Walking Barefoot to the Centre of the Universe

My husband and I took a little drive the other day.  My birthday plus Father’s Day plus a day off from work equals time for an adventure.  We started out with a coffee and brunch at our favourite coffee spot.  I pleaded for a close parking spot, as my foot was so sore I could hardly walk.  I was literally limping.

It probably happened from wearing too-tight shoes to work once too often, but I developed a corn or something equally uncomfortable and undignified between two toes.  I bought some medicated pads and used them until my skin literally fell off (sorry if you are squeamish) and by then I was in such pain that I could barely put my foot on the ground.

After coffee, we went for our drive, which was supposed to be a surprise, but hubby’s Gemini wife quizzed and guessed until the destination was revealed.  We were going to the Centre of the Universe.

No metallic suits or spaceships were involved.  We were going to a quiet little spot down a country road that the Buddhists have declared the Centre of the Universe, about 100 ks from my home.  If you don’t believe me, Google it.

The drive was amazing.  This area is so gorgeous and diverse.  We passed the meadows with its meandering creek, then hit the sandy hoodoos that towered over us like castles.  After that, volcanic rock and the good red road.  Then lake country, tiny lake after tiny lake like a string of emeralds. 

We finally arrived at a spot that had a couple of cars on the side of the road.  We asked if we had arrived at the waterfall that we’d heard about, and we were told it was up the road a bit.  “Centre of the Universe?” was our next tentative query. Yes, we had indeed arrived.

A blue-eyed mountain man finished up with his last group, then took us on our journey.  Journey to the Centre of the Universe.  It sounds like a great Jules Verne novel!  Our guide, whose name was Ray, took off his boots and told us most people do the walk barefoot.  I told him I had such pain in my foot and he said, here, put some yarrow on it, so I took the leafy green plant and wedged it between my toes.  Ray said, “It will be all healed up by tomorrow.”

The first point of interest was a healing tree.  It had the unfortunate name of “Larry” which didn’t sit right with me.  No offence to all the Larrys out there, but the tree needed a name like Mother Healing Tree or something like that.  As I approached it, I was overcome with emotion.  I got tears in my eyes.  There was no reason for this; it was just the powerful energy of the tree. 

I placed my toe up against the tree and just allowed the energy to pour into me.  I prayed for healing to my damaged toe.  I cannot even tell you what kind of tree it was; it just made me feel and that’s all I noticed.

We continued up the path to the east rock and entrance to the Centre.  Ray told us that the entrance was between a juniper tree and a large protruding rock, and that the Buddhists circled the rock three times before entering.  We followed that example.

The view was breathtaking.  I thought I was looking at a river, but it was a narrow lake down and to the left.  The mountains around us were so lush and green, and there was a slight breeze blowing.  We stood for several minutes, breathing and noticing.  I saw that Ray had seated himself on the grass so we followed suit.  I lay down with my arms outstretched and breathed deeply.  I felt a tingling up through the back of my scalp. 

During this time I was given a vision of a photograph/collage that I am to make.  I also received a slogan to put on it.  I felt quite excited.  My husband whispered to me that he heard a faint, high-pitched choral singing.  This is something others have experienced in this area, but I couldn’t hear it.  After a while, we stood up and it was then I noticed an intricate altar. 

How come I didn’t see it when we first arrived?  It was on the ground, maybe the size of a garbage can lid, and had wild grasses growing all around it.  The altar was made of things people had left here on past visits:  earrings, bracelets, keys, crystals, stones, flags, small tins, animal carvings.  It touched me to see two small Norwegian flags, as that is my heritage, and it seemed somehow significant. 

We unwound our way between the rock and juniper, which I now noticed had a string of Buddhist prayer flags on it, and continued back down the path.  Soon we were back to our shoes, and I decided to remain barefoot.

Our next stop was the aforementioned waterfall, and the path to it was muddy and mushy.  It felt so good on my bare feet!  I squished it through my toes and committed to experiencing the earth with bare feet more often, as I really didn’t go out without shoes any more.  The waterfall was breathtaking!  How could such a majestic rush of water be so unknown? 

At day’s end, I cleaned the mud off my feet, put a fresh stalk of yarrow between my toes and went to sleep.  And what do you know?  When I woke up, the pain was gone.  I promised myself to get rid of the too-tight shoes and wore my sensible shoes to work.  After a day of being on my feet with sweaty socks and shoes, I came home and still felt no pain, and have had none since. 

Magic?  A miracle healing?  I know what I believe.  What do you think?


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