My Spirit Journey - and what really happened

I just returned from my Spirit Journey.


A month or so ago, a friend sent me a post on Facebook, telling me she was in Sedona and that people were asking her about her Goddess pendant that I made. For me, that was a sign. It was time to go on my Spirit Journey to Sedona, AZ.

For years, Sedona has been calling me. I have dreamed of it, and have tried to persuade my Goddess tribe and my Soul Sister to make the trip with me :). It just did not happen. Every time I saw pictures, or someone would mention Sedona in passing, it would tug at my inner core....my Spirit would cry out: “GO!”. Sedona was my Mecca.

When I read that post on Facebook, there was no question, I was going. We had been planning a family vacation up the coast to Washington, and I informed my family that the  Volvo was driving down Route 66 instead. I began counting the weeks, then the days. Finally, at 1am in the morning after my 43rd birthday, I was on the road to Sedona.

It was a long ride through the night. When the kids finally settled down, my husband went into his “driver” zone, and I open the sky roof and marveled at the beautiful star studded sky of the Yosemite Valley.

We hit the Arizona desert right as the sun began to rise. Everyone had told me about the long ride through the desert, but I still was not prepared for the bleak landscape. I don’t know what I was expecting (rolling sand dunes?), but what I saw was a long road with absolutely NOTHING to break the gaze. Not even a gas station. I tried to find beauty in the vastness, but I know now that I am definitely a “forest” girl :). We finally spotted a sign to a cafe’ on Route 66, ready for some coffee and breakfast. The Ludlow Cafe’ looked like something out of a movie set: old Route 66 kitsch inside & out, a waitress that looked like she was as old as the pioneer dress she was wearing, and a cook that also cleaned the tables. It was perfect. It only took us an hour to get our breakfast :). When we headed back to the car, we discovered a Motel next door, the “Ludlow Motel”, my daughter swore she saw “Bates Motel”.

Fed, and ready to roll, we hit the road to nowhere. Not for long, the fourth cop we saw happened to clock US...92 in a 75 mile zone. Yep, we have an official Arizona speeding ticket for our scrapbook. After 12 hours, Flagstaff was finally near. All the while, I was looking at the dry landscape, with little scrappy bushes, thinking a rain dance was much needed.

That all changed when we left Flagstaff, and entered the Coconino National Park. Suddenly, we were in a lush forest. Ah....my Spirit danced. The windy path through the forest was making us all drowsy, and BAM!....the trees opened up to the first majestic Red Rock formation. I have seen it a thousand times in pictures, but the real thing just takes your breath away.

There they were, my Red Rocks. One more majestic than the other. I just wanted to jump out of the car and attach myself, like a Velcro clingy thing. It was as if the vibrations from the Rocks were penetrating my soul.

I was in heaven. I was here.

We finally found our motel, and as it should be, it was close to the Rocks. I could walk out, and there they were, smiling at me. We were too exhausted to hike, but the next morning, I was on a Rock.

My family was surely sick of me saying: “These are just AMAZING!” I was in awe. I hiked, I touched, I stared, I talked to the Rocks. I went to a Vortex site, which happens to be in a place where you can climb to the top of a rock. The vibrations there were jolting, the views breathtaking. Unfortunately, I did NOT take a picture at the top of the rock, as I am afraid of heights, and that last ledge just threw me. I sat down on my butt, laid on the Rock, took it and my surroundings in, and knew that my Spirit Journey in Sedona was complete. After that, I was a tourist.

I visited a ghost town that lacked the ghosts, but the walls still had some things to tell me. I visited a truly marvelous church built by Frank Lloyd Wright in to a Rock, the Chapel of the Holy Cross, and since buildings are my passion and speak to me, I was enthralled. I lit a candle in honor of my dad, my Oma, and my soul dog Caesar with my kids. Anointing with the Holy Water would have gone a bit too far :)...I am not a churchgoer, but this place brought me peace.

We left Sedona, and drove to Hollywood. This was my trade off with my family for the vacation hijacking. Again, I got my building fix, because Los Angeles is eye candy. On the way back home, we stopped at Path to Freedom, the famous urban farm, smack in the middle of Pasadena. I have been following them on their website for years, they are my idols for being self reliable and almost off the grid in the middle of Suburbia.

In retrospect, sitting here at 2:08 am in the morning, my Spirit Journey was a success, but completely different than I expected.

I went to Sedona imagining a magical place, filled with hippies & shamans, alien gazing, and spinning vortexes. (It’s ok to laugh, I am!) What I found were magical Rocks, breathtaking. Sedona itself is a tourist town, filled with shops, lots of spiritual healers & practitioners, & Indian jewelry. Where are the Indians? I did happen onto the Trading Post, filled with lots of treasures when you get into the back rooms past the touristy stuff. Here, I found two magical turtles for my kids who were on a quest of their own (following the path of the Nediad), leather and sinew for my new amulet that is part of another journey, an arrowhead that beckoned, and some curious things to look at, like snake vertebra.

The long ride gave my husband and I a chance to talk without much distraction. Conversations about our roots, and what we are passing on, our future, my plans & journeys, and what changes we can make to alleviate some of the pressure he is under. We bonded.

I had a lot of thinking time, staring out of the window, and realized that I love California, with its wild ocean & magical forest, and that my Spirit can be happy here until it is time for us to be gypsies & travel the road permanently. I am inspired to make this home the place where I am happy & fulfilled RIGHT NOW, rather than wasting energy thinking about “What if?”.

I have done #1 of the three things I swore myself I would do this year. Things that have been put off to make way for other circumstances. Going to Sedona has proven that I can make it happen if I do not get distracted by guilt, worries, others, money, etc. I will just DO IT, and deal with what happens.

Traveling to the Rocks has reminded me that I am an entrepreneur Goddess, and that I need to pull my head out of my ass and get back to business. Distractions that don’t matter need to be let go with love, whether they agree or not. This is something I need to model to my daughter right now, too. My Goddesses & Witches are here for a very specific reason. I am just their “maker”...I have been blessed with this, and bringing them here makes me laugh & happy, and they are my ride for other things that I will do.

My family is my Red Rock. My husband, even though he can be a pain in my ass, and we are like black & white (literally :)), is there for me. My kids are amazing creatures, gifts from the Universe to me. My mom, who came from Germany to babysit my dog, my chickens, and my baby plants, is friggin’ awesome.

My tribe, who was riding with me in Spirit, and listened to my stories when I got back, well, they are my TRIBE. They, and my soul sisters, who support my Spirit, are another gift from the Universe.

This Spirit Journey was a success, I am one lucky girl.

P.S. and here...a few of the hundreds of pictures I took of the Red Rocks :).

A garden after my heart, in Jerome, AZ. I love kitsch.....

Waaaay too high up for me on unstable rocks :)...but it was worth it. Vortex site and the most fabulous view. Just breathtaking...

Red Rocks. Again :). The cacti were just amazing.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross.

We were hearing the Twilight theme music in the background...just saying.

View from my motel. They played this scene every night just for me.
Do you see the little bittys in the cactus? Great babysitter while mama is gone.
The Walk of Fame :)..the stars came before the funky (and not good funky) parts of Hollywood Blvd did. Marilyn's star is in front of a greasy McDonald's. Nothing is sacred :)...not even DIVAliciousness.
Family portrait with Don King. Yes, really.
Cool roadside stop.

 Another view :).