Sedona is beautiful. When I first came to Sedona I loved it so dearly that I decided to live here. While living in Sedona, I’ve had numerous experiences with the land and I’ve developed so many stories that I became a Sedona person. And I also came to write a book about Sedona. When I wrote the book, The Call of Sedona: Journey of the Heart, I really didn’t expect that it would become a New York Times bestseller; however I had that dream. I was amazed that that dream came true.

If you have been to Sedona, when you close your eyes then you can see it again. Its blue skies, its red rocks. All of the beautiful and breathtaking landscapes of Sedona pass before your eyes. That means you have those memories of Sedona inside of your brain. We can live within those memories, and that becomes information. If you use this information well, it can also form the future of your life.

All of the different information that you get from Sedona, for example inspiration, messages, or feelings, those things can really change you. The experiences that I’ve had in Sedona have changed me.

If you lose your dream, you just go in the direction that the wind takes you. But deep inside you know that is not how you want to live. You may think; this isn’t what I wanted.

When you experience a time of feeling lost, you can reflect upon yourself and find your self-worth. Then your life can change. For me, when I visited Sedona, that was a time in my life when I was trying to find a new way to fulfill my dreams.

The moment that I saw Sedona I thought: Sedona called me, and Sedona has been waiting for me. Inexplicably, I felt that this was the place where something was going to happen. So, I moved to Sedona, and I rediscovered myself.

Sedona’s natural beauty inspires people’s spirituality. If you are lucky, when you see it you will realize that it is not just you looking at Sedona. You will also feel that Sedona is looking at you. We see Sedona with our eyes, but Sedona senses our whole body, all at once. This is because Sedona surrounds you 360 degrees all around. While in Sedona, you can feel that you are inside this massive tunnel of energy. There are some people who say when they come to Sedona they receive all of the energy they need for an entire lifetime. If you are aware enough, you can sense that energy with your whole body.

When you receive Sedona’s energy, that is when you discover the Self that you have lost. As you receive this huge energy, you can find a new purpose for your life, a new dream. And you never know; the energy of Sedona just might help you manifest your dream in reality, because if you have a dream but have no power, then you can’t make that dream come true. In order for the dream to come true you need to have power, you need to have energy. Sedona provides two things. Sedona doesn’t only give you a dream; it can also give you the energy to help that dream become a reality.

While it may not be obvious in a world where children face starvation, hopelessness about their future, violence in schools, and even shootings like the recent one at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, now is a time when the energy of heaven has become stronger on earth; I call it ‘chunshi’ in Korean. It’s a prime time to take the next step forward in our collective and personal spiritual evolution and in creating a spiritual civilization on earth.

How do you do that? You do it by bringing out your spirit, what is called ‘eol’ in Korean. Eol is the essence of life—joy, happiness, love, light, and the power of creation. It is your conscience that tells you that the happiness of all is your happiness. It is your soul, your divine aspect, the God within you, which is the consciousness of the creative observer in your mind that rests in the physical organ of your brain.

This observer is the part of you that can step back and watch everything you think and do from a higher perspective. It has access to both your conscious and unconscious mind and can tap into a universal wisdom that is beyond your personal experience. Some call that wisdom a sixth sense, others call it divine inspiration. If you look at it another way, the creative observer is that wisdom itself.

But this observer can do more than just sit back and watch. It can move and direct LifeParticles. LifeParticles are the combined matter and spirit of which everything in existence is formed, including your body, mind, emotions, and even your creative observer. Particle physicists discovered these elementary particles when they broke down matter into smaller and smaller components. They learned that, depending on whether an observer is present or not, these particles could take on the characteristics of small bits of matter or of waves (energy, spirit). Extrapolating from this and many other scientific findings, you may say that this higher, wise consciousness you have inside your brain can affect physical reality. And because of the pervasiveness of these elementary particles, it has boundless creative ability.

Most of us may have limited awareness of our creative observer. Maybe you’ve sensed it before. Maybe you’ve noticed another “voice” in your mind that analyzes what you experience. Or maybe you’ve had flashes of insight that seemed to have come out of nowhere. In those moments, you’ve glimpsed your creative observer.

