises, doing the exercises whilst you are reading the book so you ‘join in’ their journey and from that experience, with practise you will know what to do when you intend to visit a site, are on the way there, are crossing the threshold into one, are present inside one, and are moving inside one whilst being in the present moment. Put like that, it all sounds very complicated but the way it’s relayed in the book and via the links makes it almost effortless to do and therefore something that’s appealing to try.
There are two chapters on Zahori, it’s a form of Geomancy taught in Spain. One concentrates on the form of sites, sacred geometry, earth energy, springs, blind springs and how to work with the natural energies to amplify them. The other focuses more on developing your own sensory sensitivity and experiences. There is a lot of information in these two chapters and it’s not imparted passively, there is plenty for the reader to practise, plenty new ways of seeing and being, be prepared to be challenged.
Visits to four sites in very different locations follow, with the reader again having plenty to absorb along the way as well as seeing all of the exercises mentioned earlier in the book put into practise during these visits.
The appendices are also full of useful information and expand on some of the topics that were lightly touched on in the main text.
In summary, if you are open to the idea of Sacred Sites being not only a place but a state of being and you would like to find some traditional and some new approaches presented in a very easily readable way, then this will be a very useful addition to your collection.
Review by Runemage
Where Heaven and Earth Unite - Powerful Places, Sacred Sites and You.
By Ferran Blasco and Elyn Aviva.Paperback
269 pages
Available from Amazon.com
Current price $23.36
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