Sedona Center   

Music cleanses the mind and frees the soul. We'll listen to some of the world's greatest classical music composed by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Franck, Mussorsky, Saint-Saens, Vaughan-Williams, Copland, Barber, and Bernstein. Thanks to YouTube, we'll watch performers close-up in their home concert halls. This is not an analytical class. We'll simply listen and briefly say how the music makes us feel.

We will greet each other, center ourselves, deep breathe, do 40 minutes of gentle yoga stretches, and 20 minutes of relaxation and meditation on the floor. Bring a mat, and enjoy the bliss of becoming one in mind, body, and spirit.

This form of Tai Chi was designed by Dr. Paul Lam with a team of medical and Tai Chi experts. All high-risk movements have been removed and replaced with ones that are safe and more effective for health. The program is proven effective by medical studies and supported by arthritis foundations worldwide.

By presenting relevant concepts and data, this on-going course aims to equip each participant to be an educated consumer of news on a wide range of economic topics. Discussions will be fact-driven and nontechnical; no formal economics training is required.

American World’s Fairs (1851 to 1984) were more than spectacle; they were windows into the nation’s evolving identity. In this class, we will survey several U.S. World’s Fairs and discuss the influence they had on architecture, consumer culture, transportation, entertainment, and daily life in America. Through these discussions we’ll explore how innovation, optimism, progress, and power were displayed at the Fairs through America’s material culture.

Participants are invited to give short (10–20 min) presentations on a key issue shaping American democracy—covering such aspects as governing principles, current challenges and global comparisons. Each presentation will be followed by open discussion aimed at fostering civic awareness, critical thinking, careful listening and respectful dialogue. Together we will deepen understanding of community values and engage in meaningful conversation about America’s changing role in a changing world.

Learn more about The Mahabharata, originating in Ancient India, one of the richest, most layered epic works in world literature. Reverberating still, after 5,000 years. It is a master class in storytelling, philosophy,. ethics, politics, phycology, and spirituality all live inside it at once, with The Bhagavata embedded within. It's reach extends far beyond India and South Asia. It has been studied for understanding how to act, live, and to find answers to almost any question that could come up in one's daily life.

The living world of plants is a realm of movement and change. At first we may not see those changes, but by honing our observational skills and enhancing our creative power of thought we can enter this living world where forms are undergoing constant transformation and metamorphosis. Plants call upon us to transform ourselves if we are to gain true knowledge of them. This will be our challenge … and our joy.

This class offers us an opportunity to reflect and ponder some deep questions, while honoring our own inner voice. Each week we will be invited to answer important questions of Life, Love and Being. Digging deep to find our own profound meaning and truths, we will write toward clarity and inspiration. Writing and sharing together without judgment or critique, we learn and grow, building trust and loving kindness, and listening with respect and an open heart. All are welcome.

All poetry is the "Song of the Heart", whether it is expressing romantic love, grief, wisdom, or a praise of Nature. This is a collaborative class of reading poetry that sings to each of us, and writing and sharing our own poems of the Heart. This class will not focus on the scholarly writing of poetry. Everyone is a poet at heart and capable of expressing their feelings. No experience writing "poetry" is required. Please join our "choir" and express yourself through the song of Poetry.

Organize your thoughts, photos, artwork, letters, diaries, and emails. We will write in class and at home - yes, homework. Bring paper, pen, and/or laptop. Your first chapter will be on your grandparents, second chapter on your parents, then chapters about your life divided into 15-year segments. Writing topics will be suggested, and your work edited. You may read your work aloud to the class, if you like.