Today's Readings
1. From the unreal lead me to the real, from darkness lead to the light, from death lead me to immortality.
Upanishads (Hinduism)
2. The sky blesses me, the earth blesses me. Up in the skies I cause to dance the spirits, on the earth, the people I cause to dance.
Cree Round Dance Song,
Native American Religion
3. Love has the power to create the whole. Each of us was born as an essential being of the entire universe receiving all the love in the universe. The highest purpose of life is to be born through love, be raised in love, live by love and to leave a legacy of love when we die. Nothing can be of greater value for a person than to live out his natural life within his own family as a life of love that is the center of the universe.
Sun Myung Moon 9/21/1978
4. In Jin Moon welcomed everyone. She felt unusually well because of her experience last night at the gala for the 18th annual celebration of the WFWP. She was sitting next to the former first lady of Uruguay and humanitarian Patricia Lalonde (helping women in Afghanistan and Iran) and when they were invited to dance, the two of them looked at In Jin Nim and told her they weren't dancing if she wasn't. So the three of them went to the dance floor and experienced serious aerobic training and blood circulation. (I was there -- and In Jin Nim really knows how to dance!) And so when she got up this morning she thanked our H Parent for making it such a beautiful Sunday morning.
5. For In Jin Moon, as a woman, having experienced a life of religion, having grown under the umbrella of her mother, whom we call True Mother, she came to realize how significant it is for the woman of the world to gather together and truly celebrate their sisterhood and motherhood and celebrate the feminine in each and every one of us. Under the guidance of our True Mother WFWP has become an extremely profound and important organization. WFWP is not here to step on the brothers who have abused them and done them harm, but it is in the hope that women can reclaim their dignity as women and as daughters of our eternal Heavenly Parent, and in recognizing we are eternal and divine beings ourselves, we need to work together with our brothers, our sons, and fathers and truly empower them to work together with the women to usher in this new millennium, the world of peace we so long for.
6. In Jin Moon realized when she gazed into the eyes of her sisters that we have a great powerhouse in each and every one of them. She realized if each and every one of these women could be mobilized and inspired, just as the great woman of history like Clare Booth, mother the Salvation Army, and Mother Theresa whom we all love and admire, woman like these who have transformed their world with their spirit and with their expression of true love -- then In Jin Moon truly believes that this world of peace we have dreamed of for so long is within our hands. It is within the realm of our own responsibility to be that agent of change and to make the world a better place not just for our own families but for the larger family, one family under God.
7. As In Jin Moon was contemplating what she wanted to say to this delegation of women -- she went out shopping for a few items and while she was waiting in line there were two Chinese-American woman in front of her whom she overheard. One of them was concerned about her son. She was expressing to her friend that she had gone to her son's classroom when the children were sharing about their dreams in life, what they wanted to become. Usually little boys express their ambition to be a policeman or a fireman fighting fires or a car racer but this Chinese woman's son when he got up to speak said that he dreamed of becoming a nurse. (Everyone laughed) In Jin Moon asked why we were laughing. Maybe for the same reason this woman expressed "Why would my son want to be a nurse? Why not a doctor?" Being a nurse is for women.
8. Here were two women, wanting their children to have a better life, to be greater than they. You would think that the mother would be proud of her son for having unconventional thinking. Conventional thinking is the killer of progress. Here is her son, being different by wanting to be a nurse, a profession that has been seen primarily just for woman. The woman's friend then responded to her saying, "your son does look a little different, he's kind of feminine and maybe being a nurse might be a good thing."
9. In Jin Moon wanted to say something to them, but she remembered her mother's advice, "Sometimes it's good to keep silent" and so she did. She then heard the woman say "should I send my son to a psychologist?"
10. This made In Jin Moon think. Her father has declared the dawn of the Pacific Rim Era, this is the age of woman, and so the new millennium must have a bit of the feminine. When her father and mother together, as True Parents in their work, work together for world peace as the True Parents of mankind, what her father and mother are trying to share with the world is not just the beauty of the masculine that we've experienced through the history of religion, But here, for the first time we have the beauty, power, and magnificence of the feminine. The concept of a man and a woman ushering in the new age is quite profound and for In Jin Moon quite liberating as a woman.
