Ilchi Lee's Blog, page 26

Ease Your Pain with These Two Important Questions You Should Always Keep in Mind

Physical pain and emotional pain can originate from what we carry in our mind. Ask yourself these questions to check your vibrations.

Are you feeling physical or emotional pain right now? If you are, you may want to do some exercises, meditations, or get treated by a professional. But I would also suggest you first ask yourself whether there is someone you hate or resent.

When trust disappears and resentment develops in personal relationships, negative patterns arise in the brain, and the brain’s life (qi) energy contracts. This creates a ripple effect in the body and causes emotional trauma.

Since the brain and body are connected, this may also lead to physical trauma. You may first notice it in your stomach. The brain and stomach are most sensitive and responsive to each other, so problems often come first to the stomach. That’s why we may have a stomachache or other digestive issues or feel anxiety in negative situations.

We’re Made of the Energy of Nature

Having the character of soil, the earth energy of the stomach dries up in these situations. Nutrients in the soil cause trees to grow. If the stomach doesn’t have enough earth energy, the liver, with its wood energy, also weakens. The five elemental energies found in the body and all nature—wood, fire, earth, metal, and water—each affect a corresponding bodily organ, which support and balance each other.

These energies originate first in the mind. So, having a loving mind creates positive energy that invigorates the body and makes it healthier.

What Can We Do?

If you’re feeling anxious about something or are in pain, then, you can quickly determine its cause by checking your mind. Ask yourself, “How have I continued to show love and care for myself? How have I continued to show love and care to others and in what I do?”

Everyone’s heart and mind will open if they show such devotion. If we want to love, we first need to be dedicated to love. On the other hand, our body will hurt and our love will inevitably dry up if we never show love or care.

Those who commit to love and care for themselves and others create positive vibrations of energy through their mind, to their bodies, and out to the world, inevitably improving their interpersonal relationships. This is the formula for developing love inside you. And love is the first step to healing pain and trauma.

So, when we are in pain, we can ask ourselves:

First, is there someone I hate and resent?
Second, how have I loved and cared for myself and other people?

Looking at ourselves this way will help us clear away negativity and open ourselves up to giving ourselves the love and devotion we need to be happy and healthy.

Related PostsLove Yourself to Heal YourselfFive Element Theory BasicsFive Elements Nature Meditation: Wood for Growth and Change[Video] The Human Body and the Five ElementsFall in Love with YourselfFeatured Video

 

[Video] Q&A with Ilchi Lee on Sex, Marriage, and Relationships on Brain Education TV

Ilchi Lee joined Linda Yoonjin Suh and Gabi Petrylaite of Brain Education TV for a YouTube live on September 14, 2021 to answer questions about sex, marriage, and relationships.

Three main questions were answered:
1. There are some people on a spiritual path who experience shame and guilt when sexual desire arises and especially when they give in to such desires. What are your thoughts on practicing sex and spirituality? Can we experience both together? In other words, can we have a healthy relationship with sex, and if so, how?

2. The divorce rate around the world is over 50%. What are your thoughts on why so many marriages end in divorce when people get married in the first place to live a long, happy life together with their partner? Is there anything we can do to lower this statistic and have a great, thriving marriage? How can we create a happy family environment for couples as well as for the children?

3. How can we trust and stay open with people especially when we’ve been hurt and traumatized in the past? It’s easy to know in my head that I should stay open and trust in order to find love, but it’s very difficult to do so. How can I trust and love people once again?

Ilchi Lee also took a question from the chat posted by “Emma”:
What do you think about the energy of the chakra systems connecting through sex?

Ilchi Lee’s answers expanded on the nature of relationships and how sex and spirituality come into play. Watch and see how much more there is to sex than you may have imagined.

Related PostsThree Phrases for Better RelationshipsImproving Family RelationshipsMeditation for Giving Gratitude to Our ParentsConnecting with Yourself is More Important Than Anything ElseTo Love Others, Love Yourself First

 

Find Peace Deep in Your Brain

[Photo by twenty20photos via Envato Elements]

Inner peace can be found not in our thoughts and emotions, but beyond them in the automatic and subconscious processes of our brain.

