Ilchi Lee's Blog, page 77

Bird of the Soul Essential Oil Roll On

Ilchi Lee Explores 6th Consciousness

In this insightful talk at Boston University, Ilchi Lee discusses awakened consciousness and demonstrates the properties of magnetic energy within our bodies.

Raise Your Consciousness by Changing Your Energy

During my tour last year for my film and book Change, I had the pleasure of stopping in Boston and speaking at the Tsai Performance Center at Boston University. Here in this clip from the lecture, I emphasize the need to develop our consciousness and offer Magnetic Meditation as a good way to start. Take a look and hear how to improve your energy to raise your consciousness.

Time to Grow

The earth is a training ground for human completion.

Human beings have three characteristics: an animal nature, a human nature, and a divine nature.

Our animal nature is easily expressed on earth, and our human nature often shines through when we build new things and are kind to others, but our divine nature often remains hidden.

To be complete, to be free and happy, we must integrate all three natures during our time on earth. When a majority of the people on the planet do this, we will welcome an era of spiritual civilization.

Expressing our divine nature means developing our character and becoming people of strong character and integrity. Such people are the real heroes of society.

To express your divine nature, you need a vision for your life. With a vision, even when times are tough, hope, passion, and joy will be with you.

On this first day of spring, let’s begin again whatever dreams we may have left behind.

 

Ilchi Lee

 

A New School for a New Era Begins

On March 4, 2014, I attended the entrance ceremony for the new alternative school I founded, the Benjamin School for Character Education in South Korea. Twenty-eight students have enrolled for the first term of what will be primarily an online school combined with field trips and gatherings. This school is one answer I’ve found for the reform that is sorely needed in education.

In the current era, more than prodigies in mathematics, science, athletics, or art, I believe we need prodigies of good character and integrity. People who have polished their character and integrity until they shine are the ones who can be the real heroes the world needs to solve its problems. I think that, when people have the correct understanding of the meaning of human character, there will be a solution.

The computer operating systems (COS) that came out in the 20th century made our lifestyles much more convenient, however, they had negative side effects as well. To counteract the alienation and materialism of modern society that thwarts our humanistic values, we need to use our brains well, so I think for the 21st century, knowing how to use our Brain Operating System (BOS) is very important. When we use our BOS for selfish desires or greed, we are not putting it to good use. However, our brain gets excited and stimulated when we use it with the Hongik spirit, or the desire to do what is best for all people and the earth. The key to developing our character is in our brain, and the key to using our brain best is developing our character.

Because Brain Education is a study and a method of how to use our BOS and uncover our Hongik spirit, it is the foundation of the school’s curriculum. Brain Education has already been recognized as an academic discipline by the government of the Republic of Korea. So far we’ve made bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees in it, but the Benjamin School for Character Education is designed for high school students.

This new school is named in honor of Benjamin Franklin because I believe he is a role model of self-development; he made a commitment to developing his character that he maintained throughout his entire lifetime. Although he was involved in politics, even as a politician he honored the values he established for his life; and while he was involved in many activities, he kept the completion of his character as his goal.

A school that has the completion of human character rather than money, fame, or power as its standard, a school for practicing the Hongik philosophy in everyday life, which the 21st century earth wants, a world where the earth becomes our very school, the kind of era in which the earth becomes a training grounds for human completion is the kind of school and the kind of era we inaugurated that day. As I stood at the podium that morning watching all in attendance, I felt that all of the books I’ve written over the years, all of the methods I developed, and the organizations I created were ultimately for the sake of launching of that school. Although it is a small beginning, it is significant. That moment’s significance and value seemed to be felt by the 28 students, their supportive parents, and all of the eminent guests who cam to bless the occasion. I was honored that former South Korean prime minister Suseong Lee came to the event, as well as people all the way from Japan and many people whom I have always respected.

I believe that a change in awareness brought about by a change in education will be the very start of a new era in which all life is valued and meaningful, and people are free and capable of expressing the Hongik spirit in every aspect of their lives.

