Archive for November, 2008

BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

Tae-yang: The area of the temples. By using the thumbs, press this point for three to five seconds. Repeat this slowly five times. Then tap this point lightly thirty times using the fingertips. [Gak-son (Angle Vertex, THzo): Directly above the apex of the ear on your hairline.
Yeol-kuel (Broken Sequence, LUy): Cross your index fingers and [...]

Tae-yang: The area of the temples. By using the thumbs, press this point for three to five seconds. Repeat this slowly five times. Then tap this point lightly thirty times using the fingertips. [Gak-son (Angle Vertex, THzo): Directly above the apex of the ear on your hairline.

Yeol-kuel (Broken Sequence, LUy): Cross your index fingers and the thumbs of both hands with the index finger of the other hand. The point is located in the depression right under the tip of the index finger, next to the bone and toward the inside. There are many other articles and tips also online by Ilchi Lee.

Joong-bu (Central Treasury, LUi): Place your middle fingers in the hollow area directly below the protrusions of the collarbone just outside your upper breastbone. Breathe deeply as you press this point with your thumb for one minute. Jok-sam-lee (Leg Three Mile, ST36): Place the pads of four fingers under the kneecap. The point is located below the fingers and in between the slight depression formed by the bones. Find the corresponding point on the other leg.

Most of us have a hammer, nails, and other tools for making basic repairs in our homes, as well as the ability to use them. If we make small repairs as they occur, our house remains well maintained and will last a long time. However, if we leave them unfixed, ultimately, the damage to the structure becomes so overwhelming that big renovations are necessary. The same principle applies to the human body.

The ‘Sedona Method’ of Meditation

Wanting to share what he had learned, Ilchi Lee traveled to speak at seminars and to small spiritual minded groups of people. Soon, people flocked to hear his amazing and inspirational story, and his audience swelled to several hundreds and thousands of people.
In 1958, he felt a sudden urge to head west, perhaps to California. [...]

Wanting to share what he had learned, Ilchi Lee traveled to speak at seminars and to small spiritual minded groups of people. Soon, people flocked to hear his amazing and inspirational story, and his audience swelled to several hundreds and thousands of people.

In 1958, he felt a sudden urge to head west, perhaps to California. On his way to San Diego, he passed through Arizona and spotted a sign that read ‘Sedona’. He heard an inner voice tell him “go there!” Guided by this inner voice, he went immediately to Sedona and was overpowered and overwhelmed by the unique combination of breathtaking beauty and spiritual energy he found there. He decided to purchase land in a remote area of Sedona on which to establish a meditation and retreat center. Here he told people of his experiences and shared the methods by which they too might experience the realization that he had. This eventually became known as the ‘Sedona Method.’

The ‘Sedona Method’ of meditation became known all over the world, with thousands of people practicing its techniques. His closest students in New York visited him often in Sedona, with some of them moving to be near him. One of them was Dr. David Hawkins, the renowned author of Power vs. Force, who worked with Nobel Prize winning physicist Linus Pauling. Lester Levenson, who expected to die at the age of 42, lived until he was 84, and was active until the end of his life.

Experiments Of Lester Levenson

Ilchi Lee research on human brain.
Lester Levenson experiment continued. For three months, the amount of time he was allotted to live, he sat in his home and brought up every single face, every possible moment of his life, one by one, to dissolve any associated negative emotions that he had had. As he concentrated on [...]

Ilchi Lee research on human brain.

Lester Levenson experiment continued. For three months, the amount of time he was allotted to live, he sat in his home and brought up every single face, every possible moment of his life, one by one, to dissolve any associated negative emotions that he had had. As he concentrated on his efforts his heart overflowed with the energy of love and joy.

The most difficult thing to do was to face his fear of death. By realizing that the fear of death lay at the root of all negative emotions, he was able to open his heart wide and burn away his fear of death with the flame of his newly recovered love. By being able to let go of every attachment that he had ever held, Lester Levenson was able to let go of his attachment even to life itself and overcome the barrier of fear.

Once his fear of death dissolved, his body felt as light as a feather and he was certain that the disease had left him. Three months after his death sentence, he felt an indescribable feeling of joy, which soon led him into a world of quiet inner peace. In this world of inner peace, that alternately soothed and energized him, he realized that his current physical manifestation as ‘Lester Levenson’ was not his deepest and truest identity… he was not his body or his thoughts. He was something far deeper, that went to the source of all life, a ‘beingness’ that was eternal.

“What is life?” “What am I looking for?”

“What is life?” “What am I looking for?” The first answer that rose to his mind was ‘happiness.’ He then asked himself, “When did I feel most happy?” The answer that first came to him was, “When 1 received love,” but he knew that was untrue. Although he had had many lovers, friends, and family [...]

“What is life?” “What am I looking for?” The first answer that rose to his mind was ‘happiness.’ He then asked himself, “When did I feel most happy?” The answer that first came to him was, “When 1 received love,” but he knew that was untrue. Although he had had many lovers, friends, and family members who loved him, he was not always happy. Therefore, he applied his power of analysis to examination of all the moments of genuine happiness in his life. He finally concluded that he felt genuinely happy only when he had given love to others.

