By Michela Mangiaracina
Murmurings of excitement filled the air as I eagerly dashed through the crowd in the lobby of the Sedona Creative Life Center, past the main performance space, and into the small backstage, where I quickly changed into the traditional Korean drumming outfit that was to be my costume. The latest event the drumming group I belong to, Sedona’s Rhythm, played at was the book signing and launch of Ilchi Lee’s latest book, The Call of Sedona: Journey of the Heart, which took place on Saturday, August 20, 2011.
As an editor at the publishing company that produced the book and hosted the event, I was thrilled to be helping at the first public appearance Ilchi Lee has given in the United States in over a year. Many Sedona residents and fans of Ilchi Lee from Phoenix and nearby states such as Nevada, New Mexico, and California were in attendance, necessitating extra seats to be placed along the walls and out into the lobby. Over 240 people in all watched not only Sedona’s Rhythm’s act but a dance performance by Hansori Keliikuli and Yolessa K. Lawrinnce and a singing performance by Jeanie Carroll, who sang “The Power of the Dream.” Shondra Jepperson of the popular Sedona entertainment duo Tom & Shondra emceed the event. Many in the audience had their first taste of The Call of Sedona when local photographer and voice talent Bob Coates read the book’s introduction and Rev. Janet Kingsley of the Center for Positive Living Sedona recited a poem from it.
As part of the festivities, Dean Patterson, a spokesperson from Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters gave his own congratulatory message to Ilchi Lee. Like Big Brothers Big Sisters, Mr. Lee said he wanted to give something back to Sedona, which is a special place that has inspired his philosophy and work. Shondra announced that he would give 30% of the proceeds from his book sales to three Sedona nonprofit organizations.
The part of the event I anticipated the most was Ilchi Lee’s talk. There were several touching moments, starting with Ilchi Lee’s introduction by his son, Jeonghan Lee. Another was the telling of Bette Castoria’s story through an engaging video. Bette, a Body + Brain franchise owner in Nob Hill, New Mexico has been practicing the LifeParticles Meditation described in The Call of Sedona for over six months. She attributes the disappearance of an inoperable brain tumor to the practice and to the innumerable LifeParticles sent to her from well-wishers around the country.
The part of the talk that touched me the most, however, was when Ilchi Lee said that although everyone would agree that Sedona was beautiful, what he found even more beautiful was each person’s soul. He hoped that through meditation, such as the guided meditations in The Call of the Sedona, everyone can experience that inner beauty for themselves. To help them, the current Sedona Mago Healing Center on Jordan Road in Uptown Sedona has decided to become the nonprofit Sedona Meditation Center.
After his talk and a question and answer session with Shondra that ended with Ilchi Lee playing a flute built into his walking staff, everyone lined up for the book signing. Ilchi Lee sat on the stage and the line went all the way out the door.
Before and after the main part of the program, people milled around the lobby and outside, enjoying Ilchi Lee’s displayed calligraphy, sandwiches and fruit from the Marketplace Café, and the lilting sounds of the duo Meadowlark.
After the crowd dwindled, we began a swift cleanup aided by a few generous guests. I was satisfied that everyone had seemed happy. We were all able to experience that Sedona spirit Ilchi Lee wrote of in The Call of Sedona.
October 18, 2011
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