I AM ART: Soo Kyung Kim

  In 2016, I was living in Vancouver, Canada, immersed in a six-month meditation practice after being initiated by Sadhguru. Life felt steady, yet something stirred within me—an unspoken call, an invitation from the unknown. One morning, the word Vipassana drifted into my awareness. I had never given it much thought before, but this time, it gripped me with an inexplicable force. I felt its pull like a whisper from destiny. Without hesitation, I placed my name on the waiting list. Before I could even process what was happening, I received my confirmation. With nothing but trust in my heart, I was on my way to Northern California’s Vipassana Center, Dhamma Manda . Day 1: Entering the Silence Upon arrival, I was met with the rules of the retreat—no talking, no eye contact, no gestures, no communication of any kind. Ten days of absolute silence. The schedule was strict: waking at 4:30 AM, meditating for hours, eating only two meals a day, and lights out at 9 PM. My mind reeled at the...

Last Saturday, my new dear friend Deva shared her experience with subbody Butoh . Her words painted a picture so unique and mysterious that I felt an irresistible pull to experience it for myself. The class lasted three hours, and about ten of us gathered in the space. At the start, the instructor asked us to be still, to listen—not just with our ears, but with our inner body. We were to move in four simple directions: forward and backward, left and right, in circles. I lay down, trying to follow her guidance, but I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. Was I doing it right? Was I missing something? Yet, as the class went on, we began moving different parts of our body—starting with the head, then the shoulders, then more. Slowly, I felt something shifting. My body. My mind. A quiet emptiness took over—dark, still, calm. Then, she told me to stand. I tried, but I felt like a newborn, taking my very first steps. I moved, but my body was heavy. She told us to walk as if it were the ...

나의 간증문, 2014 저는 어릴때부터 질문이 유독하게도 많은 아이였습니다. 특히 우리는 무엇을 위해서 태어났는지, 산다는 건 무엇인지, 죽는다는 건 무슨 의미가 있는건지. 이 자연의 이치를 보면 모든 존재하는것들은 뚜렷한 삶의 의미가 있고 또한 그들의 할일이 아주 분명하게 정해져있고 자연스럽게 그들이 해야할일들을 합니다. 예를 들어 일본의 해변에서 부화하는 바다거북이들은 북미대륙 서해안, California, Mexico로 8000 miles 이나 되는 open ocean을 GPS는 물론 아무 guide도 없이 항해를 합니다. 그리고 성장한후 다시 일본으로 돌아온답니다. 과학이 발달됨에 따라 우리는 엄청나게 많은 자연의 신비와 기적들을 듣습니다. 어릴 때, 저는, 세상에서 새들이 가장 위대한 동물들의 왕이라고 생각했습니다. 얼마나 대단하면 날개를 주어서 날아가게 할까! 어릴때 아버지의 우산을 들고 창문에서 뛰어내릴정도로 자유롭게 날아다니는 새들을 저는 매우 흠모했습니다. 그렇다면 우리 인간은 왜 이렇게 다른것인지, 한국사람이라면 짜장면과 짬뽕을 두고 고민을 안해보신 분은 없을겁니다. 인간은 왜 이리도 복잡하게 사는지. 왜 우리는 스스로 생각할수 있는 능력이 주어져있고 항상 선택을 해야하는 위치에 있을는건지? 도대체 이것은 무엇을 의미하는것인지? 1년 전, 약 4년동안 혈압약을 복용하고있던 저는 우리의 신체에 많은 관심을 갖게 돠었습니다. 특히 우리몸의 재생능력에 관해 공부를 많이했습니다. 우리몸은 생길 병의 치유방법을 이미 알고있는듯, 그 재생에 필요한 물질들을 즉각발동시켜서 치료함을 알게되었고  저의 고혈압도 쉽게 음식조절로 고치게 되었습니다. 그러나 아무리 식사조절을 잘해도 엄청난 스트래스를 받고 나면 다시 혈압이 올라감을 체험했습니다. 강아지가 오로지 주인의 기분을 살피듯 우리의 몸도 우리의 마음에 따라 컨디션을 바꾸는 것 같았습니다. 그러다가 인간 게놈 프로젝트 결과에 관해 읽게 되었고 많은...

  Since childhood, I have always been a child full of questions—more than most. I often wondered: Why are we born? What does it mean to live? What is the true meaning of death? Observing nature, I noticed that every living being has a clear purpose and follows its path effortlessly. Sea turtles, for example, hatch on the shores of Japan and instinctively navigate 8,000 miles across the open ocean, without a GPS or any guide, to the western coasts of North America—California and Mexico. And then, as if by an unseen force, they return to Japan when they are grown. As science advances, we continue to uncover incredible mysteries and miracles of nature. As a child, I believed that birds were the greatest creatures in the world. How extraordinary they must be to have been given wings to fly! I admired them so much that I once tried to jump out of a window with my father’s umbrella, hoping to soar as freely as they did. But if nature is so straightforward in its purpose, why do humans ...