Mago Retreat Center

I was blessed to be able to take several classes in a 3 week period. I was sad, angry from a recent loss of my mother, filled with negativity from listening to 36 apartment units always complain, depressed, exhausted feeling like I was now getting arthritis throughout my body along with my back and neck injuries I have treated for over 25 years and over medicated… They were getting ready to put me on high blood pressure medications (as though 13 medications were not enough) And the list goes on. When I made my decision to go to Sedona MAGO Retreat, it was a decision made from my intuition. I was too busy to spend time searching for the right one. I just knew…I had picked the right one and when I showed up… I KNEW THIS WAS MY NEW HOME AWAY FROM HOME. My original plan was to start off with the revitalizing detox then take a few personal days in between my other class which was TAO meditation and then fly home. As luck would have it….The class I really wanted to start off with became available to me because the other plans I had that weekend fell short when we broke down in Flagstaff, AZ. I WAS SO HAPPY!! I said turn around and take me back up to Sedona. It was the most amazing feeling I have ever had when we approached the town of Sedona. It was so peaceful, serene and I was in tears knowing that this is where I needed to be. It wasn’t as easy as thought it would be to be able to just show up and check in for the class that was going to start the next day. The system was going to make me earn my way into checking in at a moment’s notice. I had to leave that night and go find somewhere to camp out of my car. It was just part of the journey. I got to camp out under the stars in Sedona! Anyway, the next day I came back in and was able to sign up for STRESS TO STREGTH. I was so touched by this class and the teacher Chun Shim, that I quickly added another class to the end of my vacation which would be Finding True Self. I now had two days to pick up our boat trailer, drive it all the way down to Lake Havasu, drop it off in the middle of the night and then proceed to drive straight back to Salt Lake City, Utah getting us there as the sun came up. I now had 24 hours to find people to back me up for any problems that would arise (and they did) on the apartments as well as all other aspects of my life and be on my original plane heading for Sedona MAGO Retreat. I MADE IT! I was glowing all the way back to Sedona. It was October 28, 2015 and I knew I was going to be in heaven until Nov 17, 2015. I checked in on the 28th all smiles but as dawn came on the 29th the tears started flowing from what seemed like nowhere. My new friend Anthony that I had just met a couple of days prior directed me to the healing garden. Along the way, I met two other new friends that were just as concerned and loving as Anthony. They too, directed me to the healing garden. The HEALING GARDEN is where is all started. After a pleasant hour or so with my thoughts being written down in my journal….the journey began. REVITALIZING DETOX was my first stop. You walk in to a room not knowing what to expect. But the one thing I had come to expect is that somehow, someway, this class was going to be very informative, meaningful and extremely powerful in more ways than one. This was a tough class for me particularly since I walked into this one with 13 medications in my chest on top of all the toxic build up in my body. It was the foundation of my healing. What a satisfied feeling I had completing this class knowing I had put everything I had into making it work for me and I was well on my way. Btw…I only take 5 prescriptions now and they are all at lower doses. I am also, an organic freak now and annoy my boyfriend in the grocery store because of this and looking through labels. I learned how important clean living and eating is. TAO MEDITATION… I almost decided not to take because I was so emotionally, mentally and physically drained from the last class….so I thought. That would have been a BIG mistake… after a few hours of some nature meditation I was ready for the next class. Sayong Kim is an amazing man and instructor. This course which seemed light and emotionally easy sort of snuck up on you and before you knew it, you where in the middle of some heavy duty healing. It was unbelievable to see how the magical vortex’s, hiking and the right instructor could make such a big impact on your life…Instantly! Anthony…I haven’t forgotten you! Anthony was always there….somewhere….whether you saw him or not…you could feel his positive, happy, heart felt energy anywhere you went…. if you pictured his face….It was always with a beautiful smile! If he wasn’t smiling it was because he too, was healing you…with his sound healing sessions….He definitely is an important piece of life there. I took several days off for my own personal retreat to see how well I could integrate back into the world and it was wonderful to just go travel around a bit between MAGO and Havasu until my last class… FINDING TRUE SELF… You have to go into these classes trusting. Knowing that you are going down the path of healing…. You don’t know how, why or when…..Your just going…. And YOU WILL GET THERE! This was my final class and was happy to be back in the class room with Chun. You can just feel her light shining through. Again, by the end of the course, you could count on something very powerful happening within your self, your soul, your thoughts, your behavior, your energy….your body! I can’t say enough beautiful things about this place and those kind spirits that reach out to you…Trust me….I am someone that has been transformed into a butterfly….YOU NEED TO GO TAKE THE JOURNEY FOR YOUR SELF….ITS YOUR JOURNEY AND EVERYONES WILL BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. I did not leave without booking 2.5 weeks for next year. I am hoping to return sooner than that! I have integrated a great deal of things into my life that I learned there, including starting out every morning with a little or a lot of meditation….It really makes a difference in holding a song in your heart through out the day. FOREVER GRATFUEL

The Sedona Mago Retreat I was starting to wonder if Clare was trying to kill me. We had already visited and managed to survive one commune-esque location during our production trip in Arizona. There we were, the day before we were scheduled to head home, driving 11 miles down a sketcherific excuse for a road to what I was convinced was a bunch of tents with a big pool of cool-aid in the middle. Maybe if I had payed more attention to this location during our planning meeting I would have realized that my fears were unfounded, but at the moment I was sure our parents would be posting our images on milk cartons in a few days time. As we pulmagoretreat5webled in, my fears were immediately assuaged. While it was eerily quiet, everyone we passed nodded a friendly hello and gave a polite smile. As we walked the various garden paths, children ran in front of us in a wild pack and I decided the place couldn't be what I had feared. It was as Clare had said, just a retreat for people who needed to escape society for a while, and maybe find a piece of themselves in quite retrospect. Mago has several beautiful trails that wind around the property. From meticulously designed paths circling the natural pond at Mago's center to red dirt trails skimming the edge of the Sedona wilderness to paved pathways linking rooms to sunflower gardens and yoga facilities, this retreat is a site to behold and immediately calms the nerves. We both felt much more relaxed after spending only a couple hours walking around the area. The grounds at the Sedona Mago Retreat were gorgeous and no one challenged our impromptu presence (Mago welcomes un-scheduled visits on Saturdays, but asks for all other visits during the week to be registered beforehand). The atmosphere was accepting and passive. One that fit well with Mago Retreat’s billing as a center for spiritual awakening. They offer Tao meditation and yoga workshops that range from two to six days and personal retreats that can last significantly longer. Based on many of the previous retreats that have been held, focusing on AA and twelve-step programs, we gathered that many individuals had made a visit to refresh their bodies as well as their minds. We were happy to learn that the retreat also grows its own organic produce on the property and has a variety of both edible and ornamental gardens. They also have a handful of projects in the works including improving the previously mentioned road, installing renewable energy sources on-site and creating educational programs to develop more sustainable living communities elsewhere.