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Spiritual Things to Do in Sedona

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With its breathtaking view of red rocks and contrasting evergreens, Sedona Arizona is known as being one of the most beautiful places on the planet. But Sedona is also known as being the largest “New Age” community (per capita) in the world. As some people put it, Sedona is the New Age Mecca of planet earth. Many people interested in higher forms of spiritual understanding and honoring all religions, traditions, and thought-systems choose to visit or move to Sedona. This pilgrimage is often encouraged by the countless number of miraculous testimonies from groups and individuals who share stories of receiving powerful visions, spontaneous insights, and even physical healing from spending time doing one or more of the many spiritual activities available in the area. The following is a partial list of just some of the spiritual thing to do in Sedona.

Healers:

Sedona features a large selection of practitioners who focus on holistic healing. These range from naturopathic physicians and acupuncturists to massage therapists and craniosacral practitioners and from herbalists to those specializing in energy work. Many residents and visitors to Sedona have found that choosing one of the local healers has forever changed their life.

Hikes:

Sedona offers some of the world’s most breath-taking hikes for beginner or advanced hikers. Rather than only offering physical beauty, however, Sedona is unique in that some of the hikes lead the explorer into some of Sedona’s renowned energy vortexes, and a sample of the internal beauty of the region.

Labyrinths:

With the popularity of the DaVinci Code, labyrinths are becoming more popular by the day. Labyrinths are known to assist a person in finding a greater sense of calmness and peace, but also tend to shift one’s mind into a state of receptivity, wherein one can receive insights or solutions to problems or perhaps new inspirations in regard to one’s life direction.

Metaphysical Book & Gift Stores:

Sedona has a few of the oldest and most respected New Age (spiritual) book and gift stores in the country. Some have been in Sedona for 30-40 years. These stores feature books on every subject of spirituality and self help, gifts and tools for spiritual growth—including crystals, statuary, art, and Native American flutes, drums, and more.

Metaphysical Centers & Churches:

There are several spiritual centers and churches in Sedona that focus on developing higher consciousness. There are also yoga and meditation centers, and centers that focus exclusively on featuring special events for audiences ranging from 50-500. These centers have featured some of the world’s leading teachers, authors, and conferences on spiritual and self-help.

Native American Sacred Sites:

There are numerous sacred sites of the Native Americans throughout the region. These sites are ruins of the Navajo, Apache, Hopi, and even the ancient and mysterious Anasazi—a tribe that is said to have vanished from history, but that the Hopi say were taken away by star people and brought to other planets.

Psychics:

Given the heightened energy in Sedona, it stands to reason that Sedona features some of the world’s most gifted psychics. The psychics in Sedona range from clairvoyants and aura readers to tarot readers and astrologers. When living in or visiting Sedona, it’s not uncommon to see some form of psychic reader on a regular basis, whether for life-changing guidance or for a psychic “check-up.”

Retreats & Spas:

Visitors have their choice of retreat accommodations, ranging from the rustic and down to spa-like luxury. Several of the major hotels in town have extensive spa facilities association with them, and smaller, independent practitioners and day spas offer a huge variety of specialized treatments and services.

Solstice Festivals:

Each year, hundreds of thousands of people around the planet celebrate the Summer and Winter Solstices. The people in Sedona are no exception. Each of these solstices are celebrated each year at Unity of Sedona who features only the finest speakers, musicians, and vendors for these one-day events. The Sedona Summer & Winter Festivals include fun, depth, laughter, and spiritual alignment.

Sound Healers:

Sound healing is one of the fastest growing forms of healing around. Sound healing can vary in forms or style, but often includes the use of various instruments and vocal toning to create a sound chamber that can alter the frequency of the client. Sound healing often includes the use of crystal bowls, flutes, drums, tuning forks, and human voice.

Vortexes:

Vortexes can best be described as funnels of energy. People familiar with yoga or metaphysical subjects usually equate vortexes with chakras (energy centers on the human body). The earth is said to have numerous major and minor chakras/vortexes such as in Glastonbury England and Machu Pichu, Peru. But nowhere on the planet do we find as large a concentration of several vortexes in one place as Sedona.

Yoga Centers:

Virtually every style of yoga is available in Sedona, including Hot Yoga, Kundalini, Yin, Ashtanga, Flow, Restorative, therapeutic, and more. Combining a hike out on to the Red Rocks and a yoga session can also be arranged.

Buyer Beware:

Even though Sedona is filled with some of the nation’s best healers, psychics, spiritual teachers, and so forth…Sedona also has attracted some less than exceptional characters. If searching for any sort of quality person or experience, it’s always best to go by referrals. So be-aware of what you are looking for and never settle for anything less than the highest quality, integrity, and authenticity.

