Walking the Way of New Life

About two years ago, Ilchi Lee began building what he calls Earth Village near the town of Kerikeri on the North Island of New Zealand. As he writes in his new book, I’ve Decided to Live 120 Years: The Ancient Secret to Longevity, Vitality, and Life Transformation, Earth Village is designed to be “a residential school and community where hundreds of people can experience a self-reliant, earth-friendly lifestyle in a place where humans and nature live in harmony—a beautiful woodland area of 380 acres.”

Ilchi Lee book - I've Decided to Live 120 Years

At Earth Village, guests and residents can feel what Ilchi Lee calls their true selves more easily with the help of the pristine, natural setting. It is also a community where they can live authentically based on this discovery. To do so and “transcend their small selves and begin to embrace others and the world” is what it means to be an Earth Citizen, according to Ilchi Lee. Earth Citizens also live with a purpose and vision for their lives, for their entire lives—regardless of their age.

Earth Village - The Way of New Life - New Zealand

To help people begin their journey to becoming an Earth Citizen, Ilchi Lee developed a walking path called The Way of New Life. The course includes a wooden stairway through the forest of 120 steps, with each step representing a year in a 120-year life—the number of years scientists think human beings may have the potential to live.

While visitors climb the first 60 steps they reflect on their lives so far, and let go of any mistakes they have made, regrets they have, or ideas that no longer serve them. They also consider what their goals for material success are. During the second 60 steps, they look to the future and envision their spiritual development and success. A broad wooden deck in the middle represents a transition period between these two hypothetical stages of life.

Ilchi Lee's Earth Village steps

Ilchi Lee calls “the first 60 years your congenital destiny and the next 60 years your acquired destiny. Your congenital destiny is the destiny you were born with and the one the world has constantly imposed on you, and your acquired destiny is the destiny you create for yourself by your own choices and effort.” The Way of New Life opens the trail for a new acquired destiny.

By reflecting on our lives in this way while on this path, we not only paint a broader vision for our future, but become better able to derive new meaning from the small moments of our daily life. We get a picture of the whole forest in addition to the trees and learn what it is we truly want.

The Way of New Life is a trail Ilchi Lee has blazed to make it easier for all who travel it to discover their value and gain the courage to express it in their lives.

Highlights from the 1st Earth Citizen Peace Festival

The 1st Annual Earth Citizen Peace Festival brought together 1000 people from around the world in Kerikeri, New Zealand. And we bring you the highlights!

Friday night, January 27, 2017 was an outdoor fair with performances, food, and a raffle. Local dance groups were joined by dancers from the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Korea, martial arts performers from South Korea and the UK, and South Korean drummers.

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The morning of Saturday, January 28, 2017 was the main event, Earth Citizens Come Together. It began with cultural performances from a Maori performance group and a South Korea breakdance crew. Congratulatory messages followed, and the Deputy Mayor of the Far North District Council, Tania McInnes, gave her support for Earth Citizen values in a speech. Then Ilchi Lee gave the keynote lecture, and representatives from nine countries recited the Earth Citizen Declaration.

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In the afternoon, a symposium was held called The Brain, Earth Citizenship, and Our Global Future. At the end, members of the Body & Brain Yoga center in Auckland sang a Maori song, and then the Global Scholars Society for Earth Management was founded.

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The Earth Citizen Peace Festival felt like a big reunion where people were inspired to do more in their communities to tell others about Earth Citizenship.