LEGEND OF SHILOH
A Journey of Vision and Spirit
How Shiloh Came to Life
For over 20 years, the dream of creating a self-sustaining, conscious community lived deep within me. The seeds were planted during my childhood visit to Ananda, a spiritual community in Northern California. There, I felt a profound sense of love, connection, and purpose. It was clear that one day, I would build a place where others could experience this same belonging - a sanctuary of healing and unity.
An Inspired Leap of Faith
The calling to bring Shiloh to life became undeniable during the pandemic.
After multiple symbolic encounters with grasshoppers, I was inspired to take a bold leap of faith. My husband, Doug, first found the listing of Shiloh on Zillow. It was love at first sight.
Coincidentally my band, Shakti Tribe, had a show in Sedona a few weeks after seeing the listing so we were able to see the property before heading back to our home in Long Beach, California.
When Bethany, my violinist, and Melissa, backup singer for Shakti Tribe, and I first set foot on Shiloh's 12.6-acre land, we were met and introduced to Shiloh by a monk named Hari, it was clear that this was where the vision would manifest.
Shiloh, located near Sedona’s energy vortexes, rests alongside the flowing waters of Oak Creek, adding a magical quality to the land.
Divine Alignment
Despite financial uncertainties, the land called to us.
After writing a heartfelt letter to the head of the Ashram, Swami Sankarananda, I was given a divine opportunity:
"If you want it, it's yours," he said, with one condition - You must take care of Durga and the temple.”
It felt like divine guidance, and Shiloh became a sacred space to nurture spiritual growth, love, and conscious community.
Crossing the Creek: An Initiation
At Shiloh Sanctuary, crossing the creek has felt like an initiation - a symbolic passage into the deeper connection with the land.
While the creek doesn’t typically rise too high, there was a time when it became impassable, and we had to take the longer back road to reach Shiloh.
It’s been one of the many tests Shiloh has offered us, each serving as a lesson in resilience.
After the creek crossing, the Grandmother Guardian Tree stands tall, welcoming us to the sanctuary.
We’ve honored the previous energy of Shiloh’s land by continuing the legacy of the name "Shambhala," which the former owner used for his LLC. We’ve named our gathering space Shambhala Hall. This sacred hall is where we come together for yoga, kirtan, ecstatic dance, and our embloomment circles, all to deepen our connection to one another and ourselves.
In keeping with this beautiful tradition, every time we drive to Shiloh, we play “Shambala” by Three Dog Night. The lyrics, “the road to Shambala,” resonate deeply with us as we travel toward Shiloh. Another line, “I can tell my sister by the flowers in her eyes,” feels like a perfect metaphor for embloomment (embodied enlightenment). It’s a symbol of the blossoming love, light, and consciousness we aim to cultivate here at Shiloh.
The Challenges We Overcame
From navigating contractor issues to the challenges of crossing the creek, facing financial uncertainties, and navigating setbacks when things didn’t go as planned, Shiloh’s journey has been far from easy.
But it’s in the hardest moments that we grow. We learned to focus our energy on what we want rather than fear, and it made all the difference.
Honoring the Land's Spirit
Shiloh carries the energy of those who came before, including the Yavapai people who honored the land with rituals, and the sacred lineage of Sivananda Ashram. Their presence is felt strongly in the mountains and in the sanctuary itself. One of our dreams is to build a medicine wheel on the land to continue honoring these ancestral energies.
Wildlife At Shiloh
We share Shiloh with other beautiful creatures - bees, butterflies, dragonflies, hawks, ravens, red cardinals, hummingbirds, rabbits, javelina, skunks, gophers, raccoons, road runners, quails, deer, ants, snakes, scorpions, eagles, and on rare occasions, even a mountain lion has been spotted.
Shiloh's wild spirit is alive in every corner, with life pulsing through her veins.
This land is undeniably wild and rich, offering a sanctuary not only for us but also for the vibrant wildlife.
Transformation of Shiloh
From Dream to Reality
Shiloh Sanctuary was born from a dream, but it took incredible amounts of love, work, and dedication to bring that dream into reality. When we first arrived, the land and buildings were full of potential but needed care, attention, and an infusion of new energy. What you’ll see in these images are the phases of that transformation - a physical and spiritual journey of restoration.
