Lake Baikal – James Tyberonn with Russian Shaman in traditional Buryat Ceremonial DressIn 1944 acclaimed psychic Edgar Cayce channeled an incredible reading about Russia: Quoted verbatim below…

“Through Russia comes the hope of the world. Not in respect to what is sometimes termed Communism or Bolshevism – no! But of freedom – true freedom, that each man will live for his fellow man. The principle has been born there. It will take years for it to be crystallized; yet out of Russia comes again the hope of the world.” – Edgar Cayce

…Over six decades have passed since this remarkable channeled prophesy. Russia has transformed from a communist state to one of an evolving democracy and free trade economy. In the 95 years since the Marxist revolution, organized religion and its inherent dogma were largely absent from the Russian culture. But what was intended there, was the socialist ideal of man caring for fellow man, without the mental control aspects of dogmatic religion.

Russia is indeed becoming a ‘cradle of hope’ for the future of humanity. A bright energy pulses there. I first traveled to Russia in 2004. My second trip was in May of 2006. Both trips included Moscow; the second took me to eastern Siberia, to wondrous Lake Baikal. My experience was profound.

Moscow

St. Petersburg may have homed Russia’s royal crown, but Moscow is its pulsing heart. Moscow is a city in which one comes face to face with all that is finest and all that is most frustrating in Russia. The gregarious geniality of its people is as evident as the extreme tensions of a city coming to terms with the confusions of rapid social change. More than anywhere else in the country, it is in Moscow where the Soviet past collides with the capitalist future. Perhaps collides is too strong a term, for truly it is a blend and becoming more harmonious. I had a very real ‘déjà vu’ experience within this marvelous, beautiful city. I sensed its dignity, and I loved it immediately.

As the new Moscow emerges, it is quite evident that progression into the future is shaped by the integral dignity of the city’s rich and varied heritage, a timeless heritage that emphatically predates the embrace of Soviet rule. Indeed, the most striking aspect of the city today is not Moscow’s much-heralded merging with Western culture but its robust revival of its own tradition and integrity.

Amazing ancient cathedrals are being restored and opened, innovative theaters are reclaiming leadership in the arts, and traditional markets are coming back to life. It is a city of art, music and creativity. Moscow is once more assuming its position of world preeminence. Yet, it is ironically the 90 years of Soviet socialist influence that has had a key role in shaping the new era of the Golden Bear. The spirituality and clarity that is emerging is free from the confines of orthodox dogma. It is pure spirituality based on love of fellow man, unobstructed by canon doctrine. The potential is joyous, the city teems with creativity.

The Arbat, a cobbled street mall of shops, crafts, street entertainers and artisans abounds with life in Moscow’s center. The people are surprisingly engaging and warm. But the most prominent impression was that of their piercing intelligence and zest.

Having been raised in a virtual television-free environment, most Russians focused on education and arts. Many play at least one musical instrument and speak at least two languages fluently. There is crispness, an energetic clarity through out the area. I felt a familiarity with Russia and discerned a great sense of brightness, a potent emergence of hope. The people are remarkably robust and beautiful. More than 10 million people are living in Moscow. Among them there are representatives of about one hundred nations and ethnic groups. Russians are the largest ethnic group in Moscow. There are also Jews, Ukrainians, Belor-Russians and Tatars, as well as increasing numbers of refugees and immigrants from Afghanistan, the Caucasus, the Baltic States and Central Asia. Orthodox Christianity is a predominant religion in Moscow. The city is embellished with onion domed, gilded cathedrals, that shine brightly like jewels over the landscape. Moscow has communities of Protestants, Roman Catholics, Judaists, Muslims and a growing circle of ‘New Age’ spirituality.

In fact the existing religions are yet devoid of the zealot faction and seem far more open minded and accepting of differing views. Moscow occupies more than 1,000 square kilometers. The boundary of the city corresponds to the Moscow Ring Road, which is situated at 15-17 kilometers from the city center. The city extends for 42 kilometers from the north to the south and for 35 kilometers from the east to the west. The city is clustered around the Volkhov River, and many beautiful onion domed cathedrals are situated along its path.

The site of Red Square and the Kremlin is an amazing power vortex that encompasses the Cathedral of Christ the Redeemer and St Basil’s Cathedral along the river front. The sacred geometry of these splendid cathedrals is extremely potent.

