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.

You’re going to start seeing more things here on The Enlightened Blog that are focused on the local Arizona spiritual community.  I’d like this blog to be known as the place to go to find out about events, classes, workshops, groups, meetings and where to shop for all things metaphysical.  

In the near future,  you’ll also start to see new things added to the resource page.  I’ll be posting a variety of useful information including a section for those of you who are working to grow your holistic/spiritual businesses.

Today, I’ve posted a list of local stores throught metro Phoenix.  I’m sure I don’t have all of them here but it’s a good start.  If you know of a store that I’ve missed, let me know and I’ll add it.  You’ll also be able to find this list on the tab at the top of the blog  labeled “Arizona Stores”.   In the future I’ll be writing special features on the stores because each one has a unique personality all of its own.   

A Peace of the Universe

7000 E. Shea Blvd, Ste 1710

Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Phone: (480) 596-3755

www.apeaceoftheuniverse.com

Angels Serenity

4839 E. Greenway Rd

Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Phone: (602) 482-0036

www.angelsserenity.com

Gypsy Trader

20811 N. Cave Creek Rd

Phoenix, AZ 85024

Phone: (602) 971-4445

www.gypsytraderarizona.com

Intuitive Development Center

11223 N. 28^th Drive Bldg F, Ste 101

Phoenix, AZ 85028

Phone: (602) 621-4027

www.intuitivedevelopment.org

Jan Ross New Age Book & Gifts

4239 W. Thunderbird Rd Ste 2

Phoenix, AZ 85053

Phone: (602) 841-4933

www.janrossnewagebooksandgifts.com

Lavendar Moon Store & Holistic Center

14130 W. McDowell Rd, Ste A104

Goodyear, AZ 85395

Phone: (623-935-0501

www.lavendarmoonstore.com

Lightworkers Gifts

5116 W. Peoria Ave

Glendale, AZ 85302

Phone: (623) 334-3393

www.lightworkersgifts.com

Storm Wisdom

3375 E. Shea Blvd, Ste A-1

Phoenix, AZ 85034

Phone: (602) 334-1204

www.stormwisdom.com

The Astrology Store

5731 W. Glendale Ave.

Glendale, AZ 85301

Phone: (623) 463-6286

www.theastrologystore.com

Vision Quest Metaphysical Bookstore

2225 N. Scottsdale Rd

Scottsdale, AZ 85257

Phone: (480) 949-1888

www.visionquestbooks.com

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!