Well, we just got back from an awesome “Enlightenment Journey” to Mt. Shasta with 10 totally awesome ladies. We flew up to Medford, Oregon, rented cars, and then drove town to Mt. Shasta City which is located in Northern California, about an hour and a half drive south of Ashland, Oregon.
Tina Sacchi was our Spiritual Facilitator and did an outstanding job of following her guidance and leading the group to exactly where we were supposed to be in every moment. We stayed at the Gatehouse Retreat Center that was just perfect because we had full run of the property which gave us access to the firepit, the Sweat Lodge, the hammock, the gardens, the trees, the house, the kitchen, the huge living room and plenty of beds for everyone so nobody had to share beds with anyone else.
We spent the first day on a 5 hour tour with Ashalyn, owner of Shasta Vortex Tours. She took us way back on the mountain roads to waterfalls, parks, fabulous tree circles, and meditation portals, as she gave us an introduction to the Mt. Shasta area. We packed sack lunches every day so we never had to hurry to get home from all the powerful spots we were visiting.
Saturday morning we reserved the Stewart Mineral Springs bathhouse so we were able to spend a full 2 hours relaxing in the healing spring waters, laying in the sauna, and then, for those who were brave enough, dipping into the 58 degree spring pools outside. The bathhouse was just lovely with beautiful, calming energy and a perfect place to start the day with the sounds of Enya wafting through the building. We had another picnic lunch and visited the Headwaters Park, where the Sacramento River begins. You can take jugs there to fill up with the pure, delicious water. The park has trails all through an enchanting woods where we had a guided meditation and then had some free time to just wander through the paths.
Then we had LOTS of shopping time at the delightful little shops in Mt. Shasta City…crystals, books, clothing, gifts, etc.–not to mention the refreshing Hawaiian shaved ice and root beer floats! We had such a great time connecting with the people in the shops and restaurants. Everyone seemed to be “on the path” and open to sharing their spiritual experiences with us.
Sunday afternoon we drove up to Castle Lake, just 15 minutes from the retreat center, and basked in the gorgeous sunlight and cool breezes. We were able to get a quite a few fascinating “orb” pictures in the surrounding woods.
Later that afternoon we had a Sweat Lodge experience that I will describe in my next post. I had never done one before and was quite pleased that I was able to stick it out!
All in all, we had an outstanding trip. Everyone got along with each other, strong new bonds were created between the group members who had not even met each other just 4 days before. I love how these journeys bring people together like that. We could NOT have asked for better weather and the experiences we had are priceless. ”Enchanting” and “Magical” were the words we heard over and over again. Take a peek at our pictures here.
We invite you to join us in one of our future Enlightenment Journeys as they are announced in the coming months. We had such a good time in Mt. Shasta that we decided to go again every August.
