Sedona

At the Super 8 in West Sedona

 For some unknown reason, I've wanted to go to Sedona, AZ for a long time. Finally, in January 2011, I was able to spend 4 beautiful days there.

I flew into Phoenix and took the Sedona-Phoenix shuttle...a very pleasant 1 hour ride in a 10 passenger van...to the Super 8 in West Sedona. I must say this was a great place to stay. Clean, quiet, friendly and helpful staff, spectacular scenery and a very good restaurant in the parking lot.

The view in every direction was spectacular. Those of us who live on the East Coast tend to forget how big everything is out West.
Sedona is known as a highly spiritual "power place" with natural vortex energy literally pouring out of the ground. Several of the people I met in town told me that everyone in Sedona is on a "journey" or a "quest." Some people are more tuned in to the energy than others. Many businesses and individuals offer "vortex tours" to the more well-known hot spots like Airport Mesa, Boynton Canyon, Cathedral Rock at Red Rock Crossing where the energy is thought to be the strongest.

The plentiful juniper trees react to the powerful force by growing limbs in a corkscrew-like manner, as if being blown by a constant prevailing wind.

Quartz Crystals

The iron laden red rock geology includes a layer of natural crystals that acts as a focal point for Earth's electromagnetic energy. There are many places where the surface rock has worn away revealing little pockets of quartz colonies...kind of like crystal "potholes." For me, the energy of the whole area was very intense...like being in a vortex or not having my feet on the ground most of the time. I was actually worried when crossing the street because I felt so light and as though my senses of time and density were a bit off. I asked several natives how they were able to cope with the intense energy. The answers ranged from "I can't feel it" to "It is exhilirating" to "It took me ten years to learn to cope after I moved here."

Just beyond the parking lot behind the Super8 was a secluded stone stool of sorts which was great for watching the landscape, the changing light and the stars at night. About 25 feet from my room, I felt grounded here and began and ended each day by visiting. By placing my medicine bag and personal stones on this little altar of sorts, I was able to become better grounded and more secure in my travels around the area. Literally, a "touchstone."