This is an interesting place.  Surrounded by Arizona-ness, with roads named “bloody gulch” and “hangman road,” Sedona is a valley of great natural beauty and a mecca for spiritual practitioners of all kinds.

but here’s a picture anyway

First, the natural beauty far surpasses any description or photo.  The striated pink, tan, and golden mountains are so beautiful it is physically painful to look at them.  The heights are so sharply vertical, I experienced vertigo standing at a base and looking up.  With the bright blue, clear sky behind them, the mountains surrounding Sedona can both sharpen your sense of small, separate self and, at the same time, affirm your connection to all that is.  “Vortex” beliefs notwithstanding, it is the power of beliefs that is the true magic here.

I’m staying in a condo here with a fair amount of icon-décor.  The iconography ranges from Egyptian to Hindu to Kokopelli to Buddhist, all pretty fun to explore.  This morning I was examining a couple of large white crystals set on a cabinet.  I turned one around several times until the shape and direction seemed to me to look like the shape of a bear.  I thought, oh, medicine bear.  I should look that up.  Ha!  This was the first link: http://www.spiritanimal.info/bear-spirit-animal/

The bear has several meanings that will inspire those who have this animal as totem:

• The primary meaning of the bear spirit animal’s strength and confidence
• Standing against adversity; taking action and leadership
• The spirit of the bear indicates it’s time for healing or using healing abilities to help self or others
• The bear medicine emphasizes the importance of solitude, quiet time, rest
• The spirit of the bear provides strong grounding forces

I love seeing synchronicity.

My objectives were three for this trip.

1. Rest.  Relax and slow down.
2. See different things and see the same things differently.
3. Let my scared person out and have her protector bring her out.

So far, I am meeting my objectives clearly and measurably (Hey, Project Manager, go take a break!).  Smile.  I’m going to sit on the patio and drink my jasmine tea, stare at the mountains.