Amazing Megaliths Around the World

What are Megaliths?  

The basic answer is: a large stone that is part of a prehistoric structure or monument.  The famous pyramids of Giza in Egypt are considered megalithic structures because they were built with enormous blocks of granite or other dense and heavy stone.  Stonehenge is also a megalithic site, along with dozens more around the world.   The Easter Island statues are also megaliths.

They were built to last and endure the passage of time.  They did a good job of that too, because they outlived their civilizations by far, leaving only questions and mysteries as to their purpose and even with which technology they were built.

Technology?  Yes - look at this:

This was found in Peru, the home of the ancient Incas who were megalith builders.  It looks like the stone was softened so that it could fit into the slot of the other stone.   Softening stone for this purpose was something I came across when reading all kinds of books as research for my RHUNA series which is based on theories of an ancient megalithic civilization that spread across the world - perhaps from a legendary advanced place like Atlantis.

One of the most outstanding main features of the megalithic culture around the world is the way stone blocks were cut and put together in a wall.  The faces of each block are perfectly straight and smooth, and fit perfectly next to adjoining stone blocks.

   

Megaliths come in all shapes and sizes, all over the world.  Here are some I came across recently:

"Arsh Bilqis" - part of a temple in Yemen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma%27rib

They don't come in basic rectangles either, but often have many more facets, some with slots, grooves, holes and other mysterious bits which once served to connect the block to another block or device.  Check these out!

Peru

Shrine of Panoias, Portugal

A strange megalith with precise cuts in Indonesia...and something even more bizarre in India

A wall in Japan...much like walls on the South Pacific Island of Tonga...

And here is a wall in India, identical to those in Cusco, Peru, Easter Island and other megalithic sites:

Warangal, India

And this was just a sample of the extraordinary megaliths around the world!

Astral Projection and OBE in Fantasy novels?

Have you come across Astral Projection or OBE (Out of Body Experience) in any Fantasy novels? 

I haven't.

In fact, I didn't even believe in such things until some years ago, when I began reading all kinds of New Age books to get ideas for my Fantasy series.

Then I remembered some people I knew who insisted they had an OBE under extreme circumstances (nearly drowned, in severe pain) and slowly the subject began to intrigue me more and more.

In the latest and 3rd book in my series - Rhuna, The Star Child - I decided to introduce Astral Projection, calling it by a different name, but describing it in the way some people do, who have experienced it.

In my story, the main character learns about Astral Projection from her long-lost father, who had been in exile in Tibet, where he learned Astral Projection along with other spiritual pursuits (like yoga and meditation).

It's a fascinating concept, if all humans can astral project, and if this is the case, why can only certain people master it?  The mind boggles!  But that is what Fantasy should be, in my opinion:  something that makes your mind boggle and churn with concepts that might be possible!

Let me know if you have any OBE or Astral Projection thoughts or experiences!

Inspired by Tibetan Magic!

One of the many things that inspired Rhuna's adventures in my Fantasy/Magical Realism series is the mysticism surrounding Tibet.   Maybe you've heard the eerie chant of the Buddhist monks living in isolated monasteries high in the Himalayas, or you've heard about the legends of sacred ancient texts hidden in some inaccessible hiding place in Tibet. 

What fascinates me most about Tibet, however, are the persistent stories about certain people who appear to have superhuman powers, such as monks that can levitate or become invisible, or do other strange and wondrous things.

Reading snippets like these prompted me to read up on the subject some more, and I got a lot out of a book entitled "Tibetan Magic and Mysticism" by J.H. Brennan.   Some of the chapter headings are: Strange Powers, Illusion and Reality, Void Mind Meditation, Implications of Unreality, and my favourite chapter:  Tibetan Tulpas.

So, what are Tulpas?

Tulpas are creations of the mind that look like real people, but are the result of many hours of intense concentration by adepts or masters.    The theory is that with the right kind of meditation and concentration, the human mind is capable of creating something tangible and visible.  Like when you imagine something so intensely, that it feels real, only after some hours or several days of continuous concentration, it actually becomes real.  Or almost real.  And that's called a Tulpa.  

Read more about Tulpas on this excellent site:

Mystery Files Blog page about Tulpas