The date was 11/11/11. Astara Fisher came to Sedona on a mission direct from the Seattle area, intent on achieving another state of mind in meditation.

The details of that experience are not for the telling – or perhaps not able to be conveyed in writing – but there was one definite result of her visit: She found out about others who had “just uprooted and come here.” Like many others seeking a place to be, Sedona had drawn her in.

A year after meditating among the red rocks with 700 other people, Fisher was living in the city, working as activity director for the Sedona Meditation Center and director of the Sedona Wishlist. Finding such a welcoming community, so centered on healing and charity, was transformational.

“The first year I lived here, I think I only visited Phoenix once,” Fisher said, adding that though she loved the Seattle area she no longer even thinks about it. Family members, from 2012 on, have exclusively traveled to her. She has lost count of the friends from the Pacific Northwest who have sought her out for visits.

Fisher’s job with the meditation center includes various tasks, including facilitating workshops and greeting visitors. In addition, she puts her writing skills — honed over years, she has worked for a variety of radio and print media organizations — to good use promoting the center.

To read the full story, see the Friday, Oct. 16, edition of the Sedona Red Rock News.