Why Do You Suffer?

Life is suffering.

Did you know that?

Maybe you’ve experienced suffering involuntarily in your life

because of a hardship that befell you.

Or maybe you chose suffering

because it was the only way to achieve what you wanted.

Of course, life is not always suffering,

nor is it about suffering.

Yet suffering is there.

What matters is

how we deal with it

and why we deal with it.

When we have the goal

to grow and improve continually,

when we strive to strip away

all that does not serve our deepest wish,

our life purpose,

we meet with resistance.

That resistance is suffering.

Finding our center,

and from its safety,

letting go of our resistance

releases our internal suffering

and buffers us from the effects

of our external circumstances.

And when suffering

is for our growth and vision,

behind and beyond

the discomfort and pain

of the moment

is a light, a joy, and a gladness

that cannot be found

if we spend our lives

avoiding suffering

for the sake of being comfortable.

Life is suffering

and that’s okay

because suffering can be the means

to so much more.

 

Ilchi Lee

 

Goodreads Giveaway of a Heartwarming Illustrated Fable for All Ages

By Michela Mangiaracina

Return to the innocence, support, and love of an idyllic childhood with Bird of the Soul (ISBN 978-1-935127-68-0) by Ilchi Lee, a new illustrated storybook to be published by Best Life Media on April 10, 2014. In the month leading up to the book’s official release, beginning on Tuesday, March 11, the author and publisher will host a Goodreads Giveaway. Go to the giveaway page to enter to win one of of 5 advance copies. The last day to enter is April 10.

The short, heartwarming story in Bird of the Soul comes to life with full-page, hand-painted illustrations by Jisu Han, a South Korean illustrator who has lived the story in her own life. According to Ilchi Lee, the story of Bird of the Soul is everyone’s story.

In the busyness of everyday life, we often lose track of our deepest inner voice, our soul, and as a result, lose much of life’s potential for hope and happiness. Bird of the Soul brings us back to our truest self, which is represented in the story as a sweetly singing bird. In representing the soul as a bird, Lee reminds us that the soul is something with which we can be in close communication and connection.

Following the story is a 21-Day Meditation Journal and attached to the final page is a meditation CD with two meditations that help readers make the story come to life.

Bird of the Soul is available for pre-order on Amazon.com as well as through your local bookstore via IndieBound.org.

Goodreads is a social book recommendation website that launched in 2007. It currently has 25 million members. Its giveaways feature pre-release books that anyone can enter to win by random drawing.

About the Author

Ilchi Lee is an impassioned visionary, educator, mentor, and innovator, as well as a New York Times bestselling author who has penned 36 books, including “The Call of Sedona: Journey of the Heart,” “Change: Realizing Your Greatest Potential,” and “Brain Wave Vibration: Getting Back into the Rhythm of a Happy, Healthy Life.”

For over 30 years, his life’s mission has been to empower people and to help them harness their own creative power and personal potential. To help individuals achieve that goal, he has developed many successful mind-body training methods, including Dahn Yoga and Brain Education. His principles and methods have inspired many people around the world to live healthier and happier lives.

Lee is also a well-respected humanitarian who has been working with the United Nations and other organizations for global peace.

About the Illustrator

Jisu Han is an accomplished illustrator who has worked on various children books, adult fables, and inspirational books. All of her illustrations are hand painted using various media.

About the Publisher

Best Life Media produces energy healing, yoga, and body mind spirit books, CDs, DVDs, and other tools that are both educational and life-enhancing, and designed to support a lifestyle based on continuous personal growth and enrichment. Brain Education System Training (BEST), which serves to better the human condition through a variety of self-development techniques, serves as the underlying inspiration for many of their titles.

Spread Your Wings and Fly

Recently, I came upon this poem I wrote many years ago. I think it still applies today except, rather than seeking to be as a bird, we are finally becoming birds that fly high toward the sun. I hope you can be the bird of your soul in your life.

