What I learned from 12 Hours of Meditation: Bell Rock, Sedona

Shamanic Practitioners retrieve to Vision Quest whenever they feel the calling for a spiritual journey which will be profound and transformative. A shaman is very familiar with intense transformation and dancing with the storms the Universe might bring upon them to help them understand lessons and evolve. I have dreamed about doing a Vision Quest ever since I heard about it. A true vision quest consists on 3 or more days and nights spent in a encircled area exposed to the elements with no food, just some sacred items.

I am not ready yet to pursue a 3 day vision quest but I will one day, I can’t wait. In the meantime, since I was visiting Sedona which is considered Native American Sacred Land, I had to give it a try. I climbed up the top of Bell Rock and chose a quiet little ledge with the incredible view of the valley below. I climbed a little before sunrise and watch the sun complete it’s whole cycle above me.

The Challenge
Even though it sounds absolutely magical (at least it does for me haha) it did present many challenges for me. For the first 4 hours my mind was freaking out, bringing upon me tons of fears to try and get me out of there. Our minds can sabotage us sometimes if we are not careful. So I sat there and opened my Sacred Space, feeling the wind blowing as I said the prayer for each direction. The energy was powerful, my soul was content.

It was COLD.
It was really really cold. The previous days was really sunny and I assumed it would be sunny that day as well. As a shamanic practitioner I should’ve meditated the night before and would have received the memo of it being so cold, oh well. From the moment I sat down in the early dawn I was shaking, the breeze was cold and intense. I figured it would get warmer during the day but it never did. After some connection to nature, to the wind and the sun, the breeze stopped and the sun came out warming me a bit.

Mental Sabotage
I got really annoyed at the beginning. My body’s discomfort created all sorts of negative thoughts, emotions and tons of frustration. I knew that was part of the detox process and eventually it would seize, so I sat there patiently, what happened next made it all worth it…

Why it felt so Incredibly healing for me
After a couple of hours, the crazy mental chatter stopped and I could see the magic of this moment for what it truly was, a sacred experience. Everything began looking more colorful, the breeze spoke to me and I could feel in complete connection to Earth. I noticed the breaths of Earth. As it inhaled, everything was quiet for a minute or two, no wind, no birds, no noise. Then, for a couple of minutes all the sounds got turned on at once and this process repeated itself during the whole day as if Mother Earth was breathing underneath and around me.

It was truly beautiful, to feel the connection, in which I started to wonder. I felt so cold I started wondering if the Earth could get cold as well. If anyone ever wondered about that and if anyone ever sent warm energies to cover Earth and warm it up. Everything started to shift, my thoughts became very abstract and symbolic. I connected to the fact that the dirt I was holding in my hands is made of the bones, wisdom and sacred objects of native american medicine men and women of the past. How that same dirt witnessed ceremonies, sacred connections and rituals from the many of generations before me.

I did many different rituals allowing my heightened energies to flow across Mother Earth and Humanity helping the healing processes happening at this time. I prayed for the homeless, for the hungry, for the tortured animals souls.. I recharged my own energy and prayed for my patients, my students, my family and every beautiful soul in my life. But by far, what was the MOST important moment for me was when I accepted my mission and purpose in a profound way, with this sacred land as a witness for my new found empowerment. From that moment on I took a vow. I made a promise to the Universe to put all my fears and comfort zones a side and step up into true service, unapologetic, global service. I felt the true shift. My eyes teared up and I remained in complete awe of the beauty before me as I listened to voices in the wind. At that moment it ALL made sense.

Can you imagine where a 3 day vision quest can take you