Have you ever stood and watched people fixed in a spiritual trance (however you define one) and wondered just who it is who is missing something? Is it they who are feeling something magical about the place you’re visiting, a mysterious power, an energy; and you just haven’t got what it takes to feel it too? Or is it you who is sane and the people around you who are caught in a world of fantasy?
I felt a little of that strange discomfort recently when visiting the standing stones at Avebury in Wiltshire. For those who are unfamiliar with this very impressive sight I would highly recommend a visit. It’s a slight detour on a trip to Stonehenge but many would argue that it’s a more satisfying experience. While visitors at its more illustrious pre-historic cousin are forced to pay a hefty fee for the privilege of looking at the stones but not getting too close to them, at Avebury you can touch, feel and hug the many rocks that are dotted around the village.
Yes, I did say hug. The UK has its new age hotspots but none compare with this tiny village and its collection of megalithic monuments. On our walk through the stone circles we encountered several people who took it upon themselves to embrace one of these rocks and rest their head against it in much the same way as a child would hug their mother. Some were clearly doing it as a picture pose, while others had a look that suggested they were in the midst of a very powerful experience. Ok, the clothes may have been a clue as well but there was no mistaking that expression of being temporarily transported to another world into which I could not see or hope to enter.
It’s fascinating to observe people lost in such a state of concentration. They will doubtless describe the intense energy that is centred on this little village and its special stones. They might use dowsers to identify the water and minerals under the Avebury land, where for many centuries magnetic lines have been said to pass.
To me it’s just a field. With rocks. I loved wandering around this landscape and was captivated by the striking backdrop created by these stone circles. Between us we asked the same questions that most visitors no doubt ask: ‘how did they get these rocks here?’ and the more fundamental ‘why?’ But try as I might I just can’t get past the feeling that it’s still a field of rocks.
I think with these things it’s all a case of whether people WANT there to be some kind of spiritual power or experience. It’s similar to haunted houses/ hotels/ castles. Put me in one, and I might feel a draught or hear a bit of wind. Put someone more inclined towards that sort of thing and they’ll conjure up all manner of weird phenomena, clammy sensations and reasons to whip up a drama.