Secrets and Mysteries of the World

by Sylvia Browne

Overview

For those of us who have always been fascinated by the unexplained—or inadequately explained—secrets and mysteries of this world, Sylvia Browne now brings her great insight.

Using a combination of information from her spirit guide Francine as well as her own incredible psychic powers, Sylvia augments current scientific research to provide us with detailed explanations about seeming inexplicable concepts. From the Great Pyramid to Stonehenge, Sylvia reveals amazing facts about some of the world’s most mysterious sites.

The truth behind sacred and controversial objects such as the Shroud of Turin and the Holy Grail are brought to light; and fascinating and mystifying topics such as crop circles, the Lost Continent of Atlantis, UFOs, Easter Island, and much more are examined and clarified.

Sylvia tears away the obscure and timeworn explanations that hide the underlying truths about these fascinating subjects.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781401922504
Publisher:	Hay House Inc.
Publication date:	05/01/2006
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	237
Sales rank:	249,926
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

The #1 New York Times best-selling author Sylvia Browne (1936–2013) was a spiritual teacher and world-renowned psychic who appeared regularly on The Montel Williams Show and Larry King Live, as well as making countless other media and public appearances. With her down-to-earth personality and great sense of humor, Sylvia thrilled audiences on her lecture tours. She also wrote numerous immensely popular books, 22 of which appeared on the New York Times bestsellers list. Please visit www.sylviabrowne.com or call [phone] for further information about her work.

Read an Excerpt

Secrets & Mysteries OF THE WORLD

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By Sylvia Browne

Hay House, Inc.

Copyright © 2005 Sylvia Browne
All right reserved.
ISBN: 1-4019-0085-2

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Chapter One

Stonehenge

On the Salisbury Plain in England lies a magnificent stone circle that was once used for religious ceremonies and has been attributed to the Druids, a caste of Celtic priests. Although they may have used it, its beginnings actually go back to the Neolithic people of the British Isles.

Some historians say that Stonehenge dates to about 3000 B.C., but I felt when I was there that it was more like 5000 B.C. And while the circle has been rebuilt many times, it has somehow managed to keep the same general configurations.

There are more than a thousand stone circles in the British Isles, but nothing is as remarkable as Stonehenge. It's the only one consisting of 30 upright stones (17 of which still stand) that were chiseled, smoothed, and imported from outside the local area, and it's the only one with lintel stones that were shaped into curves and placed on top of the upright stones, forming a circle of doorways.

It's interesting to note that the axis of Stonehenge, which divides the circle and aligns with its entrance, is oriented toward the midsummer solstice sunrise; while in nearby Ireland, the monument Newgrange, which was built at approximately the same time, is directed toward the midwinter solstice sunrise. Now, we can surmise that this was some kind of calendar-and I'm sure that this was a small part of it because humans have always been interested in the heavens-but as we'll see, the placement of the stones had a deeper spiritual meaning. It's as if they carried a vibration of protective energy to keep negativity out and give the people inside safety and grace.

Stonehenge has come to be studied by archaeoastronomists, who track the astronomical practices of ancient cultures. You see, even in primitive or ancient times, people such as the Egyptians (who will be addressed later) were extremely interested in the phases of the sun and moon and the configuration of the stars. I'm sure that they used the seasons for planting; or anticipating rainfalls, temperature changes, or floods, paying particular attention to the phases of the moon. (Even in today's world, you have only to ask anyone in emergency rooms, police departments, or my own profession what kind of bizarre things come about during a full moon. Doctors have studied women's menstrual flows along with the cycles of the moon for years-after all, it makes sense that if the oceans are affected, why not our physical well-being? And The Old Farmer's Almanac is based not only on seasons, but also on what phase the moon is in during these times. So none of this is without some basis in fact and research.)

While there's no doubt that Stonehenge did have a definite astrophysical implication, I feel that many researchers have missed the greater spiritual insights inherent in its existence.

