The new book I’d been working on for the past two years, The Call of Sedona: Journey of the Heart, will be published in mid-August. This book is very meaningful to me. This book carries the dream that I’ve cherished in Sedona for the past 15 years, my personal story and experiences in Sedona, and the Sedona spirit that I wish to share with every person who visits Sedona. This book is my dedication of love and gratitude as well as an invitation to Sedona.

Below is an excerpt from the author’s introduction of The Call of Sedona:

I first came to Sedona in January 1996. At the time, I was just another tourist among many, drawn by its beauty and mystery. Now, 15 years later, I can’t imagine my life without Sedona. To me, Sedona is the most comfortable home as well as a most divine and sacred land. It’s the friend with whom I feel the closest of connections, the “seuseung,” or spiritual guide, who awakens me anew.

I have received many messages while in Sedona: when I sat atop Bell Rock, looking down at the river embraced by red stone; when I walked along the banks of Oak Creek and quietly watched the full moon reflected in its water; when I stood on Schnebly Hill and was mesmerized by the flames of the sunset in the western sky… Sedona has spoken to me.

The messages I received from Sedona were, at first, almost like fantasies, for Sedona always told me to dream dreams that seemed impossible, and at times it even caused in me agonizing dilemmas that were difficult to bear.

But I had to listen to those messages. When the messages of Sedona reverberated in the deepest parts of my heart, even if they seemed “a ridiculous thing to do” from a rational perspective, I just focused on them unconditionally. Whenever I was having a hard time, I would turn to the rocks and trees that had lived so much longer than human beings; I borrowed a lot of strength from the moon and the stars of Sedona awake in the dead of night, when the world was fast asleep. This is how the things that seemed at first like fantasies became realities, one by one. And many other people were drawn to participate in them, too.

[….]

This book contains the stories about the messages that I received from Sedona. It also has stories about my life, which I lived by following those messages. And this book can also become your story.

The essence of the message that Sedona has conveyed to me is that inside each one of us there is a much greater and more beautiful truth and dream than the ordinary ones we know. And that we already have everything we need to achieve them. I hope that through this book you realize that you have always been great and that you will gain a fresh inspiration and a dream that will infuse vitality into your life. Finally, I hope that you can take part in the beautiful dream that Sedona gives through its profound connection with the earth.

What lends meaning and value to our daily life is always our dreams. If you need a dream—or if you need to rediscover a dream you’ve lost—come here to Sedona.

Lately I enjoy listening to the song “Nella Fantasia,” as sung by Sarah Brightman, and I recommend it for others as well. It speaks of a world that lives only in someone’s fantasy. But I see this world as more than a fantasy. I know that with our combined will, concentration, and effort, this bright world where the soul is free can become a reality. I hope to inspire many to create this world.

What world do you see when you close your eyes? What is your fantasy, and how do you plan to create it?

Nella Fantasia
Music by Ennio Morricone, originally for the movie The Mission
Lyrics by Chiara Ferraù
Sung by Sarah Brightman

Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo giusto,
Li tutti vivono in pace e in onestà.
Io sogno d’anime che sono sempre libere,
Come le nuvole che volano,
Pien’ d’umanità in fondo all’anima.

Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo chiaro,
Li anche la notte è meno oscura.
Io sogno d’anime che sono sempre libere,
Come le nuvole che volano.

Nella fantasia esiste un vento caldo,
Che soffia sulle città, come amico.
Io sogno d’anime che sono sempre libere,
Come le nuvole che volano,
Pien’ d’umanità in fondo all’anima.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

In my imagination I see a fair world,
Everyone lives in peace and in honesty there.
I dream of souls that are always free,
Like the clouds that fly,
Full of humanity in the depths of the soul.

In my imagination I see a bright world,
Even the night is less dark there.
I dream of souls that are always free,
Like the clouds that fly.

In my imagination there exists a warm wind,
That blows on the cities, like a friend.
I dream of souls that are always free,
Like the clouds that fly,
Full of humanity in the depths of the soul.

Let’s say we have a glass of clear water. If you put ink in it, it becomes inky water, and if you put honey in it, it becomes honey water. But whether you add ink or honey, the character of the water doesn’t change. Our original nature is like that pure water.

Depending on what you put in the water, it can become honey water or it can be salt water. Even if you make it muddy water, the original character of the water itself is no different from that of the honey water. If we recognized that everyone’s original character is like pure water, we could be friends with everything. But it we insist only on honey water, then we can’t mix with muddy water.

There are so many kinds of water in this world, but only pure water quenches thirst and can purify what has become polluted. No matter how much honey water you drink, it won’t quench your thirst; it only makes you thirstier.

Many people have forgotten the taste of pure water. Because they’ve become conditioned to honey water over a long period of time, they’ve forgotten what pure water is like. However, more and more people have begun to feel the limitations of that honey water. That’s because there’s a fundamental thirst that can’t be quenched no matter how much honey water you have.

