Vortex of Energy and New Age

   Sedona is a town of around 11,000 people, yet the town receives nearly four million visitors a year.  Some come because Sedona is not far from the Grand Canyon.  Others come for New Age experiences. A New York Times article described Sedona as a "spiritual hot tub without the water."

My niece, Katie, told me about this place.

New Age

   Beliefs in New Age differ from place to place. In Sedona, the New Age movement has a mix of Celtic Goddess worship, Native American ceremonies,  crystal healings, mysticism, and Eastern philosophies.

Vortex

   We have all seen physical vortexes.  A tornado is a vortex of wind.  Flushing the toilet sets off a vortex of water.  In Sedona, it is believed that there are vortexes of energy at certain spots around the town, where prayers ascend more quickly, and energy can be felt.

I tried to feel energy at the various vortex sites, but I didn't feel anything.

Some History

    The Native Americans have long held the area around Sedona to be sacred ground, and with the beauty of the area, this is not a far-fetched belief system.   Long before men worshipped gods in the heavens, they worshipped deities in nature, and in many cultures this still occurs.

    The New Age movement of Sedona started in full when Mary Lou Keller, a real estate agent, moved with her husband to Sedona.  Mrs. Keller was quite taken with metaphysical mysticism, and started the Sedona Church of Light, to explore her beliefs.  She would often have large groups of people in her home to listen to visiting guests who claimed to "channel" spirits, or to listen to tapes by well-known clairvoyants.   After 22 years of marriage, Mr and Mrs Keller divorced over her beliefs in the metaphysical.  Around town, Mary Lou was often referred to as "the crazy real estate lady" for her beliefs.

    Another New Age pioneer in Sedona was Paige Bryant, who discovered the ley lines and vortexes in the area.  Ley lines, in mysticism, are lines of power, and when they intersect, an energy vortex will manifest itself.  Ley lines are not a New Age belief, but come from very old pagan beliefs.  In this sense, Sedona is similar to Glastonbury, England, another center for metaphysical believers - and has been for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. For the ancient Druids, Glastonbury was the home to many ley lines and vortexes.  As a person with Welsh heritage, I wouldn't be surprised to find that my ancestors a few thousand years ago would find their way to Glastonbury as it was home to both Druid and Christian mysticism. 

   The New Age movement reached its peak in Sedona in 1987, when thousands of people came to the town for the Harmonic Convergence.  This was a time when all the planets  in our solar system were in line with each other.  Jose Arguelles, a professor of art history, organized the Harmonic Convergence in Sedona, which was basically the first globally synchronized meditation movement.  Similar gatherings happened all over the world.
   The New Age movement in Sedona is a complex one with many players, which I won't go into here.  This is a blog and not a dissertation.  However, the University of Northern Arizona in nearby Flagstaff had done at least two studies on the tourists/visitors coming to Sedona, and I bet there have been a few dissertations written on Sedona's New Age populace.

Sedona Today

   One can find any number of New Age practitioners in town.  The following photos are from one New Age store - which from a gemology view had some great crystal specimens!

There are people in Sedona who believe in aliens and alien abduction.

Some crystals can conduct electricity (tourmaline), others have magnetic properties (hematite).  However no scientific research has proven that crystals have healing powers.

New Age practicioners often borrow concepts from Buddhism and Hinduism.

Two sides of Sedona - Buddha and a cowboy

Many Christians

     Sedona is home to many Christians, of various denominations.  For some Chritianity is just as mystical as New Age and therefore not valid.  Everyone deserves to believe what they wish without being picked at by others.  My favorite church is The Chapel of the Holy Cross, conceived and funded by Margurite Brunswig Staude. This is a prayer chapel only, no congregation meets here. 



Sedona Arizona

    Sedona Arizona - the name means so many things to different types of people.  Let's explore these people and the town they call home.

