In love, we try to give ourselves to another person. It’s a process—opening up, trusting, letting go of fear, allowing, acceptance. When it works, it floods the body with beautiful chemicals and hormones. Like a wave. And some waves grow so high… they crash.

I know couples who seem like they’ve never fully opened up to each other, yet somehow they know each other deeply. They care. They show up. Even when they hurt each other—sometimes without even realizing it. Over time, you see it: some couples build each other up and others break each other down. 

We took off from Logan with an outside temperature of 4°F and landed in Phoenix with 80° and the sun wide open in the sky. It felt like heaven just to walk around in a T-shirt. Boston’s winter has been bitter and mean. Nothing could’ve felt better than that warm, welcoming air.

I’m with Hari G—a yogi brother and the man behind the gongs every Saturday at Psychedelic Breathwork. I originally planned this as a Valentine’s Day trip… but fate had other ideas. He got dumped too, so we were in the same boat.

“I’ll come with you,” he said—then handed me an envelope with $800 cash like a man who shows up for his people.

So the question became:
Will the red rocks of Sedona heal our broken hearts?

The drive into the desert

Sedona is about a two-hour drive north of Phoenix. We rented an SUV, and one of the old guys in line looked around and said:
“I don’t know if I’m getting a car or a dime bag. This place looks like a dispensary.”

One thing I love about traveling with Hari G is we’re aligned on vibe: mantras in the car, no radio, no news,  no popular music—just trying to live clean and intentional. 

The scenery changes fast along the highway the landscape opens up. Giant cactuses, then brush, then trees, new plants every half hour. And then… the red rocks start to rise.

Sedona doesn’t look like a normal place. It looks like a melted ancient city—temples, faces, doors, pyramids appear all over in rock formations. 

Day 1: Arrival, altar, and the first vortex

We arrived around 3PM and checked into the Airbnb.

It was designed as a romantic getaway. One bed. One hot tub. A stabbin’ cabin, basically—built for passion, privacy and intimacy.

It was still a getaway but more like
 “Hari G get away from me”
More on that later.

We went to Whole Foods for most of our meals and ate fresh, organic food. Dinner was about $18 by weight, Hari G is a vegan so it was easy to accommodate us both.

For sunset we went to Airport Mesa Vortex and met an older guy selling Hare Krishna books out of his truck. He handed us pamphlets and told us he’s trying to raise $4 million to build a Golden Temple two hours away—he has one month left. He said he might have to give his Indian holy cows away and move.

He asked if I knew anyone who’d want to donate $4M.
Not off the top of my head… 

He told us about a kirtan group, in Cottonwood 20 mins away so we went.

It was beautiful. It feels so heart warming to know some of the songs and be with people that are really open and connecting with spirit. They served chai, talked with us, welcomed us like family. We bought crystals, they were so well priced. I got a gorgeous piece of lapis for my mom for $20.

Airport Mesa itself is a short walk—five minutes up, mostly flat. We crossed to a second peak, sat down, prayed, meditated, and went back to home base. 

Night 1: The chainsaw

It’s 1AM. Hari G is snoring.

Snoring like a
Chainsaw or a bear-fighting.
Right in my ear.

It started at 11PM when he fell asleep instantly, and my cortisol shot through the roof. I had no idea this was coming so I lay there for hours—tortured by relationship thoughts, replaying everything, spiraling in the dark.

Eventually I got up and made myself a bed in the pantry area—two yoga blankets and a fleece blanket.

He woke up and said:
“Bro… did I snore?”

I told him I couldn’t sleep. He apologized. But by then, the nervous system damage was done.

We had Old Dirty Boston organic sun-grown pre-rolls, so I went outside into 60° air, smoked pot, got naked, and went in the hot tub.

And I’ll tell you something:
The best way to watch the stars is naked, stoned, in a hot tub.

The sky was unreal. Very little light pollution. Endless stars. I meditated until it felt like I was melting into the water.

Then I got out, walked inside, and my vision turned into a black-and-white buzzing pattern. Head-to-toe electricity. A rush of blood to the head that felt like a psychedelic trip.

Sedona was working her magic.

Day 2: Bell Rock, canyon visions, and gongs

I slept maybe an hour.

We got up. I had coffee and oatmeal. Hari G does not break fast.

At 6AM—still dark—we hiked Bell Rock. Hari G took off running like he’s powered by sunlight. The man is 57 years old and he moves like he’s in his twenties really impressive. We scrambled and rock-climbed to isolated ledges near the top.

We practiced the Seven Tibetan Rites, chanted to ganesh the remover of obstacles and sat in silent meditation.

I felt like I was flying through the canyon. I could see clearly with my eyes closed. Bell Rock was my strongest vortex of the trip.

Next stop: Sedona Crystal Temple Sound Healing.

Joshua and his wife design sound bowls, they have a store with a big showroom full of crystals and sound bowls, they also practice Kundalini yoga, and know how to work the gongs. You go into a back room setup with multiple giant gongs and sound bowls for sound healings. I dropped into alpha/theta almost immediately—partly from the sound, partly from being exhausted from sleeping next to a chainsaw. 

Credit to Joshua he really is a masterful sound healer and I was very impressed with how he was able to deliver me to that space between sleep and waking for the 55 min session. I highly recommend it if you make it to Sedona. 

That night we went to Cathedral Rock. A harder hike—about 30 minutes steep uphill. The top feels like a natural amphitheater: the crowd is the audience, and the sunset is the stage.

Crowded, but the vibe was good. Standing up there had me feeling Strong and Alive. We sat in meditation through sunset and hiked down in the dark. It was exciting and energizing.

Hari G gave me bee pollen. He doesn’t disclose his full supplement regimen. But he does practice semen retention—an alternative youth-preserving and health-amplifying practice. We met a woman who claims she drinks her own urine...so clearly, there are varying degrees of commitment to health and wellness. 

We saw aliens (statues), crystals, played darts, and got to hear a $90k singing bowl.

Hot tub. Chanting. Meditation, sleep.

I was ready for the snoring this time. And was able to get to sleep smoothly I used box breathing and longer exhalations. Thats the rule with breathwork wake up with fast deep breaths. Fall asleep with long slow ones.

Day 3: Sunrise, the “Subway,” and the stupa

6AM sunrise meditation at Airport Mesa.

Then we hiked Boynton Canyon to the Subway Cave—about two hours. They could’ve picked a better name than “Subway.” It feels out of place, like it’s been slapped onto something sacred. This place has history. 

We were supposed to go to outdoor sunset kirtan in the park, but the Hare Krishnas canceled because it was below 60 degrees…too cold for them so they moved it to one of the members homes. We’re from Boston it did not feel cold to us. 

That night we had a private sound healing back at the cabin and slept around 1AM.

The Last Day

The hiking was catching up with us, we were pretty sore and not ready to run up another mountain. So we started with morning hot tub, cold shower—felt incredible.

Then went to the Amitabha Stupa and Peace Park most of the trip we saw no animals except for a few birds, but in this little Buddhist park it was filled with birds, singing and chirping we heard coyotes. It was magical—like the animals knew to go there as a safe space.

We sat at the base of the stupa and practiced

7 Tibetan Rights                                                                                                                          7 minutes chanting.
7 minutes silent meditation.

We stopped at the Montezuma Castle and ancient civilization built into the limestone mountains. There was an old native woman selling hand made crafts and fry bread in the parking lot. I got a small navajo vase. 

We drove back to Phoenix and flew home.

We arrived back in Boston to 14 degrees. Frozen and took a Taxi. Sleep.

The end.