He then asked, “If the moments of unhappiness in my life were the result of my heart not being filled with the giving spirit of love, then might I not turn back the clock in my mind and fill those moments with love, transforming them into happiness?” If happiness was an emotion generated by his state of mind, he surmised he could indeed transform the unhappy moments in his life into happy ones.

He immediately recalled his most recent, unhappy experience. It was the time when he was told by his doctor to go home to, basically, wait for death. Although he had previously felt rage at the doctor for forcing him to go home, thinking that perhaps the doctor did not want a patient to die on him while in his care, Lester Levenson now thought about how very difficult it must have been for the doctor to tell him that he was certainly going to die. The important thing now was whether he could transform the anger that he had previously felt for the doctor into love. He tried his best to recall those moments of rage and despair and melt them away second by second, moment by moment… until eventually he succeeded in replacing the anger with love. He realized, at that immediate moment, that he was indeed happy.

Ilchi Lee books on Dahn and Hak Yoga

The Story of Lester Levenson

The founder’s name was Lester Levenson. He had died one year ago in 1994, on the very land on which I was standing. He was originally from New York, a physicist by training, and a very successful businessman. However, in 1952, at the age of 42, he had a second heart attack and was rushed [...]

The founder’s name was Lester Levenson. He had died one year ago in 1994, on the very land on which I was standing. He was originally from New York, a physicist by training, and a very successful businessman. However, in 1952, at the age of 42, he had a second heart attack and was rushed to an emergency room. Although he survived the attack, his doctor sent him home, telling him that there was nothing that the hospital could do for him. It was a death sentence, ameliorated only by the fact that he could die at his home, within a few months or the next time a heart attack struck.

Filled with anger and despair, Lester Levenson was forced to look back and examine every part, every single moment of his life, thinking seriously of suicide several times. However, as the inevitability of death slowly faded from his immediate reality, he realized that he was still breathing, and still a thinking being with nothing to lose.

So he decided to try an experiment with his body, emotions, and consciousness. As he sat quietly in his home, deeper questions about life appeared before him, commanding his attention.

Read Ilchi Lee articles on human brain.

A Retreat Center In The Sedona Area

As soon as I came down from Bell Rock, I resolved to find out if what the old man had said was true, and I headed straight to Sedona’s top realtor. I gave him a rough description of the land that I had seen just minutes before, and asked him if he knew of a [...]

As soon as I came down from Bell Rock, I resolved to find out if what the old man had said was true, and I headed straight to Sedona’s top realtor. I gave him a rough description of the land that I had seen just minutes before, and asked him if he knew of a retreat center in the Sedona area.

He replied that he certainly knew of such a place, and that he was the real estate agent of record for that particular piece of property. We set out immediately and drove for about forty minutes from the center of Sedona, along an unpaved and rough road, until we came to a wide expanse of land, of about 150 acres, that lay nestled in the middle of national forest preserve. Rows of small housing units, half hidden by red earth, and blending in perfectly, were very harmonious with the land. The agent explained that all of the buildings of the retreat center were designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright to be unobtrusive and ‘nature friendly’. From every angle, red rocks piercing the blue sky formed a stunningly beautiful background. Below, the land was a desert forest of cedar trees and cactus plants comprising national forest.

I was given a tour of the property, not only of the land, but also of the dilapidated, but curiously appealing, housing units where visitors and guests had once stayed. The guide asked me whether I was curious about whom the founder of this retreat center was and handed me a book that the man had written. I was shocked, for as soon as I glanced at the cover, I recognized the author’s face. with the same expression, and gentle smile I had seen on top of Bell Rock. I asked the guide to tell me the story of the retreat center in greater detail.

Ilchi Lee articles on brain respiration.

Mysterious Land of Sedona

I first encountered mention of the place called Sedona in a local newspaper in 1995, and  Ilchi Lee instinctively knew that this must be the place I was looking for. I still recall the vivid joy that I felt the first time I drove down to Sedona from Flagstaff; the magical unveiling of the red [...]

I first encountered mention of the place called Sedona in a local newspaper in 1995, and  Ilchi Lee instinctively knew that this must be the place I was looking for. I still recall the vivid joy that I felt the first time I drove down to Sedona from Flagstaff; the magical unveiling of the red rocks as they lay stretched out in the distance. It was as if a gorgeous silk-screen painting had descended from the heavens above, with even the trees and shrubs that lined the roadway overflowing with delightful and pure energy. The beauty of this place was sacred; a magnificent red cloth of earth inlaid with beautiful gemstones of pines and cedars, embracing the deepest and bluest sky, gently decorated by soft whispers of white clouds. A spontaneous outcry of joyful recognition arose in me as an inner prayer of deep  thanks vibrated throughout my body. Genuine thanks, to the Creator, for allowing such unspeakable beauty to continue to exist. This was the place I had been seeking for. This was my soul’s home.

