Oh Sedona, how I miss you!! It was such a fast and wonderful five days with a group of 26 of the most lovely women. Thank you Jennifer Grace and Tina Jett for putting on such an amazing and awe inspiring few days.
It all started back in early September when I had a call with the lovely Jennifer Grace, Hay House Author and Clarity Catalyst Coach. It started out with me trying to figure out how to get my own coaching career off the ground when Jenn mentioned that she was putting on a Wealth Consciousness Retreat in Sedona Arizona in January 2024. I immediately signed up and got the early bird discount. Yup, I second guessed my choice in the months that followed. It was falling right between Jan 16, John’s farewell party date, and Vincent’s 40th birthday. Turns out it was the best place to be at the anniversary time of such a life changing part of my life. I was still home to take my first born out for breakfast on his actual birthday.
Getting to Sedona was certainly an exercise in trusting that everything would all work out. I was scheduled to fly out of Edmonton at 6am so I had a plan to be closer to the airport for such an early flight. As I was packing my stuff up and getting ready to leave home I got a notice that my early flight had been cancelled and they would put me on a flight that would get me there a day later. Nope, just nope, I had to be there the afternoon of the 17th so I got on the phone with the airline and managed to get my butt on an earlier flight out of Edmonton to be able to get my original connection out of Vancouver to Phoenix. Yeash, it meant staying awake in the Vancouver airport all night and then the flight was late leaving Vancouver because of snow and a big lineup to get deiced. I was meeting a lady in Phoenix that I had never met before but Jenn put us together to share a ride from Phoenix to Sedona and I had a rental car lined up. As it turned out her flight was delayed too and we were only an hour apart in arriving in Phoenix. Next step, pick up rental car and head out. That process wasn’t difficult it was just a bit nerve wracking to drive right into rush hour traffic getting out of the city and onto the I17 North to Sedona. I was so grateful to have Carol, my new friend, as company with her USA phone plan and GPS that she hooked up to the Bluetooth in the rental car. The majority of the 2 hour drive was done in the dark so there was no scenery to be seen. It was black out! We arrived at the Enchantment Resort and got checked in, turned out that we were roommates too, and found our way to where the opening ceremony was to be held with 5 minutes to spare. Thank You Serendipity for working in our favour.
The Opening Ceremony was kept pretty simple. It started with a Sage Smudge and each of us drew a card from one of Jenn’s Oracle deck, we introduced ourselves and said what brought us to the retreat, and then shared what the card was that we drew. Mine was HOPE. Then we thought about and wrote down what has been holding us back and took turns crumpling up the little paper and putting it into the fire. So grateful it wasn’t a long process because I was so hungry, cold and tired. Immediately afterwards we found our rooms and I had a hot shower, ate, and went to bed and slept like a baby.
The rest of the retreat was so enlightening. We started each day with Yoga with Darlene, and one of the days with Belly Dancing lessons with Ezgi. It was all good and always followed with meditation and then breakfast. There were classes on manifesting and energy healing. There was sound bowls and singing by Maria who is so talented her voice brought me to tears. We went on hikes up into the red hills and had a ceremony at the Sacred Buddha site as well as a ceremony at the Medicine Wheel. Have I mentioned that the Enchantment Resort is located inside of an Energy Vortex, and everything we did just seemed magical. We did have free time and I chose to spend it getting to know some of the other ladies either by hanging out at the spa or going on a hike. We had time to do a vision board among all of the other things that took place. We were kept pretty busy the majority of the time but none of it felt like a chore. The very first day we were asked to pick something that we wanted to see sometime in the next 4 days. I picked a rabbit and another girl picked a yellow balloon. I saw my rabbit in a big picture in a restaurant washroom but nothing could beat the yellow balloon. It showed up on the last morning as a hot air balloon flying over the resort. Pretty cool how setting intentions really does work when you just relax and trust. I think it would be fun if you would try it for yourself, just for fun. Pick something and see how long it takes for you to see it. It doesn’t have to be in the physical form, it could show up in a picture or somewhere else, just pay attention and see how long it takes. It’s good practice in learning how to manifest. Yes, it does work, and it’s fun.
I came home from this retreat with a list of things to work on to make my dreams come true. The manifest thing does work, but not on it’s own. To realise our dreams it’s important to get a clear focus on what it is that we want. I know I want to help people find their happy and contentment by overcoming overwhelm to make that possible. Watch for O.W.L., “Overwhelmed With Life” coming soon on social media. It will be a safe space for women living with overwhelm and a collective of wisdom to help overcome that in order to live a life of contentment and ease. I have also registered for my 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training so stay tuned. This path that I have jumped on seems to be an ongoing one of self discovery and learning. I love it!
In closing this blog today before I hit post I just want to say. The drive back into Phoenix was on my own and it was a cloudy day. The scenery was absolutely stunning and I was happy to see what I had missed a few days earlier. I checked into my motel, a little dumpy but cheep and close to the airport. I took myself out for a great pasta supper to a super cute diner close by and enjoyed a glass of wine with my meal. I am so proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone once again. The things I do are mostly super empowering and I really want to encourage my friends to do the same.
With Love, from The InsideOut!!