October 2016

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Michael Mirdad

Michael Mirdad

Dear Friends: 

I pray this e-blast finds you well.

In life, no matter how clear our guidance and direction happens to be, we always need to be aware of any micro-adjustments that might be needed to better keep us on course. After completing another quarterly meeting with our members and attendees, we (our Board, staff, volunteers,  chaplains, etc.) feel even more inspired in regard to the fine-tuning of our direction. 

In my personal life, and at Unity of Sedona, we tend to make changes in sync with the seasons. So at the end of each year, we begin to release things that are no longer serving us and then begin planting the seeds of a new life. This year we are clearing the way for a tone of greater gentleness, devotion to cooperation, and responsible communication–all of which is made easier by making sure everyone involved in our leadership remains aligned with Spirit and with each other.  

One change that we can already see emerging is that although we’ve invested a great deal of time and energy making sure we empowered lots of people to step into leadership roles, not everyone was well suited for such. Now and then over the years, folks ended up getting angry and leaving because we could not fulfill their agendas of attaining certain things at Unity of Sedona. These agendas often included competing with my position as Spiritual Leader. And so I did what I could to accommodate their needs (thus demonstrating an open-mindedness). But after asking our Chaplains and attendees for feedback, it was concluded that we will no longer be able to support these needs as much as we used to.

Here are a few more changes you can soon expect to see/experience:   
*Thanks to Joy Nanda, Judy, and Linda Mae, we have increased our commitment to improve social media and bring our Sacred Sunday Services to the world through streaming our services onto Facebook. As a result, just last week alone, we had over 10,000 viewers within the first couple of hours.
*We will continue to increase our membership. In fact, our last new member orientation had a very large turnout.
*To make sure we don’t over-saturate our attendees with too many e-blasts, we are going to experiment with only sending out one, weekly e-blast instead of our usual two–thus trimming the number of e-blasts from eight per month to four. We will still send out our one monthly e-blast as well. But this means we have to depend on all of you to mark your calendars for events and have us remind you less often.
*For anyone who wants to know how they can support us (besides love and prayer), three options were shared: 1) Attend services and events. 2) Become a sponsor. 3) Donate towards our annual pledge program.
*We are forming a Solution (Conflict Resolution) Team for Chaplains and members to come to with concerns, problems, and questions. Tentatively three members: Victoria, Harmony, and Joan Belle.
*Lastly, we recently co-created a goal/theme which we agreed to follow:

  • God (and Divine Love) is our first Priority.
  • We call forth the gifts, talents, and inspirations of others but without entitlement or hidden agendas.
  • We carry on and encourage inclusiveness, which also means standing together in words and actions.
  • If ever there are challenges, we are committed to communicate lovingly, tactfully, honestly, and responsibly.

I  pray all of this makes sense and encourages you to feel an even greater sense of God’s Presence at Unity of Sedona and in all of our events.


Love & Light,
Michael Mirdad

September 2016

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Michael Mirdad

Michael Mirdad

How glorious it is to see the consistent evolution we are all co-creating here at Unity of Sedona. A great deal of our current upgrades are the result of our workshop from last month that focused on “Consciously Co-creating a New Life.” This workshop covered many key topics and tools for creating a better life. And now, as we have put those into practice to a whole new level at Unity, we are immediately seeing the wonderful results–which is no surprise.

CO-CREATING AT UNITY:
As a result of that workshop, we determined that there were a few things on the property to upgrade (which includes painting our buildings), as well as 1-2 projects that we needed to let go of. We also gained greater insights and inspirations as to how to further improve our prosperity level and launch our plan to bring our services to the world (via live streaming)–which has already resulted in tens of thousands of viewers enjoying our sacred services. 

CHANGES TO OUR SERVICES:
Length of services–In the past, the length of time of our Sunday services averaged an hour and a half (sometimes even a little more). However, since we are no longer recording dvd sets (as we have completed the series of 20 full sets), our services will probably be reduced by at least 10-15 minutes, thus making the length of time more similar to that of most Unity churches throughout the country–which is an hour and 15 minutes.

Sunday ceremonies–Thanks for the overwhelmingly positive response to our occasional ceremonies during our services. Please note, however, that we can only include those special ceremonies once per month and only on the weekend wherein we are celebrating a Holiday on that weekend–which again is once per month. Also, we might be doing these ceremonies only at the second service each Sunday instead of at both services. This decision remains to be seen.

