Although I live in Santa Monica and have a great affinity toward water, I have found myself re-connecting to my spirit from a few sacred mountaintops this year. I celebrated the New Year with a small group of friends atop Big Bear, with complete tranquility and a shooting star to top it off. I celebrated my birthday with the Incas on Machu Picchu, where I was transported through space and time. Machu Picchu is considered by many to be the most powerful energy vortex on the planet.

A few days later I stayed with another Inca family on Amantani, Isla de la Luna (the Island of the Moon), in the center of Lake Titicaca – the highest navigatable lake in the world that sits between Peru and Boliva. That night my host – a Paco or Inca priest – and I climbed to the top of the highest peak to do a special ceremony called Fecha Churana. The stars felt so close, it was like bathing in the Milky Way.

Upon returning from Peru, I made a visit to the great Northwest (Seattle and Vancouver) and, although I didn’t climb her, I was greeted each morning by the majestic Mount Olympus and St. Helen. Two weeks ago, I returned to another Californian range to play music with my friends Steve Gold and Shiva Rae, attend concerts by the Wailers and Michael Franti, and practice yoga on top of Squaw in North Lake Tahoe, at the Wanderlust Festival.

Today, I have just returned from a weekend on top of Mount Shasta, sometimes referred to as the root chakra of the earth and also considered to be one of the great energy vortex or portals on the planet. It was a full moon complete with meteor showers and a ceremony of angels featuring a hundred piece choir.

There is something about looking down from raw nature on the top of a mountain, that causes me to take pause and reflect on my life and the abundance of blessings I continue to receive from Mother Earth. There is also another kind of magic for me about connecting to the night sky, the full moon and the stars with such proximity and clarity that resonates in my heart with gratitude, faith and the potential for reaching great heights in my own life.

I am obviously not alone in my experiences, as the ancients have been celebrating from the mountain peaks of the world for as long as recorded history. I am truly blessed this year, however, to taste the nectar of that experience from different corners of the earth.