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Sedona Spirit Journey: Rahelio

BY Heather Zollman
September 8, 2021

April 24, 2021

Journal Entry

Thursday

This day started at Mystical Bazaar…a beautiful store filled with crystals, card decks, jewelry, oils, books and all kids of weird, cool, beautiful things. 
Next, to the Chocola Tree. 
This is an organic/vegan restaurant a friend told me about. 
Friends, you have never seen anything like it! 
We walked in, stood in line to order food and came to the hostess where she asked if we’d like to sit inside or in the garden. 
We must have looked curious, because she said, “you definitely want to sit in the garden.” 
When you walk up to the building, it looks like it consists of one very tiny room and that is it. 
Also, when I hear garden, I think…some petunias and daisies maybe. 
We followed our fairy-like hostess to the garden. 
Friends, this was another world! There was a huge round table (we found out it was the “ohm table” with a beautiful variety of people sitting around it, some on their cell phones, some barefoot, some with work attire on computers. 
The other smaller tables were nestled in trees and plants. 
There were macrame’ swings in the trees and artwork everywhere. 
There were oils in the air, and light music playing. 
The employees seriously seemed to be floating from one table to the next.  (They may have been.) 
I looked at Bryan and laughed…this is so my vibe! 
And so not his! 
We ate our meals which were fabulous and on our way we went to explore more shops.

Before we left for the trip, I received lots of information from friends who had been to Sedona…great places to eat, touristy things to do, favorite trails, etc. 
A student/friend of mine told me about a man named Rahelio. 
He is a shaman, Native American healer of the Toltec lineage. 
I looked up some Youtube footage of him and googled him of course. 
When our other tour guide canceled, I contacted Rahelio. 
The text I received was…meet me in the Whole Foods parking lot (it was one of our favorite places in Sedona with a beautiful statue of the magician Merlin in front) where I will meet you with my suburban. 
Ummm…I saw my life flash before my eyes. 
This sounded shady. 
I quickly texted my friend and said, “Is this legit? 
Should we actually get into his car?”  She said she felt the same way and went for it and the experience was awesome! 
While waiting, we saw many other eager trail goers getting into random cars with groups of people. 
I guess this is a thing.
The Suburban parked, and out came a beautiful man with long hair. 
Rahelio. 
I recognized him for the videos I watched. 
Six other people climbed in with us and off we went.  We had no idea what to expect, other than a hike and meditation. 
Our group was guided up the trail (I believe it was called Thunder Mountain) with random stops so Rahelio could tell stories. 
I was loving it! 
For Bryan, the stopping on the side of cliffs while listening to stories, was height fear torture. 
We stopped at a flat rock area on a cliff for a shamanic meditation experience including drumming, the flute and a talking stick. 
It was AMAZING! 
He told us to see what 3 animals come to mind during the meditation. 
Mine were a raccoon, a dove and a butterfly.  I could visualize everything he was saying.  I also felt Bryan next to me, having trouble breathing and extremely anxious. 
We got up and continued.  Bryan said, “take your time, I’m going to wait at the bottom.” 
I traveled on with the group up to the peak. 
Rahelio told us to rest against the slope. 
One of the girls, also scared of heights (remember none of us knew exactly what we signed up for) said, “Hey where is your husband?” 
When I told her he had to turn around and was scared of heights, she said, “Why did I not know we could turn around???”
Rahelio continued to talk with the most beautiful sunset as his back drop. 
He taught us how to sun gaze…which should only be done during the less powerful times…sunrise and sunset. 
You stare at the sun as long as you can without blinking and notice any colors or visions that show up. 
This is tricky! 
Fear popped up for me around this. 
My eyes were very affected after my seizure and bright light was a trigger for migraines. 
I kept my sunglasses on. 
He came over, took my sunglasses off and told me to try it. 
When the time between the blinks lengthened, I saw the most beautiful shade of vibrant red around the sun! 
Each time I would blink and then return, more colors showed up! 
No migraine. 
Then he brought out his tuning forks and I was like…hell no! 
The other sense most compromised by my seizure…hearing. 
Certain pitches are another migraine trigger. 
I slyly put my hood over my ears thinking he wouldn’t notice. 
When he got to me, he gently removed my hood and played the sound right next to my ears. 
He told me not to be afraid. 
And IT FELT AMAZING!!!
Two big fear triggers of mine were addressed. 
Coincidence, I think not.

We traveled back down the mountain as a bonded group of people who had been through a beautiful experience together. 
We told stories in the suburban, talked about our daily lives and families and then hugged as we parted ways.

I bring bits of Rahelio knowledge into my classes and sessions with people. 
I love the way the Native American culture respects the land and nature. 
There is so much wisdom, peace and beauty there. 
We could all learn from that respect and connection.

Little did I know that the next day would be the most powerful of all…