OTHER NOTE WORTHY CHANGES:
*We are being given the long-awaited opportunity to purchase a nearby piece of land (approximately 1/4 acre) that we could use as a second parking lot–which we greatly need. The price would be around $100,000. If you feel called to help, please let us know. We are setting our prayers and intention to find someone with the means to offer the funds OR to make a sizable donation towards this endeavor. One could also purchase it as an investment and simply allow Unity rights to use it.
*We are beginning our meetings for the volunteers of the Winter Solstice Festival. If you want to participate, please email the office. We already have our musicians and speakers lines up and expect to have a very special event.

And before closing this letter, your Board of Trustees and I want to extend our gratitude to all of you who have chosen to be a Sponsor in one of our two Sponsorship programs: one that supports our various programs and one that is an annual pledge/commitment. Your gifts help to provide us with a vital percentage of our income to cover our numerous expenses. So thank you!!! 

Love & Light,
Michael Mirdad

August 2016

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Michael speakingThis past Sunday, we had our quarterly Community meeting. These gatherings are a great time to share, brainstorm, and catch everyone up on what we are doing and how we are doing. We update everyone on many things, including our finances, the amazing community that we are creating together, and how that is achieved in a spirit of collaboration and co-operation.
 
OPENING COMMENTS
*The Board was introduced, as well as several individuals who do a great deal to make Unity of Sedona the great place that it is.
*We were reminded that we are one of the top two spiritual centers in Sedona and that we are now going to embrace this and make it known–greatly with the assistance of our new social media crew.
*Our Chaplain program is doing very well and we are very happy that our Chaplains are beginning to play larger and larger roles in our services and elsewhere.
*We acknowledged all of our Sponsors at Unity of Sedona.
*It was announced that it’s time to gather Volunteers for our next Sedona Winter Solstice Festival and several people responded.
*We greatly thank everyone who is a sponsor or supports Unity of Sedona in any way.
 
FINANCES
We then discussed our finances and how each year we are clearly doing better. We also discussed how I (Michael) fit in financially. Everyone was/is so supportive of me and my work and although most of these kinds of details are usually open to the Members only, we opted to share with everyone the exact details of my position–financially–as we reviewed the following:
 
*Even though our attendance is twice as much as the average Unity Church, I am paid around 1/3rd less than the average Unity minister makes per year.
*And, unlike Unity ministers, there is no allowance for housing, car, and/or insurance.
*I am paid approximately $45,000 per year and have been given only one raise in my 5-6 years.
*I tithe back $12,000 per year, which is approximately 25% of my salary.
*After my 1st year or two (when I was paid only $35,000) we began thinking of ways to create bonuses to compensate for the low income. The Board came up with some ideas but they are mostly contingent on our income, for example, we have to be in the black-which we often are not.
*It is our hope that we can create a second raise OR some other type of financial alternative that brings my pay up to par with the National average.
 
SPONSORSHIP PROGRAMS
*We now have two Sponsorship Programs. One is for sponsoring all of our many programs such as the café, the children’s program, and so forth. The other is more like an annual “pledge” wherein people can commit to a one-time donation or a monthly donation that can be applied wherever it’s most needed-such as our largest bills.
 
MM PERSONAL
*I will continue going on tours for one week per month-as that is how I make my primary living, since tours pay me more than Unity can.
*I am committed to being here for a few more years and plan on helping to continue taking the energy and learning to whole new levels.
 
FUTURE EVENTS & PROJECTS
*Psychic Sunday is coming up soon. 
*Deva Premal will be back to Sedona in the Spring (with Unity of Sedona as the sponsor).
*Special guest speaker–Marilyn White (wife of Maurice White–leader of Earth, Wind, and Fire) will be joining us on August 21st.
*The Sedona Winter Solstice Festival is being held on Sat. Dec. 17th.
 
A FEW OF OUR CLOSING COMMENTS FROM ATTENDEES
“I have come here because of the consistently beautiful love I feel and have received here. It is alive here, and I know it goes out to millions of others…”
 
“Thank you so much for what you do for musicians.”
 
“Before I came here I had been in a community for 10 years. But I have received more love in the short time I have been here than those years elsewhere.”
 
“I attend here because of what we are doing to impact the world.”
 
“I see being at Unity as being one of the highest aspects of my life.”
 

Love & Light, 

Michael Mirdad

 

July 2016

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Michael speakingAll of us on the Board, staff, and list of volunteers and Chaplains wish you all a joy-filled month (and lifetime) of freedom and independence–internally and externally.
 
As we enter the second half of the year, it’s becoming clearer that the lessons related to healing, patience, and reaching new levels of learning how to be a healthy co-creator with God are finally giving way.
 
