Saturday, July 29, 2006 - The Vortex Voyage

Anyone who knows me even remotely well knows that folks don't come much more woo-woo than me. They also know that I am a tolerant person, for I believe that God speaks to each of us in the language we best understand. So, I offer the following, not as a critique, and certainly not in ridicule. Rather, I offer an observation on the human soul and its eternal quest to touch the Divine.

I just returned from Sedona after a twenty-nine year absence. Back in the day, Sedona was a breathtaking, but sleepy, valley that emanated tangible holiness simply by virtue of its existence. Today, it is a bumper-to-bumper, million-dollar-estate, art-and-enligntenment mecca intertwined amidst some of the most magnificent scenery on Earth.

Oak Creek Canyon is the pilgrim's way, the induction from the mundane into the magical. Each switchback unwinds a little of our everyday consciousness in preparation for the impossible vista of the valley. There, no matter light nor time of day, The Rocks stand gracious and sacred among this generation of humans. And the humans come, as they always have, to touch the power that materializes the ancient dreams of gods into the red rock sculptures of Sedona. I have not studied its history, but have no doubt that ancient shamans and leaders of spirit revered the place, and that powerful visions were to be had by those who ventured humbly into the valley.

It's a little different now. Seekers flock to Sedona, intent on a tangible spiritual experience that will set them on the right path, heal the body or the heart, or manifest their wildest dreams. They look for answers and salvation, and many of them have little clue as to what to expect or how to receive it.

We, too, were curious about the "Vortex Experience," even though we've had our share of encounters with vortex energy over many years in many settings. So, we bought our obligatory vortex map and manual and headed, as did everyone else, it seemed, for Airport Mesa. Maybe 75 people crowded atop a rock, some with hands raised, others, looking around, a few in obvious meditation ~ most of them waiting for the vortex energy. As if it occurred like a geyser.

And that, I think, describes the greatest disservice done by the world's organized religions. Every dogma casts God (at least their god) as the sneaky Bad Cop, who drops in and out of our lives to shake things up and collect his requisite groveling ~ an unpredictable force ~ the jealous, vengeful Mystery of Mysteries.

But this I know is true: The Grace that grows a tree does not require the tree to kneel. It requires only that the tree accept its "tree-ness" and allow the ever-present flow of Life to make it so. Yes, trees do fall to clear-cutting, fires, and Christmas, but on the whole, each tree experiences the fullness of tree experience with neither question nor fear.

Humans, being creatures of different conceit, have infinitely complicated our relationship with our Source. Thus, the penance, the I'm-not-worthy-ness, the globalized guilt and of course, the dogma. Which is why, I suppose, so many questing souls converge on power places, like Sedona. They come seeking that one, profound, spiritual event that forever eliminates our earthling fears and questions.

Alas, that was never part of the deal. Oh, we do manage occasional earthshaking moments of infinite Oneness, after which, we become our little mortal selves again and forget. We forget that Life, itself, is the ultimate spiritual experience. We forget that each of us is a completely unique walking, talking vortex ~ God's notions refined and cloaked in human guise.

There are holy places on Earth. Certainly, Sedona is one of the holiest, and not because of her present burgeoning popularity. She has always been a sacred place, perhaps because part of her magic is to remind us that she may be grander and more ancient, but as intentional expressions of the Divine, we are no less magnificent.