Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part I Overview

I had a chance to finally see the Ramapo Walls and stone mounds at Harriman Park in downstate NY a little north of NYC this last December. I had gone down the previous December but could not find the site. On that previous visit I had followed Trento Salvatore's directions in  Field Guide to the Mysterious Places of Eastern North America unfortunately they were a little off. This time I relied more on my dowsing rods. I went in December because Sloatsburg is reported having rattlesnakes and since I had dogs I did not want to risk going during warm weather.

The Ramapo Walls is visually interesting containing a  large collection of stone work.

I know Harriman Park well and have hiked it numerous times. I was also familiar with Torne Mountain at the southern end of the park with spectacular views of NYC which is a little north of the Ramapo Walls. I remember a trail on the way to Torne that gave a great view of the World Trade Center before it was destroyed.

We know about the Ramapo Walls thanks to Salvatore Trento and Edward Lenik. Lenik led a multiyear archeological dig and survey (1969-1973) that was published in the New York Archaeological Association's bulletin in 1975 No.63 titled The Riddle of the Prehistoric Walls, Ramapo NY. 

Unfortunately the luster of the Ramapo walls, its "je ne sais qoi", the vibe that makes sacred space so wonderful has been lost. When we love, give, heal, meditate, pray,  do ceremony, practice ahimsa we leave a wonderful loving imprint behind at a place. These imprints fortify a space and increase the possibility for a profound mystical experience. Clearly the creators of the Ramapo Walls had once left a wonderful gift behind that is now sadly gone. 

Archaeological digs destroy sacred space. Thrill seekers and partiers belittle the sacred. Ghost hunters desecrate space with their ghoulish intentions. Hunters bring the intention of stalking and killing. Ask yourself how should you behave at a place of worship. Would you dig up the pews? tear up and test the sacred texts? Would you drink and rabble rouse? Would you bring a magnometer and take readings of the holy water, or look for sightings of ghouls and demons? Or would you sit there for hours in one place contemplating killing an animal?

Worse modern technology through cell phones and other digital devices is microwaving our Mother to death. I expect many that have visited in recent years have brought their cell phones and other devices that wreak havoc on sacred space.

That said. There were some wonderful pockets within Harriman and lots, and lots of stone work. It merits more investigation. I imagine that there once were many hidden gems with divine consciousness. Peter Shell and I tapped into a few. Sweet.

The following are the links to the rest of my review with pictures. Or just scroll down. 

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part II Overview Maps

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part III Stone Walls

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part IV Stone Mounds

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part V The Sacred and Profane

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part VI Sacred Ground


To Continue Reading
Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part II Overview Maps

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part II Overview Maps

Below are the overview maps from NYS Bulletin No 63 March 1975, 'The Riddle of the Ramapo Walls' by Edward Lenik.

Location relative to Sloatsburg.

Map of the Ramapo Walls and stone mounds.

A discussion of the walls, stone mounds and more follows.

To Continue Reading
Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part III Stone Walls

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part III Stone Walls

There is a reason they call it the Ramapo Walls. There were lots of stone walls to be found.

Pepper walking over one of the stone walls. To give you perspective he about 18" tall.

Time has not been kind to the Ramapo Walls.

The stone walls were visually spectacular and interesting; and did provide some new interpretations of working with Mother Earth. Clearly, the stone walls and mounds were located over Earth Energies--an accomplished geomancer, or dowser of Earth Energies with some skill and with some effort should be able to  ascertain such. I think that the emphasis on placing stone walls on Earth Energies may be unique to the region as seen with other areas such as the walls by the Wangtown Stone Chambers and or those by the nearby Kings Chamber (see Survey of Sacred Sites in Downstate NY, PART III--The Stone Block Wall) and with Overlook Mountain; assuming my map dowsing of the walls at Overlook mountain are correct. But again I have only visited a few places. I have not see such at High Tor at other places in upstate NY or at places in Vermont such as Calendar 2 in Vermont, or New Hampshire. But then again there may have been stone walls at these places that were subsequently removed. 

What I am saying is that I have noticed an increased emphasis on placing stone walls on energy formation in downstate NY; possibly even in the tai-state area.

There were a variety of stone enclosures

There was a quartz stone in one of the walls and one must wonder if that was intentionally place there and had some purpose.

Several strips of stone walls contained depressed or dimpled areas.   Although it is difficult to see it appears that these depressions  were intentionally created. I believe that this is where pilgrims would sit and do ceremony, pray or meditate.

I am very familiar with stone structures with depressed, or hollowed out, or dimpled areas and have find them from West Virginia to New England as I will discuss in the next section.

