Sedona Story

By Franklin Hughes

One might be showing their age if they remember the Disney Movie, Lady and the Tramp, which was released in 1955. I can say that I am of that age. In that movie there were two Siamese cats that sang the song, “We are Siamese if you please, we are Siamese if you don’t please.” Want to see and hear the song?

Click here to listen to the Siamese cats sing.

So what does this have to do with Sedona? I don’t remember seeing any Siamese cats here recently…. Well, the song title reminded me of something I learned at a Tao service that I attended not long ago here in Sedona. The Master was talking about us humans and all the emotions and history that we have inside: all the things that came with us when we were born, and some that developed over the years. Many of our emotions or feelings are positive and loving, but then there are those others that are not so good. Like the song, they are there “if you please” or “if you don’t please.” They are us. None of us are 100 percent angels, there’s a little of the unhappy or bad side in each of us too.

The Master was saying that what we tend to do is to lock that bad side away and try to forget that it’s there. But if we lock it away, we aren’t conscious of it and it doesn’t change. Sometimes it gets out and causes mayhem.

He said that what is important is that we acknowledge to ourselves the bad emotions as well as the good, for after all, they are a part of us. Once we acknowledge them, we can then try to dissect them, try to understand why they are there and then start to work on them. They are an integral part of us and are there for some undiscovered reason. We need to discover and understand them and then (1) accept them, or (2) determine that we want to change them… Then take action!

If we accept them, then we need to learn to live with them and we can move forward on alleviating the problems that they can cause. If we want to change them, we can make a concerted effort at doing that.

Sedona is a wonderful place to do that. There are so many people to support us and many that can guide us. The different energies here, whether they be vortices, the wonderful sunshine, or just the energetic power that one gets from hiking and meeting people, give us a wonderful impetus for change.

I enjoyed this message that he gave so much that I wanted to pass it along. If you want to find out more about the Tao services here, you can contact or visit the Sedona Meditation Center in Uptown, a wonderful non-profit organization established for the residents of and visitors to Sedona. They have frequent field trips scheduled to Sedona Mago Retreat, a non-profit retreat center where the services are held by every Sunday at 10 am by Tao Fellowship.

By Susan Putman

Sometimes it is hard to be firm about the boundaries we draw for the little ones. In our mind we waver and wonder if it is really so important after all. We dislike beginning the day with a “no” or “our rules are.” It seems somehow to disturb the sunshine and the flow of our morning.

This weekend I was lead by a great Tao master to a tree over looking Oak Creek in Sedona. Its roots raised in a gnarled and twisted net five feet above us as we stood in the cooling water. Embedded in the roots were river stones. The first I noticed was the size of a fist. Then I saw others, more and more of them held fast in thick root fingers. Some larger, some smaller: red, crystalline, white, dark and finally looking at the back of the tree as she leaned out over the creek to reach the sun, large slabs of red rock the size of a thick table. The roots had reached around and under them too, gaining purchase far back into the river bank, holding that strong and beautiful tree to the earth when the creek ran high and rapid.

So too we want our children to be able to withstand the obstacles that will come their way. To have the commonsense to look before crossing a street, to be able to withstand the onslaught of a bully or derision, to be resourceful in the face of overwhelming odds, to be creative when lonely or bored, to know who they are in world of propaganda and great salesmanship.

That kind of strength, that net of roots around the stones of life can only be built by providing the boundaries your baby needs and sticking to them allowing his roots to grow strong and creative, deep into a sound character that will provide right living when you are no longer there.

The ability to accept what we cannot change, is a greater gift to your child than any small inconvenience of repeating a house rule again. The resilience to still find a way to be happy when thwarted is a life long habit and gift only you can give. Children know when you set firm sensible boundaries that they are loved in a way that nurtures their strength. So do set rules and hold them. It is the highest form of love, that the Littles might grow strong character and a network of roots in the riverbank of life.

By Maxine Wagoner

The sky was blue and dotted with small cotton ball clouds. We climbed up the trail to Tao Rock to meditate. The idea was to ask myself, “What do I want?” After hearing our guide, Byukwoon describe the technique, we were left to find our meditation object.

Since I was already sitting as far out on Tao Rock as was possible I couldn’t really focus on it visually, so instead I decided to use the tree directly below me. The sun was still quite low on the horizon and not yet hot. I choose to face into the sun and memorize the shape and movement of the tree. After a few minutes it was easy to close my eyes and see the tree. It was at this time I asked it, “What do I want?” It was silent. Okay, “Why am I here?” Silence again. Then, I asked the tree, “Why are you here and what do you want?”

To my total amazement the tree started telling me a story. It said that it was here in this place to provide life-giving oxygen to all who breathe. It was in this place for the birds and animals to use for shelter, breeding and food. It was there to hold the soil and small plants from washing away during the spring run off and flooding. The tree said it was over 500 years old and has seen so many living creatures come and go with the changing seasons and years, but has continued to stay because that was its purpose for its life. It told me that by living so long it has traveled many miles underground in search of water and nutrients and once in a while it will pop back up through the earth and start to grow another tree. By doing so it can experience other microclimates and see new areas of Sedona. The tree described its root system like the veins in my own body.