This week, there’s been a meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Leaders from around the world have been discussing how to work together to make the world healthier and more peaceful. The International Day of Peace also passed. While many serious issues need to be tackled on a global scale, each of us can work on our own peace. If more of us carry peace within us, it will become easier to make that peace extend to our families, communities, and the world.

I think the key to peace lies in our brain, specifically in our brain stem. Think about it. When you feel less than peaceful, what is going on? It usually means our thoughts and emotions are turbulent. We may also feel unsettled or uncertain of who we are or where we’re going. Or we may find ourselves jealous of others or resistant to change.

Emotions involve the domain of the paleocortex in the brain, an evolutionarily older layer of the cerebral cortex that includes the amygdala. Thoughts arise from the neocortex, a newer, outer layer of the cerebral cortex involved in higher-order brain functions such as cognition and language. The brain stem, on the other hand, is not part of the cerebral cortex. Arising just above the spinal cord, it evolved before many other parts of the brain and helps regulate the automatic processes of the body such as heartrate and breathing. The brain stem may be called the seat of our subconscious mind.

Enjoy Ilchi Lee’s blog posts?

Keep up-to-date with weekly wisdom delivered directly to your email inbox.

Sign Up Now

When we are faced with a situation, emotions of like or dislike or a response of anger or fear may arise in the paleocortex, often triggered by remembered information from the past. When that happens, we could either just act on those emotions, or we could control our own behavior with our thoughts, telling ourselves, “Don’t do it, even if you’d like to,” or, “You have to do it, even if you don’t want to.” That control arises in the neocortex.

Many people live trapped in a ping pong game of control between the paleocortex and neocortex. We have no inner peace as long as the paleocortex and neocortex are confronting each other. But we can escape from this tug of war if we engage the brain stem.

How to Use the Brain Stem

Action is one of the easiest ways for our consciousness to enter the brain stem. If we make a choice that goes against old habits and beliefs, we experience resistance from our emotions and the circuits in our brain formed by our past habits. But if we continue to act according to that choice, at first by using our thoughts and our will, we can overcome our resistant emotions. Then that choice enters into the brain stem. At that point, the brain moves itself instead of being constantly and deliberately being forced to move by thought.

The thoughts of the neocortex can control a brain already moved by emotion and desire, but that is after those feelings have developed. That’s why, when we work to change our habits using our thoughts, it seems to work for a while, but then our old habits come back when we’re not focusing.

Brain stem choices, though, move the brain. They rally all of our automatic and subconscious processes in service of such choices without our realizing and before we can react emotionally. When we are “in the flow” and feel at peace and as one with everything, then we are moving in accordance with our brain stem choices.

Take this simple example of the power of taking action. Say we choose to rub our hands together and take action; that is the neocortex stage. Then, when we feel our hands growing warmer, we’re passing through the paleocortex. If we keep rubbing, overcoming any desire to stop, we may find ourselves just rubbing our hands without thinking about it at all. At this point, our consciousness has reached the brain stem. In the instant we think, “I’ve reached the brain stem,” we have come out again to the neocortex.

This sequence is also the process of going into a deep meditative state. This state of being can exist in stillness or it can exist in movement. A qigong master can move without thought. An athlete who is “in the zone” moves with their brain stem as well. Such a state of no thoughts, no emotions is a state of peace, as well as a state of moment-by-moment manifestation.

A Meditation for Peace

Try what I’ve named the Chunmun (Heaven’s Gate) Meditation to get a deeper sense of your brain and gain a sense of groundedness and peace.

First, find a small but heavy-feeling flat stone or other unbreakable object.Sit in a chair or on the floor and straighten your back.Place the rock at the top of your head.Rest your hands comfortably on your knees or let them hang naturally at your sides.Maintaining this posture, close your eyes and concentrate on your brain and body.Feel the weight of the object coming down from your head, passing your chest, and sinking into your lower abdomen.Straighten your body and spine as you concentrate on your breathing.Feel your attention, previously focused outward or on your thoughts, gradually coming into your body. Feel your mind growing calm and tranquil, your mouth filling with saliva, your breathing deepening. Try to feel your brain state. Is it more peaceful now?When you get the feeling that your sense for peace and equilibrium has been restored, take the rock from on top of your head and place it on the floor.With your eyes closed, breathe as you concentrate on maintaining your posture. Try to feel how you are changed, comparing your present state with how you felt before you did Chunmun Meditation.

