Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Holy Rover

Home
New Visions
With the Red Rock Groupies in Sedona

With the Red Rock Groupies in Sedona

Last updated on: May 24, 2016 at 11:44 am by Lori Erickson

With the Red Rock Groupies in Sedona 2016-05-24T11:44:23-06:00 Lori Erickson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Red Rock Country of the American Southwest glows with an almost unearthly light at times. (Bob Sessions photo)

Groupies aren’t just associated with rock music—landscapes have them as well.

I came to this conclusion on a recent trip Bob and I took to the American Southwest. In one campground after another we met people who have fallen in love with Red Rock Country. Some travel full time in this region; others come here again and again.

Red Rock Country refers to the parts of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona where red sandstone rock predominates. Easily erodible by wind and rain, the region has been shaped over millions of years into canyons, buttes, and sinuously shaped formations such as hoodoos, arches, natural bridges, and arroyos. It’s little wonder that this landscape includes nine national parks, including the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce.

A slot canyon in Utah shows the effects of millions of years of wind and rain. (Bob Sessions photo)

I think I’m becoming one of these Red Rock Groupies myself, because this landscape is as inherently spiritual as any I’ve seen. The colors are part of it—rich hues of every shade of red, pink and orange. The sunlight plays with the peaks and canyons, lighting up one portion of the landscape after another as the day progresses. In the evening, all you want to do is just sit in a chair and gaze at the rocks, enraptured.

I’ll be talking about several of my favorite places in the Southwest over the next few posts, trying to give a sense for the spirituality of this countryside.

I begin in a place I’ve wanted to visit for a long time: Sedona, Arizona. New Age capital, site of alien landings, and center for energy vortexes. How could the Holy Rover not be fascinated by Sedona?

Some towns just luck out when it comes to scenery. That’s certainly true for Sedona, which has one of the most exquisite physical settings of any place I’ve been. Located in a valley, it’s surrounded by red rock formations. Forests create ribbons of green against the red, and the sky is almost always a brilliant blue.

This dramatic landscape has attracted a diverse range of people. There’s too much wealth in Sedona for my taste, to be honest, with multi-million-dollar homes lining the hills (though they’re less obtrusive than in many comparable towns because of strict zoning laws). But the folks who most fascinated me were those who are attracted to Sedona because it’s said to be surrounded by energy vortices.

Who needs to study philosophy when aura photos are available? (Bob Sessions photo)

What is an energy vortex? I’m so glad you asked, because I spent $10 on the book Sedona’s Best Vortex Guidebook, written by Jamie Rota, one of the owners of the Center for the New Age in Sedona. According to Rota, there are seven major vortices in the Sedona area, places that she describes in this way:

These vortices are various locations in nature where vital energy is emitted in great abundance. The vortex centers have an aliveness and intensity of life-force energy that is amplified and concentrated. This spiraling energy flowing from the earth has been documented by human experience over the years and has been responsible for spontaneous healings and spiritual awakenings for hundreds of people.

Part of what I loved about Sedona was the sheer oddness of it, which was obvious at our very first stop, an information center on the edge of town. I came back to the car with a stack of brochures advertising psychic readings, aura photos, past life regressions, and UFO sighting tours.

Try as I might I couldn’t convince Bob to spring for aura photos or a UFO tour, but we did have a grand time just wandering through the stores. Sedona is, I swear, the best place for eavesdropping in the entire United States.

As I entered one shop, for example, these were the first words I heard: “We’re out of fairy dust and unicorn tears,” said one store clerk to another.

In another shop, I overheard a long conversation between the owner and a woman who was trying to decide which crystal to buy. “You’ll be led to the right one,” the woman assured her. “Just listen to your inner voice.” She talked about the various kinds of crystals and their powers, from increasing intuition to healing illnesses. The customer agonized over which one to buy, considering first this one and then that one. Finally the stress of the decision became too much for her and she left.

The owner turned to me and shook her head. “She’s blocking her energy,” she said sadly. “The crystals were talking to her and she couldn’t hear them.”

We also visited with a man who was trying to get us interested in a jeep tour of the area, but then the conversation wandered to what it was like to live in Sedona. “I’ve lived here for 20 years, and I’ve seen quite a few UFOs over my house,” he said. “I can often see the silvery underside of their ships. And out of town there’s a place that’s supposed to be an alien landing site, only you can’t get to it because it’s protected by men in black.”

