Present
now is a rising tide of new energy,
a positive surge there for us at this time in the evolution of
humans on earth.
Full of potentiality we can vision into a new reality.
Is
something
inside of you longing to see new horizons? Maybe hawk
and eagle have been coming into your awareness calling
you out.
We
resist, yet are irretrievably drawn. At some point we
feel limited and
give in to the call of our soul. The first step is
to create a powerful intention for change and step out
of your busy life away from familiar surroundings. You
step over the edge of your known boundaries into the
creative terrain of the unknown.
When
you respond to a heartfelt call to go to a place
with great natural energy and power, something at
a cellular level gets stimulated. Entering
with a child-like sense of awe, heart wide open,
in reverence and prayer opens the door.
As
you
respond to your heart's yearning, each new bold
step opens more doors of creative experession. You gain
confidence and a fire that people will see in the
new depths of your eyes.
The
challenge for people living in modern cultures today
is to clear the mind, let the static go, to move into
a heart-centered place of deep connectedness to Source.
Many older tribal forms of seeking vision involved physical
suffering such as days of fasting to free the supplicant
to connect to spirit. But in today's world most of us
already are adept at leaving our body, living mostly
in our heads. So a lot of our work is helping you release
energies/patterns that no longer serve, stay grounded
in your body and deepen observing skills in
the physical and dream time worlds. Worldwide now, mysticism
and connection with nature as a doorway is calling people
home to self .
Our
Hopi and Navajo hosts welcome us, share ceremonies and
wisdom circles and encourage us to be postive, laugh
often and express from our heart. We become for this
time a tribe and remember that sense of community and
connectedness, which for millennia was core to tribal
ceremony and healing.
Canyon
de Chelly's powerful presence opens your heart, energizes
you and reflects light back to you. Hopi
lands are pregnant with prayer and stimulate our
ancient wisdom connections. Our
Native guides give us a role model of praying
with your whole heart, having faith you are heard
and working with the power of gratitude. But
your own intention and willingness to be in loving
communion with all that you are without judgment
gives wings to your journey. A
Hopi elder once said, to be wise, first you must
ask. then pay attention, and then it is up to you.
|
photo by Shannon Silver, 2007
photo by Shannon Silver, 2007
"The greatest
friend of the soul is the unknown. Yet we are afraid
of the unknown because it lies outside our vision and
our control. We avoid it or quell it by filtering it
through our protective barriers of domestication and
control.
The normal way never leads home."
John O'Donohue |
I
have created an integrated program that helps you
open the pathways to your own soul's knowing based
out of years of learning shamanism directly from
wild nature, my dreams, my guides, Native peoples
and many other wisdom keepers. I have also developed
a reportoire of supportive skills that help us shift
out of our busy mind-centered technological daily
reality and help us to focus, observe and be centered
in clear, calm high use of mind.
If this feels right, if
you feel ready, I am here for you. Creator gifted
me with the ability to hold space for people, to
reflect back their soul's gifts in an honoring
way, to assist you in creating movement in your
life. We have wonderful Hopi and Navajo people
who will help us open our hearts, pray from our
heart and energize our ceremonies.
Likely
you will make new friends with the other participants
who, like you, have a courage and openness to see
and be more of who they are. We are doing solo work
from a supportive base of human community share campfire
circles and songs and blessings. This sense of connectedness
within and without is a powerful experience that
you will carry with you all your life.
Sandra Cosentino
The Program
preliminary outline of program--
(All of these elements will be included
but we always remain fluid to deal with weather
and tribal activities that may be occurring.
)
++Day 1
Sedona: ~~Creating
the circle, inner pathways skills~~
7 - 9:30 pm
Soul Journey session: inner
pathways: lucid dream skills, tracking energy,
awareness skills, deepening Presence, power animal
connections, chakra clearing and sound healing session
(with Himalayan metals and other instruments). Introduction
to vision quest and our journey into Native lands.
Prayer tie instructions (materials provided). Group
drumming.
~~~Meals and hotel NOT included in
Sedona.
I will give you recommendations of places
to stay.