There are twenty-one known energy vortex areas in the world, and Sedona has four of them concentrated within its borders. An energy vortex is a place where an especially high concentration of the earth’s energy is channeled toward the earth’s surface. A vortex has the effect of helping to restore energy balance in life forms near its source. Of the four vortices in Sedona, the strongest and the most famous is the Bell Rock, a large red rock formation that looks like a bell sprouting from the ground. It looks uniform and gives off an air of safety and security from any angle. A sensitive person can feel a palpable geyser of energy pouring out from Bell Rock to envelop all of Sedona.

Feeling the Earth’s Soul at Sedona Mago Garden

I am standing in Sedona Mago Garden, located about two hours north of Phoenix, Arizona. This is the breathtakingly beautiful land that has given me not only countless hours of indescribable appreciation for the Earth’s beauty, but has also inspired me to feel more deeply the meaning of ‘Earth’ and ‘Earth-Human.’ Standing here, one can [...]

I am standing in Sedona Mago Garden, located about two hours north of Phoenix, Arizona. This is the breathtakingly beautiful land that has given me not only countless hours of indescribable appreciation for the Earth’s beauty, but has also inspired me to feel more deeply the meaning of ‘Earth’ and ‘Earth-Human.’ Standing here, one can feel the reality of our Earth as it rushes into mind and soul.

Sedona is traditionally sacred land of the Native American tribes in this part of the world, and has been prophesied to be “… a land which will become the center of the coming age by bringing people together in the spirit of peace and reconciliation.” Citizens of this beautiful region often speak of Sedona as a sacred land that will herald the coming of a new spiritual civilization where a worldwide spiritual-cultural movement will find its grandest flowering.

From my first encounter with the land, to its current incarnation as ‘Sedona Mago Garden,’ I have felt indescribable joy and hope, alternating with dark doubts and anxiousness that accurately mirror my history with this piece of heaven on Earth. I first came to the United States in 1993, to introduce the system of Dahnhak and Brain Respiration, a comprehensive system of holistic exercises designed to improve physical, mental, and spiritual health by utilizing the flow of ‘Ki’ energy, or life energy. This system is already a huge success in Korea.

The first thing I did after landing in America was to buy a used car. I then drove across the continental United States, from NYC to LA, and back again. I even stopped in several Canadian cities including Vancouver and Toronto. Although I had the goal of observing and becoming accustomed to the geography and everyday culture of North America, I was also scanning the terrain for a uniquely ’spiritual’ land. In Korea, I had similarly crossed

the land several times over, until I chanced upon such a place. I purchased it and made it into a renowned retreat center for spiritual reflection. I was positive that I would find such a place in North America, but it was yet hidden from my eyes.

Read Ilchi Lee Books

Brain Builds A New Set Of Connections To Create A New Habit

At these moments, make a special effort to continue with your fitness plan because these are the moments in which a new habit can be deliberately created. When you walk in the langsaeng style the first few times, there is no habit; the action is novel and naturally enjoyable. When you find yourself feeling tired [...]

At these moments, make a special effort to continue with your fitness plan because these are the moments in which a new habit can be deliberately created. When you walk in the langsaeng style the first few times, there is no habit; the action is novel and naturally enjoyable. When you find yourself feeling tired and unmotivated to move well, recognize it as a natural part of the rewiring process. Your brain will want to fall back into the old routine, but you are the boss. Ilchi Lee advice that during brain exercise you can say to your brain, “Sorry to inconvenience you, but I’ve decided we are going to do something else now.”

When the brain builds a new set of connections to create a new habit, it is a little like building a new wing on your home. It is exhilarating when you first draw up the plans and start laving the foundation. But, at some point, the construction process is bound to be a little bit annoying—messy and exhausting. Maybe you even wish you had not started the project. Yet you carry on, knowing that eventually you will benefit from the addition to your home.

Stopping a fitness routine before it has become a habit is like abandoning a construction project in the middle. By following through with your fitness goals, you become like the foreman of your own brain, remodeling it toward the fit life you seek. When you hear a voice inside urging you to lay off for a while, make sure vour brain knows who’s the boss. Soon you will find that the fitness habit has become a simple, automatic part of your life.

REWIRE YOUR ROUTINE

Ilchi Lee says that it is no wonder it is so difficult to start and stick to a new exercise routine. Every time we make plans to change our patterns of behavior, the brain must create a whole new set of neural connections. This takes a lot of effort on the part of the brain! [...]

Ilchi Lee says that it is no wonder it is so difficult to start and stick to a new exercise routine. Every time we make plans to change our patterns of behavior, the brain must create a whole new set of neural connections. This takes a lot of effort on the part of the brain! It can be exhausting, in fact. Our minds keep pulling us back to those old behaviors, even when we genuinely want to change.

Many Newr Year’s resolutions are foiled every year because of this stubborn feature of the human brain.

You must be persistent about creating a good walking habit for yourself. When you first begin Jangsaeng Walking, you will undoubtedly feel a surge of energy as you move your body and align your energy system. But, as you proceed, you will also experience times of lower energy. This is the time when you are most vulnerable to falling back into old sedentary habits.