It turns out that this guy is from Milwaukee originally. Dear Readers, if even Milwaukee natives get drawn into the Sedona vibe, maybe there’s something to what they say about the energy here.

While Bob was skeptical about the aura photos and UFO tours, I had a psychic reading at the Center for the New Age. In addition to tarot cards, crystals, books, jewelry, and angel paraphernalia, they also have a concierge desk staffed by a helpful woman who will connect you with various mediums, healers, and psychics who have offices on site. You flip through a three-ring binder filled with descriptions of their services and then head upstairs.

My psychic-of-choice was a pleasant woman (dressed in purple, naturally) who introduced herself by saying she’d been a consultant for Deepak Chopra in the past. We talked first about diet. She said I should improve mine and recommended adding more vinegar to my foods. She told me I should try to raise my vibration level by focusing on positive things. I should aim for at least 500-575, she said. She gave me an affirmation to say throughout the day: “I feel good now.”

I can’t say it was life-changing, but she was encouraging and warm. I know that Deepak Chopra has been very successful and so I have high hopes for myself as well. I liked how she promised to pray for me, for I am not one to discount the power of prayer.

I loved this mural on the exterior of the Center for the New Age in Sedona. (Bob Sessions photo)

Bob and I also spent time in three of the Sedona energy vortices. To be honest, I’m not sure they felt a lot different than other beautiful places we’ve been in the Southwest. But the hiking was gorgeous. Something about the combination of the deep red of the rocks and the green of the trees was almost mesmerizing, and I could see why people get entranced by Sedona and don’t want to leave.

On our last night in town we went up the hill to Airport Vortex, which is said to have the best sunset views in Sedona. There we were joined by close to a hundred people.

The more time we spent watching the sunset, the more amazing it seemed. People were chatting to strangers. Nobody had their noses buried in their phones. I met people from Israel, Connecticut, Germany, and Florida. All of us were united in our experience of beauty, watching as the light illuminated the red rocks all around us.

It felt like a New Age version of heaven, with all nationalities coming together to watch the sky open. Was it a vortex? I can’t say for certain, but I’m pretty sure it raised my vibration level.

Next post: Two more holy sites in Sedona

The view of the sunset from Airport Vortex in Sedona was stunning.

The view of the sunset from Airport Vortex in Sedona was stunning. (Bob Sessions photo)

Stay in touch! Like Holy Rover on Facebook:

Holy Rover

Mysticism

New Age

Center for the New Age

Sedona

Sedona vortexes

Previous Post

May 17, 2016

River of Grace

Next Post

May 31, 2016 In Sedona With the Buddha and the Holy Cross

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Aging & Spirituality Amish Anabaptists Animals Apocalypse Archeological sites Art and Spirituality Awards Belgian Holy Sites birds Blessings Books Buddhism Business & Spirituality Callings Cats Celtic Cemeteries Children Christianity church Colorado Creation Death Desert Spirituality Easter Economics Education & Spirituality Egypt Episcopal Church Faith Fear Films First Nations Food Forgiveness Germany God Good & Evil Good Friday Grace Gratitude Happiness Healing Hildegard of Bingen Hinduism History Holy Rover blog Holy Sites Holy Week Horses Iceland Illness Images of God Indigenous Spiritualilty Interfaith Interfaith Dialogue Iowa Islam Israel Japan Judaism LDS Church Lent Machu Picchu Martin Luther Media Meditation Monasteries Museums Music Music and Spirituality Musings Mysticism Native American Nature New Age New Zealand Norse History/Culture/Spirituality Orthodox Paradox Paranormal Peru Philosophy Pilgrimage Poetry Politics Pop Culture Pilgrimage Sites Prayers sermons Silence Social Media Spiritual writers Spirituality and Food Spirituality and Social Media Stone Circles Thomas Merton Turkey Uncategorized Unconventional Holy Sites Utopian communities Videos Virgin Mary Wicca Work World War I Writing Zen

Select a Month August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many people did Jesus feed with five loaves of bread and two fish?

Select your answer to see how you score.

1,000 5,000 500 2,500