Balancing Acts & Grumpy New Agers: Sedona

Welcome back to the Grove! During the first week of May, I got to combine two things I love to do the most - being in nature and being a metaphysical and psychic teacher/sherpa. (There are one or two other things, but not here, folks.) I was last in Sedona 24 years ago almost to the week and my guides told me I needed to return, to be a sherpa and to connect once again with them. Everything fell into place so quickly and smoothly, it almost unnerved me but I just simply went along with it all. I have to say it was great seeing California in the rearview mirror for the first time in four long years.


And if you don't know where you're going / Any road will take you there.
(Any Road, George Harrison)

This rather helpful signpost appeared at the end of an unexpectedly long hike around Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte. A walk in the park? Thanks, Coyote, thanks for that one. I can hear you laughing, still, all the way over here.

Sedona is famous for its energy vortexes (or vortices), which can be divided into three categories:

Upflow vortex - a site where energy pours out of the earth (male or yang; energizing). It's found on mountain or mesa tops.

Inflow vortex - energy flows into the earth (yin or female; healing and introspective). It's found in canyons and geologic depressions.

Some locations have vortexes that are balanced between the two types in addition to having both uptake and inflow vortexes.

The whole south end of Bell Rock is where its vortex energy is located - and it has all three forms. When I saw this sandstone area, I was covered in goosebumps and said, "There's no way to remember this...but this is where I met my first guide in 1987..." It was. I don't know the name of the cliffs (I'm sure they have names; everything apparently has a name in Sedona) but when I sat down, facing south, the road, they were behind me to my right. Being at Bell Rock was a homecoming for me among the Old Ones.

Behind me, to my left. It's a very large sandstone formation and my feeling is that this is the nexus of Bell Rock's energies. Repeat this picture twice more and you'll have an idea of the sheer size of it. It's a great spot any way one views or feels it, which brings me to another point. The energies are there but how they're sensed or perceived varies from person to person. They can be subtle, or they can be overwhelming, or they can have a great many nuances. When one enters from the parking lot on the south side, one walks right into the energies and it isn't until one goes to the west end, away from the sandstone formation, that the energies subside and one can compare the differences.

This is to my right, due west, from my seated position and I've revisited it over the years, fleetingly, in my dreams. That may be Cathedral Rock in the distance. After that vantage point, continuing on the trail, the energies quiet down but still spike in other locations on the trail. That was the first day in Sedona and Coyote (aka Trickster) was very much a part of that day and evening!

Truly red-rock country. In 1987, after several days, I said, "This is Mars with vegetation." That still holds true. This is to the right of where I was sitting at Airport Mesa, an uptake vortex located in Sedona by, natch, the airport. Maps pinpoint where the vortex is at Airport Mesa but I am telling you, the energy moves around. One indication of such energies is in the juniper trees - if they're straight, not much energy. If they're fantastically twisted and warped, you can bet on energies being in the area. It was a far easier hike and when I sat down, the reason for my return became clear as it took place there...and I have a lot to sort out from that deep, profound experience. That was part of the second day.

Third day, Cathedral Rock, which is on the west side of Sedona. It's an intake vortex. One enters by way of a park trail to Oak Creek and that is a lovely creek. Before, medicine wheels constructed out of rocks were everywhere. I saw only two - on Cathedral Rock's trail - but what blew me away was seeing all these balancing rocks everywhere by Oak Creek. My perception is that it's a Zen-like act of balancing and helping to balance within. They are impermanent, much as the Buddhist sand paintings are, and when the creek rises, they'll be washed away...and rebuilt by others at another time.

The water is so clear! I can easily get lost in watching the interplay of sunlight and water, reflections, refractions, and the like whether in this creek or in Aquarium of the Pacific or a swimming pool. When I return, I promise myself a good half hour or more of watching the dance between sunlight and water. The water is cool but not cold as I'd expected - probably due to the sun's warmth retained by rocks. Its clarity allowed viewing of hundreds of tadpoles at one location, with dragonflies and damselflies hovering over the surface, and a water spider or two skittering on the surface.

The stillness within us is reflected to the world without. There was a cutoff spot, creating a small, cool, quiet pond with murky waters, perfect for reflecting the sky, the trees and the south side of Cathedral Rock further up the trail. This one was a formation in the sandstone itself, creating a pool for however long that water lasts.

Okay, that's Cathedral Rock in the distance and Oak Creek going by. It was wonderful to be surrounded by water and green, leafy vegetation after the previous two days, let me tell you. The energies were so wonderful that I wanted to dance even though I have two left feet (shod in hiking shoes). Next time.

See the stuff on the sandstone at the left?

O-o-o-kaaayyyyy. That day, there were a lot of New Agers in their 20s with "leis" made out of string and little scraps of cloth, very colorful, scattered throughout the canyon. They had incense going (decent incense, I might add), healings, meditations, whatever. But any time they were greeted on the trail with a smile or a "hello" - they scowled, or looked straight ahead, or stuck their noses up in the air. Upon returning to the park proper and sitting at a cement picnic table in shade, it was noted that they were in two groups. I went to wash my hands and asked a young woman with a "lei" if there was a special event or workshop going on. She glared at me and paused, then snarked, "Um...NO." She spun on her heel and strode off looking as grim and earnest as the rest of the two groups did. Excuse me? Since when did the quest for spirituality become so joyless, disdainful and humorless? I was part of the first wave of New Agers all through the 80s (and the end of the 70s) and none of us had that attitude - there was joy in the quest as one of my fellow new age sojourners commented when I recounted this to her after my return. This was also seen and re-confirmed on the fourth day with someone else, in two different locations - uptown Sedona and again at Cathedral Rock.

Which brings me to this. We are all on the Journey of Life, and we are on a great many different paths, seeking the same, ultimate goal. Our paths are woven together intricately - or they may not intersect - but no one path is better than anyone else's path; no one is superior to anyone else. Take joy in the path and remember to laugh because that eases the path.




My deepest and most heartfelt thanks to the Old Ones (most particularly the Lady, Coyote, and Tony); to the ravens and Raven; to my friends, who helped me to remember to laugh again, among other things; and even to the grumpy New Agers. This was a profound journey and learning curve during and after the trip, and while it will take some time to process and understand everything about it, I have faith in the process itself. Blessings. I'll be back, Sedona.