A Trip to Paradise, or the Land of the "Woo-Woos?"

Destination: Sedona, Arizona. Home of the Red Rocks and Vortices. There is no doubt about the fact that this is a beautiful place. You drive down the main drag and the mountains stare you in the face. Big, red mountains that look like cathedrals, and bells, and lizard heads, and coffee pots. The landscape is stunning. For some, this is a spritual retreat - that's where it gets tricky - the spiritual part.

I like unusual things. Supernatural. Preternatural. Things just beyond explanation. Do I buy into these things? Sometimes. Probably not to the extent of blind faith. But it spurs on my imagination to think about what they might be or might represent. For example, at midnight,

December 31, 1999, a congregation of people gathered at Bell Rock in Sedona to wait for the rock (an alien space ship in resting) to take off and carry them back on a journey through the stars. Would I join that group? Nope. Not even a slim chance. But watching the "woo-woos" is interesting. Understanding what they believe is interesting. I am a spiritual person - I have faith in God. There's a whole other realm of folks in Sedona.

I went to visit friends. {waving to J and J} We had a great time, and while we were there, I told them I wanted to visit a vortex, since that is one of Sedona's great mysteries. Did I expect something transcendental? Not really, but it would have been interesting to see what someone might have interpreted as something supernatural or spiritual. My analysis is that the sensations are probably adrenalin rushes attributable to the spectacular landscapes in those locations.

Certainly I don't want to discount another person's experience and I am fairly receptive to thoughts and ideas, but when I see a circle of crazies (sorry) chanting and scattering something to the four winds, I'm a little leery. No offense to other religious sects, but these folks were more than a sect. Bordering cult. In fact, my girlfriend and I looked them up when we got back to her house and one of the "prayers" (yes, in quotes) was the Diva's prayer that made the rounds on email jokes a while back. I'm sorry, but if you're serious about your religion, you don't put a joke prayer on your website. I have the utmost respect for Native American customs and tradition - and I get the tribute to the four winds (this is not unique to Native Americans). These folks were imposters, pretenders, and what they were doing was, in my eyes, irreverant to those traditions and customs. I have no doubt they were serious in their endeavors, but again, where is the respect when you post a joke as a prayer?

As to the vortex hunt, we searched out the twisted juniper trees (isn't it funny that juniper trees tend to be twisted anyway?) and certainly I was in awe, but that would be attributable to the surroundings more than to some mystical experience. I was looking for inspiration for a future novel. I got it, but not because of the vortex sites. Truthfully? I was hoping for something along the lines of what Diana Gabaldon wrote in Outlander when Clare goes through the standing stones. A rushing of wind (there was that!), a sense of vertigo (not so much), visions of generations past, present and future whizzing by (ummm, nope). Did I expect to actually feel that? No, but I have an excellent imagination and I was hoping to envision it. Sorry folks. I came up empty. Like Ms. Gabaldon, I'll have to invent an experience at the vortices if I want to incorporate them into a future novel.

Maybe I should interview one of the "Woo-Woos."

In the meantime, I've got other ideas that I can incorporate into a story (after all, I DID meet a pygmy, albino coyote on one of the hiking trails!), and I had an excellent vacation in a unique location with good friends.