In early 1996, I was reading a newspaper in LA when I saw a photo that immediately grabbed my attention. The red rocks were so real they felt like they might jump out of the paper at me. I read the caption beneath the photo and learned it was a place called Sedona, in the state of Arizona.
I couldn’t get there fast enough; I wanted to see those red rocks. So I asked an acquaintance to come with me. We cruised along by car from Los Angeles, driving through Flagstaff. It was the middle of the night when we arrived in uptown Sedona, so we settled into a motel that hugged Oak Creek Canyon.
The night was dark and there was little chance to see the scenery aside from the sparkling stars that filled the night sky with their refreshing twinkling. As I filled my lungs with clean, crisp air, I went to sleep with excitement and anticipation in my heart.
As soon as I opened my eyes the next morning, I threw back the curtains. My first view of Sedona’s landscape entailed a mountain of blended red and white rock, standing tall above a verdant forest. At the top of the mountain were large and small rocks shaped like various animals. Then I saw one that caught my attention. At the top of the mountain, there was a modest rock that looked just like a person seated in a lotus posture, meditating!
I thought to myself, Wow, even the rocks in Sedona meditate.
After a simple breakfast, I wandered about Sedona, here and there, wherever I felt like going. It seemed like the entire city was embraced by arms of red rock. The green of the junipers and cacti that dotted the red turf proffered a dramatic contrast of color. The sky of Sedona, wrapped around the burnt red earth, seemed more clear and blue than any sky I’d seen. A sanctity circulated in the air between earth and heaven there. Though it was winter, warm sunlight was shining down through the clear air. As I looked at the dazzling beauty of Sedona’s earth and sky awash with the morning sun, my heart skipped a beat, and it occurred to me that this just might be the very place that I had been seeking for so long.
Do you see the meditating rock?
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I love to go to Sedona to heal body, soul, and spirit. I got so much of benefit from Bell Rock. I am really grateful that mother earth takes care of us. I hope more people go to Sedona and receive healing energy of mother earth and share with others. Thank you.
Dear Seuseungnim,
Whenever I read your descriptions of Sedona, I feel the holiness of the area. I am so grateful that you have introduced me directly to Mother Mago.
i have been to sedona several times and in fact am going this week. i feel the same excitement and anticipation each time just as you did, SSN . the rocks not only meditate but are very much alive.reading your message just made me glad i will be there soon!
Hahaha! I totally see the person sitting in lotus posture with the hands in prayer position 🙂 What a fun omen for what was to come!
Yes!! i see the statue , i love Sedona and i would like to live there forever, i feel one with the energy and feel like home. Seuseung nim: can you let me work in Mago Garden?.
Dear Emma,
It’s wonderful that you love Sedona and that you would like to spend more time here. Ilchi Lee is not involved with the regular operations of Mago Garden, but if you would like to volunteer there, you can call Tao Fellowship and inquire. This is the phone number from their website: 1-800-875-2256.
Wishing you the best,
Michelle
Dear Seuseungnim,
thank you for actualizing your dreams and establishing the best training grounds in Mago Garden.
I love being in Sedona, I do not know why exactly.
I become so grounded and peaceful by just being in Sedona.
Once we did that drive after sunset, and it is a bit scary the idea that you can take a 2 thounasd feet dive down the canyon it you miss a curve is enough to keep every nerve cell firing quickly