Option to add: Sedona Explorer Journey,
2 - 2 1/2 hrs (not included) |
4 Sisters, ancient sacred site in Sedona
|
++Day
2
Journey to
Hopi Indian Lands
~~Ancient prayer vibrations, blessings
and ceremony~~
8
- 11 am: Drive to Hopi
11
am - 9 pm
Experience
the most traditional
culture in North
America. Their ancestors
are the ones who
built the cliff dwellings
in Canyon de Chelly.
This
a landscape pregnant with more than a millennia
of prayer energy; it is this vibration that we
invite you to connect with. You will experience
a special circle of support
with warm-hearted Hopi wise people who will help
prepare you for the journey to their ancestral
homeland. Fall is the feminine
ceremonial time, we hope there will be a special
opportunity to observe a gathering as respectful
guests. Ancient Cultures of the Southwest and natural
history teachings with reference booklet.
optional: Purification Ceremony (by donation,
not included.)
Enjoy
a traditional food dinner in a Hopi home. Overnight
in good quality motel on Hopi lands. Dinner and hotel included. |
|
~~Nature, Soul and Vision Quest~~
Breakfast
included at lodging
Canyon de Chelly on Navajo
lands
++Day 3
8 - 10:30
Meet our Hopi guide at large ancestral rock art sacred
site--time to explore, reflect, walk, tune in
or
attend a village event such as a ceremonial dance
restroom stop
11 am- 12:30 pm
Drive to Chinle
12:30 - 2:30 pm
Museum quality gift shop and lunch on own in Navajo
cafeteria
3 -
6 pm
Check
into hotel, rest, early dinner on own
6 - 10 pm
Go to canyon rim at a remote site with our Navajo guide:
--Ancestor connection experience
--Sandpainting blessing
--Mini vision quest practice on canyon rim
--Power animal circle
++Day
4
Morning: (breakfast
on own at hotel)
We
enter sheer red cliffs of sandstone by on foot
with our Navajo guide on a 2- 3 mile Navajo trail
of moderate difficulty. We take our time using
this as a time of coming into relationship with
the spirit of the canyon.
We
honor the ancient spiritual presence of the Puebloan
ancestors of the today's Hopi people who lived
here beginning at least 2,000 years ago and built
the spectacular cliff dwellings that were abandoned
by 1300 A.D. and the Navajo Holy Ones and Navajo
people of today who are present here too.
If
anyone wants to participate that cannot do the hikes
in, please let us know and you can ride in
with the gear vehicle (optional, not included, on
space available basis). We
will pace the walk so you can rest as needed. It
is such a powerful way to enter the canyon being
on foot in direct connection.
picnic lunch in canyon
(included)
afternoon in the shady
canyon bottom at private site:
--Connecting with nature
--Mystical Nature Shamanic Journey seminar to
connect with helper spirits including medicine journey,
upper world guide and spirits of the Canyon
--Teaching on Creating your personal circle of power
--Circle of Power Drum Healing Ceremony
This medicine circle is a symbol of our journey to our place of center.
late afternoon, sunset
to 9:30 pm (fruit, nuts and energy bars included
for evening snacks--you want to eat lightly for better
focus)
Solo communion time with nature in your own sacred
circle of power and energy
9:30 - 10:30 pm
Fire Ceremony blessing and honoring your return
10:30 pm - midnight
Jeep ride out under the stars through the winding canyon
walls at night!
++Day 5
morning - (breakfast on own at hotel)
rest, reflect, journal, draw symbols of your
experience on poster board
11 am - 12:30 pm
Drive to Hopi
12:30 - 3 pm
Traditional food luncheon feast in a Hopi home.
Sharing
circle honoring your journey and your forward vision
with our Hopi guide. Songs and participatory dance.
3 - 6 pm
Return to Sedona
(you will need your own lodging in Sedona)
----------
++Day
6 - option
(not included) for those who want more depth:
Soul Retrieval - Extraction
Soul Journey extended session
|
Canyon
de Chelly was designed as an earthly place of divine
connection at the time when supernaturals still
walked the earth according to Navajo legend. Here
the unseen Holy Wind, or inner form of all life
that flows between and within the stars and the
cells of our body seems closer in the receptive
dark, womb-like vessel of the night.
"What is it exactly
that called me here? Mystery is what called me here--the
answers to questions I hadn't known yet to ask, hadn't
lived yet. Something Wise knew I was getting ready
to ask those questions--and to hear the answers,
and it called me in so that we could talk."