Continue to the Next Section
Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part IV Stone Mounds

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part IV Stone Mounds

Just about all of the stone mounds had depressed, or dimpled areas. As previously noted I believe that pilgrims would sit in the depressed areas.

Pepper (white dog) and Jaeda Bear (black dog) sitting in two of the several depressed areas of a stone mound.

Another angle of the picture above it.

I am very familiar with stone mounds with depressed ares having found them in numerous places;
High Tor NYS DEC Wildlife Mgmt. Area in Middlesex, NY,
 Whangtown Stone Chambers, Part III(of VII)--The St... NY
Part II Stonewall/Ohiopyle Survey--Carrion Run West Cairn Fields WV
Part IV Stonewall Ohiopyle Survey--Ohiopyle State Park PA
As well as NH and VT,

Although it is not clear cut there is a Manitou Stone behind Pepper to the right. The upright flat stone that looks like a grave marking, or headstone. 

I found that many of the stone mounds had intricate stone work detailing aspects of Mother Earth. Clearly the treatment of the stone mounds and walls made some of these markings indistinguishable; but they were there.

Continue to the Next Section
Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part V The Sacred and Profane

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part V The Sacred and Profane

Unfortunately the luster and spiritual energy that once must have permeated these sacred grounds at the Ramapo Walls is long gone.The vibe, the reading of the imprints of the intentions left behind, was neutral at best. Sad.

An old hunter's tree stand by a stone mound. Hunting was prohibited decades ago within Harriman.

We found a hunter's stand next to one of the stone mounds. We also found shot shells, beer cans and other debris. We did pick up a few shot shells. Hunting casts a pall over sacred sites. Again ask yourself if you would want someone sitting in your place of worship or a chair in your living room thinking about killing for hours on end?

So revelers, hunters and curiosity seekers have desecrated this once holy site.

But that is not all as I said in the intro. Lenik in his write-up of the Ramapo Walls writes,

In 1969, the North Jersey Highlands Historical Society, in cooperation with the New England Antiquities Research Association, began investigating the "Supposed Prehistoric Walls" in Ramapo, New York. This site is a massive complex of stone walls that meander over some 200 acres of ground along a hilltop overlooking the villages of Sloatsburg and Ramapo. Some sixteen massive stone mounds, basically conical in section and circular in diameter, are within the network of walls....
In 1973, archeological excavations were undertaken at the Prehistoric Walls site in an attempt to learn its temporal and cultural placement as well as its function. Three features were excavated at the site, namely, the suspected well, the stone fireplace, and a section of one stone mound. These features seemed to offer the best possibility of definitive material being found.
The stone filled depression, or suspected well, was excavated first. This feature is located along the eastern edge of the site, 100 ft. off the old road and 40 ft. east of the stone wall. The area was carefully cleared of surface leaves and brush and a 10 ft. by 10 ft. square was laid out around the depression. Excavation proceeded with great care and the soil was removed by trowel and sifted. All stones encountered were left exactly in place as found with the exception of a few which appeared to have tumbled into the center of the depression.

Wow!

I understand that people want to investigate and learn; but at what expense?

Again ask yourself if you would want someone coming to your place of worship, sacred and holy ground, and begin digging up the pews and tearing up your sacred texts and testing them with chemicals to better understand why you built them?

This sort of  voyeurism is bad for the vibe and goes contra to the love and positive intentions that once blanketed this holy area. It destroys what makes a sacred site holy and sacred.

NEARA prides itself on protecting and preserving stone structures in greater New England. But doing an archaeological dig of a sacred site without knowledge of its function and purpose is not going to assure proper reconstruction.

As noted previously stone structures can be very intricate in design. In the picture above a manitou stone is located behind Pepper.  I am concerned that the stone structures dissembled by  the North Jersey Highlands Historical Society and NEARA were not properly reconstituted.

NEARA does have many dowsers amongst its membership but science and traditional archaeology drive much of its decision making. No doubt they do good work in preserving the physical structures at a sacred place. But what of the spiritual component? How can science come to understand sacred space and Indigenous People that loved Mother Earth and worked to create stone structures to enhance Her?

They cannot!

A sacred site needs love, prayer, ceremony and good intentions. The makes its vibe well. Science is an anathema to spirituality. 

And if you have read my work before you know that I believe that it is all about the vibe. The stone structures are often mere ornaments that adorn a powerful sacred sites. I expect that certainly was the case at the  hay day of the Ramapo Walls.

Archaeologists, hunters, revelers, groups like NEARA, ghost hunters through their intent and actions not only destroy the vibe of a sacred area but its ultimate purpose; a mystical experience, a union with Great Spirit/God, an answer to a difficult question or the chance for a vision or great insight.

