A Dream Message
From Hopi Elders
While living in Phoenix, I had a powerful dream: Hopi elders sat around an oval conference table. Instead of tribal clothing, they wore business suits. Serious looks on their faces. They spoke: “No one lasts long in this area, because they did not ask the land for permission to build here. The resident’s lives will be unsettled until they connect with the land spiritually.”
According to what I have read, the Hopi view the land as sacred and have a deep connection to nature and the earth. I’m not sure why Hopi elders showed up in my dream, except they are part of the indigenous people in the state. The Hopi Reservation, a sovereign nation, is in Northeastern Arizona.
Dreams are symbolic, so I wondered, why the suits? I don’t feel the elders meant to be intimidating. Instead, they were answering a question I had recently asked. Why is my new home so transient? In 1990, as a transplanted Midwesterner, I had moved to Phoenix. I shared a house at the base of a mountain with a newly married couple. It was an upscale, yet affordable neighborhood in a new sub-division. With popular hiking and mountain bike trails steps away, the location was perfect. Curiously, people moved in and out of the area often, only staying a year or less.
As it turned out, my time in that neighborhood was short too, but only because my roommates were kind of crazy, loudly arguing all the time. I moved to another part of the city. After experiencing the dream, I began to ask for permission from the land and the ancestors to hike whenever I set out on a trail. To this day, this rule sticks with me wherever I go, including in Wisconsin where I now live.
A friend once told me this story about Enchantment Resort in Sedona, Arizona: The resort sits in a beautiful setting in Boynton Canyon, surrounded by towering red rocks. The canyon is one of the energy vortexes[1] in the area. In the location where the property is today, many other hotels previously failed, despite the desirable location. Why? Did the builders ask permission to be there? Apparently, the current owners of Enchantment performed a ceremony to ask permission to use this land before construction started. I can’t confirm this is true, but this resort has far outlasted all others and continues to be very popular today.
Soon, I will be traveling to Sedona. I’ve been there many times. Every time I’m there, it feels as though it’s my first time. Sedona is one of the most stunning places on earth. It is a mystical place, with majestic red rocks, canyons, desert landscapes, and a twisty creek that flows through the town.
The town has changed a lot since I lived in Arizona in the 1990s. Sedona at the time had a small-town feel, with crystal shops, organic food restaurants, small funky houses with wind-chimed porches decorated with local art. Pet cats roamed freely.
Now, it’s become a popular tourist spot, with many expensive hotels, shops, restaurants and property rentals, such as VRBO and Airbnb. The crystal shops remain and are a favorite of mine. None of this detracts from the stunning beauty of Sedona.
Because I’ll be traveling there soon, I follow a local blog on Facebook about where to stay, eat, hike, and other general tourist information. Once in while a local resident will rudely comment and tell tourists not to come to Sedona. When I see this, I gently remind them, the earth doesn’t belong to any one person. There are many movie stars and wealthy people who live there, but the red rocks do not discriminate. All are welcome to this public land.
Speaking of public land, Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is another example of the stunning red rock terrain of the American Southwest. You can approach Escalante on US Hwy 12, a Scenic Byway, and see a landscape like no other. It’s a magical drive through all types of landforms. In the span of an hour, you may see wide open vistas, majestic cliffs, arroyos, and plateaus. The famous Hogback is part of the drive to Escalante. A twisty two-laner with 1,000 ft drop-offs on each side. It’s a slow drive you will never forget. The monument is also home to many prehistoric sites of indigenous cultures. Currently, the monument is under attack from Utah’s members of Congress, and the present administration is considering getting rid of protections for the monument. Let’s not let that happen.
(For more info, see www.suwa.org)
The Hopi elders gave us a good reminder: Always be respectful to the land. And always ask permission.
[1] Read about the Sedona vortexes in Dick Sutphen’s book Sedona, Psychic Energy Vortexes: True Stories of Healing and Transformation from One of the World’s Most Powerful Energy Centers