Shay Panther
 Campfire
circle -- spirit moving, 2006
See
more photos here |
Facilitators
The
retreat leaders have a calling as universal bridge people
bringing together people of many cultures, ways and locations
to make a deeper connection to their own soul in the
profound presence of vibrant nature. They
encourage you to see, feel and express your soul's longing
in a way where you feel honored for the wisdom you carry
as well. In fact, together, we create a circle
of wisdom, and help each other to remember.
 photo
of Sandra Cosentino and Daniel Staley taken by
Laura G., May, 2001,
near Spider Rock in Canyon de Chelly (the rocks are
actually a lot redder than this)
As
participants in Navajo and Hopi traditional culture,
they help us connect with the Holy Ones who are
fully realized spiritual beings that used to
walk on this earth plane. Daniel says, "they
want us to remember that they live here too." Our
Native American guides carry a powerful authenticity
from a lifetime of living these ancient ways
of earth-spirit connection.
Daniel
Staley, a warmhearted
Dine (Navajo) spiritual leader will be our
guide (shown below with with a group at his
homeland in the canyon).
 photo
by Lisa Stone Daniel will
lead a sand painting experience, and offer
a fire blessing for us. He sings medicine songs
in a soft, natural way that carries you into
another time.
"Daniel
enjoys sharing with visitors. You can feel
the presence of the Holy Ones sitting at
the fire with him. You also feel well cared
for being on his land and may chuckle at
his ever-present sense of humor."
Sandra
Cosentino
Roanna
Kagenveama
Roanna,
talented Hopi artist and teacher, will assist
you in holding space for your prayers and communion
with your spirit and in making your shield.
photo by Jackie Burroughs 5/05
"The
prayer that is walking with Creation
is within us as walk the land heart to
heart and hand to hand. Even though we
think we are alone, the Creator is there
to take care of it for you and give you
what you need. You do your prayer, it
is all inside you what you want to bring
out. You don't know what you are speaking
within you, but it is coming out. This
is having faith in the creational path.
Trust and it will be there for you all
the time." Roanna
|
Sandra
Cosentino,
an earth-spirited facilitator-teacher native
to Arizona and founder of Crossing Worlds
will lead this retreat. Her informed passion,
mystical understandings, intuition, work
with spirit helpers and shamanic healing,
and honoring of the wisdom-spirit that dwells
in each of us, create a bridge for you to
enter this world. Sandra
has a powerful ability to hold the space
for each to make connections they need and
she has life long experiential knowledge
of the healing powers of wild nature.
Sandra
will give you experiences in being your own shaman-healer
as you work with shamanic journey, lucid dream
skills, guidance to connect with spirit helpers.
We will use these skills and intuitive insights
to deepen knowledge that comes us from dreams,
signs, symbols and the constant flow of energies
around and within us. Sandra
teaches intertribal ways of working with ceremony,
intention and aligning with the universal energies
of Creation. In the drum healing ceremony, you
may choose to be wrapped like a papoose in a blanket
to receive drum, earth and human vibrations and
shamanic healing work for your renewed balance.
"Sandra
comes in a good way to the Canyon--she listens to the wind,
the air, the water to be real close to Mother Earth. She
likes it, wants to be with it and is a healer to other people." Daniel
Staley
great shot of Daniel showing his perpetual sense of humor
|
DETAILS:
Caution: Outdoor
activities may not be for everyone. You must be in reasonably
good health. We will be in and around a remote canyon
reached only by foot travel or 4-wheel drive. If you
have medical challenges that might require urgent attention,
know that cell phones do not work in the canyon and we
could be 2 or 3 hours away from getting out of the canyon
to the hospitial facility in Chinle. There is always
an element of risk associated with outdoor activities.
We emphasize safety but ultimately each person must take
responsibility for themself. No minors may participate
without the presence of their parent or legal guardian.
We reserve the right to refuse participation of anyone
we feel poses a safety hazard to themselves or others.
We also will be at some sites that do no have restroom
facilities.
Cost per
person for 5-day retreat described above:
$1,550 each based on a minimum
of 6 people.
Discounted to $1,450 with 7 or more.
