Vortexes

My wife recently had her birthday. To celebrate, I took her to Sedona for the weekend. It was a wonderful time. Sedona, Arizona, is a beautiful spot. Everywhere you turn is a new vista, a new eye-popping experience. We drove up Oak Creek Canyon and hiked on the West Fork trail and we drove up to Airport Mesa and took in the panorama there and we went down to the Chapel of the Holy Cross and took in that view and we hiked Marg's Trail and enjoyed that view. We did some shopping (not buying -- my wife hates buying) and some fine dining. It was a really good time.

There was one thing that really struck me as funny ... as in "odd". If you look at the title of this piece, you should note that, well, it's wrong. If you have more than one vortex, the plural is not "vortexes", but "vortices". This is true ... everywhere except in Sedona. You see, the area is known for what they call "vortexes". Now, a vortex in nature is a convergence of energy that produces a circular motion of concentrated force. You've seen a vortex when you watch water go down the drain in a sink. That spin effect is a vortex of fluid. You've seen a vortex when a tornado occurs. That spin effect is a vortex of wind. Well, in Sedona they have another kind of vortex. This vortex is a confluence of spinning spiritual energy. They're supposed to be concentrations of spiritual force useful for prayer, meditation, and healing. No, you can't see them. It's just ... there. And Sedona has a bunch of them.

It was actually somewhat surprising how big a part of Sedona these "vortexes" played. There are a host of shops with crystals and other spiritual things to help you along. There are entire businesses (yes, plural) devoted to taking you to and helping you gain the maximum benefit from these vortexes. You can find entire vacation packages to Sedona focused on spiritual healing at these vortexes. There are maps to all the vortexes readily available everywhere you turn. I was quite surprised, in fact, that the official Chamber of Commerce maps had these vortexes pinpointed for you.

The reason this whole thing struck me as funny/odd is that it's so well accepted. It's in the business environment there. It's part of the city of Sedona. It's even on the official maps. Now, while there are growing voices of complaint about Christianity in the public square and even in the private domain, why is it that this ... craziness ... is accepted without comment? Why aren't the atheists up in arm over this? Why are those groups that have formed to sue to have religion removed from all public venues leaving this stuff alone? Why is Christianity intolerable to a growing number of loud voices, but "vortexes" (with their improper spelling, their absence of reasonable argument, and their purely religious connotations) are a good thing? What's going on here?

Well, my wife and I enjoyed our hikes and our views and our meals and our time together, so I won't complain. You can go ahead and figure out what's up with vortexes and why they're acceptable when Christianity is not.