Inextricably linked to all the most important historical and political events in Russia since the 13th century, the Kremlin (built between the 14th and 17th centuries by outstanding Russian and foreign architects) was the residence of the Great Prince and also a religious centre. At the foot of its ramparts, on Red Square, St Basil’s Basilica is one of the most beautiful Russian Orthodox monuments.

From the 13th century to the founding of St Petersburg, the Moscow Kremlin was directly and tangibly associated with every major event in Russian history. The Kremlin contains within its walls a unique series of masterpieces of architecture and the plastic arts – religious monuments of exceptional beauty such as the Church of the Annunciation, Cathedral of the Dormition, Church of the Archangel and the bell tower of Ivan Veliki, and palaces such as the Great Palace of the Kremlin, which comprises within its walls the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin and the Teremnoi Palace. On Red Square is Saint Basil the Blessed, still a major edifice of Orthodox art. Russian architecture was clearly affected many times in its history by influences emanating from the Kremlin

Red Square is closely associated with the Kremlin, lying beneath its east wall. At its south end is the famous Cathedral of St Basil the Blessed, one of the most beautiful monuments of Orthodox art. It was originally one of a pair of churches, the other being the Cathedral of Kazan, erected in 1633 in the vast open area bordering the ‘Goum’ by Prince Pozarsky to commemorate the victory over the Poles. It disappeared in the early 1930s along with several convents in the neighboring area (Saviour-behind-the-Images, St Nicholas, Epiphany).

With its triangular enceinte pierced by five gates and reinforced with 29 towers, the Kremlin preserves the memory of the wooden fortifications erected by Yuri Dolgoruki around 1156 on the hill at the confluence of the Moskova and Nieglinnaya rivers (the Alexander Garden now covers the latter). By its layout and its history of transformations (in the 14th century Dimitri Donskoi had an enceinte of logs built, then the first stone wall), it is the prototype of the Kremlin, the citadel at the centre of old Russian towns, such as Pskov, Tula, Kazan or Smolensk.

The Golden Ring

The Golden Ring of Moscow is an ovaline circle of power sites and cathedrals that circle an area of roughly 120 miles from the city center. This ring encompasses the golden vortex of the new energy of Moscow.

‘The Golden Ring’ is one of the oldest Russian pilgrimage routes. It goes to the northeast of Moscow and forms an ovalesque route that includes several powerpoints and sacred cathedrals. There are many interesting ancient Russian cities and sacred cathedrals along this path.

The ‘classical’ route (counter clockwise) starts from Moscow, goes through Vladimir, Suzdal, Ivanov, Ples, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Rostov Velikiy, Pereslavl Zalesskiy and Sergiev Posad.

Sergiev Posad is one of most sacred Cathedrals of the ring. The Sergiev Posad monastery was founded in 1340 by Sergius of Radonezh, whose name was given to the town. The massive complex is along the river, amid lush rolling hills. A holy spring is said to have risen centuries ago by divine credence and is a pilgrimage site for thousands who come to drink its curative waters.

There are more than 20 such cathedrals in the Moscow ring. Several were built over Pagan power sites hundreds of years ago. The sacred geometry of these cathedrals is quite unique. The exquisite onion domes are often gilded in gold filigree and luminous metallic based paints of green, red and blue. This fascinating use of color is quite spectacular and adds to the potent frequency of these domed beauties. Many of these are indeed portals: magnets and holders of high-energy resonance.

The energy of the vortex portal of the Golden Ring centered in Moscow is simply one of the brightest energies I have ever experienced. It is powerfully anchored by Saint Germain. It is the template for the new Russia. It became anchored in 1986 and is crystalline in frequency. It is centered at the Cathedral of Christ the Redeemer and St Basil’s in Red Square. It is the vortex and portal of Moscow, of the heart of Russia. It is uniquely fed and aligned to an even more powerful energy … Siberia’s majestic Lake Baikal.

Siberia stretches from the borderline of Europe in the Ural mountains to the very East of Russia at the Pacific Ocean and from the Arctic Ocean to the borders with China and Mongolia. The population of this enormous area is about ten times less than that of the United States. People live mostly along the Trans-Siberian Railroad, along the few highways, and around mining centers. People here are very ethnically diverse, but they have common traits: they are always exceptionally friendly and generous, ready to help, to laugh or share their home and food.