(Should there be less than 6 people registered for the
retreat, you will have the option to do this staff intensive
retreat with 5 people for $1,750 each; 4 people = $2,200
each. If you do not want to do the retreat at the higher
rate, you will receive a full refund of your deposit.)
Included:
transportation for Sedona tours and to and from Hopi and
Can. de Chelly, one night lodging at Hopi, 2 nights
lodging at Chinle on Navajoland (double occupancy),
meals listed, in depth program/skills development for
deepening self awareness, personal feedback from facilitators,
outfitting gear, jeep ride out of Canyon de Chelly,
guides-facilitators, reference booklet.
Does not include Sedona lodging or jeep ride into Canyon
de Chelly. I will send you a list of Sedona places
to stay. The
organizing, logistics and staffing required to do this
small group retreat are enormous.
For a private hotel room: $180 additional.
Optional, not included:
--Purification
Ceremony at Hopi is optional and by donation directly
to the healer offering the service--I will give you
details upon registration.
--Medicine Shield Workshop,
Sedona Ancient Wisdom Circle, Soul Retrieval-Extraction
session after the 5-day retreat
--Sedona Explorer Journey before or after the
5-day retreat
Sedona
lodging and meals, meals not listed and while enroute
are not included.
Sedona post
retreat options:
Soul Retrieval and Extraction Shamanic
session
Extraction
In
tribal medicine ways, clearing of negative intrusion
is the first aspect of consideration.
After years of working with this I see that much
of what we view as negative is our own inner resistance
to change, our old patterns that once served a
protective purpose but now are impeding our expansion
and/or inculturated belief systems.We work in the
upper world, the celestial realms, with assistance
of spirit helpers and the quantum greater soul
self to negotiate, shift and come to a new agreement
within ourself. It is not an attack or battle with
negativity. Rather, we acknowledge, thank, instruct,
free these energies that got stunted and stuck
with the help of expanded soul support. We break
free of limited thinking/behaviors and shift into
new vibrational frequency more in alignment with
our greater potenialized self that is really guiding
our life.
Soul Retrieval and connecting with our greater potential
self
In the process of life, we all lose vital parts of
our energy through traumas, social conditioning and
more. In a sequenced set of journeys, I guide you,
hold space for you, to reclaim a part of your expression
and spirit and then to integrate it into your life,
and provide intuitive feedback. This is a profound
act of coming home to self--a deeply self-nurturing
and freeing experience. I
can journey into the spirit world and find fragmented
parts of your soul and negotiate with them to come
back to you--but it is far more empowering and effective
for you to do this for yourself. Yes,
this takes courage as it opens up blocked emotion--but
the gift you give yourself in this process is that
you become able to express more of your creativity,
feelings and power.
Price for combined session:
$200 for 1 person, 3 hrs
$140 each for 2 people; $120 each for 3 - 4 people,
3.5 hours
|
Day
6 option in Sedona:
9
- 3 pm
Medicine Shield Workshop
In Sedona with David Singing Bear (or other Native
person should David become unavailable)
Deepen understanding of connecting with signs and energies
coming to you and how to place this energy into your
personal shield so that it carries your medicine (connection
to Source). Will include guided shamanic journey with
Sandra to see more of what came to you in the past
5 days. David will offer teachings, songs, blessings
and help you with crafting your personal piece.
$150 each with minimum of 4 people includes lunch and materials ($200 each with
3)
6:30
- 8:30 pm
Sedona Ancient Wisdom full moon,
fall equinox ceremony-celebration with
David Singing Bear, a universal wisdom keeper of Cheyenne
heritage.
$60 each with min. of 4 ($85 each with 3)
 |
 |
Sedona hotels begin at about $60-65 per night
and go up from there to luxury accomodations.
To
reserve your space, please send a $300 deposit payable
to Sandra Cosentino to Crossing Worlds Journeys, PO Box
3288, Sedona, AZ,86340. (50% refundable with notification
by August 7, 2010; non-refundable and non-transferable
after that). The balance is due by August 22, 2010
(non-refundable and non-transferable unless program is
cancelled by Crossing Worlds or in the event of a higher
rate for doing the retreat with 5 or 6 people you may
opt out and have a full refund).
If you want to prepare for unforeseen emergency,
you might want to purchase your own trip cancellation insurance. Please
note: program requires a minimum of 6 participants unless
a smaller group still wants to do the retreat at above
posted rates for 4 or 5 people.
