Editor’s Note:  There have been many inquiries asking what’s next for the Arizona Enlightenent Center.  This blog will continue to keep you updated on the progress of the center as the story continues.  We thought you’d like to know how it all began so here’s the story, written by Heather Clarke, Founder and Director of the Arizona Enlightenment Center.  Enjoy!

I have been on a spiritual journey since the middle 80’s (actually all my life, but I was not aware of it when I was younger). As soon as I was introduced to the metaphysical world, I went on a massive “download” of information when I read everything I could get my hands on and attended every workshop that crossed my path. At that time, I had no clue that I was being prepared for what is happening in my life right now.

As I was attending the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts from 2003-2005, I kept getting messages about bringing people together and teaching classes on different aspects of spirituality.  I had a folder where I collected ideas and thoughts on how this would look and play out.  But, of course, I was not taking action on it and actually DOING something about it—until I got an email from my good friend, Cindy Hoak, saying that I needed to get together with Marcie Ellis because Marcie wanted to start a metaphysical group so that she could connect with people she could talk with about spirituality.  I just smiled to myself and said, “OK, here we go…it’s time to get started!”

Cindy, Marcie and I got together and made a list of 30 people we knew who we thought would be open to such a group. At our first meeting in July 2004, sixteen people came, including a few we didn’t even know.  We started out having a discussion type of meeting twice a month, alternating the location between Marcie’s house, Cindy’s house and my house.  Eventually we ended up at my house because Marcie and Cindy travel a lot and were out of town.

As we were growing this spiritual community, I kept writing in my journal and at one time I wrote my thoughts about one day having a center out here on our side of the Valley with various healers and classes to help people raise their consciousness. 

In August of 2004, I met Cathy Stuart, the former owner of Angel Wings in Scottsdale, and found out that she lives about a mile from me. I asked her for a reading, since I love getting messages that way. She came to my house and that reading was the first real message that there would be a Center out here in our area that would be really huge and would have a beacon of light going out from it that would just draw people in. She saw an old house, south of I-10, and said that we would be open within one year.

I was at the perfect place in my life to step into this project since I had just retired from selling real estate, our kids were grown and on their own, our deaf and blind dog had just died, and my husband was very supportive. I was READY.  But the messages that came in after that were telling me to just keep gathering people, attending workshops, networking, and they (my guides) would tell me later what to do with all of that.

In April 2005, I joined eight friends in going to the Hay House “I Can Do It!” conference in Las Vegas. One of our group had a friend who had come from the Washington State area who channeled a group called The Ancient Ones, and she wanted to know if we would like a group reading. Six of us jumped on that opportunity and met with her in our hotel room. Her name is Janice Lynch, and she is what you would call a “conscious channel.” That means that she is aware of what she is saying to you in the session, unlike some other channels who basically get out of the way and let the messages come through them without remembering anything about what they have said.

The Ancient Ones answered all of our personal questions, and then I asked a question for the group: “What about this spiritual center we are supposed to have?”  At that moment, Janice got all choked up and emotional and said, “It is time! Within the next 3 weeks, you have to get the place open because people are crying out for it and they don’t even know it. Stop waiting for a miracle for the huge place and be willing to start small. Take baby steps and rent a smaller place for now and then we will manifest with you something that is beyond your wildest imagination.”  They told us that we had already seen the building and not to worry that it is in the wrong location because we will change the energy of it.  We asked about the name, mentioned a few possibilities, and when the Enlightenment Center was mentioned, they said, “That’s it.”  It turns out that I HAD seen the building because I was already looking around. I knew we didn’t want something in a strip center because you have to sign a 3-5 year lease and someone has to sign personal responsibility for the payments—something that I knew I wasn’t going to do.  But my real estate broker owned a building in Goodyear that he was going to tear down to build an office complex. He only wanted 6-month leases so that when the time was right, he would be able to get started. 

Here was a building that was an old house built in 1974 with slump block construction and a red tile roof, located in a pretty run-down area with old warehouses on one side, a construction site on the other side and a utility substation across the street. The house was set up inside like an office with a lobby, a kitchen, 3 bathrooms and 8 rooms that we could use for practitioners and classes.

AZEC's First Building

As soon as we got back from Vegas, I sent an email to the group to ask them to come look at the place and get some feedback. During that weekend, 24 people came by and most of them could see the potential. At that time, someone volunteered to set up our website; someone volunteered to design our logo; someone said he could help with painting and repairs; people donated money, furniture, pictures and almost everything we needed. I researched the legalities of becoming a non-profit corporation and within 60 days we were open!  It was totally amazing.    So there we were in an old house, south of I-10 and open within a year of when Cathy told us we would have a Center out here. At that location, our intention was to make it a home where anyone could feel welcome and comfortable enough to come on in and just hang out. We installed a lockbox at the door and gave almost everyone the combination so that they could come and go as they wanted.   The energy was really beautiful and many people felt compelled to stop in just to see who we were and what we were doing.  One woman said that she could feel the energy as soon as she turned onto the street several blocks away. One man said as he drove by, he felt like he drove into a pillow, so he had to turn around and come in. We were able to stay at that location for 21 months until we got the notice from the owner that it was time to move. 

Yoga Studio

We spent several weeks searching for the next location and eventually ended up sharing space at the Center of the Heart Yoga studio, just 2 miles north of the original location. This was a very elegant studio and we felt like we really moved up in the world!  We stayed there for 13 months and then got more undeniable guidance that we were to let go of the attachment to ANY physical location, continue our work in private homes or at various locations around the area, and allow the next location to manifest. 

 And here we are today, keeping the campfire burning, building the connections through the email list and website, offering classes and workshops, and preparing ourselves for the next phase of the Arizona Enlightenment Center.  We invite you to come along with us to experience this awesome adventure!