Golden Bird

Once creatures of the ground,

We were sightless,

Wandering in the dark

Filled with desperation and despair.

Falsely led by greed and shallow hunger,

Burrowing like a bug into the soil,

We lived in a dim world of gloom

Filled with anxiety and fear.

Little peace and happiness existed;

We could not be satisfied,

Unable to share the glory of the sun

Or feel the joy of freedom.

Yearning for truth of light and freedom,

We longed to spread our wings

And fly forth

And greet the grand sight of the open air

With strength and joy in our hearts.

This is why we seek to be

As a bird

With golden wings

Fly forth and share the glory of the sun.

 

Ilchi Lee

 

Get in Gear, Be a Pioneer

If you keep your car in second gear,

you’re not going to get very far very fast.

Moving through life with the same habits and perspectives

is like driving in second gear.

But doing something different

always involves risk and danger.

If you step out into the unknown,

if you take the road less traveled

and face your fear,

you’ll realize your fear

is not as big a deal as you thought.

Then your soul will be free,

and you’ll gain new power.

To live your life free and strong,

be a pioneer.

What will you do differently today?

 

Ilchi Lee

 

My Argo Adventure: Capturing the Pioneer Spirit

Yesterday, I went for a ride on an Argo, an all-terrain amphibious vehicle, which I’ve prepared for the future Earth Citizen School students. This vehicle, which goes off-road and is unafraid of deserts or fields or even streams, symbolizes the pioneer spirit. Instead of taking a path that others have paved, it blazes new trails. I also choose, not the paths that others tell me to take, but make my own way, and that’s the value that I want to teach the students whom I will truly call Earth Citizens.

Of course, danger lurks along new paths. This adventure was no different. With five people riding in this amphibious vehicle, which actually has a maximum capacity of four, it was possible to predict some trouble from this trip. But the problem was that I couldn’t leave anybody behind when everyone had come with high expectations.

When the Argo went into a stream with a current that was quite strong, it lurched from the imbalance of weight on it. It was a volatile crisis in which it seemed that if the people in the back made the slightest wrong move, it would flip over.

In a brief moment, tens of thousands of thoughts rushed through my head. Even while I was using my whole body to keep the Argo balanced, I tried stomping my feet as I calculated that I would have to jump off if it tilted too far to one side, and it also occurred to me that if I couldn’t jump at the right time, my foot could get caught, and I could be dragged under the vehicle. I was also concerned that one of the people riding in the back didn’t know how to swim. Feeling a sense of responsibility that, in that moment, five people’s lives were in my hands, my brain began to demonstrate its greatest focus.

What could I do? The way ahead was blocked. The vehicle was still rocking from side to side. There were weeds tangled in the motor. Rowing with oars wouldn’t change the direction. In that case, I half-stood from the seat as I kept the vehicle balanced, and although I’d never tried it before, I had to put it in reverse. No fear, anxiety, or emotion could be condoned, and I very, very slowly stepped on the accelerator. I was in a state of total concentration.

Fortunately, it worked well operating in reverse, and, without losing a moment, I quickly drove out of the water. Although I didn’t show it, a cold sweat was dripping down my back. After observing the reaction of my body, I resolved to overcome it if I had any fear left inside of me. So I immediately found a safer place, and with only two people on board, I practiced going in the water yet again.

Trying a new path comes with risks. Although I am always forecasting, there are times when my predictions are inaccurate, or there are times I come across a completely unexpected danger. However, through the process of overcoming dangerous situations, concentration, patience, and creativity are developed.

Staying only on safe paths and expecting such human character and integrity to grow of their own accord is like waiting for fruit without scattering any seeds. I experienced this value with my whole body once again through this adventure.

And another important thing is not to slip into fear even in a crisis situation, and after you have overcome it, not to stop challenging yourself because of that emotion. My emotions are not me, but mine. If I cannot control what’s mine, who will control it for me? Through education about how to handle emotions and education about how to overcome your own limitations, the confident young leaders who will open up a new era that we will develop at the Earth Citizen School will come into their own.