Astrologically speaking, many of us already know that the stars (and planets) have been mirroring to us persistent delays in our hopes and dreams. It’s as though the universe (and our own heart and soul) is trying to tell us that with time getting so short on earth,we need to learn to only create the finest creations from the highest aspects of ourselves and to never again settle for anything less.
 
We’ve probably all heard this before from teachers or in our own mind but apparently, the universe is no longer accepting that our hearing such messages is enough. Instead, we are being told to get it together and start living the highest principles.
 
So let’s not delay. Let’s learn to do everything with God. Instead of watching garbage on cable, let’s watch shows or movies that feed our soul. Instead of going on camping trips, let’s go on spiritual retreats. Instead of making a list of what stuff we want in our life, let’s ask God to help us to know what things are best for us to attract. Instead of spending Sundays playing golf (or whatever other diversions we might like), let’s get to our spiritual center. Instead of competing with others for a perfect body, let’s find whatever healthy regimen actually feels best for us. And instead of desperately looking for a perfect soul mate, let’s spend more time enjoying the presence of everyone we meet.
 
The truth is, choosing to pursue all the former items in this last paragraph will lead us nowhere, while choosing the latter items on this list is actually a means to to our embodying the Spirit of God, thus creating Heaven on earth.
 
Love & Light, 

 
Michael Mirdad

June 2016

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Michael Mirdad, Unity of Sedona

CAN SOME TEACHINGS BE TOO DEEP? 

One of the most incredible experiences since I arrived at Unity of Sedona several years ago is that people were/are constantly praising the power and the depth of the work and the teachings, as well as what we all have accomplished. At Unity of Sedona we have never had a lack of good teachings (including from our guest teachers) nor a lack of good application of the teachings. In fact all of our successes and miracles come from the depth of the teaching and the willingness (most of the time) to apply the teachings. 

And even when we experience occasional challenges, it might never occur to anyone that such challenges are rooted in the depth of our teaching, because some people do well with deep teachings and others do not. 

There are generally two types of people who do well with deep teachings:  

1. Those who feel a resonance or familiarity with the teachings–as though their soul recognizes something. And part of this recognition comes from their inner knowing that what they are hearing on the outside is what their soul has been receiving/knowing on the inside.  

2. Those who are advanced enough to practice taking responsibility for any transference or projection that will inevitably arise due to the fear of learning at such a deep level.

There are also generally two types of people who will NOT do so well with such deep teachings:

1. Those who have a hard time knowing how to deal with the constant amount of depth. Constantly learning at such depth can seem overwhelming to some people–overwhelming to their intellect or to their ego or to their nervous system–especially those who are not balanced or well grounded. So they run for the hills after a few doses of such teachings. It’s one reason why Jesus would only teach for a short time to any given group. 

2. Those who don’t mind hearing some deep teachings but fail to integrate them as new truth and/or fail to live such teachings as deeply as they could. 

In regard to the latter group of people that don’t do so well with deep teachings, the first of these two types of people would rather just come to a lightweight lecture and go home no different than when they arrived. They are open to hearing a deep message but just “not too often.”

The second of these latter two types of people are open to hearing a deep message but do not want to be called to live it–even becoming triggered or agitated when they recognize their hypocrisy or inconsistency. 

One thing is certain however, our outer lives always reflect our inner lives. So whichever of the above four types of people we belong to, we should ask ourselves if we like being defined as such. We should give thanks if we resonate with the first two groups–those who love and embrace deep teachings. And yet if we find ourselves resonating more with the latter two types–those who avoid deep teachings–we might want to practice owning what’s happening and then heal the related issues and fears. This will allow us to be free and to trust our ability to fly. But first we have to release our ego-based addiction to shallow teachings (or a shallow lifestyle). For some people this will take very little effort. For others, it will take great effort. Either way, the rewards are endless and the choice to do so is inevitable, as it is only by navigating the depths of consciousness that we rise into our divinity.

Love & Light, 

Michael Mirdad

May 2016

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Michael Mirdad, Unity of Sedona

MM greenAs a spiritual teacher, I have learned that some people take my messages lightly and others really take them to heart–sometimes too seriously. This is why I choose to often say things in a funny way. It’s to get people to lighten up. I like to share deep concepts and then lighten things up so the message enters the soul of the listener instead of merely entering their head–which is likely if they take me too seriously. So I add a little levity to break the trance that some people get into with the messenger. This way they get the message but remain a little detached from the messenger. It also helps to add a little humor about myself or my own life.

If you read this carefully or listen to my teachings carefully, you will see a theme: I know the truth about things but I also respect the illusion. For example, I know the body is an illusion and yet I truly believe and advise that people eat well, exercise, and get body-work done on a regular basis.

