Pillars of Thought

Of all the canyons along the Wasatch Front, Little Cottonwood is one of the most beautiful and richest in history. From being the source of stone granite for the Salt Lake Temple back in the 1800's to being a one-time world-class destination for climbers and mountaineers from around the globe, this stone paradise has been a tremendous resource for many, and has captivated me since I first rounded the bend in the road at 17 years of age.

For over half of my lifetime I've been making frequent trips to the canyon to climb, hike, run, play, and think. I've seen the canyon change and evolve each year as man and nature run their course. The fast thaw earlier this year produced a tremendous amount of runoff, resulting in heavy trail erosion, destruction of a bridge or two, and permanent alterations in the river bottom.

As with the canyon, the forces of change continue to exert their powers in my life. Not always pleasant, and frequently painful, they drive me to the precipice of choice, the point in the depths of the mind and soul where a person has to choose to stand and fight the inclination to run, or give in and shrink to the hollow of despair and self-pity.

So, drawing on its scenic wonder and history, I took to the canyon late Friday afternoon to put into symbolic action what I call the "Pillars of Thought."

No good object lesson would work without literal mounds of equipment......

After forty-five minutes of hauling loads in, and three hours spent suspending ropes and steel cables from trees, the two bros, sister, nephews, sister-in-law, and Mother finally arrived in the early evening.

The Saturday previous, using ropes and pulleys, and suffering through the perplexed looks and questioning of a few climbers in the area, I was able to get a 200 pound rock on top of a ten foot tall boulder from its spot of origin 100 feet away.

The object of the activity Friday evening was - everyone working together - to safely rig and navigate the same rock off the top of the boulder, down through the trees, and over to a spot I'd chosen as the destination point. All of this suspended travel would require a number of suspended load transfers. The rule was that the rock had to stay suspended at all times, though it did once slip from the sling and glanc off my foot!

To maintain both lift and swing control, we had a few people pulling from below the boulder, and several atop the boulder maintaining tension on the control line.

With the right tools, this stuff can be done by wee babes!

James excels at managerial roles.... and looking studly!

Yea, even my Mom was pulling rope.....


Once down off the top of the boulder, the load had to be transferred to a suspended steel cable that would pulley the rock over to the next transfer spot fifty feet away - down hill.

Mike and Mariha running lines and keeping the load in check....

At the final leg, James and Mike really held things together to get the load to the final destination. Everybody did fantastic, especially considering it was dark, cold, creepy, and nobody had any previous technical rigging experience.


Discussion followed the delivery of the rock to the destination. The discussion centered around how we can use our imagination - literal mental imagery, clear and vivid - combined with core thoughts to bolster and fortify our thinking against the parasitic dross that is spewed out in the media today. These quality thought processes create literal pillars within our minds that elevate our thinking and fortify us against being victims of fear, doubt, anxiety, insecurity, etc.

The rock was symbolic of the loads that we shoulder during stressful periods in our lives. The oak stakes, driven into the ground, were representative of how individual, vivid, imaginative thought, wisely chosen, can act as pillars for even the heaviest of emotional, spiritual, and psychological burdens we face in life.

I'm not a psychologist. I've had no formal training in the field of counseling, and I've certainly got a whole host of challenges I'm working on. While this activity may have been a little "out there," what I can say is that I've experienced a tremendous bolstering of my abilities to handle my challenges as I've engaged my chosen five pillars of thought. At any moment, I can draw on the vivid imagery of these pillars, and the strength that comes is immediate, and calming.

I'm grateful that the human mind has the capacity to "see" within itself. Being able to tune out the "noise" and access this tremendous resource is possibly one of the greatest gifts man has at their disposal.

On a different note, its been said that you can learn more about a person in an hour of play, than a day of conversation. It was awesome to "play" with my family Friday night! What better place to be than in the greatest canyon on earth, with some of the choicest people on earth, in the very area where men used to hand quarry giant blocks of granite, all while playing with ropes and rocks!