Ilchi Lee

If at the time I had thought, “Could I make difference in the world by simply helping a stroke victim?” and didn’t go to the park the next day, nothing would ever happen to make my vision come true. I needed to start somewhere. Instead I thought, “Okay. Let’s go step by step. If I can deliver health, happiness, and peace to one person at a time, then others can do it as well and the world will change little by little.”

If you have any awakening within you, the most important next step is to turn it into action. No matter how small the awakening is, if you can keep taking action, you can create something new, something valuable to you.

I have said many times that everyone has greatness within themselves. The same seed that made me wake up early and go to a local park exists within you. This seed is the seed of greatness. If you find it, please view it as the greatest thing, even though it may appear as a very tiny idea. If you criticize, “Oh, that’s not important. That’s not good enough,” and keep erasing these ideas from your mind, the seeds cannot grow.

Even if your first step doesn’t seem to make any difference, what if you keep doing the same thing for 10 years? If you keep planting trees, you will make a thick forest. One seed will become a wheat field.

The important thing to remember is “keep doing it.” When a silk worm starts making a cocoon, it is at first just a short thread. But after some time, she has made a beautiful cocoon, and finally a butterfly is born from it. That’s the beauty and power of all living creatures on the earth, and we humans have that same power.

If we believe in the life within us, if we believe in our greatness and keep acting on our choices, we can create something beautiful.

I learned from teaching in that park that even when we have a great dream and plan in our mind, the actualization of the big dream starts from a small action we can take.

Through a 21-day vigorous meditation on the mountain during which I neither ate nor slept, I came to realize that, “Cosmic energy is my energy and my energy is cosmic energy. Cosmic mind is my mind and my mind is cosmic mind.”

As I realized that everything in the universe is interconnected and exists as one, I felt deep compassion arise in my heart for the future of the earth and all humans on it. I felt moved by this feeling to dedicate the rest of my life for the good of the earth and humanity. That was my greatest and most powerful awakening and the most beautiful choice that I’ve made in my life.

Even though I had this great awakening inside, all of my external circumstances were exactly the same. Nothing had changed at all. I didn’t have money or help from other people to begin a large endeavor right away. When I returned home, all I had were an awakening and a choice. My awakening at Mt. Moak was just a starting point.

I'll post more thoughts tomorrow.

A study conducted on a group of participants showed that overweight and obese individuals, people with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25, had several abnormal brain biochemical deficiencies in both the white and gray matter.

According to Dr. Dieter Meyerhoff, professor of radiology at the University of California, “[The] results suggest that the brains of people who are overweight or obese age faster than the brains of people of normal weight, and thus these individuals are at increased risk of developing dementia.”

However, this can be prevented with proper diet and exercise. According to Ilchi Lee, originator of the Brain Education System Training (BEST) and author of In Full Bloom: A Brain Education Guide for Successful Aging, “Brisk cardiovascular exercise brings rich, oxygenated blood to the brain. You should get at least 30 minutes of heart-pumping exercise three times a week.” And don’t forget strength training, which also produces more energy for the brain.

With an estimated 150 million Americans now classified as overweight or obese, it’s more important than ever to keep your weight normal and your heart pumping. Not only will it keep your body in shape, it will also keep your brain in shape—and young.

Doctors, including Dr. Thomas Olabode Obisesan of Howard University Hospital in Washington, DC, used data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) to investigate blood pressure and its relationship to cognitive function. The report shows that high blood pressure is associated with lower brain function in people aged 60 and older. Normal blood pressure, less than or equal to 120/80 mm Hg, was linked to the best cognitive performance in those aged 60 to 69, while those aged 70 and older showed poorer cognitive function in relation to elevated blood pressure.

Dr. Obisesan and associates concluded: “Optimal control of blood pressure may be beneficial in attenuating the risk of cognitive decline as the population ages.”

However, medications aren’t necessarily the answer to controlling blood pressure. Ilchi Lee, originator of the Brain Education System Training (BEST) and author of In Full Bloom: A Brain Education Guide for Successful Aging, suggests that adopting healthy behaviors, such as regular exercise and a low-fat diet, can regulate blood pressure just as well. “A lower-calorie diet promotes better circulation and also controls weight, leading to lower blood pressure,” said Lee.

Other ways to lower your blood pressure include achieving a healthy body weight, reducing dietary sodium and drinking alcohol in moderation. The key, quite simply, is to live a healthier lifestyle. As a result your blood pressure will decrease and your cognitive function will increase, and your brain will operate at peak performance—whether under pressure or not.