To the Editor of Rolling Stone Magazine,

I am Dave Plummer from Albuquerque, NM and I am writing in response to the article in your February 5, 2010 issue about Dahn Yoga, its affiliates and its founder.    There is typically a copy of your magazine in the lobby at work and occasionally I will scan it for interesting articles.  I am a senior scientist working for TASC, Inc supporting the Air Force Airborne Laser Program doing advanced modeling and analysis for the High Energy Laser System.  I have a Doctor of Science degree from M.I.T. and have been supporting Air Force High Energy Laser research for the last 35 years.  You could say I have had a very successful career and am well respected in the High Energy Laser community.   I was very disappointed when I picked up the above mentioned issue and found the distorted view I read concerning Dahn Yoga.  I would like to share my own personal experience which is much different from what I read in your article.

If I had read your article 2 years ago, I cannot say what my life would be like today.  I have great concern about how many other people who are currently suffering what I suffered will decide not to try Dahn Yoga as a holistic healing technique because of your misguided article.  I became acquainted with DahnYoga from a long time friend who gave me a gift certificate for Christmas 2007.  She felt that the practice of Dahn Yoga would be helpful for my IBS, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia-like symptoms that had forced me to be on total disability for the previous 6 months.  This diagnosis of stress related chronic fatigue came after many tests including MRIs, Cat Scans, and numerous blood tests as well as Psychiatric evaluations.  I was able to recover some functionality through psychotropic drugs but a cure was seemingly far away.

When I went to redeem my certificate, I felt hope even reading the information on the front window.   From the very first class I found improved energy and vitality.  Of course, it faded quickly, but with continued classes and special healing sessions and programs like Shim Sung and Dahn Healer School, I made remarkable improvements to the point that on 1 Jan 2009, I was authorized by my doctor to return to work full time.  The secret to my recovery was getting to know myself better, understanding my choices and Dahn Yoga exercises which helped me connect naturally to my body to circulate energy.  With what I learned about myself, I discovered meaning for my life and understanding of my spiritual nature that was so lacking in my Catholic upbringing.  The constant pain I had been suffering, day in and day out, made me seriously consider suicide before I met Dahn Yoga.  So I literally owe my life to Dahn Yoga.

I have read nearly every book Ilchi Lee wrote and feel a strong attraction to his teachings and his vision to heal the earth and create peace by awakening humanity to the simple fact that we are all connected, that we are all one, and that the divine is within each of us.  Within a couple months of becoming a member, I too became aware of a lot of negative information that can be found on the internet about Dahn Yoga being a cult and some of the allegations that former employees had written.  For me, I could only go by what my body and mind and spirit reflect from my own experiences.  I know that what I felt was real.  And the fact that I have had no recurrences of any chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia-like pains is the only proof I need to dismiss these claims.  All I saw were dedicated instructors wanting only to help me in my healing process.  Your demeaning article on Dahn Yoga and Ilchi Lee causes me great sorrow and sadness because I know the truth from my own experiences, and I have concern that great harm will come from thoughtless reporters simply exaggerating falsehoods for only material gain.

Many new members can be shaken by negative information even if later it is proven in a court of law to be false.  I know this from my former wife’s reactions to the internet misinformation.  She was not willing to experience for herself but willing to accept internet information as truth.  I have read a few other spiritual authors including Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, Neale Donald Walsh and Silvia Browne and they all speak the same truth as Ilchi Lee.  I see Ilchi Lee as someone seeking to make this world a better place for each of us here now and our children and our children’s children.

Dahn Yoga and brain education are the best training methods for achieving health, happiness and peace I have found.   The only difference between a good, widely beneficial cult and a widely beneficial culture is the number of people who embrace its values.  Dahn Yoga is in the business of contributing to the restoration of Humanity and Earth to health, happiness and peace.

Sincerely,

David Plummer
Albuquerque Dahn Yoga Center, NM