By Ralph Fourmont
The beauty of Sedona attracts most visitors here, but many arrive to experience the potentially healing power of the vortices in the area, after doing some research or following the referral of a friend. At the Sedona Meditation Center, where I attend as a member, practitioners experience energy healing and clearing on a daily basis, as the schedule permits multiple classes for individuals. On Thursday, Nov. 17th, core members and friends of the Center met with renowned author and creator of Brain Education, Ilchi Lee, for an evening of light snacks, music, and discussion.
We all brought one of our favorite dishes and had stuffed the den with as many chairs as we could find and talked anxiously. The Celebration of November 12th at the Performing Arts Center still had us buzzing with a healthy glow, and we were looking forward to a more intimate meeting with the author and had questions regarding his most recent book, The Call of Sedona. HaeJung Jung, director of the Meditation Center and our beloved teacher and friend, had us all sit and begin a meditation. We started with a breathing exercise, tapping, collecting energy, and centering ourselves. Minutes later we were all much calmer, peaceful, and collected … thank you, HaeJung, for your infinite wisdom and guidance.
We all welcomed Mr. Lee, whom I consider one of my teachers and refer to as my Seuseungnim as they do in the Korean tradition, with warm applause and led him to the long table of food where we lurked hungrily about while feigning disinterest in the mouth-watering dishes and desserts. Eating, talking, and meeting new friends: it seemed too soon before HaeJung called us in to the den for discussion.
Though forewarned, I was still somewhat hesitant when HaeJung announced “Ralph will now play a piece that he has prepared for the piano.” I have never taken lessons, and have never “prepared” a piece in my life, but rather was just going to start playing! Being self-taught, I love the piano, I love how it sounds, but haven’t played for years. A bit fearful, what was I thinking, agreeing to this? The day before, however, a friend had loaned me a CD discussion with Ilchi Lee, and he admitted that he never took flute lessons, but he loved its voice. When he played, he said, he could not play a wrong note, because he was never taught ‘the rules.’ Therefore all that he played was right. The trick was to “find the rhythm” within yourself, and just play.
What a metaphor for life, I thought. As long as we are true to ourselves and find our own rhythm inside, we cannot go wrong! We all make mistakes, or more accurately, upon reflection desire a different outcome, but at least we’re playing. So I sat remembering the voice on the CD that told me to “trust yourself,” and played. I felt the keys dancing under my fingers. I felt the vibrations caressing my senses, felt the flow and ebb of the wind around the strings of the beautiful baby grand, felt the singing in my heart. I moved to the music and played the rhythm inside me, and loved the piano’s voice. And then I stopped before someone caught on that I really couldn’t play after all. It was nice of everyone to applaud, I thought, and our Seuseungnim, through his Korean translator, asked me what I called that “beautiful piece.” Cringing, I admitted that I don’t know, that I just made it up. I just love to play, but like him, couldn’t play the same thing twice!
He told us all that what I had done was find the rhythm in myself, and played that rhythm through the piano’s voice. He then asked me to play another piece. I was horrified…I didn’t know any piece to play. Trying to slink away from the task, I asked if he was serious: he was. Okay, I told myself, it’s okay, just trust yourself. I walked back to the piano and sat down. I trusted him, this compassionate and loving man, and so I found a new tune…I played like a child plays with a new toy he is unfamiliar with: how does this sound, what will this do. Only the piano was with me, only its sound I heard, its vibration; its voice, my rhythm. Okay, satisfied, I stopped playing.
Ilchi Lee told us we must all find our rhythm, and create wonderful things in our life, like the music we play. He asked us to listen to his rhythm, and he sang some words from the ancient Chun Bu Kyung, and played his flute. He sang for us and it was beautiful, and reminded me that any soul can sing, every person has rhythm and a voice, and we should never disparage a soul for doing so. He pointed out that the media tries to tell us who is great, who we should listen to; but the truth is, we all are. We go to concerts to listen to someone else’s rhythm because we cannot find our own, but we should. Our rhythm is our own, and more powerful than ‘experiencing’ someone else’s. I know this to be true…when I play, when I write, I feel the beauty within and my soul smiles. Like being kind to a stranger in need, and watching someone else be kind…no comparison!
Later, during a question and answer period, Ilchi Lee talked about the vortices in Sedona. He said that people come to Sedona to merely “experience” the vortices, just as many people spend their lives seeking a vortex, or energy location. I thought of my friends who come from all over the country to hike the Grand Canyon every year, of the hundreds or hikes I’ve gone on to search for ancient ruins…what are we looking for? And the countless times we have meditated at the popular vortex sites of Sedona. What do we expect to find? Is it not something inside us that we seek? “Sedona is a wonderful place to practice meditation,” he continued, the most beautiful and powerful place he has found in the world, but the vortex inside us, he leaned forward and emphasized, is more powerful than any vortex on earth. The people who come here wish to experience these vortices, and then leave, but do not realize that they can use their time in this area to connect with the vortex inside themselves.
The Grand Canyon is vast and breathtakingly beautiful, but not as vast and beautiful as our own soul, Mr. Lee revealed to us. Our vortex within is greater than any canyon on Earth, he declared.
I was almost ecstatic, I wanted to email all the wonderful people I’ve met that have visited Sedona and practiced at our beautiful Meditation Center, and tell them the good news! Many have asked me for pictures of Bell Rock and our hikes in an attempt to stay connected to the beautiful energy of this area, and their wonderful experience at the Center, but may be unaware of the most powerful vortex inside their very souls!
The evening ended all too soon, and after a group photo everyone said their goodbyes. I spent the next few days contacting everyone I could think of to say that they carried a Sedona in their own hearts, within their grasp, through the methods of Brain Education. My friends were delighted and very grateful to hear the wonderful news about the vortex within them. They even stopped asking for pictures of Bell Rock.
I hope and pray that we all can find the rhythm and vortex within ourselves that has lain dormant for too many centuries. I wish this more than anything for every soul on earth, for without this simple dance of life, I fear for the future of our souls. And may we all carry this message, as we learn it, to our neighbors, our families, and our friends. Thank you, Ilchi Seuseungnim, for the hope you’ve given us.
January 22, 2012
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