Siberia has many big cities with history, intense cultural life, and theaters. The cities of Tomsk, Irkutskand Novosibirsk (more than million people) are famous for their colleges and research institutions. All of these cities including Krasnoyarsk and Khabarovsk are large industrial centers. Vladivostok is a large port and a base of the Russian Pacific fleet. Kemerovo, Yakutsk, Norilsk, Surgut, and Omsk are world famous centers of mining and oil production. Siberia is an economic giant since it includes 70 to 80 percent of all natural resources in Russia. Siberia is also one of the main producers of grain in Russia. But it was Lake Baikal that I came to see, and what an amazing energy.

Lake Baikal

Perhaps the most amazing natural site in Russia is Lake Baikal. I had the good fortune to visit Lake Baikal in late May and found it simply stunning. North America can lay claim to some pretty impressive lakes. Lake O’Hara and Lake Louise in Canada are stunning. Pyramid Lake in Nevada and the Great Salt Lake in Utah are portals.

Lake Superior has the greatest surface area of any fresh water lake in the world. The mystical Crater Lake in Oregon is one of the deepest and most mystical lakes in the world. Lake Ouachita in Arkansas holds the crystalline portal. The powerful chakric portal of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia and Peru is the world’s highest navigable lake, lying 12,500 feet above sea level. Italy’s Lake Cuomo and Scotland’s Loch Katrine are areas of tranquil beauty. Africa’s largest lake is Lake Victoria, the world’s second largest fresh water body; it is among the most scenic lakes in the world, straddling the equator and forming part of the borders of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. In the Antarctic lies the world’s coldest and most southernly lake, Lake Vostok. The distinction of the world’s lowest and saltiest lake goes to the DeadSea; bordering Israel and Jordan, it lies 1,340 feet
below sea level!

Asia can claim the largest inland water body in the world, the Caspian Sea. Even though these lakes and seas are all special and indeed potent, and all have roles in the planetary Ascension, Lake Baikal in eastern Siberia shines in brilliance among them.

This crescent-shaped lake is more than 900 miles from the nearest ocean (the Pacific) and is about 444 miles long and 50 miles wide. Rimmed by mountains and surrounded by pristine forests, it is one of the most beautiful lake settings in the world. While it is the 7th largest lake on the globe in regards to surface area, in terms of volume of water Lake Baikal has no peers. Lake Baikal holds 20% of the world’s fresh water, the largest volume of fresh water on the planet. Its greatest depth is 5,022 feet, making it by far the world’s deepest lake.

Magical Lake Baikal is contained in a natural tectonic basin in an uplift highland called the Stanovoy Range. This crevice holds the waters of Lake Baikal. The immense surface of the lake is 477 meters above sea level, while its bottom plunges to 1,200 meters below. The lake is encircled by antediluvian mountain ranges rising to heights of 2,750 meters. These mountains slope steeply to the surface of the lake, embellishing a spectacular panorama of overwhelming rugged beauty.

The mountains around Baikal are rich in lapis lazuli, mica, graphite, marble, gold and other minerals, and are carpeted in rich Pine and Cedar forests. The natural resources are immense.

Lake Baikal is a virtual cornucopia of precious and semi precious gemstones. Many of these are found along the massive shoreline in the crystal clear waters.

These include lazurite, charoite, lapis lazuli, jade, spinel, apatite, flogopite, diopsite, pargasite, scapolite, pyrite, quartz, dolomite, calcite, malachite, amethyst, giafoline, tourmaline, ortite, biotite, limonite, amazonite and aragonite.

More than 330 rivers and streams feed Lake Baikal, but the powerful Angara River is the lake’s only outlet. The Angara empties into the Arctic Ocean more than 1,500 miles away. Its path is dotted with power nodes.

Geologists determine Lake Baikal to be approximately 25 million years old, as such making it the world’s oldest lake. Lake Baikal has tremendous clarity, the transparency of the crystalline waters is up to 40 meters. Its waters support life at incredible depths. The bottom is dotted with volcanic vents that energize and oxygenize the waters, allowing for prolific eco and bio systems of life, totally unique to the lake.

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Lake Baikal’s extreme pristine beauty has long been recognized as a powerful sacred portal.

The Buryats, an indigenous people of the Lake Baikal area, have held the lake as holy for thousands of years. Their religion is shamanism, similar to that of the Native Americans. They honor the lake as a living deity. The Island of Olkhon and Shaman Rock are sacred centers of Siberian shamanism, remnants of sacred LeMuria.

