Catch the Spirit
By Rita Neubauer
December 2006/January 2007
Luis Padilla García stands very still, hands and palms uplifted, eyes closed. He’s atop the Pyramid of the Sun. “The sun gives me energy, tranquility, and the security that things will be all right,” says Padilla García, 51. Once a month, he climbs the 248 steps of the world’s third-largest pyramid, located about 25 miles outside Mexico City in Teotihuacán.
The Pyramid of the Sun is a mysterious structure built by mysterious people. What is now known as Teotihuacán was built between 100 B.C.E. and 250 C.E. and became the most powerful social and political hub of Mesoamerica. Today tourists and pilgrims flock there, especially on the vernal equinox in March. Dressed in white, they chant, pray, and celebrate the beginning of spring, believing that on that day the pyramid transmits a special energy.
My pilgrimage is for a much quieter event: June’s summer solstice. I arrive very early in the morning. Soon I’m joined by men and women from Mexico City wearing red bandanas, amulets, and white clothes. White, says Antonio Olivera Villalobos, 54, is the color of purity and also the synthesis of all colors.
The group invokes the spirit of the “blessed creator” and ascends the pyramid slowly. They call this una caminata sagrada—a sacred walk. I smell burning incense and hear a conch shell being blown.
| I consider the Hopi, the Navajo, and their ancestors, for whom Sedona has been sacred since prehistoric times |
For some, this sacred place heals the body, enlightens the mind, and increases creativity. For others, it sparks psychic abilities and awakens the soul. “Who are we?” asks Yolanda Acevedo, 77. “What is our mission on earth?” She doesn’t have the answers, but she knows that these rituals, held on these ancient and hallowed grounds, give her peace of mind.
Where Energy Flows
Expanding consciousness and creativity is also a goal of many visitors to Sedona, Arizona, often called the spiritual Mecca of the Southwest. The area’s orange-red rocks, hanging cliffs, spires, and mesas join together in spectacular formations.
Sedona’s magic comes from Mother Earth, says Mark Griffon of Sedona Mystical Tours. He takes visitors to purported high-energy sites called vortexes. “The high concentration of iron and crystal create this highly magnetic energy field, and people really feel it,” he says. “Older people especially benefit.”
Recently widowed Aida Bacany, 77, is looking for that benefit at Cathedral Rock, a major vortex three miles outside Sedona. “It was amazing,” says the Cuban American from Chandler, Arizona. “I lay down on the earth and felt so peaceful.”
Her son, Tommy Acosta, 58, owns a second home in Sedona, where he likes to meditate. “I clear my mind here and I forget about my daily troubles.”
Believers say Cathedral Rock balances feminine and masculine energy. “Feminine” rock is more magnetic and relaxing, while “masculine” rock is more electrical and stimulating.
| ‘Don’t think about the future or the past. Just be here. Now’ |
Sitting in the shade, I consider the Hopi, the Navajo, and their ancestors, for whom Sedona has been sacred since prehistoric times. I look at the twisted juniper trees. It is said that the more twisted their branches, the closer you are to a powerful vortex.
If this is true, I’m in the thick of it. And though I don’t feel that I have been transported or had a dramatic life change, I understand the allure and, lost in it, I almost miss my flight home.
Where Time Stands Still
If time flies in Sedona, it stands still at the Shambhala Mountain Center in Red Feather Lakes, a beautiful valley 8,000 feet up in the Rocky Mountains, about 110 miles north of Denver.
My watch stops. Coincidence or not, I’m grateful. I have come to this retreat to learn to meditate, practice yoga, and contemplate life. I need to find a new way to calm my mind and to “let go,” as I am often reminded during my three-day stay.
Sitting in a chair, concentrating on my breathing, my thoughts flit like a hummingbird. “Just let them come and go,” counsels Victoria Kaufman Hernandez, the meditation teacher. The benefits are rewarding, the 49-year-old Guatemalan American says: “These retreats are the best spiritual vacation you can take, and not only to learn about yourself. Shambhala teaching is also about getting enough sleep, breathing right, and slowing down.”
I slow down. Yoga, the teachers’ soothing voices, simple explanations, and walking meditation help. But it is a hike one late afternoon to the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya, a sacred monument and place of pilgrimage, that affects me most.
There it is: a white structure 108 feet high with a golden spire, surrounded by dark forest. Inside, a huge Buddha looks benevolently down on visitors. I suddenly feel calmer than I have in weeks. I breathe deeply and sit for a long time. I’m not sure I’m truly meditating.
I’m also not sure it matters. I know then and there I will be fine.
Whether I’m visiting Teotihuacán, Sedona, or this Great Stupa where I now sit, the words of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, the Shambhala movement’s spiritual leader, echo: “Don’t think about the future or the past. Just be here. Now.”
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