Sacred Sites of the West.

St. Paul, MN Llewellyn Publications, 2002. Paperback First Edition, First Printing stated. First Edition, First Printing stated. Very Good+ - Near Fine in Wraps: shows indications of very careful use: just a touch of wear to the extremities; mild rubbing to wrapper covers; the binding shows the slightest lean, while remaining perfectly secure; text clean. No longer pristine, but remains structurally sound and tightly bound: clean, bright, presentable: close to 'As New'. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 8vo. 218pp. Twelve page section of color photographs and liberally illustrated also in black & white. Trade Paperback. In this unusual travel guide, Barlow, a Californian and retired educator and abuse therapist, describes natural energy centers throughout the American West, Hawaii, and Mexico. Biofields, the physics of matter, and energy anomalies have created natural phenomena that have the ability to influence us spiritually, mentally, and physically, she notes. Barlow particularly appeals to women as she describes goddess and warrior sites, centers of emergence, balance and harmony, petroglyphs, and springs and mountains that have powerful spirits of place. Bernyce Barlow is actually giving the reader more than a geographic travel book. She has some insightful observations and comments about the places she introduces. Her own understanding of their importance in our own search for personal sacredness in life comes across in this book. She covers all the known places like Mount Shasta and the City of Refuge in Hawaii - but she also comes up with some that new - at least to me. One in particular she refers to as the "Lourdes of America" - a little adobe chapel in New Mexico. I have personally gone though a couple of thousand similabooks in the last decade but have kept only a significant few dozen - of which this volume is one. If you live in the West, or want to travel out West - you should by all means get a copy of this book to use as a travel guide. It is well written and easy to follow. The photos are a wonderful addition to the book. Her maps of the locations are general but one has no problem locating them on a real map or on Map Quest to find out how to get there. This book is also good for the arm chair traveler who cannot get out there and physically explore these places - the author makes them come alive for the reader.