Once you place the object on your head, all your senses and nerves will focus to keep the rock from dropping; our brains are that sensitive and agile. The more all of your brain is engaged, the more your consciousness can drop into your brain stem.

Inner peace cannot be found in our thoughts or emotions. It’s only when we go beyond them that we escape from their turbulence and become one with the essence of life.

Related Posts[Video] Brain Meditation To Boost Your Immune SystemUse Vibration to Refresh Your BrainA Method for Making the Best Use of Your Brain[Video] All Change Begins in the BrainYour Divine LightFeatured Video

 

To Take Control of Your Stress and Life, Make Your Soul Bright

[Photo by twenty20photos via Envato Elements]

We don’t need to be overwhelmed by life if our soul is brilliantly bright.

Do you feel as if you’re living by brute force? When you feel tired or sick, or just out of sorts, maybe the only thing you feel like you have the time or energy to do is push through it. You are getting through your day, taking care of your job or your partner or your kids and pets. Meanwhile, the pain and exhaustion continues to build up inside.

Eventually, as you know, underlying stress and fatigue can turn into a physical illness or emotional outburst. Taking a vacation, whether for a night or a week, can diffuse your stress for a time and help you recharge. But getting away physically or mentally doesn’t address the underlying issues. Regular self-care such as eating well, sleeping well, and exercising, however, can help prevent stress and make you capable of handling any stress you do feel.

I think, though, there is another level of managing our stress and our body and emotions. Besides our physical body, I’ve found that we also have an energy body and a spiritual body. In order to not be dragged along by life or to trudge through our responsibilities, we need to know about these other bodies, understand them, and take care of them.

Taking Care of Our Three Bodies

So what is an energy body? Put simply, it is all the life energy that flows through the body, what in Asian philosophy we call qi, chi, or prana. This energy is what is addressed in practices such as acupuncture and qigong. Life energy and the energy body extends several feet beyond the physical body. This corresponds to what people call an aura.

While we talk about energy as a separate element, we’ve also realized that energy composes the physical body and the spiritual body as well.

When energy produces thoughts and consciousness, we call that body of information the spiritual body. The spiritual body also includes what I call our soul.

Our soul is the energy and consciousness that carries on independently of the physical body. While our physical body gets sick, ages, and dies, our soul does not.

Enjoy Ilchi Lee’s blog posts?

Keep up-to-date with weekly wisdom delivered directly to your email inbox.

Sign Up Now

Our three bodies are interwoven with each other while we’re alive, and so they affect each other. That’s why to be truly healthy and happy, we need to take care of both body and soul. We can do this by taking care of our energy, and in turn, our physical body and emotions will also be healthier and more positive.

The healthiest state of our soul is gwangmyung. Gwangmyung is a state in which our soul’s energy becomes brilliantly bright. It is so strong and bright that it chases away dark, negative energy from our three bodies. Making our three bodies gwangmyung makes them the healthiest and happiest they can be.

We can make our energy bright and strong partly by doing physical exercise and giving ourselves positive messages, encouragement, and good news. Another part involves taking care of our seven chakras—places in our body where energy gathers and creates a vortex—and making Water Up, Fire Down energy circulation in the body. Having this natural, healthy energy flow can be accomplished through meditation, breathing, and other energy practices.

Try These Exercises for Your Chakras and for Water Up, Fire Down

Chakra Sound Healing & Visualization

Simple Vibration Exercise for Water Up, Fire Down

When we make ourselves gwangmyung with these exercises, we are activating the inner love that’s independent of any external conditions—the ultimate, unconditional love. Unleashing this love brings out boundless creativity that lets us create the lives we want.

Being gwangmyung also lets us hear the wisdom of our soul. Our soul can tell us all the ways we can live with love in every moment. In this way, we can create our health, our lives, and our love by ourselves. We can truly love ourselves and can feel that our heart is becoming more and more filled with love.

Our soul can tell us all the ways we can live with love in every moment. In this way, we can create our health, our lives, and our love by ourselves
Click To Tweet

When we know how to love ourselves, all loneliness disappears, and we become one with ourselves. That’s how our soul is awakened and becomes one with the physical and energy bodies. It can communicate with the physical body through energy. By awakening and listening to our soul, we stop being dragged about by life and start turning our lives into ones filled with love and health.