To access this divine part of you in a useful and consistent way, however, you have to return to zero. You can think of the creative observer as your true essence at the core of your being. Layered around it are your accumulated knowledge and experiences, both the ones you like and the ones you don’t. Most of the time, the way you evaluate and interact with the world is based on this accumulation. Although you are always learning and growing, however, your life experience will always be more limited than the vast wisdom of the universe. To be successful, happy, fulfilled, live out your life’s mission, and create a spiritual civilization, your awareness needs to be one with your true essence. You need to take on its perspective. It will then be able to use both your personal knowledge and universal wisdom creatively with benevolence, compassion, and love.

There are many ways, especially many meditation techniques, to get down deep into your essential self. Brain Wave Vibration, especially the form I call Younggamudo, is a simple and effective moving meditation that shakes away all of the layers surrounding your spirit. I often recommend this method because even people with little or no meditation experience can do it well. Also, by moving your body, you move the energy in which your knowledge and experience is stored. In the process, you clear it away to get to the light underneath. Even individuals with a lot of meditation experience can access parts of their mind of which they were previously unaware by shaking up the energy stored in the deepest recesses of their brain and body.

With this technique, you eventually go into a state of meditation in which your brain waves are at an alpha frequency and your mind feels still and clear. In this state, you can even experience yourself and/or the world around you as made up of elementary particles and/or of light. The separation between you and the rest of the world dissolves, and you can sense universal laws and truth.

Once you are aware that in essence you are a loving observer with creative power, you gain responsibility. You become responsible for your own growth and development, and for what you generate in the world. If you want a better world, a world not based on material values but on love and oneness, you need to take action for that outcome. With your sincerity and devotion to such a world, align all of your thoughts, habits, and goals with it. Have a plan that you follow and check.

Although this may seem daunting, experiencing your essence can give you the confidence you need to achieve it. Confirming your greatness and wisdom through meditation changes an interesting and possibly unbelievable idea into real knowing. The more often you have that experience, and the more you act on it with sincerity, honesty, and responsibility, the more your spirit will shine through your face, brightening the world around you. Through living as a creative observer that directs LifeParticles, you can find the answers to all problems and conflicts.

Now is the season of light shining through darkness. Humanity celebrates the candles lit during the rededication of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem after it was desecrated, the star that announced the light of Jesus coming into the world, and the beginning of the days getting longer. Now is the time for the light of our spirit to brighten the world around us so that a new spiritual civilization of happiness for all may be born through us. While so far we have relied on saints, sages, and awakened masters to provide that light, we can now choose to be initiated into spiritual adulthood with the realization that we are light, we are divine, essentially we are LifeParticles, and therefore, we have the power, ability, and responsibility to create a more loving and peaceful world.

By Isabel Pastor & Lynn Trombetta

A “Swimming Pool for Peace” was inaugurated in a Completion Ceremony on October 17, 2012. The pool was built in Distrito Italia, El Salvador, a community in one of the most dangerous areas in El Salvador, in one of the most dangerous countries in Latin America.

The pool was a community project born out of the desire to further actualize, as a community, what teachers and students in the District’s main public school had realized when the International Brain Education Association (IBREA) provided Brain Education to the group during a three month period in 2011. The life-changing experience had brought them health, happiness, and peace. Wanting this to spread to their communities, a dream was born to construct a swimming pool together as a way to promote conviviality and peace.

IBREA garnered funds to build the pool with the support of donors in U.S., South Korea, and Japan. With three major newspapers and six main TV channels in El Salvador covering the event, Sanchez Ceren, Vice President of El Salvador, expressed his deep gratitude to Ilchi Lee, president of IBREA, for the support of the “Swimming Pool for Peace” project and presented a plaque of recognition for the contribution. Also greatly acknowledged was the Korean government, which provided financial support for the second phase of the Brain Education project in El Salvador, and to the Global Cyber University and IBREA for their efforts on the project.

Vice President Ceren, who was the former Minister of Education, also shared his experience of participating in a Brain Education class last year and clearly explained the message of Brain Education to the community.
The mayor of Tonacatapeque City and his staff also expressed great joy for the project in their city. His enthusiasm and support included providing the foundation work for the swimming pool, the rock structure for the dedication plaque, and the use of city equipment for this special day.

Four representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who were IBREA partners during the first phase of the Brain Education pilot project in 2011, attended the event as well. The National Director of the Ministry of Education, the Director for San Salvador in the Ministry of Education, and the principals and teachers from the three other schools that are implementing Brain Education also came and shared the joy of the ceremony together.

“It was the day that everybody was happy including teachers, students, parents, community leaders, and even gangs.”

