I don’t think I really knew what to expect when Julianna asked me to go to the retreat back in January. Julianna Davis is my classmate from Holy Fire Karuna Reiki®. We attended the ICRT Newport Beach certification taught by William Lee Rand back in 2014. She is a well achieved healer and has her own studio in Santa Monica - Auralux. She had never been to the retreat before but she knew the people who were hosting it and she was extremely excited. Of course, I knew it was going to be beautiful. I knew I was going to be surrounded by a hundred or so amazing healers. I knew Sedona was famous for its vortex’s and it was something I always wanted to go experience. And even when I got into the car with Julianna to go and drive to the event, I honestly could not have known what was in front of me. But I had absolute trust. 80% because Julianna recommended it and 20% because how could it not be?
Sedona is breath taking. I mean, really, breath taking. Although it is probably more green and lush than some parts of California right now, the rocks are such a deep rich red that you feel like you walked into another world. The energy of the place is deep. Ancient beyond our understanding and full of mystery. I felt exhilarated and humbled at the same time. The retreat center itself was fascinating too. A Tao Fellowship get away that featured almost 12 different vortexes itself (Check them out here http://www.sedonamagoretreat.org/). But the absolute best part for me was the stars. This retreat was literally in the middle of nowhere. The only atmospheric light was from our bungalows that very softly lit the paths to our rooms. You can see the entire milky way. The stars looked so close that you could almost touch them. Sitting on a rock and just looking up at the sky made me feel that nothing in the world that I could possibly worry about mattered. Because at the end of the day, I am but a very small fraction when it comes to the Universe’s whole design.
If the location wasn’t beautiful enough, the people who joined this year were truly the brightest lights I had ever seen collected in one room. From every part of America and some from other countries (I chuckled when I saw my name tag saying Hong Kong even though I live in Los Angeles. I guess someone had to represent my island?) The group was completely open, honesty, joyous, and the best part, filled with unconditional love for their companions in the weekend retreat. We sang, we chanted, we shared heart breaking stories which re-affirmed why we were doing Reiki in the first place, we hugged, we cried, we embraced strangers that we didn’t even know, but it was beautiful. We attended many lectures on current topics within our fields, from science to nutrition to music to intuitive knowing and trusting. My highlights were Pam and Don McMahon singing healing music and showing what true love means between a couple (married for 53 years!). The science lecture held by Ann Baldwin and what research can still be done on Reiki and the human body. The Reiki Shares that all of us partook in. Me receiving Reiki as well as giving (How often do I get to have 4 healers working on me at the same time?!). And of course, absolutely soaking up the landscape that this retreat location had. I even got time to journal by a waterfall that draws its waters from a deep well down below. I didn’t expect the water to be ice cold! The best of all, meeting so many wonderful people that I can now call friends and family.
What I think was said best is by Pam. We are lightworkers that are sent to some of the darkest places. But without the dark, we wouldn’t shine as bright. That is why we have to keep on the work that we do. We need to keep on sharing the love and the ki to those who need it most. With so many of us in the room, I have a better hope for the future of this earth that we call home. I can’t wait to come back next year and see everyone again and to feel the love.
For the full picture album, please go to Facebook to check them out.
For those of you who are reading this post from the retreat, I love you and everything about you.
Jaclyn