We did find a remnant that the Ramapo Walls was once treated as a sacred area with prayers, ceremony and contemplation.

There was a water dome still located on the grounds. When we pray, meditate, do ceremony and act in a sacred manner we may draw water to a location Yes just as we attract energy/prana above ground we attract water underground.  A water dome is water that has attempted to well up from the bowels of the earth and has reached an impediment and cannot go any further. So water pushing up on the earth begins to form a dome, a mushroom shaped structure that fills with water. Water veins eventually form on the side of the dome.

There was a water dome at the Ramapo Walls.

Peter Shell with dowsing rods tracing out the spiral of the water dome whose center is marked by my backpack

Because the only co-creation with Mother Earth that we found was one water dome I had many questions. I know energy vortices can come and go; but what about water domes? Were there many more water domes in this large sacred area? Do water domes dissipate slower than Energy Vortices, or do they never disappear once formed? These are only a few of the questions I posed and discussed with a few seasoned water dowsers.

We did say some prayers, spread tobacco and did a ceremony. Unfortunately because we were in hurry we could not meditate and spend the time in spiritual activities the way we do in places closer to home in Syracuse.

There is more reason to believe that the Ramapo Walls and its surrounding area was a sacred place as I will discuss in the next section.

Continue to the Next Section
Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part VI Sacred Ground

Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part VI Sacred Ground

There was a lot of stone work hidden in plain view in the area surrounding the Ramapo Walls at the southern of Harriman Park. Because of this it is safe to assume that  much of the surrounding area was once treated as a sacred area and revered.

We found many loosely constructed stone circles over aspects of Mother Earth in the area surrounding the Ramapo Walls. Pepper and Jaeda Bear are pictured in one such structure. Very similar to what I found on Estelle Weeds property in New Paltz, NY last June (See Survey of Sacred Sites in Downstate NY, PART VII--Estelle Weed's Woods and its Many Stone Structures) and in other places as well.

There were a ton of Manitou Stones in the area.

We also found lots of charged areas where the vibe was still very positive another indication that the Ramapo Walls were once a sacred area. It also made us wonder what the vibe at the Ramapo Walls must have once been and whether it was littered with Energy Vortices, a Thin Veil and more. All co-creations with our Mother indicating that the area was once treated as being sacred.

I am overwhelmed with joy when I find an Energy Vortex, or what I call a Natural Vortex in the woods. Vortices. Meditating in an Energy Vortex  allows us to transcend time (see my video Transcending Time with an Energy Vortex) and connect with the spirit and consciousness of its creators.

As always on day trips where we have to drive great distances we are limited by time. We hope to go back to the Ramapo Walls and explore, learn and appreciate particularly the surrounding area. Perhaps we may be blessed to find an Energy Vortex to meditate in.

It was a good day and a great trip.

We thank Mother Earth and God for showing us the Ramapo walls. We also thank those who created them many millennia ago and charged the grounds by saturating them with love, ceremony, prayer and meditation.

Blessings,
madis


To go back and start reading at the beginning.
Ramapo Walls and Stone Mounds at Harriman Park, NYS--Part I Overview

Antartica's Ice Melt is Accelerating

Antarctica's ice is melting faster, raising risk of sea level rise

Update--Earth's Magnetic Field Shift--Followup

A few weeks back I posted a link to an article that the Earth's geomagnetic field is shifting rapidly. Today's Daily Mail had a lengthy article on its erratic movement. Below is a link along with some charts.

This is not a good thing and along with the rising Schumann Resonance are very ominous signs that trouble is ahead-- in a few years or in a few decades? Devastation to the electric grid and high exposure to solar energy are only a few of the problems the world will face if the poles flip as they have done in the past.

Human activity--violence, war, pollution and technology--particularly technology that is microwaving our Mother to death is behind this. 5G will probably accelerate us closer to a flip.

Climate Change is a symptom of a larger problem--a possible life extinguishing pole shift. Cayce and others have talked about this.

Ask a polarity therapist what they think would happen to you if your meridians went wacky and flipped?

Scientists warn Earth's magnetic North Pole has begun moving 'erratically' at speeds so fast they are having to issue an emergency update to maps used by electronic navigation systems

• Magnetic North Pole is 'skittering' away from Canada, towards Siberia 
• Researchers say it is moving at an 'unusually high speed of about 50 km per year'
• Say Canada is essentially losing a magnetic tug-of-war with Siberia
• Researchers around the world are scrambling to update global models relied on by GPS navigation systems

Scientists in recent years have predicted that Earth's magnetic field could be gearing up to 'flip' – a shift in which the magnetic south pole would become magnetic north, and vice versa.

