The Buddha Walk at the Crystal Castle…

In my previous post I’d been looking down at the organic vegetable garden as we had lunch, so before going along the Buddha Walk I went to look at where the delicious salad had come from.

The raised beds were home to a variety of salad veggies, herbs, flowers a glorious array of healthy goodness. The sign invites volunteers to feel free to come and help and learn the skills of organic garden. Now if I lived closer I would love to help out.

Now onto the walk…

Before the Buddha Walk the labyrinth is waiting for you to walk around. This is not a maze as there is only one way in and the reverse way out.

 “A labyrinth is a walking meditation… a spiritual tool for reconnecting with your inner voice. Walking these single path designs assists us in bringing together the analytical/rational part of our consciousness with the intuitive/spiritual level of consciousness. An exercise for the mind and the body” (so says Sig Lonegren)

In a maze we lose ourselves, but in a labyrinth we find ourselves. (Michael Stevens)

Well that’s enough of the quotes lets head through the beautiful towering amethyst geodes and discover the Buddha walk.

Flanked by the sparkling amethyst geodes is the first deity the chubby, gentle, wise, elephant-headed Ganesh, or Ganesha, is one of Hinduisms most popular deities.

A short way along the path from Ganesh is Lakshmi.

“Goddess Lakshmi means Good Luck to Hindus. The word ‘Lakshmi’ is derived from the Sanskrit word “Laksya”, meaning ‘aim’ or ‘goal’, and she is the goddess of wealth and prosperity, both material and spiritual. Lakshmi is the household goddess of most Hindu families, and a favourite of women.”

Nandi

The statues and deities are  incredible works of art and for some will add a spiritual dimension to the walk, but for me it is the gardens and the overall serenity of the surrounding rainforest that takes my breath away.

Then I turn a corner….

And discover the bamboo glade…

I listened, entranced by the soft whispering of the bamboo canes as they rubbed together. They seemed to be speaking to each other.

These children ran exuberantly down the steps and down the end I see another statue.

Everywhere these bold purple signs inform us of what we are looking at. Giving brief descriptions and explanations. I appreciate that as I only know the very basic facts about Eastern philosophy.

“Damanhur” now this is a place I have never heard of and later I looked it up in Google and this is what Wikipedia said…

The Federation of Damanhur, often called simply Damanhur, is a commune, ecovillage, and spiritual community situated in the Piedmont region of northern Italy about 30 miles (50 km) north of the city of Turin. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the Chiusella Valley, bordering on the Gran Paradiso National Park. The community has its own constitution and currency, the Credito.

Damanhur is named after the Egyptian city of Damanhur which was the site of a temple dedicated to Horus.

It was founded in 1975 by Oberto Airaudi with around 24 followers, and by 2000 the number had grown to 800. The group holds a mix of New Age and neopagan beliefs. They gained fame in 1992 through the disclosure of their secret excavation of an extensive underground temple, the Temples of Humankind, which was begun in 1978 under complete secrecy. The Italian authorities ordered construction work to stop because it had been constructed without planning approval, although artwork could continue. Retroactive permission was subsequently granted.^[1] 

It seems to be quite a controversial place and some say it is bordering on a cult status.

There is starting to appear many different levels of meaning in this Crystal Castle and I am having difficulty to absorb all the different messages I am starting to perceive here.

Take a look at this link. A virtual tour of this underground temple.

http://www.thetemples.org/tour/

Be careful you may get dizzy. Tell me what you think…

Back to the walk…

This is the Damanhur Spiral with the young boy taking a photo. The sign requests that only one person at a time enter the spiral. When I passed it again a short time later the boy had gone and this time I could see the woman had connected with the spirit of the large central crystal.

Finally I reach the spiritual heart of the Crystal Castle and gaze at the Blessing Buddha and I am about to listen to the singing plants…

To be continued in the next post…

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I am joining Restless Jo and her band of trampers from around the world with this part 2 of my Crystal Castle experience.