Please
let me know:
--what is your goal for yourself?
--are you willing to do some preparation work to make this
more meaningful for you?
--are you willing to be present with yourself?
--are you in reasonably good health to be out in
a remote canyon at about 6,000 feet elevation?
We
will send you more more details once you send in your
registration. We can recommend places to stay in Sedona
and transportation options from the Phoenix airport to
Sedona (you can also fly into Flagstaff). Please let
us know if you have diet restrictions--we will have vegetarian
options, and will accommodate other needs to the extent
possible.
I
recommend you spend at least a day in Sedona processing
your experience before heading back into your daily world.
photo by Shannon Silver, 2007"I
followed my heart and stood on the rim of Canyon De Chelly,
feeling a deep pull in my soul. The Canyon welcomed me
and I knew I had come to the right place at the right time,
as though returning to a place that knew me.. Sandra validated
and valued that experience for me, supporting me and holding
the space while I explored the mystery and magic of the
journey back to myself. She helped me tap into a "knowing" within
myself that continues to unfold in very unique ways. Sandra's
deep connection to and understanding of wild nature made
her the perfect guide and companion for this amazing journey.
I experienced something while exploring my soul's calling
that has forever changed my connection to nature and myself.
Thank you Sandra, for providing an opportunity to remember."
Kellyn Boileau, May, 2003
(her shield is the one with angel with
uplifted arms)
Vision
Quest Speaks to our Soul's Longing...
Coyote presence is
a frequent part of the canyon overnight experience:
"Then the first long quavering coyote howl rises,
peaks, and slides like a diver into the inky depths of
the ocean, pulling light with it. I tingle all over.
Adrenaline reaches out to my scalp, back, and fingers,
and I am more awake than I have been for months. A second
call from another cliff carves out eerie funnels of sound.
These are rich, complex tones filled with minor notes
and harmonics...they communicate joy. Canine boom boxes..the
coyote howls guide me into the Night People's realm."
Susan Zwinger, Plateau Journal,
summer, 1998, a publication of the Museum of
Northern Arizona |
 |
Walls
Become Webs of Life...
"Being in Canyon de Chelly is like being
in the womb of Mother Earth and yet in a starport--a
place divinely designed for soul communion. She takes
you into her arms. My heart soars when I wake at
night there and see the moon -shadowed forms of her
curving body, so exquisitely beautiful, rising powerfully
above me silhouetted against the star-studded night
sky. Earth and sky seem to merge. I am drawn into
an intimacy and a vastness, a merging with the Great
Mystery. These moments are soul imprints that I will
carry always."
Sandra Cosentino
"The
vision quest is a spiritual journey to wisdom that has
been practiced by people for as long as history can remember.
The resulting visions are recorded in cave drawings and
described in the oral traditions of cultures throughout
the world. Native North Americans believed that animals
took vision quests when they hibernated during the long
winter months. Christ's forty days in the wilderness
was a vision quest. Many of the prayers, meditations,
and rituals used by the world's religions originally
were developed as vehicles for the vision quest. .. We
and the other "moderns" on this planet are perhaps the
first people in history not to practice some form of
the vision quest as a regular part of our education process."
(John Perkins from The World is as You
Dream It, Shamanic Teachings from the Amazon and Andes)
In
the words of our participants:
"Thank you for such powerful
and wonderful experiences. We both feel this has been
one of the most important times of our lives...You
are a gifted teacher and seer. Thnak you for all the
personal work you have done that enables you to be
so present and connected."
Terry P., Ontario, Canada, June,
2006 see her photo page at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37878042@N00/sets/72157594183003480/
More reflections from Terry May 2007: "My
experiences there were profound and I can still feel
the ancestors whisper as my mind wanders the canyon
floor." |
"Our time with you was
transformative & enduring."
Sandy S., N.
Carolina, Sept., 2005
"My experience in the Canyon is one I'll be
grateful for--for a lifetime."
Shannon S.,
Calgary, Canada, 2007
The retreat has sent me off on an exciting new spiritual
journey. Connecting with the universe through nature
has grounded me and set my spirit soaring at the same
time."