Such an event could have catastrophic effects, wreaking havoc on the electric grid and leaving life at the surface exposed to higher amounts of solar radiation.

Researchers say the magnetic North Pole is 'skittering' away from Canada, towards Siberia, far more quickly that they expected it to.

WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO EARTH IF ITS POLES FLIPPED?

The Earth’s magnetic field is in a permanent state of change. 

Magnetic north drifts around and every few hundred thousand years the polarity flips so a compass would point south instead of north. 

The strength of the magnetic field also constantly changes and currently it is showing signs of significant weakening. 

Life has existed on the Earth for billions of years, during which there have been many reversals. 

There is no obvious correlation between animal extinctions and those reversals. Likewise, reversal patterns do not have any correlation with human development and evolution. 

It appears that some animals, such as whales and some birds use Earth's magnetic field for migration and direction finding. 

Since geomagnetic reversal takes a number of thousands of years, they could well adapt to the changing magnetic environment or develop different methods of navigation.

Radiation at ground level would increase, however, with some estimates suggesting that overall exposure to cosmic radiation would double causing more deaths from cancer. ‘But only slightly,’ said Professor Richard Holme. 

‘And much less than lying on the beach in Florida for a day. So if it happened, the protection method would probably be to wear a big floppy hat.’

The movement of the Earth's magnetic poles are shown in this animation at 10-year intervals from 1970 to 2020. The red and blue lines sjpw the difference between magnetic north and true north depending on where you are standing. On the green line, a compass would point to true north. Credit: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information

Electric grid collapse from severe solar storms is a major risk. As the magnetic field continues to weaken, scientists are highlighting the importance off-the grid energy systems using renewable energy sources to protect the Earth against a black out. 

'The very highly charged particles can have a deleterious effect on the satellites and astronauts,' added Dr Mona Kessel, a Magnetosphere discipline scientist at Nasa. 

In one area, there is evidence that a flip is already occurring. ‘The increasing strength of the South Atlantic anomaly, an area of weak field over Brazil, is already a problem,’ said Professor Richard Holme.  

The Earth's climate could also change. A recent Danish study has found that the earth's weather has been significantly affected by the planet's magnetic field.

They claimed that fluctuations in the number of cosmic rays hitting the atmosphere directly alter the amount of cloud covering the planet.

Henrik Svensmark, a weather scientist at the Danish National Space Centre who led the team behind the research, believes that the planet is experiencing a natural period of low cloud cover due to fewer cosmic rays entering the atmosphere.

Sacred Sites Update, High Tor's Ledges

I have posted an update of my visit to the Ledges at HIgh Tor last Friday.

Sacred Sites Update, High Tor's The Ledges 

Winter's Gift

Winter's Gift

Wintertime brings us shorter days, cold, wind and snow, lots of snow from our many lakes. It forces chores upon us like snow shoveling and roof raking. Our travels are curtailed and we spend more time indoors. But rather than seeing winter as limiting and making us housebound, understand it for the gift that it is. Mother Nature is telling us to come indoors and look inwards at ourselves.

We have lost the powerful impact that the seasonal changes have upon us. We have heated and air-conditioned houses, trips to different climes whenever we wish, and we can eat foods out of season. We are increasingly less and less at the mercy of seasonal changes.

These are changes that bring with them the cycle of life and death; it is a tale of rebirth and renewing. And winter is the time to reflect upon what has been and what can be. It is a time of hibernation, of drawing in and of solitude, which unfortunately many see as loneliness. So instead we turn to our savior of technology and surf the net, or call friends. But this is an urge you should resist – at least periodically for prolonged periods of time.

It is that solitude that winter forces upon us, if we let it, that I so much appreciate. I long for wintry days that make me housebound and force me to meditate more, explore and reflect.

Solitude can be powerfully healing and transformative. It often brings a wonderful blessing. In speaking on solitude psychiatrist and former Oxford professor Anthony Storr notes in his book Solitude, A Return To The Self that,

“Removing oneself voluntarily from one’s habitual environment promotes self-understanding and contact with those inner depths of being which elude one in the hurly-burly of day-to-day life…[T]he most profound and healing psychological experiences which individuals encounter take place internally, and are only distantly related, if at all, to interaction with other human beings.”

Find some time this winter to be by yourself. It could be a few hours, a day, or even a few days. Don’t watch TV, abandon your cell phone and the internet and take a vacation from social media. If you find this difficult build up to it slowly by beginning with shorter intervals and increase the amount of time spent in solitude gradually over time.

Read a book that inspires you, write in a journal, mediate or just ponder and imagine. Most importantly just be.

A great gift has been given to you. Take advantage of it and don’t let it slip away.