11. When the religion editor came to interview In Jin Moon for National Public Radio she asked In Jin Moon, a few hundred years from now, in the future, what do you think your father will be most remembered for? In Jin Moon looked her in the eye and responded with what she truly felt to the core of her being, "Yes he'll be remembered as the True Parents, as a man of peace, but for a great multitude he and she together as the True Parents will be seen as the liberators of woman."
12. Part of the reason why women have suffered so long is because of the traditions of different religious backgrounds that have yet to embrace the feminine as a vital and integral part in an active life in ministry. Because no one could understand -- what are we going to do with this woman, this Eve figure who tempted Adam away from his proper position, who was the temptress, the cause of a great deal of ill, of not such good things in the world?
13. Women have been blamed for a lot of things. Usually when two people are blamed the blame goes to the woman, but with the advent of the True Parents women have the dignity that they lost. Through our True Parents woman can reclaim the rightful position as that divine and eternal daughter of our Heavenly Parent and therefore grace the world with the beauty of the feminine, not just the masculine.
14. In Jin Moon came across a book by Daniel Pink. In Jin Moon. loves the fact that pink is her father's favorite color. She finds it quite extraordinary that a man with the standing and stature of true father confidently stands in front of the world and declares that pink is his favorite color. She adores a man who has that courage.
15. And so Daniel Pink's last name caught In Jin Moon eye. The book was titled The Whole New Mind. He talks about a new way of thinking, the whole new mind -- which is going to characterize the new age, which he calls the "conceptual age". He talks about how in the 18th century we were understood as an agricultural age exemplified by the farmers and in the 19th century it was the industrial age represented by factory workers and then in the 20th century we went through the information age, what he calls the age of the knowledge worker.
16. He is saying that we are now poised to enter the conceptual age. He is saying that this age is exemplified by people who could best be described as creators or as empathizers.
17. As she read this book she was struck by some of the arguments Mr. Pink was making. He says that in this conceptual age it will be characterized by six essential senses. The age we are coming out of to enter this conceptual age has been the information age. In the information age the best representatives were people who were computer programmers. It was an age that emphasized detailed, logical, analytical, and systematic type of thinking. Therefore it was very masculine in that there was a great deal of emphasis on numbers, the bottom line, and on clarity.
18. People operated almost like a computer. But he says in this new age, the world having gone through the crisis, the advent of automation and Asia. The concept of Asian workers coming into play has transformed the way we see our selves and understand what our profession is all about. So he is saying because of the growth of the Asian market in which people can do things faster and cheaper, a lot of the work that is done in the superpowers is being outsourced. You can't just get ahead and be successful based on your knowledge alone.
19. In the information age there was a lot of stress on being that lawyer, that businessmen, getting your MBA, seen as the top of the ladder thing to do -- To be a successful individual. But because of the information age and the Internet, where information that was only available to certain individuals became available to everyone, this has drastically altered the way we understand our professions and the way we go about doing things. And so, Dr. Pink is very much thinking or warning the American and Western hemisphere to rethink what the importance of our life is. Even if we are business minded people only thinking of material success, because of this Asian market, the ability to outsource, and the new technology -- these have all made things so easy and so accessible and because of all this materialistic wealth and accumulation has led to this thing called abundance.
20. Mr. Pink goes on to say that one of the most interesting things about the American economy is the development of self storage. People have so much junk, they've accumulated so much they don't know what to do with it and so they put it into self storage. Self storage companies have become a $17 billion industry. And he notes how in such great abundance we have become a country that spends an inordinate amount of money buying garbage bags.
21. There is this need to have a paradigm shift in how we are thinking or looking at our lives and how to become successful human beings. And because we are all divine human beings touched by the love of God, we are extraordinary in our own right, but Mr. Pink is saying, even if we don't want to be, due to the crisis we are experiencing in the information age -- abundance Asia and automation it is compelling humankind into this new age, the conceptual age that is best exemplified by creators or empathizers.
22. In Jin Moon thought, "Mr. Pink, love your last name, and you are right in line with what I believe." One of the things that In Jin Moon strives for at Lovin' Life is to raise up a generation of peace, a generation of young people that truly understand they belong to one family, because we all share the common Parent up in heaven and we also know we are eternal sons and daughters and therefore We have a purpose and a personal destiny that we need to fulfill, that we need to be young people who want to live for the sake of others. And that we want to be compassionate, caring people, caregiver type of people and empathizing type of people.