If you want to quench that thirst, don’t reach for honey water, opt for the pure water. Instead of pursuing superficial brightness and happiness, go deeper into the origin. The original brightness, the brightness of the True Self, the essential being, is so bright that there’s no way to express it with our discernment. It’s a brightness that is in a place beyond the world of all judgment and preconception.

We’re conditioned to look for what’s bright and good. That’s what makes us constantly anxious. Even if we’re holding onto something good, we feel anxiety from our effort to preserve it. Whether we have something or not, we still suffer. The only place where we can attain peace is the place of the True Self beyond brightness and darkness. It’s not honey water or soda, but pure water.

As you live in the world, don’t say that it’s dark or bright. Nor should you say that it’s fast or slow. Don’t say you’re happy or unhappy. Instead, be alive in the present moment. While you’re arguing over happiness or unhappiness, the present moment has run all the way over there. Only when we are completely focused and absorbed in the present moment can we become pure water.

By the Editor

A wonderful website was recently opened by some of Ilchi Lee’s students: www.sedonastory.com. There’s a store in Uptown Sedona by the same name, where anyone can learn about LifeParticles and MindScreen Meditation. There’s a part of the website for the store, but actually, the website is for more than just the store alone.

The main purpose of the site, like the store, is to share the Sedona spirit that Ilchi Lee could sense drew him and others to this remarkable place. The daily blog posts that can be seen on the main page give visitors the flavor of that spirit through words, pictures, audio, and video. Interviews with residents and tourists capture that ineffable something that makes Sedona special. Though it began modestly, SedonaStory.com has evolved into an online community of expression defined by a love of Sedona.

Anyone who has ever been to Sedona is welcome to submit their stories, pictures, videos, and/or artwork to the site. What thoughts, feelings, and experiences have you had about Sedona? In fact, if you submit something by July 23, 2011, your submission will be entered into a contest whose participants are eligible to win a grand prize of $500, among a veritable plethora of prizes.

The culmination of this contest will be a live storytelling event on July 30th, 2011, between 5 pm and 7 pm, in the Cheers parking lot in Uptown Sedona. An open mic will be available at this event for anyone who wants to tell their story in person. The winners of the contest will be announced at that time and their entries posted on SedonaStory.com.

Read what Ilchi Lee said about the Sedona spirit here:

The Sedona Spirit

Three Characteristics of the Sedona Spirit

I have a variety of instruments. One of them looks like an empty box; it’s called a tapo. It’s said to be an instrument used in sacred ceremonies or as a method of long-distance communication by Native Americans who fell in love with the sound produced by logs that had been eaten away by bugs. When you strike a tapo, deep and resonant tones are produced.

I also have a Vietnamese instrument made with pieces of cut bamboo. It’s called a dan trung, and its sound is pure and clear. Drums, gongs, ccuenggwari (a type of hand-held Korean cymbal), Indian flutes, and harps… I’ve never learned how to play any of the instruments I play. I don’t even know the names of some of them.

Because I’ve never learned how to play these instruments, I don’t even know whether I’m playing them correctly or not. But I’m not concerned about that when I play. I just let my hands follow what my mind wants, and tap away. Since I’m not too worried about it and just enjoy myself, anyone listening also enjoys themselves.

Infinite creativity and vital power move vigorously inside of all of us. All I do is transfer that to the musical instrument. Then the people listening feel that power as well.

I’ve always played my body like a musical instrument. I sing and drum on it like an instrument, following the flow of the creative power inside me. One day, I realized I could play musical instruments the same way I play my body. But when I tapped and blew into and strummed musical instruments with that thought, I produced beautiful music.

Today, why don’t you put on some exciting music, think of your body as your very own unique drum set, and tap away? Tap your heart out. Tap your body with joy and pleasure in whatever way you feel like. You can tap with your fingertips, or you can make light fists and tap with your fists, or you can tap with your palms. When you tap with your palms, it’s good to bring your five fingers together and cup your hands. Tap from your head to your chest, lower belly, thighs, down to your toe-tips; from your shoulders to your wrists; and tap your armpits and sides as well. Tap from your lower back to your buttocks, the back of your thighs, your calves, and to your toes; tap every last part of your body.

As you focus your awareness on each part that you’re tapping, exhale lightly. With the mind that you’re playing the best instrument made just for you, the only one of its kind in the world, don’t tap too strongly but enough for it to feel invigorating and refreshing. After you’re done tapping, gently sweep your whole body from top to bottom.

Since long ago in eastern cultures, tapping has been popular as an anti-aging method. It releases stagnant energy from the whole body and enhances blood and energy circulation. When you put on some exciting music and tap your whole body to the rhythm, you can feel your body and mind overflowing with vitality.

If the summer heat is sapping your energy, if your body’s been feeling stiff since the Independence Day holiday, or if for no particular reason you feel irritable or melancholy, how about putting on some exciting music this very moment and playing the best instrument you have?