What Happened in Sedona, a Power Spot

This happened over 10 years ago when I visited Sedona, famous as a spiritual place, for a story. At the time, I had been suffering from an unexplained physical ailment for about a month, and I had to lie down between takes while working. "This is awful. Going to a spiritual place in this condition..." I thought as I departed. My reporting continued despite my poor health, and on the final day, we decided, "Let's climb the vortex, said to be a power spot, and take photos at the summit."

As I climbed the gentle hill, step by step, I distinctly felt the fatigue draining away with each stride! When I reached the top, I was so full of energy that I couldn't help but exclaim, "Woohoo!" with my arms raised. Later, the staff told me, "We could see you getting more and more energetic, even your expression changed," so it wasn't just my imagination.

I'm not the type to deny things I don't understand about the world, saying "that can't be true," nor am I one to blindly immerse myself in them. So, I accepted this experience as a matter of course, thinking, "So, power spots like this really do exist on Earth."

I Experienced the Same Thing in Japan as in Sedona!

Still, Sedona felt like a place with power not just in the spots called vortices, but throughout the entire land. Perhaps the awe-inspiring, vast nature generates such energy. It's said that gods reside in all things in nature, and standing on the land of Sedona, I could honestly feel that with all my senses. Through my reporting, I also learned that the people who live there hold a deep respect for this nature. That's likely why it's considered a spiritual place and why it remains so.

I recently had a similar experience in Japan. I was in Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, for a photo shoot, and after finishing, I was taken to Susa Shrine by a local. This is said to be the place where Susanoo-no-Mikoto's earthly journey ended, and it's a shrine where negative emotions are washed away, leaving one feeling cheerful. Apparently, spiritual counselor Hiroyuki Ehara also refers to this as "personally, the number one power spot in Japan."

After Touching the 1,300-Year-Old Giant Cedar...

Susa Shrine exudes a simple, beautiful atmosphere, and behind the main sanctuary stands the sacred giant cedar tree. The person guiding me encouraged me, "This giant cedar has power, so please touch it." When I placed my hand on the thick trunk, estimated to be 1,300 years old... it felt as if I could sense a pulse, like vital energy flowing through it! But perhaps that was just my imagination...

There were a few of us there, and the "experience" happened as we walked towards the torii gate on our way out, talking about how nice it was to be there. I was walking at the very back, but for some reason, my gaze was suddenly fixed on the tops of everyone's heads. The area around the crown of their heads, near their hair, seemed unusually clear and distinct... the silhouette of their heads appeared luminous...

You might think, "So what?" but even for me, who has worked with faces and hair for many years, I had never seen things look that way before, and I still wonder what it was. Perhaps the shrine's blessings were working, making everyone glow with a bright aura.

Thinking about it this way, power spots certainly exist, and it makes me strongly feel, perhaps belatedly, that we humans must respect and cherish nature. No, it's not just because I want to receive blessings (laughs).