Also, in my teaching, there is a theme of balance. For example, when I see people ignoring the importance of making God a priority in their life, I will get serious and “tell it like it is.” But then if I see people getting too serious about the spiritual path, I will make fun of it. It’s my way of teaching that as soon as we make something into a “sacred cow,” it’s no longer real and authentic. It’s now a false idol and must fall. On the other hand, if we take things too lightly and fail to keep our priorities straight, then we might very well be allowing mundane distractions to get the best of us, which is worth laughing at so we can see it for what it is and get back on track–but without shaming ourselves.

So, although it could look like I am contradicting myself, I am actually using purposeful paradoxes in order to teach a balance. Here are some examples: Continue reading →

April 2016

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Michael Mirdad, Unity of Sedona

MM greenWhen I am on tour, teaching in any venue around the country (or world), I usually teach at whatever level the group is at–adding something more, however, in order to encourage them to stretch their minds a bit. But, being at Unity of Sedona for several years now is different. Here, the attendees seem ready for something profound every week and I am happy to oblige. And yet it can still push some people’s buttons to have someone standing up there on a consistent basis speaking on such deep and varied topics and doing so with such confidence. It’s especially intimidating to those with a competitive male ego–especially when I failed to condone some of the “free-for-all” behaviors practiced by many in Sedona.

Students on the spiritual path (including those in Sedona) are well represented in a story I created about two fresh-water springs. These springs are found by walking through a very hot and challenging desert. The first spring is called the “spring of comfort.”It has cool, clean, refreshing water and is only a two mile walk–which makes the visit to this spring all the more enticing, as it’s somewhat easy to reach and offers at least a reasonable amount of reward. The other spring is called the “spring of life.” This spring has all the beauty of the first spring, and even more, but it’s several more miles away. Nevertheless, this spring is well worth it, as it can awaken one’s soul–thus bringing us eternal life and a life of depth, abundance, and fulfilling relationships. Continue reading →

March 2016

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Michael Mirdad, Unity of Sedona

MM greenLast month the Members of Unity of Sedona gathered for their “Annual Member Meeting.” The attendees were asked to share feedback about their experiences at Unity, as well as if they had any suggestions or requests.

Their feedback was as follows:

*The Buddhist Monks, when they visited last spring, said that Unity of Sedona’s property is the strongest vortex in Sedona.

*Destinee said that she finds that she is more grounded and centered since attending Unity of Sedona.

*Suzanne feels that she has come home and we are her spiritual family.

*Linda Mae noted that there is so much love here that it is rewarding and fulfilling and many people have told her the same thing. Michael added that this feeling is contributed by all of us.

*Marc and his wife, Rondi, have always gone to other Unity churches and are impressed with what we have created here. The other spiritual centers didn’t impress them. They are going to be here a long time.

*Sheila said Michael’s teachings have turned a lot of us around. There is no coincidence that Michael is here. Literally the teachings have saved her life.

*Nancy said that the wisdom she receives in every service changes her life.

*Serena learns something new each time she listens to the cds of the service. She has tried other churches and Unity of Sedona was the best to her.

*Harmony said she has experienced deep transformations here. She believes that it’s due to living the teachings each and every day.

*Sandra came here before Michael was here and never felt spiritually fed prior to his arrival. After hearing Michael speak, she feels that every talk is geared to her.

*Sheila mentioned that the hands-on healing classes have been incredible for her, and she feels that people would love to have more of that sort of class.

*Kimberly is grateful for the Children’s Program. That’s the only time she can get some time away from parenting and commune with the adults. She loves the new director, Laura Langstrand, and her assistant Graham Horner is great as well.

*Serena Ashley thanked Michael for being a good example for the rest of us!

*Marjie thanked Michael for being here, at Unity of Sedona, and the room applauded in agreement.

To view a fuller report from this Annual Meeting, please click here.

February 2016

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Michael Mirdad, Unity of Sedona

MM greenIn one of our most recent Sunday services, our message focused (in part) on the need for people to deepen their understanding of EVERYTHING. It’s true! We have to evolve beyond being so shallow and weak. We are divine beings and have forgotten our Divine Origins in God, which led to our having a tendency towards low self worth and a lack of courage in our ability to pass our various tests in life. And you can bet that without learning to see the greater depths of all things, there will be little chance of returning to our True Nature.

For example, when things happen in our lives, a typical human being sees it only at face value and fails to realize that we should actually do the following: 1) See the event as somehow reflecting a greater lesson or message to us. 2) Look for the deeper message or synchronicity behind the event.  Continue reading →