Buddhist monasteries and communities also have been situated along Lake Baikal’s perimeter for centuries. The Buddhists consider the pristine holy lake to hold the energy of Lord Buddha.

During my visit to the lake in May, half of the holy lake was still frozen. I was delighted to find the ice had in certain parts formed geometric ice crystals that expressed themselves in amazing geometric forms. Some appeared almost in snowflake geometries, others as pinnacles.

Baikal is amazing, and it is not without reason that Siberians refer to it not as a lake, but as a sea. Its water is unusually transparent, such that one can look though it as through a crystalline gem, its color is a transparent shimmering soft-turquoise, pleasant and soothing to the eye, as well as body, mind and soul. Staring over the endless waters was like scrying into a crystal ball…it opened the chakras.

Its shores are mountainous and forest-covered; lush forested virginal wilderness all around. A profusion of bears, elk, deer, sable, and wild ram teeming in healthy abidance throughout the area.

The environ is awakening and invigorating. It is all one needs to strengthen the body and soothe the mind. For a time one forgets worry, and effortlessly begins to discover the stunning mystical beauty of this natural cathedral.

For this writer, Baikal opened the doorway to more than tranquility; it opened my heart in a profound and serendipitous way. I felt the joy of nature, the beauty of life. I was able to return to a special place of immense well being, a mystical paradise of where I should be always be. For a timeless period of four days I returned fully to the beauty of Gaia, of Nature’s wonders. It was around me in beautiful mountains, meadows, forest and air, full of the smell of the crisp waters, aromatic wild flowers ( even with the spring not fully expressed, flowers were everywhere the remaining remnants of melting snow was not. The ever green trees had the magic smell of Christmas trees, and it was a lovely perfume that opened memories worth having.

At the lakes edge I was immersed in the plasmic vibration of crystal clear water, and above the fathomless blue of the Siberian sky, the blinding white of clouds and golden sun, making way at night for a velveteen canvas of sparkling stars. I saw majestic cliffs where time itself carved out startling grottos and caves, mysterious rock paintings, the creation of far distant ancestors, lush turquoise bays and inviting inlets. I began to feel Baikal, to touch it, breathe it … and I began to open and understand.

Shamans Island

I visited a Buryat Shaman during my time in Baikal and was delighted and honored to take part in drumming ceremonies in accolade to the lake. The drums and songs, used in ceremony with a sacred fire, were strikingly similar to those of the Native American. The directions were acknowledged, and prayer songs were dedicated to the spirit of the lake. The Shaman wore traditional robes and drummed with an elk skin ceremonial drum, hand crafted by his grandfather. He was Mongolian in appearance, in the same way as the Eskimo tribe of Alaska. He was good natured and spoke English. He was an elder in the tribe and a language teacher in the local school. Although my company had allowed me to take a 4-week, 8 hour per day saturation course in Russian 2 years earlier, his English was far better than my rudimentary Russian.

He shared with me stories of the lake, and spoke of Guardian deities that were traditionally honored regarding the lakes, forests, mountains and rivers. He spoke of a very sacred island in the lake, near the shore that was used for ceremony. He made smoke offerings and purifications with what appeared to be dried cedar or spruce. I was honored deeply to have time with him.

Final Day

The end of my last day at the lake was dedicated to meditation in one of the holy areas along the lake. I found a spot sheathed in granitic outcroppings, overlooking the frozen beauty of the lake, just in view of the sacred island. Dressed in appropriately warm clothing, I found I was able to reach a deep state very quickly.

I connected to the spirit of the lake and in timeless repose had a vision of a beautiful and enormous ‘Fire-Bird’ emerging from its depths. The eagle transformed to glowing white as it hovered high above the lake. Its body then radiated the colors of the rainbow. These enveloped me, and I felt tremendous energy, a frequency of great peace and well-being. After a few hours, I knew my time was coming to a close. The winds whipped up and had an icy edge. I buried three crystals I had brought within the grounds, and I placed four more in the thawed waters along the shoreline.

As I walked back to my waiting car and tour guide, I paused once more to view the splendid scene. An energy pervaded me, and the Lake once again filled my heart, truly an energy of Sacred Russia, with Love.

SF Source Earth Keeper Newsletter September 8 2012