For Brain Education and Peace
Audio CD
Here is a beautiful encounter between Ilchi Lee and future leaders of the world, originally a guided training focusing on finding your rhythm of life. This audio CD is based on an enthusiastic lecture to youths from six countries gathered at a leadership conference in Sedona, AZ.
“It is now time to acknowledge the ultimate and core value that is capable of encompassing and superceding the partial and prejudicial orientation of the current value systems of the world. It is the one that can become a fulcrum point that will allow balance, harmony, and peaceful coexistence of all people. This is the Earth. The Earth cannot be claimed by any one group or organization regardless of its size or power. If humanity can be said to share one collective vision, it would be peace on Earth. This collective vision may also be our hope for survival in the very near future. To realize that we are all Earth-Humans…this is the key.”
“My sincerest wish is to provide tools which aid in the recovery of education, relationships, and harmony between humanity and nature. We carry a deep wish to create a healthier, happier, and more peaceful society. I believe in the power of this wish. I believe that the people who nurture this wish by the choices and actions that stem from their courageous insights make history. The most valuable legacy that we can pass on to future generations is the recovery of our humanity so that they can experience a deeper and more meaningful existence.”
“The most precious gift we can give our children is to let questions of the purpose of their existence grow naturally in them, and respond to their questions with the wisdom we have gained from our life experiences. Of course, our answer doesn’t automatically become theirs. They will each find their own path in life. It may be vastly different from ours, or it could be one that is an extension of our experience. In either case, having a sincere exchange about our passion and life purpose gives our children confidence. Their trust and respect for us will grow.”
“Many people feel that they can only be happy and peaceful when they are given the right circumstances and conditions. However, we can be at peace and be content in this moment now, at this place now. This is our choice. There is nothing that is blocking this choice. Only our thoughts are obscuring this choice. Why can’t we be content and happy without conditions? Enlightenment is a choice that continues from instant to instant, from moment to moment.”
“Transience is the most general phenomenon of the cosmos. Change is the only changeless reality. Seasons, livelihoods, personal relationships—all of these will change. Our experiences in life are transient and relative. Only death is certain, completing the cycle of life that begins with birth. By meditating upon this truth, we recognize that we, too, are manifestations of transience. When we understand this teaching deeply, we become humble and sincere. We treasure each moment and endeavor to do our best. We feel less stress and become more accepting of the diverse phenomena of life. If something ‘good’ happens we can feel the joy and be thankful. But we know that the conditions for the situation will not last forever, and we do not become attached to the feeling. We will simply consider every moment and every experience as a blessing.”
The brain is the beginning and end of your life. As your brain waves are first activated, your life is activated as well. When your brain waves cease, your life comes to an end. Your whole life is recorded and stored in your brain as conscious and subconscious memory. In addition, your brain contains the history of millions of years of evolution, as well as the characteristics and abilities that are unique to human beings.
The future of all humanity depends on how well we use our brains. The brain is the greatest common denominator of humankind. If we all use our brain to pursue health, happiness, and peace, the lives we and our offspring experience on Earth will become much more meaningful and beautiful.
All the work of my life has been founded on the realization that the power and potential of our brains are phenomenal beyond any ordinary imagination. Thus everything I wish to share is based on the principle of using our brains well.
Many neuroscientists take the position that we are our brains. There is a truth to this statement, but in practice we must live from the more obvious perspective that we have brains. The point is that we must use our brains to have experience, to create, and to interact with others.
Psychologists have long recognized that our conscious egos are engaging only a tiny fraction of the total information being processed by our brains. I encourage you to regard your unconscious brain as the wellspring of creativity. Therefore I offer the following principles for using your brain well.
Unlike other parts of our bodies, our brains are encased in the hard shell of our skulls – so we can neither touch them nor see them directly. However, our brains are made up of many areas that control different parts of our bodies, and different areas of our brains interact very closely with each other. Consequently, by moving our bodies and stimulating our senses, we can activate and integrate wide areas of our brains.
We can stimulate our brains through our bodies. All information we receive through our five senses, all actions accompanied by movement of bones and muscles, and all the foods we consume daily affect our brains. Appropriate exercise increases the flow of oxygen and production of growth factors, contributing to the growth of new brain cells. It also increases the production of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin, which play an important role in effective cognitive functioning.
Most of us have fixed patterns of behavior and exercise. That is why we end up habitually using certain parts of our bodies, without even realizing it. Typically, our brains access only those parts associated with our customary behaviors. If we use muscles we rarely use, and move our bodies in directions in we seldom move them, idle brain areas awaken and are activated. Yoga, Asian martial arts, dancing, etc. all include many novel bodily movements that are very good for stimulating the brain.
We cannot produce good results, no matter how excellent our designs and plans, if our bodies fail to support us with sufficient strength and energy to carry them out. Fortune and opportunity are available to everyone. Some people are able to seize those opportunities; some are not.
Work to develop a body full of vitality. Make it so that your body can support the goals you set for yourself. Keeping in good shape cannot be done by thought alone. It requires constant training of muscles, bones, and heart. Staying in shape not only promotes good health, but it is also an effective way to develop self-control, responsibility, willpower, and integrity.
In the process of improving your physical condition, you can develop the power to look at yourself more closely and deeply, and at the same time to observe yourself objectively. This can lead to new discoveries of your true nature. It can also develop in you a new perspective that broadens your field of vision with respect to life’s possibilities and what you really want to choose.