But I have been whispered a secret — Sedona is also the birthplace of the Muse.

In Sedona the Art Beat is the Heartbeat. It is often asked why so many talented individuals choose to make this red rock jewel their home. After all, untamable land holds its challenges. A life of peace isn't for everybody. And not everybody is at ease standing stark in wide open spaces, illuminated by vibrant clear light that exposes differences and enhances individuality.

Is it the preternatural light that draws the Creatives?

Or is it the spectral blur of color created when red rocks meet the dazzling blue sky?

Could it be the intense energy and passion that occurs when the wild and domesticated spheres ram against each other in their effort to coexist?

Perhaps it is the ethereal ecstasy of witnessing a thorny shrub providing shade for a delicate high desert flower, teaching that harsh circumstances renders all growth precious, that tender and tough can thrive in coexistence.

These reasons are plausible…but the best reason just might be a well-kept secret.

Please, as I offer my theory hold fast to the fact that creative individuals often leap to conclusions and take flights of speculation, filling in the gaps later, usually only if they are forced to do so.

I need you to soar with me a bit; because I believe the perpetually spinning Vortex of Sedona is the attraction for those who take nurture in this unique landscape.

Take a breath…I have grounded evidence to support my speculation, not merely the opinions of angels and aliens, although I am told that they too lend interesting possibilities.

The Sedona area exists in what is called an ecotone, an ecological transitional zone, or border between two adjacent biomes. The biomes of low desert of the U.S. southwest and the alpine region of the north meet in the Sedona ecotone.

Often referred to as overlaps, edge zones, crossings, or margins, ecotones are tension-filled areas of diversity, intensity and extremes.

Edge zones also occur between the mundane and spiritual realms, urban and rural, personal and public, temperatures hot and cold. To understand the vortex formation process we need to focus on the coming together and relating of opposing forces that create self-contained, spiraling systems. Think twisters, hurricanes, dust devils, tornadoes, and yes, tsunamis; all are spinning phenomenon created by the relating, or meeting and mating, of opposing forces.

And to be remembered is this: the center of the spinning body of a vortex is filled with the absolute peace of nothingness. It is here, in this sacred center of the Sedona Vortex, that we who live here are nurtured as we conceive and gestate our creations.

The creative process is relationship. Nothing is created from nothing. Creativity is the relationship between a person and the world. Creations are the love children born of the meeting and mating of inspiration and manifestation.

Sedona is a mythical birthplace. And in the place of her birth, the Muse is ever present. Cloaked in red, she awaits your arrival. Come prepared for a rebirth of intention and dedication. Her expectations tower over all others. She is fierce in her demands, yet nurtures the most tender and sacred aspects of your being.