Related PostsGive Yourself the Gift of Light with MeditationI Wish You a Year of Creating New Hope with Your Inner LightJust Love Yourself[Video] Emotional Energy and ConsciousnessMake Your Brain Bright!Related Video

 

[Video] What’s the Most Important Law of Energy for a Healthy Life?

Follow Ilchi Lee as he guides you in simple exercises to make Water Up, Fire Down circulation in your body. Why do you need Water Up, Fire Down? This balanced energy flow gives you a cool head and a warm belly. It means your food is digesting well, your blood is circulating well, and you’re full of energy. It also means you feel calm and clear-headed. Learn more from this clip of an online lecture Ilchi Lee gave to some of his students in the United States.

Watch all of Ilchi Lee’s videos about Water Up, Fire Down ►

Subscribe and watch more of Ilchi Lee’s talks and guided exercises on his YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/IlchiLee.

Learn more about Ilchi Lee’s book, Water Up Fire Down ►
 

Ilchi Lee’s 3 Exercises for Better Memory and Focus

[Photo 110144667 / Kids Clapping © Pressmaster | Dreamstime.com}

Improve your memory by improving your focus with these fun brain-body games.

How often do you experience a “senior moment”? While we may feel particularly concerned about our memory as we get older, memory skill can be developed at any age. Our kids and other students in our lives may also benefit from strengthening their memory, even at a time when almost anything can be looked up within seconds.

In fact, easy access and constant exposure to an endless stream of information may be one underlying issue. It may hinder us from forming a memory in the first place.

All of this information may make it harder for our brains to discern what’s worth remembering. And it may make us form a habit of not paying much attention to all of the information, or even on what we’re doing. Or our attention may be split between multiple screens or between what we’re doing and what we’re watching.

To develop our memory, we can start by strengthening our focus. Try the fun brain games at https://www.ilchi.com/ilchi-lees-3-ex...
Click To Tweet

So to develop our memory, we can start by strengthening our focus. We can train ourselves to pay attention to information or sensory stimuli moment by moment. In other words, we can be mindful.

Here are three exercises “kids” can do to practice paying attention in a fun way from my book, Power Brain Kids: 12 Easy Lessons to Ignite Your Child’s Potential.

1-2-3-2-1 Clapping GameSit on the floor.Clap your hands once in front of the chest and then once more on the floor.Clap once again in front of the chest, and then twice on the floor.Clap once again in front of the chest, and then three times on the floor.Now clap once in front of the chest, and twice on the floor.And again, clap once in front of the chest and once on the floor.Continue to follow the 1-2-3-2-1-2-3-2-1 sequence of clapping, seeing how long you can maintain the rhythm. To add a challenge, try slowly increasing the speed.

Alternative: Try this clapping game in pairs, clapping each other’s palms instead of the floor.

3-6-9 Counting GameSit or stand across from a partner. Or, if three or more are participating, stand or sit in a circle.Each person counts a number, starting with 1.If your number contains a 3, 6, or 9, you must clap instead of saying the number (e.g., 9, 16, 32, etc.). If the number has more than one 3, 6, or 9, or a combination of these numbers (e.g., 66, 93, 36, etc.), you must clap twice.Energy Ball Meditation

Prepare children for this exercise with some stretching and relaxation. This activity is also a great way to relax and calm the mind before bed. It can also be used to ease test anxiety.

Sit comfortably with your back straight, preferably in the cross-legged position. Relax your shoulders and tilt your head slightly downward. Place your palms facing upward on the knees.Close your eyes and focus on the surface of the palms. Feel any sensation on the surface of the palms, perhaps tingling or warmth.Gently lift the palms up from the knees and slowly bring the palms closer together until they are about two inches apart.Focus on the sensation between the palms. Inhale and slowly draw the hands apart, feeling the sensation growing between the palms.Exhale and feel the energy “ball” shrink between your hands.Continue to follow the breath as you grow and shrink the energy ball.

