Sacred travel isn’t just about seeing spiritual places. Sometimes it is just about being in communion with nature and allowing the high vibrational energy to work its magic. That’s what happened for me at Machu Picchu.

I’d been to Machu Picchu before. It’s stunning. When the clouds parted to reveal the picturesque ruins, it took my breath away. I couldn’t stop looking at the view! The sun rays looked like they were blessing the earth. Absolutely mesmerizing.

…but I didn’t feel any magic. There were too many people with selfie sticks vying for the best view. It was too noisy. Too bustling. Too active and disturbed for me to draw a bead on anything. So, I wasn’t expecting anything.

I have enough experience with energy to know that it’s not always about what you can see, hear, taste, touch, or smell. It was folly for me to dismiss it. I knew there was a powerful ley line there.

Too many people talked about their experiences for it to be nothing. And yet, I am a “show me” kind of gal. So, it did.

When I got home, I noticed that my arm hurt. It was a vague kind of pain that I couldn’t really place. I thought I might be developing carpel tunnel, so I bought a brace, but that didn’t help.

So, I went to see a doctor. She did her exam, put the symptoms and findings into a computer and came up with a computer generated (ie. wrong) diagnosis and gave me the obligatory best practices prescription.

I promptly round filed it, but did follow up with the referral for the specialist thinking that if she couldn’t help me, maybe the specialist could.

The specialist’s office was inside a huge, sterile medical complex. The staff made no eye contact with me and talked at me rather than to me. I don’t know when I have ever felt more like a walking ATM with a problem than a person.

The doctor was no better. You can tell a lot about a business by its staff, and this didn’t appear to be a happy place to work. I didn’t want not happy people working on me.

Still, I allowed myself to be subjected to x-rays to rule out anything mysterious. The x-rays ruled out arthritis, but that’s the diagnosis he gave me anyway. He also sent me out with a prescription that I didn’t take.

A trip to the holistic chiropractor confirmed that that was the correct decision. This wasn’t a physical problem, but an emotional one. Again, I should have known that most illness has its roots in emotions. As I lay there twitching and involuntarily grimacing, my body told me that that was the truth.

The pain in my arm was creating a situation where I lacked strength. I couldn’t grip things. Hm. “I can’t hold on.” So, what was my body trying to tell me? “Let go.” Ding, ding, ding. I got it.

Unless you’re talking to spirits who used to be, and were recently, humans, my experience is that the language of spirit is never in words. It speaks in symbols, dreams, music, or inspiration. My body was telling me to stop holding on. Just let go.

Was it just a coincidence that it happened now? Or did Machu Picchu do that? I think it was purposeful.

Sometimes the gifts of sacred travel are painful or unpleasant. It can turn up the heat on what you don’t want to see. However, I believe that whatever shows up is just what we need.