Sedona Story

By EJ Lim

Living in Sedona, I make frequent visits to Bell Rock, but until I met Ilchi Lee, I had never really thought about what kind of mindset I should have to climb up Bell Rock. Luckily, when I was climbing Bell Rock with Ilchi Lee, my spiritual teacher, he stopped at the entrance to talk about the mindset one should have when climbing Bell Rock. I feel that, now, I have a better idea of what attitude to have when addressing nature. This is my video interview of Ilchi Lee. Just as it was very helpful to me, I hope that his words and his wisdom are helpful to you, too.

By EJ Lim

It may not be as much as Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City, but like many other women, I have a considerable fondness for shoes. Even so, I’d never met anyone who actually made shoes with their own hands or heard about the shoemaking process until I met Jeremiah, and I thoroughly enjoyed my wonderful encounter with him.

Jeremiah is an artisan who has been making shoes for families for the past 30 years. He has a way of speaking that’s unsophisticated and honest, and his shoes seem just as down-to-earth but beautiful, and they looked soft and comfortable.

I met him at the Farmers’ Market in West Sedona. Meet Jeremiah.

By Lynn Moon

On May 23, my friend and I drove up to the top of a hill in southeast Sedona. From there I could look down at Bell Rock, known to be the most powerful vortex in Sedona. I also found an interesting plant called a “century plant.” It has thick, strong spike, like bamboo or a giant asparagus, and it had grown about 8 feet high. It was much taller than me.

Although the century plant’s name implies that it lives for 100 years, its lifespan is actually 10 to 30 years. But it is an extraordinary experience to see the century plant because it blooms only once at the end of its life and dies after flowering.

About a month later, on June 25, I got a text message from my friend who used to check the progress of the blooming. “It bloomed. Take a picture!”

I re-visited the spot and was amazed the moment I saw the century plant in full bloom. It must have gone through a long wait of several decades to accumulate and pour enough energy into blooming the golden flowers.

At the height of capturing the wonder of nature, I saw a flying creature through the camera lens. It looked like a small bird or big insect. (You can see the small dot on the left side of the century plant in the picture above.) Through its unique flying pattern (Hummingbirds can fly right, left, up, down, backwards, even upside down), I noticed, “It’s a hummingbird!” The tiny hummingbird came to drink nectar from the century plant flower.

It is said that in many traditional cultures of the western world the hummingbird has powerful spiritual significance. In the high Andes of South America, for example, the hummingbird is taken to be a symbol of resurrection. This is because each “hummer” becomes lifeless and seems to die on cold nights, but it comes back to life again when the miraculous sunrise brings warmth.

I found these beautiful words about hummingbirds.

“Hummingbirds teach us fierce independence. They teach us to fight in a way where no one really gets hurt. They teach us simple courage. The twittering, vibrating sounds of the hummingbirds bring us an internal message that restores health and balance.

Hummingbirds also inspire us to protect the environment and to preserve old traditions that are in danger of being lost. There is something in our souls that wants to hover at beautiful moments in our lives, making them freeze in time. There is something in us that wants to fly backwards and savor once more the beautiful past. Some of us are just hummingbird people.”

By EJ Lim

I met Mr. Randell Standswithbear at Crystal Enlightenment on the Creek, a store in Sedona, AZ. He said he just moved to Sedona four days ago and he already has been falling deeply in love with Sedona.

Randell has been an accomplished musician for over 20 years; from his father’s side he is a fourth generation musician. His artistry includes Native American flute, drums and percussion, as well as vocals. His many activities encompass a variety of Native American gatherings, pow wows, galleries, exhibits and special performances as well as producing personal CDs.

If you would like more information about Randell, please visit http://www.reverbnation.com/randell.

By STEMproduction

Schnebly Hill Road is one of the most beautiful and scenic routes in Sedona. The steep, twisty and unpaved drive was the main route from Sedona to Flagstaff before Oak Creek Canyon Road (US-89A) was built in 1914. Schnebly was the name of first settler in Sedona, Carl Schnebly. The city of Sedona is named after his wife, Sedona Schnebly.

By STEM Productions

This is a time-lapse video of the nighttime sky from the Sedona Mago Retreat Center. (www.sedonamagoretreat.org)
The Dahngun Shrine and Mission Place are significant places that mark the history of the Sedona Mago Retreat Center.

Produced by: EJ Lim
Filmed by: Neal Margolin
Edited by: Edwin Kim