See more Brain Education exercises for kids in Power Brain Kids, and learn how to have the best energy flow for memory formation in Water Up Fire Down: An Energy Principle for Creating Calmness, Clarity, and a Lifetime of Health>.

Related Posts[Video] Ilchi Lee’s 7 Energy Exercises for Water Up, Fire Down for Health and Happiness EverydayWhich of the Three Kinds of Meditation Is Right for You?Ilchi Lee’s Two Essential Ways to Deal with Anxiety6 Tips for Making Each Moment Matter[Video] Empty Your Mind with Gibberish MeditationRelated Video

 

You Absolutely Are Not Inadequate

Nature flows ceaselessly. It never stops. The ocean moves endlessly. The air also moves without stopping. All energy is moving ceaselessly.

At some point, we were separated from that flow of nature. When we reconnect with it, we can receive a lot of energy, and we can feel the great love of nature.

A soul once trapped in many emotions and in the systems of society can feel true freedom by communing with nature.

Before there was language, there was energy, and there was life. Nature is life itself. We can connect with the infinite energy in nature. In the infinite energy of nature, we can find our infinite value. This realization and value was lost, but we can always return to it when we let ourselves flow with nature.

We may often feel somehow inadequate in our daily lives. Once we’ve found that endless value, though, our inadequacy vanishes. We’re able to feel a fullness, sensing, “Oh, I’m whole!” The power of creation comes from there.

The power of nature is found in creativity. When we find that original creativity, we realize, “Oh, this was who I really am!”

Our parents can’t teach us that, and they don’t teach it in schools, either. We find and discover it for ourselves. It’s our true value.

I hope you always remember that you absolutely are not inadequate. If you have felt inadequate, it’s because the education you received and the systems of society taught it to you. Please do not judge yourself based on the standards of the world. They’re not perfect assessments.

It’s enough for each of us to be who we are. We don’t need to do things exactly like other people. It’s enough for us to discover and realize the value we have. I hope for such a world.

Related PostsWhat Is the True Value of Human Beings?Discover Your True ValueBy What Values Do You Live?If You Want to Be More Loving, Connect with Nature Through MeditationFlow with the Great Wave of LifeRelated Video

 

[Video] Q&A with Ilchi Lee and Three Generations: How to Use Your Brain During Stressful Times

This month, I answered questions live on my Korean YouTube channel, Ilchi Lee’s Brain TV. Three people representing three generations asked one question each. I had a lot of fun responding online while I was quarantined in New Zealand as part of their arrival procedures.

I hope you enjoy my answers to these questions:

If a genie appeared, what would you wish for?Can you really control your heart rate with meditation?How can we address the frustrations of our depressed society in the pandemic era?Related PostsIlchi Lee’s 3 Easy Energy Hacks for Managing Your Stress Every Day that You Can Start Right NowIs Your Energy Strong Enough to Withstand Stress?Suitable Stress Is a Vitamin for GrowthThis Is Our ChanceWhat Should We Live for in Our Later Years

 

Join Ilchi Lee for a Live Q&A on Sex, Marriage, and Relationships

On September 14, 2021 at 3pm PT / 6pm ET, Ilchi Lee will be live on the Brain Education TV YouTube channel. He’ll be answering questions on the topics of sex, marriage, and relationships from a spiritual point of view.

Here answers like how sexuality and spirituality can coexist, how we can created a happy environment for couples and children that lasts a lifetime, and how we can keep our hearts open after we’ve been hurt.

Join that day for a chance to chat live and ask questions. Set your calendars and set a YouTube reminder here on the video page.

Join the Live Here Related Posts[Video] Live Q&A with Ilchi Lee on the Awakened Brain on Brain Education TVNew YouTube Channel Makes Brain Education FunIlchi Lee Book Talk on Connect Says “Aloha!”Three Phrases for Better RelationshipsImproving Family Relationships

 

7 Ways to Stay Motivated to Keep Learning and Growing Your Whole Life

[Photo by gpointstudio via Envato Elements]

Motivation is something we can choose and create each moment by changing our energy.

When we chop down a tree and look down at the top of the stump, we can see a series of concentric circles that indicate each year of that tree’s life. From a seed to its final form, the tree never stopped growing, and we can see visible evidence of its development.

