which I have crafted my identity, by simply giving me permission to just be myself. He continually encouraged me not to follow what others liked, but what felt best to me. He would pull on my toes before a track meet to help my body’s circulation and would have me lay on the floor with my legs in the air to drain the lactic acids. I was one of the only ones who would actually listen to his strange ways because I liked not following the herd.
When I lost my first race I apologized to him and he looked at me with a crinkled brow exclaiming, “Michelle, everyone wins, everyone loses, it’s all the same”. It was all he had to say for me to get it. He very rightfully was my Guru during those years of feeling the pain of ‘fitting in’ but in truth just desiring to be my own eccentric self. Time drew on as time always does, and I moved on to College, then on to studying with energy healers, shamanic teachers, and diving deeply into the spiritual. Many became my Guru because I put them there, some were ‘light’ some were ‘dark’, both were teachers, and I’m grateful for all of them.
These days I live in Sedona, AZ, one of the largest “New Age” hubs in the world, where I am constantly presented with various belief systems all claiming to be truth. I affectionately call Sedona “The Land of Discernment,” because I have been hit with so many different and contradictory belief systems, that I must continually refine the subtle distinction between what I know to be true and what I merely wish to believe. People come to Sedona for a spiritual experience. To walk in what are called vortexes or spiritual energy centers, so that they may experience a depth of connection with their inner being. There are those claiming to