I was able to take a journey inside myself and see the areas that were blocked or needed healing. I could feel the sensation of blood moving up and down to my brain, organs, and extremities. I started thinking about my own purpose in the way the tree described it’s own, with the larger purpose of benefiting others. It became clear to me that I had been focusing on everything outside of body and mind for far too long. My own, true purpose was deep inside. I had allowed myself glimpses of it from time to time. Then, I would soon doubt the reality of what I really wanted and let the outside distractions take over once again.

I decided to ask the tree if it was the fact that it lived in this sacred place called Sedona that it found its life purpose and never wavered. The answer was profound and I will always find inspiration from what it told me.

This earth is a sacred place in the universe. We all live here and cannot survive anywhere else. This is the only planet with the elements we require for life.

WE ARE THE REASON THIS EARTH EXISTS!

By Frank Hughes

In ancient China and Korea, Taoist scholars studied the basic fundamentals of nature. They understood that everything comes from the “unnamable,” the principles of Tao that show themselves in the principles of Yin and Yang (e.g. day and night, heaven and earth, etc.).

They observed this pattern in nature and named it the Five Elements or Five Energies. They are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water (the Air element is only found in western paradigms). They believed these 5 energies to be the energetic building blocks from which all things are made. Everything is made up of some combination of these elements whether it be plants, music, people, art and so on.

I thought that I’d look at these 5 Elements as they pertain to the nature of the Sedona area and to people around the world.

WOOD

Sedona has some of the most beautiful wood in the world. Some say the vortex energies add to this classic, twisty, beauty. These photos were taken along Broken Arrow Trail. For a person, wood is good when you want to add the energy of growth and vitality to your life. Wood heralds the beginning of life, the buds in springtime, sensuality, and fecundity.

In Oriental medicine, wood is represented by anger and its corresponding organs are the liver and gallbladder. Wood-type people are normally outgoing and socially conscious.

FIRE

Ah, fire can be a tricky one around the Sedona area. It can be as beautiful as the sun we see here in an evening sunset or destructive as a forest fire. Luckily our photo here of fire is from an outdoor Tao ceremony at Sedona Mago Retreat; it’s a spiritually healing fire.

Fire is associated with the qualities of dynamism, strength, and persistence. The fire element or energy provides warmth, enthusiasm, and creativity. Fire is responsible for that passionate resonance when you follow your life’s calling.

EARTH

Hmmmmm, earth is quite obvious in Sedona; we see its bared beauty every day. I wanted to show “earth” in a more simple way than the majestic red rocks here, so I chose a stone Buddha head that came from the Tibetan area. The second photo is of one of many carefully built stone columns that you find at Cathedral Rock, down by the stream.

Earth energy is grounding, stabilizing, and balancing. Of course the earth energy here in Sedona has a lot of metal in it also, the iron oxide that has turned the rocks that beautiful rusty red. Earth is associated with the qualities of patience, thoughtfulness, practicality, and stability. “Earth” people are normally warm, kind, and supportive.

METAL

Aside from the iron in our rocks, Sedona doesn’t have too much metal around. One nice example is the beautiful sculpture-castings that adorn the city (my favorite is the man and little child by the crosswalk). What I chose to show is the classic art-deco style tractor found in the old packing shed near the apple orchard at Slide Rock (I love the energy of that old tractor).

Metal is actually yin or feminine energy and its motion is inward (each energy has a yin or yang side to its energy, although I haven’t discussed them all here). The metal energy is the breath of life (one can see why it’s feminine). The qualities associated with it are persistence, strength, and determination. Metal people are self-reliant, and prefer to handle their problems alone.

WATER

One of the things that make Sedona so wonderful is the availability of water. We can see it in the picture here of Oak Creek, that stimulating flowing of life-giving water through the canyon and valley. But then we also can see it in the beautiful snowfalls that we receive in the winter. This image is what I can see from my kitchen window on a snowy morning.

Water energy is downward and its motion is stillness and conserving. Taoist thought says water is representative of intelligence, wisdom, stillness, and flexibility. In some ways water can be fluid and weak, but it can also wield a great power when it floods and overwhelms us. Water-type people can be a bit reserved, yet are often very creative. They can appear cool, yet have the capacity to deeply reflect. Water is also feminine in character.


I had the pleasure of finding out more about the Five Energies (Elements) in a seminar that was given a while ago here in Sedona. If you want to know more about the organs associated with each element, whether they are Yin or Yang, and what element you are, you can contact the person that taught me so much, Banya Lim, who is an acupuncturist and energy healer at the Sedona Mago Healing Center on Jordan Rd.