Like the tree, we too can grow each year. Continuous growth, even until the last year of our lives, helps keep our minds clear and sharp and our bodies strong. It also satisfies our soul and brightens our spirit.

Of course, nothing that’s good for us is easy, is it? It can be hard to be motivated to always be growing. We may be discouraged by too many doubts and fears or not enough time and energy. Or we may feel too comfortable with our existing habits or in our current environment. And pain and discomfort often accompany growth.

So how can we have enough motivation to overcome these obstacles? Here are some ways to stay motivated to keep growing and learning.

1. Have a clear goal.

Unless we first feel the need to grow, we can’t even start. One way to gather the motivation to make a change is to find something we really want. That wanting can carry us over our inertia and the challenges in our environment. To help us get started, it’s best to clearly define our goal. Give it a deadline and determine how much you want to accomplish in that time. For example, you can decide that you want to be able to say five sentences in French by the end of this month.

2. Feel your goal.

Instead of just knowing what we want, it’s more powerful to feel it. Specifically, we can feel the desires of our heart. I’ve experienced that our heart is where what I call our soul is situated in the body. Feeling what our heart wants makes that desire thrilling and revitalizing. We feel passionate about what we’re doing. And knowing where to feel it means we can always go back and feel it again when we lose motivation.

3. Change your energy.

The feeling of what we want in our hearts, like all feelings, is energy. Although we have a feeling of what we want, the rest of the energy inside us may not support it. In fact, it may be in opposition to our heart’s desires.

When that’s the case, we may find ourselves doing things that prevent us from growing and changing. They take us away from our goals and may even drag us in the opposite direction. This situation may cause us to lose motivation even more.

To get back on track and rekindle our motivation, we can remind ourselves that lacking motivation or not doing the things we need or want to do is not a personal defect. It’s not our personality, nor our sin. It’s simply our energy state, and our energy state can always be changed.

Changing our energy can be done in a moment. We can breathe, smile, laugh, dance, listen to motivating music, read inspirational messages, or move our bodies vigorously.

To get back on track and rekindle our motivation, we can remind ourselves that lacking motivation or not doing the things we need or want to do is not a personal defect. It’s not our personality, nor our sin. It’s simply our energy state,…
Click To Tweet

4. Make the choice to be motivated every moment.

To keep an energy state, however, requires continuous practice and choice. In each moment, we can see our energy state and choose to change it. And if we don’t, we have the next moment to try again. In essence, a lifetime of growth is actually a lifetime of changing our energy.

But if we stick with it and don’t give up when something gets too hard, joy starts to develop. We’ll feel joyful because we’ll see our success, and because the moments of changing our energy will have accumulated. With time, it becomes easier to change our energy because we’ve had practice. We’ve also built up reserves of positive energy that help us maintain a good energy state.

5. Give yourself encouragement.

Motivation is a skill we can learn and develop. Rather than beating ourselves up about what we didn’t do, we can encourage ourselves and show ourselves love. For example, we can say encouraging words to ourselves and change our self-talk from negative to positive. And we grateful for any motivation or accomplishments we have. We can even give ourselves a reward whenever we stay motivated for a certain period of time.

6. Just start.

We don’t need to have everything figured out to start something new. Once we start, we’ll understand what we need and how to do it better. Starting something as quickly as we can will help prevent our doubts and fears from keeping us from changing.

7. Acknowledge your limitless potential.

In the midst of discouragement or lack of motivation, we may not feel our potential has no limit, despite how many times we’ve heard we can be anything we want to be. But pure, unbounded potential is actually responsible for everything that exists, including ourselves. We can access that potential with our mind—our conscious awareness—and we can bring that potential into the physical world through our words and actions.

Enjoy Ilchi Lee’s blog posts?

Keep up-to-date with weekly wisdom delivered directly to your email inbox.

Sign Up Now

We can bring motivation to ourselves by the way we manage our energy. If we stop and feel ourselves, especially our energy, we can even find the motivation to make ourselves motivated by changing our energy.

Related PostsIlchi Lee’s 3 Easy Energy Hacks for Managing Your Stress Every Day that You Can Start Right NowTake an Energy State Quiz10 Reasons to Keep Educating YourselfDo You Hear the Messages in Your Heart?6 Tips for Making Each Moment MatterRelated Video