Sedona: Stunning Scenery & Serenity

It may sound peculiar to call a popular tourist destination one of America’s best-kept secrets, but that is the impression Sedona has left on me. Having gotten to see some of Earth’s most beautiful features, still, this area has struck me profoundly with its unique visual and ethereal stimulation. The geography calls out with a potent signal that activates all aspects of human presence in mind and spirit.

Across a myriad of different climates and ecosystems, this planet has no shortage of majesty and wonder. However, the audacious pulchritude of Sedona’s rock formations would cause any world traveler to pause and ponder whether this sprawling cathedral padding the desert was carved out by artisan sages from a forgotten past. Towering terracotta facades stand proudly over pedestals of deep juniper tones like massive trophies dropped by titans.

Unlike the overwhelming saturation of forests, life stands out in the desert. Vegetation punches through torrid soil in clusters, garnishing the jagged landscape as green stubble on the face of a giant. Competing for more shade than sunlight, Ponderosa pine sneaks across the base of every escarpment and throughout the valleys between them, along with a chromatic assortment of flowering succulents.

Utilizing the tranquil expanse of the Verde Valley, Anhita Ananda has designed a shamanic healing program that she put into practice last summer. Sedona is the kind of place where nobody ends up by accident, and Anhita embodies the warmth and reverence that so many locals exude. The session in her healing room has left me feeling revitalized as if a great beam of red light has been steered from the Sun through Earth’s elements and into every elusive corner of my existence.

The photos that I’ve composed here contain some of the most stunning color ranges in all my travels. And yet, this only serves to highlight the irony that photos here are a futile effort compared to the actual experience of seeing and feeling the full spectrum of frequencies that emanate through its colors and upward from the imperviously deep core of the planet.

Situated among a sanctuary of thriving vegetation along the storybook shores of Oak Creek, my cabin plot on the compound at the L'auberge de Sedona is a slice of rugged yet luxurious living. Walking from the patio and down the tawny soil induces a dreamlike state of serenity as I watch a raft of mallards bathe in the quiet water, and I join them in savoring the moment.

Thanks for reading,