The Native Americans
  The area in and around Sedona has long been inhabited by Native Americans as they considered the area sacred ground.  Ancient peoples such as the Anasazi, Hohokam, and Sinaqua have left ruins.
   Contemporary tribes include the Dine (the People - White folks call them Navajo), Hopi ( People of Peace), Haalapai ( People of Tall Pines), Havasupai ( People of the blue-green water), Yavapai, and Apache.  The Yavapai and Apache have several subgroups within their respective nations.  The Yavapai-Wipukepa (People from the Foot of the Red Rock) were and are the Native people of the Yavapai Nation originally living in the area.
   In 1876, 1500 Yavapai and Apache were forcibly marched 180 southeast to the San Carlos Indian Reservation.  This march took place in midwinter, and several hundred people died.  The survivors were interned for 25 years.  In 1900 a few of these people came back to the Sedona area.

Montezuma's Castle - believed to be a Sinagua dwelling.

The Settlers
    It is believed that the first European to see the area around Sedona was Antonio de Espejo around 1583!  Many Spaniards were looking for silver and gold in the area, which they did not find.
    The first permanent settler was J.J. Thompson, who moved into the area in 1876 followed by a few more hardy settlers.  They settled the Oak Creek Canyon area.  Part of Thompson's homestead is now home to a Dairy Queen!  We stopped there.
     One of the early settlers was T.C. Schnebly and his wife, Sedona.  For years, T.C. petitioned to get a post office station in the area.  Original names for the postal station were Schnebly Station, Red Rock Crossing, and Oak Creek Station.  However, the U.S. Government thought all of these names were too long to fit on a postal cancellation stamp.  It was T.C.'s brother, Dorsey Schnebly that suggested his sister-in-law, Sedona, as a name for the postal station.  In 1902, the name Sedona was granted as a station name, and a town was born.

Theodore and Sedona

     Parts of the town of Sedona did not have electricity until the 1960s!   

The Artists
    Like various art colonies around the country, and simlar to Tubac in southern Arizona, artists came for the beauty of the area and stayed.  In 1950, artist Max Ernst moved to Sedona.  Since then, many artists have moved to the area, and the town is filled with many upscale art galleries. The artwork here is quite expensive.

Max and Dorothea Ernst with his scupture "Capricorn".

The New Age Folk
    Sedona is most famous for the New Age movement, which at its peak in 1987, had thousands of devotees coming to Sedona for the Harmonic Convergence, when all the planets aligned.  (I actually recall this day, not because I was in Sedona, but because I was hired for a teaching job, and my sister and I spotted a jeep for sale - my brother-in-law wanted a jeep.)   I will go into more detail in another post about the New Age Movement in Sedona.

The sign says it all.

Back to Arizona

     While in Arizona this past February, my sister, Susan, came up with the idea that I return and we could go hiking near Sedona in northern Arizona.

     I have driven from Utah to the Phoenix area several times with my mother.  The area  just south of Flagstaff is very pretty.  However, only once did I convince my mother to make the detour to Oak Creek Canyon, near Sedona.  She wasn't happy with me.  She had a set traveling agenda on her mind.  When Susan suggested coming back to hike the area, I was excited!

     Sedona is located about two hours north of Phoenix, and a bit south of Flagstaff.

Phoenix to Sedona

Then and Now

A bit south of Sedona is Montezuma's Castle.  This was a cliff dwelling that was home to around 35 people at any given time over a three-generation time period.  The name came from the mistaken notion that Aztec king, Montezuma, used this dwelling.  Archaeologists now know that the Aztecs never came this far north.  The dwelling probably belonged to the Sinagua People.

Now, the Yavapai-Apache Nation has a casino and hotel at the freeway exit to the Sinagua ruins.

My Big Sister, Susan

    In 1961, Susan was 15 years old and would experience two major events that would forever change her life.  Event one - I was born!  Event two - our father had a massive heart attack when I was four months old, putting Susan in the situation of being the mom to both me and our seven-year-old sister, Joan.

Susan is 18.  I am 3.  I am holding my beloved yellow baby.

    As a young child, Susan always had fun activities for me to do, and I have some pretty cool memories.  Now we are adults and finding new ways to bond as equals.  This trip was a blast, and we had a good time.  We have tentative plans for more roadtrips/hiking trips.

My sister is awesome!