Piercing the Veil at Stonehenge

When I first visited Stonehenge in 1978, there were no barriers, so you could freely roam over and around the stones. I recently returned with a group of people, and I was again allowed to examine the stones and get all the vibrations I needed. The ability to touch an object and psychically access its history through energy is called psychometry. Since everything in nature carries an imprint, you only have to be able to tap in to it, and the whole story will unfold. Like many other places we'll explore in this book, the rocks of Stonehenge contain the vibrations of layers upon layers of different times, peoples, and rituals that I was able to pick up on.

The first types of feedback I began to get were images of people-hundreds of individuals dragging huge monoliths across a plain. The rocks seemed to have been cut and mined from an ancient quarry in southwest England. There were also giant pulleys on a crudely constructed, yet fairly sophisticated, machine, with wheels and rope that hoisted the stones up. The men pulling the stones were very primitive looking, wearing animal skins and hats and sporting facial tattoos. In a time-altering, fast-forward sort of way, I could see them putting the stones in a circle. They also seemed to have some type of rope that measured the distances. I could hear them shouting and grunting, but in a language that sounded like nothing I've ever heard.

On the outside of this perfect stone circle, there was a group of women and children sitting or standing and watching with rapt attention. Every once in a while, a jubilant exclamation would come out of some of the women's mouths, as if to cheer the men on. I noticed that the women and children seemed to be fingering red beads or berries that were strung together. It reminded me of Catholics saying the rosary for a special miracle or prayer.

After the monoliths were in place, they looked shiny and white-certainly not like the gray color they are now. When the circle was finished, everyone came into it and knelt, not in a supplicant manner, but as if this was the right and comfortable posture. The circle seemed to be a haven for them, keeping negativity outside. (Think about how many times we surround ourselves with the White Light of the Holy Spirit-who's to say that these stones might not have served as protection from random hordes of marauding bands?) It seemed that for whatever reason, these people felt that while they were in the circle, their god (or gods) protected them.

Next, a very tall man appeared, dressed in a bright red cape and a tall, cone-shaped hat with starlike points coming out of it. He began to go in and out of the stone doorways-and each time he did, he would take off his cape; when he got through the doorway, he'd put it back on.

It looked to me like he was showing rebirth: going through the portal of life with nothing, and then assuming the posture of putting on earthly garb. The man then began a charade. He pointed to a woman and instructed her to pick up a baby and stand with him, thus signifying the continuation of the lineage.

The group began uttering a guttural-sounding chant; then, as if from nowhere, fruits, vegetables, and some kind of nut were served. The tall, caped man looked around at the circle and seemed to be pleased. Then his eyes moved over the crowd and settled on a dark, unshaven male huddled in a type of animal cloak. He pointed his finger at the smaller man and made what sounded like a clucking noise, and the crowd joined in. He beckoned the man toward him, who approached with head bent. The tall man held out his hand, and the shorter, shabby male dropped two golden objects into his palm. The man with the cape then turned to a woman behind him and gave her the objects. She seemed surprised and relieved, grabbed them, and humbly knelt down.

The tall man pointed for the other male to leave the circle, yet he seemed to beg not to be banished. I thought, He's a thief and is being sent away. As soon as I thought this, the short man resolutely limped out of the circle and soon vanished into the fog that was beginning to envelop the plains. I was recording everything on tape at the time and said, "Well, justice was meted out here for thieves and those who broke the law." I knew this was a very primitive time, but I still felt that these people had a social structure as well as a moral conscience. They didn't appear strange except for their clothing (or lack thereof); in fact, in their own way, they seemed cared for and certainly didn't look undernourished.

Then the scene changed. I don't know exactly how to describe how this happens, but it's like watching a movie-it's almost as if I'm in a mental time machine, and when it starts, it just continues until I want to stop it. I now noticed what I hadn't seen before: a huge white stone right in the center of the circle. The caped figure would point to each man, who would then come up and place a very primitive spear on the altarlike rock, which seemed to have the power to give the men courage and lend strength to their weapons.