Sharron
Norton, Johannesburg, South
Africa
Sept., 2005 |
"Sandra,
when my soul called me to come out and do the full
retreat with you, it was such a blessing. I came full
of fear and anxiety, missing and longing for a piece
of me that had been lost. Through your guidance I pulled
out a giant cork that had been stopping up a well inside
me for many years. I found a self-acceptance and self-validation.
I know I will never be the same again. Anyone who has
felt that longing of emptiness should take the full
retreat with you. The training leading up the the vision
quest is indispensable. The vision quest itself is
like a favorite topping on a favorite dessert. This
is truly a journey of the self. I anyone is feeling
that call, they should definitely come here. Thank
you so much!"
Neal Lieberman,
Birthing Tiger,
Aug., 2004 |
"It
was truly a magical adventure. I am still processing
the experience, but I can honestly say that it has
changed me on many levels. I feel in the world, but
not of it. My awareness, not only of my environment,
but my body's energies has increased dramatically.
I actually feel energy surges. It's very strange,
but very exciting. Everyone should expose themselves
to the raw beauty of nature. It's an eye opening
and heart opening experience."
Laura
G., Ohio
May, 2001 |
Speaking
about the Vision Quest aspect of her journey: "First
I would like to say that there was a lot of preparation
before going out into the desert. And that this was
something I was drawn to do for a long time. On my
Solo journey I could feel a deeper knowing . It is
hard to put into words, but I just knew that I was
not alone. I had nothing to fear alone in the desert
or in my life. That feeling is with me still. What
you accomplish on a Solo journey depends on your
reason for doing it. What is your intention for going
into nature alone, and how willing and open are you
to what may come to you. Most people I think use
the Solo experience to find themselves or to deepen
an already strong connection to spirit. Whatever
the reason, if it is done authentically, it will
change your life forever. A
journey alone is really the only way to connect with
yourself. You rely and trust only on your own instincts.
You pay more attention to your gut feelings. You
are not following another's advice or opinions, you
do not have the false security of others around you.
You are not trusting another to keep you safe and
out of harms way. Nothing and no one can give you
the confidence and courage to trust yourself, to
live your life fearlessly only your own connection
to spirit can do that.
I
do know that all spiritual masters spent many years
of their lives alone with nature. This should tell
you of the powerful energy of nature. The same
life energy in nature is also within us, we just
have to stop our way too busy lives long enough
to feel it. Being alone gives you a more peaceful
and aware feeling towards your own life. You begin
to see things in your life differently and you
begin to react with more understanding and Love
to the situations in your life. And I do believe
that LOVE is the most powerful energy known to
us all !!!! "
Barbara Furlotte,
Canada
Sept., 2000 |
updated
August 26, 2010
For
those who prefer staying in a motel rather than camping
(with one night out in the wilderness solo):
Sedona Vision Quest Retreat is
available year round for 1 or more people.
excerpts
from Crossing Worlds articles:
Nature,
Soul and Vision Article
"When
your heart issues that call
to pilgrimage and you answer
and go to a place with great
natural energy and power, you
receive cellular level stimulation,
awakening. Entering with a
child-like sense of awe, heart
wide open, in reverence and
prayer opens the door. This
is really a pilgrimage to your
own heart-- an act of great
love and courage to just be
with you.
article...The
Power of Sound to Heal, to Create New Life
"The
very air seems to shiver and vibrate as a multitude
of harmonic tones reaches out into an infinite universe.
The essence of your cells -- your very being -- reacts,
reorganizes, and harmonizes. " article: The
Patterns in the Stars are Patterns in Us
Here in
the Colorado Plateau country, a magical region lifted
to the sky, the stars are a constant, abiding presence.
High altitudes, transparent atmosphere, wide spaces
of crystalline rock bring the stars into our nightscape.
Comforting, reassuring, tantalizing, felt as an essential
part of our inner landscape. The patterns in
the stars are patterns in us--ancient wisdom
from this land whose meaning I have sought for years. Native
Healing Wisdom article
|
Crossing
Worlds Journeys and Retreats
P O Box 3288
Sedona, AZ 86340
1-800-350-2693
for quick info calls
Office: 928-282-0846
eMail: journeys@crossingworlds.com
see
also:
Crossing Worlds Foundation,
our 501 3(c)
cross-cultural education and Native American service
projects arm |
|
