Sedona, Arizona has long attracted spiritual seekers. The cozy little community has developed a worldwide reputation as a place of enlightenment, alternative healing and mindful practices.
For believers, Sedona is known as a home to spiritual energy fields called vortexes. In fact, some say there are hundreds of individual energy vortexes in the area that can be felt from up to a half-mile away.
If you delve into the world of vortexes, you’ll soon learn there are different types. Here’s a quick lesson:
“Upflow” sites tend to be at higher elevations, like mountains, mesas and formations you’d look up at. Panoramic visuals can also help give you perspective on your place in the universe, so these types of sites can help you feel uplifted and reach new heights, spiritually speaking.
“Inflow” sites are typically closer to the earth — think valleys, caves and canyons. As you might imagine, these locations can spur you to go inward and think deeply. It’s all about introspection and contemplation.
In Sedona, hiking beckons, with nearly two million of national forest land to explore. Needless to say, I was curious, and packed up the camera gear for my first trip to this mystical place. There were four main vortexes I had on my list, but ended up adding a few other stops along the way!
So let’s go! Here are a few of my favorite hikes and photos.
Vortex 1: Cathedral Rock
Once there, I was excited to experience a few of the nearby vortex sites. So excited, in fact, that I woke up at 5 a.m. (after minimal sleep from a full day of travel), hiked with a headlamp and scaled a steep red rock mountain in the dark…a first for me.
Ready for sunrise, I set up my intervalometer to take continuous shots, as I ran to the edge of the cliff for the picture. The morning pastel hues were glorious; so were the dozen or so surprise hot air balloons that floated in the distance. This picture represents my journey in sobriety, reaching the two year milestone and celebrating it in a spiritually powerful place like Sedona.
Upon advice from a friend, I took the time to observe my feelings, note my thoughts and set my intentions as I connected to each vortex I visited. At Cathedral Rock, some words that came to mind include pride, passion, decisiveness, releasing expectation, self-love, acceptance and a new day.
Vortex 2: Bell Rock
At first glance, Bell Rock doesn’t seem like it would be the most powerful of places, at least compared to some of the other towering structures in Sedona. However, this ended up being one of my favorites! Early on, I sat and meditated at the base of Bell, inviting a sense of calm and peace I had long been searching for. It was also quiet enough to truly “tune in” to the powerful energy. I could feel and hear the soft buzzing vibration.
Feelings, thoughts and intentions here include ease, calm, dark versus light, deserving a life of serenity and keeping peace of mind as a top priority.
Vortex 3: Boynton Canyon
Remember that little lesson about “upflow” and “inflow” vortex sites? The epic thing for me about Boynton Canyon is that it has both! I looked UP at tall stretches of vibrant sandstone walls, looked OUT at expansive vista views and looked IN at sacred, shadowed caves. So this amazing, six-mile hike was as uplifting as it was grounding.
The Subway Cave took a bit of a scramble to climb up, but the view and sense of accomplishment was well worth it!!
Feelings, thoughts and intentions here: courage, commitment, speaking my inner truth, reassurance, acceptance, freedom.
Vortex 4: Airport Mesa
It may not have a super meaningful or profound name, but Airport Mesa is a really beautiful experience. It’s a very doable 3.5 mile trail that offered sweeping views of all the vortexes. Being a loop, this trail gave me a sense of wholeness and spiritual completion, like coming full-circle, especially since I could now recognize the other vortexes in the distance. There was a harrowing moment of needing to scramble around the side of a plateau to get back to my car…but all in all, this was a very easy and enjoyable trek!
This vortex brought deep insights, peace of mind, fulfillment, soulful expansion and a goal of spiritual wholeness.
Other Notable Sedona Spots
Sedona Chapel of the Holy Cross
This was an unplanned find that my family and I happened upon by chance. I’m so glad we did. Incredibly, this church is literally built into the red rock spires and brings a sense of peace inside too, where benches welcome people to sit, pray, contemplate; whatever helps them.
Here, I was struck with feelings of self-compassion and immense gratitude for a higher power, Mother Earth and more. Letting go of control was a big one, along with a focus on trust, strength, courage and wisdom. It felt like I was meant to find this church; it was quite comforting and very healing.
Birthing Cave
This meaning of this place hit me more after I left Sedona, but then it hit me hard with profound feelings of a personal spiritual rebirth and evolution! It also brought forth the importance of recognizing and clarifying my intentions, converting them into action, attaining spiritual fulfillment and savoring serenity in all ways.
Devil’s Bridge
“We never lose our demons, we only learn to live above them.”
That quote came from the movie Doctor Strange and it resonated with me at Devil’s Bridge. This hike is around four miles, and had me contemplating all kinds of thoughts about how we all do our best to rise above our demons, thought they always seem to be lurking, scheming, nagging. Recognizing that is half the battle. For me, sobriety is empowering, a scar of strength, no longer a weakness. This spurred me to share publicly about being two years’ sober, and inspired feelings of power, strength, courage, wisdom, acceptance and serenity. I like living with the intention that extraordinary people do extraordinary things.
A Fun & Fulfilling First Experience
Sedona was simply an amazing place that left me awestruck more than once. I hope my photos do this incredible piece of our earth justice! I can’t wait to go back and soak in more of that powerful spiritual energy; here’s to more adventures, more awareness and more inspiration.