In a voice that was strong and sincere, a representative of the students named Laura shared her experience with the Brain Education project held last year in her school. She talked very openly and many were touched by her sharing: One student, who did drugs every day last year, has stopped completely. A student who was at risk of becoming a gang member last year is now one of the best students in academic achievement.

Laura also explained that when she visited South Korea in April of 2012, she received much love and support there. She said Brain Education brought her inner peace and confidence to help her to accomplish her goals. She added that she wants many more students in El Salvador to experience Brain Education and find the power from inside of them and achieve their dreams.

Teachers from three schools that are participating in Brain Education shared their experiences and, following the ceremony, every teacher from the Distrito Italia School demonstrated Brain Education exercises. A dance by IBREA volunteers from the U.S. and South Korea made the joyful celebration complete.

Principal of Distrito Italia School, Edwin, expressed deep appreciation to those people from the U.S., Japan, and Korea who supported the project, with special thanks to Ilchi Lee who created Brain Education and started the whole project. He stated, “It is miraculous to have the Swimming Pool for Peace in Distrito Italia; peace can be created by actions, not by words.”

In September, the second Brain Education Project in El Salvador began at four schools in San Salvador. It is conducted by IBREA and the Global Cyber University in partnership with the global education aid program of the Ministry of Education in South Korea, who is financing the project. For more information about IBREA, please visit www.ibreaus.org.

Watch a video of the event from LifeParticle TV:

By the Editor

On Saturday, September 29, 2012, Ilchi Lee spoke at the Sedona Spirit Day Festival at the Red Rock High School Performing Arts Center in Sedona, Arizona. Inspired by his New York Times bestseller, The Call of Sedona, Sedona Spirit Day was proclaimed by the City of Sedona, with the event itself being hosted by the Sedona Meditation Center. In his five-minute address, Lee told participants that Sedona is a place where you can easily discover the greatness and beauty inside of you. He reminded them that although Sedona is beautiful, the soul they have inside is even more beautiful.

Ilchi Lee gave the audience a sense of the Sedona Spirit, which the Mayor of Sedona, Rob Adams, said in his congratulatory message was “manifested through the sharing of talents and skills of individuals and the appreciation of diverse cultural heritages that come together to form the mosaic of the Sedona community.” Mayor Adams read the Sedona Spirit Day proclamation and described the many ways Sedonans are coming together in peaceful dialogue.

During the afternoon, from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm, artisans, psychics, healers, restaurants, and vendors from around Sedona catered to 500 attendees of an outdoor fair. During the fair, a silent auction, raffle, and souvenir sale raised money for the non-profit meditation center. A local band, Blues Dawg, and flutist and Cherokee Shaman, Randell Stands with Bear, entertained the people strolling between brightly colored tables. A play area and face painting was set up for the kids, who participated in a Sedona Spirit art contest, the winner of which was a girl named Sedona.

Some of the visitors stayed for the evening event, and a total 500 people watched performances of dance, song, and drumming from from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Emceed by Sedona entertainer, Shondra Jepperson, the performances were followed by a collaborative healing meditation. It culminated in a group jam and dancing session that had the audience off their feet.

David Arnold and Megan Plante

“It seemed like a really good festival. It seemed to represent what’s best in humanity if you look at it. It’s all positive. You didn’t see conflict, you didn’t see egos, you just saw people trying to be joyful,” said David Arnold about his experience.

The spirit of the festival applied to Sedona in general according to one visitor from Canada: “Sedona is the heart of the world. You see it in the eyes of the people as you walk in the store or down the sidewalk. I haven’t seen that anywhere. I see it in glimpses here and there but in Sedona you see it regularly.” Megan Plante, also from Canada, concurred that the Sedona Spirit is “absolutely joyful and loving and accepting and soothing. It’s very healing.”

The Sedona Meditation Center, whose mission is to help people find the Sedona Spirit inside themselves and the earth, will host the third annual Sedona Spirit Day next year on September 21st.

You can watch videos of the Sedona Spirit Day Festival performances on LifeParticle.com.

By the Editor

The City of Mahwah in New Jersey declared September 7th as Ilchi Lee Day. The mayor of Mahwah, William C. Laforet, came to the book talk and signing for The Call of Sedona at Ramapo College of New Jersey to celebrate the event and give Ilchi Lee the proclamation. This recognition was given for the contribution made by Ilchi Lee’s system of mind-body training, Brain Education, to the health, happiness, and peace in the City of Mahwah.