23. The last point In Jin Moon always makes is the need for internal excellence as well as external excellence, because if you think about the information age, it has stressed so much the external excellence, above and beyond, so what people are realizing is that, regardless of how successful, how smart, or how knowledgeable we are -- we are not really tapping into this great divine mind that exists in each and every one of us if we do not tap into what is spiritual, emotional, and moving to all of us.
24. When Dr. Pink goes on to discuss the six characteristics of the conceptual age. He talks about how we are moving from the function of something, such as a wastebasket and everyone knows what that is, to, in the conceptual age, the actual design of the wastebasket. We all know what it is, but is it going to look nice? Will it be the color pink and will it fit into the color scheme of the room?
25. He talks about how in the conceptual age we'll move from simple arguments such as lawyers do to the importance of the narrative, what he calls the story. He talks about how, regardless of what culture we come from we all love the hero. Whenever In Jin Moon hears the word hero, everyone wants to be a hero, but to In Jin Moon's ear, having been born in Korea, when she hears hero she hears "here" and "row."
26. Usually when you think about a hero you think of someone who becomes great by overcoming great obstacles or afflictions and having worked through it somehow, is transformed into this beautiful butterfly and is able to soar as a great man or woman in the story.
27. He talks about how there are three main themes when you are thinking about a hero. For In Jin Moon hero is an invitation here and now, to row, and you have to do a lot of hard rowing to get to where you want to go. But there are three main points that Mr. Pink talks about, 1) the departure, 2) the initiation and 3) the return.
28. It is interesting how these three themes run throughout all the great works of literature. It doesn't matter what country you come from. In Homer's Odyssey, in the story of King Arthur, in the Star Wars movie saga, you see the same three themes running throughout.
29. What he means by departure is, once the hero has this calling usually, there is a period in which the hero refuses and tries to overcome the initial surprise or has to work through and become that courageous individual who accepts his calling and actually departs or crosses over the threshold into this new world where he meets number 2, the initiation
30. By initiation he means meeting face-to-face with afflictions or difficulties or obstacles that he has to overcome and, with the help, usually of great mentors, the hero realizes that he has this divine gift within him or within her and comes to tap into his rich reservoir of what is divine in him or in her and is transformed like a butterfly. And then he returns to where he came from, by representing the two worlds that he has come to experience and possess -- the world that he left and the world he has come to know.
31. What Mr. Pink is saying, is that in this conceptual age, what people are longing for is not just a simple argument -- why we need to be what we need to be, but they want an understanding, they want to bite into a greater story, understanding of who we are in the context of the larger picture.
32. He goes on to talk about how unlike the information age in which we were so focused and detail driven, so linear, so sequential and analytically minded, we are looking more towards a symphonic way of thinking. What he means by that is, like an orchestra your great violinists, your oboe players, your percussion -- as a whole it becomes a whole new medium of music that people can experience. It's a symphonic work of art.
33. He is saying that what people long for in this conceptual age is more the bigger picture, something larger than life, something eternal, something that is not fleeting and temporary such as what characterized the information age.
34. He says what the conceptual age is looking towards is the importance of empathy. Before there was such predominance and importance placed on logic. Logic reigned supreme in the information age but in the conceptual age he anticipates it will be empathy that reigns supreme. He defines empathy, it is not just sympathy feeling sorry for somebody, but it is the ability to feel with the person in question. It is the ability to understand the person in front of you are next to you and think and feel as if you are with them or a part of them. He sees this as something that will be extremely important in this new age.
35. He goes on to talk about how the information age, with their business suits and characterized by Gordon Gekko of Wall Street, everyone is so professional, so hard edged, so cold, everything is the bottom line, so serious, the boardroom is incredibly serious, but he is saying in this new age we are moving from this incredible seriousness to the importance of play.
36. In Jin Moon has often thought one of the more interesting companies is Google. They have your typical office and office workers but they also have a room where they have games -- a basketball hoop or bean bags on the floor and different games for people to play. There is this understanding, in order for a human being to be engaged in the process of creativity a sense of play and humor and games are incredibly important. We all know how important humor is in our lives. In Jin Moon reminds herself every morning of the importance of smiling and laughing, laughing away the burdens and obstacles in your path.
37. Then he talks about how we are moving from what we considered the most important thing in the information age -- accumulation of wealth and knowledge and power and prestige -- to the new conceptual age where accumulation is being replaced by the search for understanding and meaning. People are looking for that spirituality that is going to answer the void that they felt in the information age. They want something more, something that is embracing. They want to experience care, they want to experience love.