The Most Magnificent of Burial Grounds

Around A.D. 1135, Geoffrey of Monmouth, in his work The History of the Kings of Briton, claimed that Stonehenge was brought from Africa to Ireland by a tribe of giants; from there, it was flown by the magician Merlin across the sea to its present site. It seems that Merlin did this for Ambrosius Aurelianus, the King of Britons. In his History, Geoffrey states that Ambrosius buried about 460 nobles who had been murdered by the Saxons at the site, and goes on to claim that Uther Pendragon (Ambrosius's brother and King Arthur's magical father) and King Constantine were also buried in the vicinity. The following is what Merlin said to King Ambrosius according to Geoffrey:

If you [Ambrosius] are desirous to honor the burying-place of these men with an everlasting monument, send for the Giants' Dance, which is in Killaraus, a mountain in Ireland. For there is a structure of stones there, which none of this age could raise, without a profound knowledge of the mechanical arts. They are stones of a vast magnitude and wonderful quality; and if they can be placed here, as they are there, round this spot of ground, they will stand forever.

It's interesting how much King Arthur and Merlin keep winding in and out of the mythology of Stonehenge. I do believe that these two figures existed, but not in the overblown version familiar to us from so many works of fiction.

Another legend says that the stones were bought from an Irish woman by the devil and erected on the Salisbury Plain. I find it amazing that when humankind can't explain something, more often than not we give it a negative connotation, especially if it was before the common era of Christianity. It's as if humans didn't love God before Christianity came along-not even some type of a creator, whatever that may be, who was greater than they were.

Now we get to the Druids. By the time they arrived on the scene, there were also smaller arrangements of stones within the large outer circle. These formations were made of a different kind of rock, called bluestone, which scientists believe came from southwestern Wales. In the 17th century, the Druids, who had been practicing in Britain for more than a thousand years prior to this, were defamed as devil worshipers given to human sacrifice and the like. (It bears repeating that whenever human beings don't understand something, evil is always attributed to it.)

When I stood there in the growing twilight, seeing these visions open up almost like a large kaleidoscope of time, I saw some white-hooded figures making their way across the plain. There seemed to be at least a hundred of them walking single file. There were no words spoken, but a very spiritual hush fell over everything-even the people I was with said that they felt it. The atmosphere, the birds, the air ... everything became quiet, as if we were piercing the veil of a time long passed. It was obvious we were in the presence of the Druid priests.

As the Druids approached the circle, it's almost as if I could again see how this place was once whole, with all the stones in place and what I call the "altar stone" in the middle. Some of the priests stood in the circle, while others stood as sentinels on the outside, and they all began to chant in a very melodious tone. One man stepped out-the only thing that distinguished him from the rest was that he had a golden cord around his white robe. He stood with his arms straight up and began to chant very loudly, like a Greek chorus, or in Catholic ceremonies when the priest chants and the congregation answers him. I know Latin, and the chant had that flowing timbre to it but was much more primitive.

I saw the man with the golden cord take a beautiful sword out of his robe, which he then laid on the altar stone; as I watched it, it began to gleam with a golden light. Then another priest appeared and put a figurine of a nude woman with large hips and breasts on the altar next to the sword. Everyone seemed to pay homage to this idol-it's interesting to note that there was a Mother Goddess present here.

Next they joined hands and began to sing again, sounding much like a Gregorian chant. The head male turned, and everyone was seated. Another two priests came up with pouches and opened them on the altar. At first I couldn't make out what was in them, but then I saw that it was bones. It was as if they were honoring their dead.

As they sat and sang, the high priest took the sword, gestured to one of the stone doorways, and then proceeded to point at the sky. Next he went through the doorway and came back in through the one next to it, still pointing to the sky with the sword. (I could see through some of the entrances, and I quickly realized that each one not only pointed to where the sun rose, but they pointed to different galaxies as well, including Andromeda.)

The priests sat for a long time, and then, as if on cue, each followed the leader through the doors, while looking up at the heavens. There was no human sacrifice, no bloodshed-just a group of spiritual, monklike figures in white robes giving thanks to their deity or deities and reenacting their purpose here on this earth.

