I have just returned from an eight day bus tour of The Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion Canyon, Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley. There is no doubt about it; the Canyons are truly an awesome sight to behold. Time, wind, fire and water have worked their magic to make these shines of nature places of overwhelming wonderment and stunning awe.
However, as a writer of spiritual articles I have to state, that if you do not bring your serenity, tranquility and sense of spirit with you, then you will not find it in the canyons. It is the same if you go into a house of worship, if you don”t bring God in with you, then you will not find God in the books and ceremonies.
We started our journey in Phoenix, Az; on Caravan Bus Tours. It was a new 2009 bus and the guide and bus driver were excellent. Apart from one hotel in Bryce, all the other nights the accommodation was congenial to our taste. The meals that were provided were very satisfying and overall the holiday represented sound value for the money. Our trip had forty-three eager passengers and all were punctual at every stop and start. Every day there was a seat rotation so everyone met everyone else and had a variety of places to sit and enjoy the scenery.
I will not describe my feelings of being so close to the natural beauty of the canyons as I do not feel words can do them justice. They are places where one becomes enmeshed and enthralled by the etchings, figures and shapes in each rock that time and weather has carved. The landscape changes second by second as the light changes. One could spend a lifetime viewing and sensing the treasures each rock holds hidden, then momentarily revealed, just for the sake of the viewers gaze.
Traveling through the canyons is a personal quest where the imagination takes center stage. Each person will see differing aspects of complexion and style as they journey through more and more spectacular sights of amazement.
There is much made of spiritual vortexes and spiritual journeys that may appease the appetite for people thirsting for a quick spiritual fix. There is no doubt every rock holds some form of energy. Some of the energy is strong and some are quite subtle, however, as I have expressed earlier…If you are not aware of your soul and spirit when you enter the canyons, you will not find it by extracting the energy from a vortex.
There is lot of mumbo jumbo doctrines in the New Age movements, just as there is in all religions. All contain some measures of truth but, as I always have said, the results of people‘’s life will speak for themselves. If you want to find out what construes truth from man- made be-lie-fs, then go ask a wise old rock in the canyons. The answer will satisfy your gut’’s feelings but your intellect may have a difficult time understanding what it means.
We finished our trip in Las Vegas, so it could be stated that we came from the sublime of nature and ended at the ridiculousness of sin city. I spent two enjoyable nights in Vegas and went to see Cirque du Soleil’’s show “”O” at the Bellagio hotel. The show project earth, wind, fire and water in dream like sequences. After seeing the faces and shapes in the canyons, this show seemed to bring them to life. All in all, to sum up my trip, it was a super experience, for we do live in a wondrous world, filled with the magnificence and resplendence of nature.
However, that said, wherever we are in the world, if we can sit still, close our eyes and silence our minds, we do not have to venture further than the reaches of our imagination to explore the grandeur and infinite glory of just being alive.
