The Heart-Shaped Rock — How Sedona's Vortext Energy Shaped Our Destiny

During summer 2013, my best friend Cecilia trekked to Sedona with her sister. For my birthday that September, Cecilia created a travel brochure just for me that artfully pictured Sedona landscapes and chronicled their adventures there.

I was intrigued by the way m!nx!e described their hike in Boynton Canyon vortex, during which a kindhearted hiker appeared out of nowhere and gave them some one-of-a-kind heart-shaped rocks. ​

"He told us that the rock's energy will always be with us," Cecilia wrote, explaining the concept of Sedona's potent vortex energy.

Enclosed with the brochure she created for me, Cecilia gifted me with a red sandstone rock she picked up during her hike in Boynton Canyon. She'd taken the stone home and asked her husband stuART to whittle it into a heart shape for me.

​For six months, that rock sat vibrating on my desk as I wrestled with the vicissitudes of life in America's capital city. All the while, I was clueless about the rock's energy and spiritual significance.

During that time, a series of events compelled me to move to Sedona. When I announced my intention, Cecilia remarked, "I hoped the positive energy I sent in the form of the rock would take root for you while you were still on Capitol Hill. But I guess you do have to open yourself to it. And maybe the energy just isn’t transferable. Or maybe you just had to journey through all that other stuff first."

In retrospect, if "all that other stuff" hadn't happened, I probably would not have opened my mind to other possibilities elsewhere. And as the details of my relocation fell magically in place, the heart-shaped stone played a mystical part. ​

More than a decade has passed since Cecilia picked up that rock for me in Sedona's Boynton Canyon, where I later hiked often while living in Sedona. Since then, I've relocated several times and now reside with my life partner, Jerry, in Saguaro-studded Tucson.

In May 2018, Jerry and I road-tripped to Sedona and I introduced him to Boynton Canyon, where our paths crossed with Cecilia's kindhearted hiker.

As we reached Boynton Canyon Vista trailhead, we could hear Robert playing his flute. When we reached the summit of Vista Trail, we found a safe perch on a rocky ledge, cradled within the exposed, brawny roots of a twisted Juniper tree near Kachina Woman formation.

We both watched in awe as Robert balanced cross-legged atop Warrior Rock and played his melodious flute tunes. Later, Robert scrambled down from the formation, walked toward us, and gifted us both with two heart- shaped rocks. As Robert explained it, "these rocks emboy the energy of the vortex, and they represent unconditional love."

His name is Robert Sechrengost and he is actually a bit of a celebrity in Sedona. (I previously met Robert when I lived there in 2014/2015.) Since 2011, Robert (born in 1952), has handed out more than 250,000 heart-shaped sandstone rocks to hikers who find him playing his Native American flute atop the rock formation known as "Warrior Rock." Over time, his kindnesses merited the nicknames: "Flute Man" and "Heart King."

To this day, we continue to find joy and inspiration from these heart-shaped "milestones" that ultimatedly inspired my relocation to Arizona, where Jerry and I eventially met a Tucson drum circle.

❤ v!ctor!a colette

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