All this happened in a flash, and before I could quietly utter what I was feeling, my spirit guide Francine said, "They're showing their belief that we're reincarnated time and time again, and that we come from other galaxies-the stones are symbols of our entry into this reality." Much like the earlier Celts but even more sophisticated as far as being time travelers, I thought.

It was as if the Druids were saying, "I will die, but I will go to the heavens and possibly recuperate there and then come back here through the doorway of life to learn." It's very much like our Gnostic Christian belief, without the astronomy attached. I came away feeling that life is a circle-sometimes we'll find ourselves back at the starting point unless we go through the doorways of life for God and learn our lessons.

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I must pause here to explain Francine to those of you who aren't familiar with her. Francine is my primary spirit guide, and she's been with me since I was born. (I also have a secondary guide, Raheim, who came to me later on, but he won't appear in this book.) In addition to being a trance medium and clairvoyant, I'm also clairaudient, which means that I'm able to hear Francine, which I've clone since I was seven years old. Now, if you've read any of my other books, then you know that she's a great researcher and has been proven right countless times. Even things that seemed preposterous have been proven to be true over the years (there are too many of them to mention here).

Francine told me that during the spring and fall equinoxes, the people of Stonehenge would bring wheat, corn, and fruit to place on the altar stone as an offering. It was so simplistic and yet so beautiful-and not at all mysterious or frightening.

As I was leaving, I told my group to look at these round, earthen mounds that encircle Stonehenge, for they're like burial chambers. A short time later, the media reported that skeletons had been found by archaeologists in and around Stonehenge. I hate to be saying this after the fact, but I know that the people who were with me, including our guide, Peter Plunkett (who lives in Ireland), remember it all. The aspect of buried remains also goes back to the legend that Geoffrey of Monmouth relates of Stonehenge being erected as a memorial. People wanted to be buried as close to this religious and holy site as possible. The more important you were, the closer you were buried; hence, noblemen and the higher leaders were buried closer to the sacred site than those of lesser note.

As I've said so many times, don't just take what I say (or anyone says) for granted. Research the facts, and you'll come to the right conclusions. But don't assume that everything we don't know is wrong or evil or that we already know all the answers. A closed mind lets nothing in ... or, for that matter, nothing out.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Secrets & Mysteries OF THE WORLD by Sylvia Browne Copyright © 2005 by Sylvia Browne. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

	Introduction	xi
Part I	Mysterious Places
1	Stonehenge	3
2	Easter Island	13
3	Shangri-La	17
4	The Bermuda Triangle	21
5	The Lost Continent of Atlantis	29
6	Lemuria	41
Part II	Strange Creatures
7	Tulpas	49
	The Loch Ness Monster
	Sasquatch
	The Leviathan
8	The Fairy World	61
9	Demons	65
10	Witches and Werewolves	75
11	Vampires and Chupacabras	83
12	Children's Invisible Friends	91
13	Extraterrestrials	93
Part III	Unexplained Objects
14	The Crystal Skulls	105
15	The Ica Stones	111
16	Otherworldly Maps and Instruments	119
	The Piri Reis Map
	Nazca Lines
	The Antikythera Mechanism
17	The Pyramids and the Sphinx	129
18	Crop Circles	149
Part IV	Mystic Phenomena
19	Spontaneous Human Combustion	163
20	Kinetic Energy and Auras	167
21	Voodoo, Astrology, and Shamans	171
22	Universal Enigmas	179
	Black Holes
	The Polar Tilt
	The Hollow-Earth Theory
23	Alien Abductions	185
Part V	Christian Controversies
24	Stigmata	191
25	The Shroud of Turin	193
26	The Holy Grail and the Holy Spirit	201
27	The Lost Years of Jesus	205
28	The Devil	223
29	The Mythology of Popular Holidays	225
	Afterword	233
	Acknowledgments	235
	About the Author	236
	About the Artist	237