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The Amazing Adventure of Educational Travel |
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by Barbara Howard
The Amazing Adventure of Educational Travel
 As I gazed out at the barren desert
on the way to Sedona from
Phoenix, Arizona, I remembered
my childhood fascination with
the desert. I grew up in a lush,
forested area in Connecticut, so the closest I ever
got to the desert Southwest was watching the
television show “Hopalong Cassidy.” The characters
rode over the oak studded hills and
rounded up horses in long canyons. Little did I
know of the geological wonders and the magical
experiences that lay ahead.
I was in the Southwest to produce another
Educational Travel (ET) tour with Linda Page,
N.D., Ph.D. and Clayton College of Natural
Health. On a recent ET tour to China we visited
doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and herb companies.
A future ET tour is planned for
November 2002 in Kauai. This ET tour included
study of Native American healing traditions
from Sedona to Santa Fe. I work with professional
film crews to document the tours and the
April weather was perfect for filming. The following
is a brief overview of the Southwest trip
that was truly a mind/body/spirit educational
adventure.
The drive into Sedona was breathtaking.
It was a breezy day with white puffy
clouds and the shadows marched
across the faces of the towering red rock mountains.
I met with our tour guide/expert, Laurie
Reddington, to work on the details of our eightday
journey. We had a lovely lunch on the
veranda of our hotel in Sedona, the Radisson
Poco Diablo Resort, which is nestled on the
banks of famed Oak Creek and situated on 22
acres of lush landscaping.
Laurie, a beautiful woman with long blond
hair, was excited to share her knowledge with us.
I wondered how she knew about Native
American healing traditions. For years she has
been living and studying with the Indian people
and has been adopted into a Hopi family, a
testament to her good heart and devotion to the
Indian ways.
Linda Page, our natural health expert,
opened the welcome dinner and spoke about
holistic healing traditions and how they are connected
in cultures around the world. During dinner
Laurie taught us how to give back to Mother
Earth by preparing a “spirit plate” on which we
put bits of food from our meal and then place it
outside on the ground at a remote spot.
The next evening Laurie guided us through a
sweat lodge, a purification and healing ceremony.
None of us had ever experienced
this ceremony before. The heat
from the hot rocks made us sweat
and we prayed and sang special
songs. Later Linda reminded us
that the sweat lodge was a form of
detoxification and healing while Laurie
fed us a delicious traditional feast. We
were transformed mentally, physically and
spiritually. We became a new family.
In Sedona we visited many sacred
sites including Red Rock Crossing.
During a plant walk, Laurie told us
how the Native Americans use each
plant for healing and Linda added
information about the plants and how
they are used in modern society. (We took
notes and some people earned educational credits
from Clayton College.) Most Indians pray
with tobacco and as we placed a little tobacco on
the ground near the plants, we gave thanks for
all the healing they give us.
One of the most moving experiences was
our visit to the Hopi Nation where we were
welcomed into the home of Laurie’s Hopi sister,
Rowana. The Hopi live most of their days in
ceremony and this day was no different. Each of
us presented some corn pollen (which the Hopi
pray with) to Rowana in a special blessing
ceremony. With each prayer our new family
grew closer.
We then traveled to Gallup, New
Mexico, where we attended a special
presentation with a local expert
from the Navajo Nation. We also visited the
Zuni pueblo and museum where we learned the
fascinating story of their creation and discovered
the different ways the Zuni use plants for
healing.
Just outside of Gallup, at a spectacular
regional park, Laurie led us in a Medicine Wheel
Ceremony which proved to be meaningful in
ways no one could have imagined. The giant red
rock walls that surrounded the amphitheater
where we set up our circle seemed to offer us
protection and strength.
What were our personal expectations on this
tour? One said he wanted more spirit in his life.
Another said she wanted to express gratitude for
all her blessings and to ask for healing for her
loved ones. And so it went.
Our journey ended on a perfect spring
evening in Santa Fe at the beautiful Inn of the
Governors, located right next to the historic
Santa Fe Plaza, where we were made to feel truly
at home. The farewell dinner was in the kiva
room which had authentic Southwest decor,
made even more intimate by the wood burning
fire. We were all filled with gratitude as Laurie
led us in a Native American Pipe Ceremony. We
said our good-byes and knew in our hearts we
would never be the same.
As I looked across the beautiful open desert
with new eyes, I found an appreciation for the
knowledge of a people who live with deep
respect for the land, which though seemingly
barren, is full of life and healing wisdom.
For more information about Clayton College Educational Travel Series with Linda Page and the trip to Kauai in November 2002, visit ccnh.edu or call toll-free 866-699-2264.
To learn more about Linda Page visit www.healthyhealing.com
Travel Resources: Laurie Reddington, Imagine Sedona, 800-329-8991
Radisson Poco Diablo Resort
Sedona, AZ
Tel: 928-282-7333,
Web: www.radisson.com/sedonaaz
Inn of the Governors,
Santa Fe, NM,
Tel: 505-982-4333
Web: www.innofthegovernors.com/Tours operated by MindBody Travel,
Toll-Free: 888-888-0717
www.mindbodytravel.com
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