38. When you read Mr. Pink's book and you follow his line of reasoning you realize that what he is saying in fine print is what her father has spoken about. We have become so professional we become so technologically advanced so good at everything so good at accumulating but we forgot to look at what is truly important and that is our relationship with our heavenly parent in heaven and our relationship with our families and our relationship with the people in our lives.
39. When we concentrate on this word compassionate and In Jin Moon believes it is going to be the hallmark of this new age, this new millennium. We need to be raised up, we need to be living and we need to leave a legacy as a compassionate human being. And we realize how important it is to be able to empathize or to "feel with" other people.
40. Instead of our world being cold, fragmented and isolated and a bunch of us acting like "rulers" measuring how important our positions are or how much we are making compared to the other person, what is truly important is how we are. Are we internally excellent in our relationship with our heavenly parent? Are we internally excellent and a life of faith in relation to the different people in our family? Are we internally excellent and wanting to be good people to the people in our lives?
41. When we ask ourselves these questions we realize that we all have a process, a road of self-discovery, but it is a road that allows us to be incredibly profound, deep human beings. The difficulties that we deal with on a daily basis, that we tackle one by one is something that is going to make us richer in terms of our emotional wealth, deeper in terms of our spiritual wealth, and is going to make us feel more fulfilled as physical human beings.
42. There is a great woman, an Episcopal priest, Dr. Lauren Artress, who said something that In Jin Moon likes to remind herself from time to time, "We are not human beings on a spiritual path, but we are spiritual beings on a human path."
43. We need to understand that when Father teaches that the greatest purpose of each and every one of us is to be born in love, be raised in love, to live in love and to leave a legacy of love, then we realize that this path that we are on as a human being is not going to be an easy one. But we must not forget that we are essentially spiritual beings, that we are divine beings on this human path. As long as we remember we are divine eternal beings on this human path, then no matter how difficult the process, or episode, or a period might be, we realize that, just as the caterpillar enters into chrysalis it is transformed into this beautiful butterfly that can soar into the heavens and enjoy the air -- we realize that's the kind of future that awaits us if we understand that we are spiritual beings.
44. In Jin Moon realizes every day she wakes up and sees the sunrise and the beauty of the day (and the beauty of the day is not always equated with blue skies for her. She loves lightning and thunder, hailstorms, and great gusts of wind just as much as she loves sunny skies) that everything we experience in life, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the profane, the ugly and the pretty -- are all different dimensions of the divine that we experience so that we can become better people in the process.
45. She truly believes, just as she shared yesterday with her sisters, if we can decide to be that agent of change, decide to be that person, that divine person, that is going to harness the power of what Mr. Pink calls the conceptual age and truly take flight on the power of the spiritual and enjoin our own divinity, that we can become our own creators of our own destiny. We can decide the kind of a life, we can create the kind of life we want to live.
46. If we truly desire and want to live in a world of peace, well, we are the creators we are that agent of change, and depending on whether we decide today to step up to the plate and start living like a peaceful person, will determine whether we will have a peaceful world at the end of our lives.
47. As a mother having given birth to five children, and still in the process of raising five children, the legacy she would want to leave behind is a legacy of a wise mother. Many weeks ago she shared with us her understanding of what a WISE mother is. It's someone who serves the world with integrity, service, and excellence. She wants to do that, and be that wise mother and leave her essence personified in the beauty of her children. She wants them to be proud members of this generation peace. She wants them to be an expression of everything that she was about. She thinks that everyone in the audience who is a father or mother would agree that the greatest legacy anyone of us could leave behind is the beauty of our children.
48. If we can concentrate on our families, if we can truly build ideal families as a cornerstone for the society, nation, and world, if we can become that loving family that seeks to empower and nurture each other to be greater than what we originally thought we could be, if we could be that kind of community that inspires each other, that truly loves each other, that truly takes care of each other, because we understand ourselves to be part of this one family, then this world, this peaceful world is within our hands.
49. We need to live each day as it says in the good book, Luke 1:46-47, "How I rejoice in my Lord, my God." We must rejoice and celebrate this gift of life and that is why, here at Lovin' Life we aim to do just that.
50. Have a wonderful Sunday and a beautiful week. Thank you!