I had been “in service” (working for no charge) at a crystal store and healing center called Aligning Light Center in Sedona. When someone wasn’t actively purchasing something from the shelves, I would sit quietly in one of the chairs around a circular table. Inevitably, a visitor would walk in “just browsing”. Within minutes we were, most likely, connecting and they were moved to tears as their true feelings would come through. Sometimes it would turn into an hour-long counseling session and other times not. In every one, it was perfect. People would find it easy to open up to me and receive life-changing guidance with what was going on in their life. They would all leave empowered and enlightened with higher consciousness. I am honored to have shared space with Hopi elder, good witches, Cherokee medicine men and many other authentic lightworkers (people on a spiritual path) and other enlightened, awake human beings.
I started to have visitors who brought messages of a darker nature too. One day, a dark-complexioned man walked in. He looked like a drifter, like he’d been around the globe. He wore a khaki shirt, blue jeans and a donut-shaped, black “pi” stone around his fifty-something-year-old neck. This stone is familiar to healers who are dedicated to the Nine Rites of the Munay Ki. This drifter walked straight up to me and said “I have a message for you”. There’s a lot of show going on in Sedona and this felt like something straight out of Indiana Jones. But, I chose to stay out of judgment, pay attention and listen to every word with quiet discernment. Besides, there were some synchronicities or coincidences that couldn’t be ignored. He talked about being cautious of the dark forces, about the important role I was playing, the journey I was about to embark upon…and the return of Elvis. Hey, I’m open. I had very powerful dreams about the Amazon and Peru and this man was from the Amazon. During the lucid part of this dream about Peru and the Amazon, “Pumamayo” or “Lion of May” was planted into my brain. At the time, I didn’t know exactly why it made me cry when I awoke from that dream. I ended up searching all over the internet for this elusive word (“Pumamayo”) and I found that it’s actually a small village in the mountains of Peru! This man introduced himself as “Paul” and, with his weathered and chocolate-colored skin and shiny, black hair, he talked about how he had lived in Santa Barbara, where I also lived for over thirteen years. His message was a warning and a validation. He was one of several visitors I recently had who were speaking about the more darker aspects of spirituality.
This kind of thing, the strange and synchronistic connections, seemed to be happening more and more over those few months. While sitting with Cara in my favorite coffee shop (Bad Kitty Koffee), another man named Michael, who had been sitting near us, said “I have something to give you”. In Sedona, people are always giving each other crystals and exotic stones, which are promised to have special powers and such. In fact, I had an intense experience with a 5ft long crystal causing me to be physically repulsed and uneasy when approaching it. It wasn’t until spending more time acclimatizing myself with the surrounding crystals that I could approach and touch this huge crystal. People were always asking me if I “felt anything with this one”. It was actually rare that I felt something from a Lemurian crystal or Arcturian something or other. From his small, leather, medicine pouch, Michael pulled out a simple, white stone.
I vaguely recalled the ancient stories of the use of white stones. For the Polynesian ancestors, in their times of conflict, a white stone and a black stone were taken to the chief of a neighboring island tribe. As the legend goes, if the sometimes unfortunate messenger presented the stones and a black stone was taken by the chief, this meant war between the two tribes. Otherwise, if the white stone was chosen, peace would prevail. As Roman gladiators would prepare for deadly games, they were allowed to blindly pick a stone from a bucket of stones. If a white stone was picked, he received the day off and would not have to fight that day. Even the Bible (Revelations) includes a passage which speaks of receiving a white stone: “And he who has an ear, let him hear what The Spirit speaks to the assemblies: ‘To the one who is victorious I shall give of the manna which is hidden, and I shall give him a white pebble, and upon the pebble, a name in writing that no man knows except he who receives.”
“You need to bring this stone to the waters of Mount Shasta”, Michael said. I felt my mouth drop and I couldn’t hide my amazement. In California? Why did I keep hearing about Mount Shasta? I knew the answer to my own question. How far down the proverbial “rabbit hole” do you want to go, Daniel? I felt my world starting to spin. I continued to open myself up to new and exciting adventures and possibilities.
Mount Shasta, California. Mount Shasta is said to be more of a spiritual home for a lot of people. Legends abound and many spiritual seekers find their way to the incredible beauty of that mountain and its community. I continued to hear about Mount Shasta from people who had visited the sacred mountain and others who were also planning trips there. Many people consider Sedona, Arizona, a very spiritual place. Sedona might be better described as a place with very strong energy and lots of opportunity for inner transformation. The vortexes, ancient ruins and natural rock formations. They all attract seekers of spiritual transformation and it does happen there, for sure. Local Native Americans journeyed to Sedona for spiritual cleansing and vision quest…but, didn’t live there. Now, there’s all sorts of classes and workshops, retreats, activations and channeling with “non-physical beings”. It seems like everyone is a Reiki Master and licensed massage therapist. Sedona does have many authentic healers and guides and this was mostly my experience. Though I did run across a few actors and acts, it’s all part of the collection of residents and wanderers. Your inner voice gets very clear and it does become easier to discern who has broken themselves down and retired their spiritual ego and who hasn’t. “Spiritual ego” is when we get caught up in our own spiritual path and feel the need to continually vomit it out to others at every opportunity “I’m more enlightened than you”. They’ve lost the ability to be students. It seems to be a natural part of the process. You’re so excited about sharing this new information and you want everyone to wake up too.
Sitting in a coffee shop in Sedona, I was listening to music on my headphones. There were a lot of young people gathering for the transition from the casual, daytime coffee shop into a lively bar scene. There was a song playing in my headphones by chant artist Snatam Kaur, called “Ong Namo”. She sings about “coming home” and I heard it as “come home to God – to your true, divine nature”. Like spiritual guru Ram Dass states “We’re all just walking each other home.” In that moment, I felt the outstretched hand of God calling me home. I knew I couldn’t push this away any longer.