Fueling the Body and Soul

We are made up of 50-75% water,  fuel for the body

Today was my last day in Sedona. Class ended yesterday and I took today to explore my favorite place. Sedona is a small town, so most of what I did today, was like visiting an old friend. But this morning was very different. I started my day on a very special mission, a new experience.

the path less traveled, fuel for the soul

In all my visits to Sedona, I had heard about the power of the vortexes and how it was the sole purpose in many folks coming here. I guess I was more about the views and the sunset, the red rocks mesmerize me to this day. When I come around the bend on 179 into town and see the first sign of the red rocks, it takes my breath away. Every time. 

A map to the Universe

In this weekend's class at the Sedona Art Center I mentioned that I had a special mission, I had some ashes to spread in the red rocks of Sedona, for a friend. Mary was so sweet to make an amazing suggestion, she said "You know, Boynton Canyon has two vortexes a male and female." Right then I realized, that's my special place. 

I did some research on Boynton Canyon and how to find the vortexes there. They don't label them or advertise them. Thanks to the time and effort of his blog An Alternate Route, by Steve Prefontaine, I had no problem finding my way. I followed his photos and directions by downloading his page before I went out into the Canyon ad lost cell signal.

I headed out early in the morning, so I had no trouble parking at the trail head. There were only mountain bikers unloading whenI pulled in and purchased my red rock pass out of the solar powered vending machine in the parking lot. 

It was all great until I saw the bear sign. 

Gulp.

And there it was. My land shark. GEEZ! I was struck by the very same fear I have for sharks. I hesitated, I walked, I turned back, I walked, I stopped, I walked, I turned back. 

Fear, it can be paralyzing. Just today someone emailed me and said they had my DVD, bought all the collage supplies, but were too scared to start. Why? It's not like your collage is going to MAUL you. Oh my goodness. I wasn't going to let fear deter me from my mission. 

"I'll sit on this bench and wait for someone else to come along the trail and I'll hang behind them," I thought. I'll let them go ahead as an appetizer. OMG. How often do we do this? We don't want to go first, we don't want to put our art out there to be judged, we'd rather follow behind someone else, safe. 

Along came two women who looked like experienced hikers, I hung behind them and headed up the trail. They were going my way, so it worked out. (It felt good not to be totally controlled by my fear of the land shark.) When we got to the vortexes, they had their own agenda, and I had mine. It was just us three up there, so very quiet and peaceful.

The vortexes from the Vista Trail below

I climbed up to the area between the two vortexes to experience the energy. Warrior, the male vortex on the left (I climbed to the very top here and sat) and the Kachina Woman on the right. Can you see the "V" formation in the clouds? that's not doctored, this is the photo as it was taken with my iPhone. 

I imagine experiencing a vortex is like experiencing art, there is a special energy to it. We all bring a part of ourselves to the definition of just what that pull feels like, and how each individual describes their experience is always going to be unique and different. I felt out of balance when I stood there in the center and closed my eyes, I felt like I was slightly swaying on my feet, like I could feel the earth moving. 

I went around the back of the male side of the vortex (which was free standing) to find a peaceful place. There are personal cairns (rock piles) built all over this place by previous visitors. I decided to build a cairn in honor of my special mission. 

the cairn I built in honor of Jared

I came to the strongest vortex in Sedona to spread a small amount of ashes of a young man with a huge personality and a pretty strong pull of his own. I have never spread ashes before, so it rounded out my all-new experiences for today. 

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

the central area between the two vortexes is marked by a rock circle and many cairns 

the sign of a Sedona vortex is said to be the twisted trunks of juniper trees that appear nearby

After ceremoniously letting a handful of powder catch the canyon breeze, I climbed around to the front of the vortex. And there he was. 

Out of nowhere came a man, now standing with his arms and legs spread apart like an X in the center of the two vortexes. He came over and handed me a stone heart, put it in my palm and told me it was the energy of the Creator, the power of the Universe, it was Unconditional Love and it would go with me wherever I went, I could take the power of the vortex with me on my Journey, I could then pass Unconditional Love on to someone else.  This is how we will change the world, he said.

Robert (he later introduced himself) told me he was going to climb to the top of the Warrior formation and play healing Reiki music. "Do you want to join me?" he asked. Really?

Why not? Open your heart and your mind. 

Together we climbed up to the top of Warrior, Robert knew the footholds and pointed the way. What an incredibly spectacular view! It took my breath away to sit there and gaze out over 360º of the red rock canyon colored by Karma and brought together by the Universe for me in that moment. 

My view of the Universe

Robert playing healing music for the earth

I don't now how long I sat up there listening to Robert play, it certainly was relaxing. Between songs we spoke about Unconditional Love, the Creator, and about letting go of all the baggage and crap that bogs us down in life. His last song was called Releasing, just for that purpose.

I'm not sure where Robert came from, but I am very glad our paths crossed. I believe it was all meant to be a part of an original experience, and my special mission. 

the Warrior formation 

Yeah, I climbed to the top of that and back, and never did see any land sharks.

Thank You for being a part 

of my Art Journey,
Elizabeth

click on any image to enlarge