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.

Originally published as a trade paperback by BEST Life Media in September 2011, Ilchi Lee’s book, The Call of Sedona: Journey of the Heart, was released today by Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Scribner also released an eBook edition and Simon & Schuster Audio published it’s audio edition.

Before being purchased by Scribner, The Call of Sedona appeared on the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today bestseller lists.

The author of 33 books, Ilchi Lee is an educator, mentor, and innovator devoted to mind-body principles, including Dahn Yoga, which he developed in 1980 in a park in his native South Korea. Since he first visited Sedona, Arizona 16 years ago, Ilchi Lee has dedicated himself to sharing the spiritual guidance he has received from Sedona’s awe-inspiring landscape. The Call of Sedona: Journey of the Heart is Ilchi Lee’s inspired memoir that shares this guidance, along with a range of his popular meditation and spiritual advice.

“Even though this book is set in Sedona, Arizona, its audience is not limited to those who are interested in this magical region,” said Ilchi Lee. “I wrote it for anyone seeking greater fulfillment and deeper meaning in their lives and who cherishes an intimate connection with nature. I feel very fortunate and honored that Scribner is taking this book to the next level.”

“We have watched with great admiration how Ilchi Lee and BEST Life Media have independently published The Call of Sedona about which I first learned from a visit to the area,” said Susan Moldow, Executive Vice President and Publisher of Scribner. “We are very excited at the prospect of expanding the audience for his seminal work.”

Scribner Senior Editor Shannon Welch, who will edit the book, acquired world, electronic, and audio rights from literary agent Bob Silverstein of Quicksilver Books.

Scribner is an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc., a part of CBS Corporation. Simon & Schuster is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed, electronic, and audio formats. Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Digital, and international companies in Australia, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom. For more information visit www.simonandschuster.com.

By the Editor

The Call of Sedona: Journey of the Heart by Ilchi Lee was listed as number two in the Paperback Advice & Misc. section of The New York Times best seller list for February 26, 2012. It also recently reached number four on The Washington Post Best Seller list for paperback nonfiction and was included on the USA Today and IndieBound bestseller lists. Ilchi Lee is the first Korean to be listed on four bestseller lists simultaneously.

These sales were boosted by the concerted effort of the book’s author and its publisher, BEST Life Media, in partnership with Dahn Yoga & Health, Inc. and Dahn Yoga’s Body + Brain Center franchises. They were also the result of the efforts of over 300 meditation circles based on the book.

Ilchi Lee has engaged in a nationwide book signing tour for the past two months that saw about a thousand people attend and buy approximately 1500 books on the spot.

BEST Life Media also ran a Getaway to Sedona Giveaway through Hasmark Services from February 5th through February 11th. They offered three Sedona Getaways, five Experience Sedona Gift Certificate Packages, and a Personalized Calligraphy Artwork by Ilchi Lee as prizes. There were almost 840 entries to the Giveaway, in which entrants could participate in a live teleseminar with Ilchi Lee and receive bonuses from over 100 partners.

During the Giveaway period, meditation circle leaders around the country ran book talks and demonstrations of the ideas and techniques in The Call of Sedona at their local bookstores.

A week before the Giveaway, The Call of Sedona App was released for iOS and Android platforms. The app’s audio meditations, Sedona landscape images, videos, and inspirational messages bring the user to Sedona wherever they are and allow them to sample the Sedona spirit Ilchi Lee writes about in the book. For the Giveaway, the app was discounted from $2.99 to 99 cents by its developer, Infinity Brain.

While set in Sedona, The Call of Sedona is not a book just for fans of the area. “My hope is that by reading this book people will gain a fresh inspiration and a dream that will infuse vitality into their life, that they will take part in the beautiful dream Sedona gives through its profound connection with the earth,” Ilchi Lee said. “No matter where you are you can discover meaning and hope in life through a true encounter with yourself. As people come to love themselves more they come to love other people and the world more deeply. Each of us can make this world a better place.”

Lee donates 30 percent of his royalties from the sale of his book to three Sedona area charities: Camp Soaring Eagle, Yavapai Big Brother Big Sisters and the Sedona Community Center.

Hear Ilchi Lee’s poem, “Sedona Message,” and discover Sedona’s dream for us all. Read here by Shondra Jepperson and set to beautiful Sedona scenery, this poem can also be found in Ilchi Lee’s book The Call of Sedona: Journey of the Heart.