Ilchi Lee teaches that the brain is not something for only scientists or experts to understand and discuss. Each human being has the ability and authority to understand and manage their brain. The condition of the brain affects the quality of our lives, and within it is everything we have been and the potential of everything we will become. Ilchi Lee created and introduced Brain Education to provide individuals of all ages and backgrounds with tangible tools for personal growth and fulfillment.
Brain Education begins with a foundation of physical well-being, focused on the proper function of the autonomic, motor, and sensory systems. Beyond physical well-being, Brain Education transforms the stress response, placing it in the service of higher executive control. On an individual level, Brain Education is about self-actualization and empowerment. On a collective level, Brain Education is dedicated to the betterment of humanity.
To create the life you want and treat it as your greatest masterpiece is the ultimate use of the human brain. We often think about our brain in terms of its cognitive processing powers such as for reading and math. However, the brain guides all our activities–from breathing and muscle movement to sensations and emotions. It is the origin of all our behavior and experience, regardless of national, ethnic, and cultural distinctions. With greater awareness and sensitivity of the mind-body connection, Brain Education can help us to make choices which improve our circumstances and contribute to the greater good of all.
Five Steps of Brain Education
- Step 1: Brain Sensitizing
- Step 2: Brain Versatilizing
- Step 3: Brain Refreshing
- Step 4: Brain Integrating
- Step 5: Brain Mastering
In this step, practitioners awaken their primary senses and develop awareness of the brain-body connection. Through this process, they acquire tools to regulate the stress response system. Stretching, energetic movement, and breath-training exercises improve cardiovascular circulation and fine-tune the balanced functioning of the autonomic nervous system.
At this stage, practitioners develop flexibility of body and mind. Through careful observation and self-discipline, behavior is modified to create healthier, more productive habits. This step relies and builds upon the plasticity (changeability) of the brain’s wiring or activation patterns.
Practitioners become acutely aware of the influence of stored emotions and preconceptions on the quality of their lives. Through learning to release the memories and ideas that are no longer useful, they are able to face any situation with a clear, fresh mind. Fully developed emotional control and awareness allows one to create emotions as a matter of choice.
This step integrates the different functional areas of the brain to release latent capabilities. It improves communication and cooperation between the brain’s right and left hemispheres, as well as between the cerebral cortex and subcortical structures.
By applying and re-applying the first four steps of Brain Education toward specific, concrete goals, practitioners develop the executive control of their brain, resulting in a process of continuous personal and quality-of-life improvement. They develop the power of choice and volition to become the conscious authors of their lives.
Brain Education Tools
1. BOS Principles
Ilchi Lee has developed a conceptual framework for understanding brain development by comparing the brain to a computer operating system. The Brain Operating System (BOS) has three rules of operation:
- Good information makes a good brain.
The quality of the beliefs and actions that are the output of the brain is dependent on the quality of the information put in.
- If you choose it, it will happen.
Everything that has been accomplished in this world began with a conscious thought and a choice. Therefore, practicing making better choices and carrying them out effectively is the key to self-empowerment.
- Stay awake and pay attention.
Being awake and paying attention means being aware at all times of the information that is both coming into your brain and being created by it. An awakened person is able to acknowledge the limitations of his or her own field of perception, and thus is able to proactively evaluate, modify, and utilize information.
2. Brain Wave Vibration
Brain Wave Vibration is the most basic yet quintessential Brain Education method that encompasses all five steps. Through rhythmic movement and focused attention, it helps you manage stress, rediscover your physical vitality, and enhance your creativity. This simple moving meditation naturally brings out a sense of peace, hope, and love.
Brain Wave Vibration training uses vibrations in the body to change the vibrations in the brain, creating waves that resonate properly with the rest of your bodily functions. Through the gentle rhythms created in the body, you will release bodily tension and bring your brain toward a calm, meditative state.
3. Brain Declaration
Brain Education offers this Declaration as good information that affirms the power of the brain.
- I declare that I am the master of my brain.
- I declare that my brain has infinite possibilities and creative potential.
- I declare that my brain has the right to accept or refuse any information or knowledge that it is offered.
- I declare that my brain loves humanity and the earth.
- I declare that my brain desires peace