Susan with a calavera.

More Cacti

   Because my blog would not cooperate with me..... I have two posts on cacti.

Teddy Bear or Cholla cactus.

The birds that make these nests do not sit on them.
 They make holes in the bottom of the nest and go in through there.

I don't know the names of these cacti.  Susan calls them "meltdowns".

Organ pipe cactus

I call this "Purple Cactus"!

The Amazing Cactus

     There are hundreds of cacti species. Thousands of books have been written about the cactus.  These pictures are what I saw.

The Amazing Saguaro

    The saguaro is the iconic image of the old west, and yet it is found in only a small portion of Arizona, New Mexico and northern Mexico. Saguaros can live an average life of 150 years, some even topping 200!  They can way up to a ton, and stand 20 feet tall.

Cacti grow from tiny seeds.  The plant flowers at the very top of the plant, and produces fruit which is quite tasty.

This is a nest that has been hollowed out by a bird. 
Cacti can act like desert apartments or condos for a host of animals.
 When one moves out, another moves in.

Once a cactus dies and falls, it is still a home to the
 insects and snakes that live on the ground.

This is a cactus boot.  When a bird hollows out the pulp of a cactus to make a nest, the cactus
 protects itself by forming an airtight scab.  This boot is that hollow scab.  Once the cactus dies and falls,
 the boot can still be a home to an insect of snake.  Susan and I were able to find a boot to bring back for
 my science table at school. 

Every saguaro has an internal set of ribs.  Once the cactus dies, the ribs can be used
for a variety of purposes, such as making furniture.

I love this photo because the cacti are growing among rocks and go all the way up the mountain.

This is a crested cactus.  Scientists are not really sure how the crest forms. The most common
 theory is that the cactus has developed a virus or a bacteria has affected the growth.

Got Tequila?

     The alcoholic beverage, tequila, is made from the fermented juice of the agave cactus.

There are many types of agave

Even baby plants have spines.  When they are all balled up before blooming, the spines leave
 impressions or scars on the other leaves.

A giant asparagus?  This is the agave flower.  They are taller than I am!

Saguaro National Park

     Located in two sections to the east and west of Tucson,  Saguaro National Park is the first national park or monument set aside to protect a species of plant, the mighty saguaro cactus.  I don't have any pictures or memories of visiting this area back in the 80s, with my mom, aunt and uncle.  But, I am fairly sure we must have driven through this area as it is near Old Tucson, a western movie studio, that we did go to.
Some History

    In March 1933, President Herbert Hoover set aside land to the east and west of Tucson to protect the saguaro cactus.  Presidents Kennedy and Johnson would add more land to the monument.  In 1994, President Clinton would again enlarge the protective area and make Saguaro National Park the 52nd national park in the United States.

Some Science

    The Sonoran Desert, located in Arizona and northern Mexico, is a diverse and fascinating home to several species of cacti and a host of animals.  The Desert Museum, located near the entrance of the park is a fascinating place to visit and see the diverse animal life that lives in the desert.

   Susan and had limited time, and would like to come back to hike the trails we did not get to.  Here are a few of the animals that live in the Sonoran Desert.

Prairie Dogs - they had a glassed in enclosure.  However with their vast network of tunnels, they probably could get out of the enclosure.

A humming bird on her nest.

Western Screech Owl

Parrots!

A map of the Islands in the Sky - where parrots live.

Puma or Mountain Lion

Kestrals - a type of hawk

Mule Deer

Can you find the Mexican wolf?  He is camoflaged.

Snakes

Tarantulas

  Other animals include rabbits, javalinas (don't call them pigs!), foxes, coyotes, brown bears (really!) tortoises, river otters (we did see these, hard to photograph) and fish found only in this region.

Islands in the Sky  

     The high mountains in Arizona and Mexico attract clouds filled with rain.  With this high amount of rain, semi-tropical rain forests develop, attracting parrots.  This was a fascinating fact that was new to me.

     I loved this park and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves nature.  The Arizona-Sonora  Desert Museum is located in the western section of the park, and is a great place for adults and kids alike.