On April 4, 1998, four thousand New Yorkers gathered at Columbus Circle near New York’s Central Park in memory of the thirtieth anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was gunned down in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. After an opening prayer, the marchers proceeded to Times Square for a rally featuring, among others, Rev. Al Sharpton, Dr. Franklyn Richardson and Rev. Joong Hyun Pak. The event was organized by a coalition of religious, civic and labor organizations, including the National Action Network, the AFL-CIO and the Unification Church.
Little Angels Perform in North Korea
from combined dispatches
South Korea's Unification Ministry announced on Saturday, April 25 that it had approved an application by the Little Angels to perform in Pyongyang, North Korea, May 2-12, staging three shows.
The cultural group's visit was arranged between the South's Korean Cultural Foundation and the North Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee.
The cultural foundation said it received an invitation from the North Korean committee on April 13 following talks in Pyongyang earlier in the month.
North Korea sent an invitation for the Little Angels to perform in Pyongyang four years ago but the trip was canceled as inter-Korean dialogue came to a halt over tension over North Korean nuclear project issues.
A KCF statement said, "We received a grant from the North on April 13 to perform in Pyongyang this year and hope the performance by these beautiful children will become the cornerstone in opening a new era of peace and harmony with the North."
The statement said the art troupe will perform South Korean folk dances and traditional songs as well as "Amazing Grace"' and "We are the World."
The Little Angels art troupe, founded in 1962, is comprised of 200 elementary and middle school performers and has held 5,000 musical events in over 50 countries. A total of 68 people including Bo Hi Pak, president of the cultural foundation, and 30 technical and administrative staff arrived in Pyongyang via the Chinese capital, Beijing.
On May 3 the youth art troupe received a warm welcome, raising hopes for improved ties between the two hostile nations, sponsors of the visit said.
Pyongyang's official media said the "Little Angels troupe arrived in Pyongyang Saturday and was warmly greeted by officials concerned with compatriotic feelings." "Schoolchildren in the city gave them bouquets and flowers, hardly repressing their joy at the emotional meeting with the fellow schoolboys and girls from South Korea," said the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
It was the first private cultural group from Seoul to visit Pyongyang. The two Koreas, still technically at war following the 1950-53 Korean conflict, exchanged visits by state-run art troupes during a brief thaw in 1985.
Dr. Bo Hi Pak, head of the Federation for World Peace, led the troupe in a series of meetings with North Korean officials and other people on Saturday and Sunday.
The visit followed North Korean President Kim Jong Il's letter, released by Pyongyang last week, which called for South and North Korea to exchange visits and improve relations.
KCNA quoted Kim as saying that "all the Koreans in the North, South and abroad must visit one another, hold contacts, promote dialogue and strengthen solidarity."
Seoul saw Kim's letter as "somewhat meaningful" and eased restrictions on inter-Korean business exchanges.
"As a whole, there is nothing new in the letter. But it is meaningful at this time since North Korea is calling for dialogue with the South despite the collapse of talks in Beijing," a South Korean official said.
The two sides last month held their first official government contact in nearly four years to discuss economic aid and exchanges. But the Beijing talks broke down after the North refused to agree to a specific timetable for the reunion of families separated since the division of the peninsula in 1945.
The Unification Church is using an invitation for its song-and-dance troupe, the Little Angels, to perform in the North as an opportunity to talk about investment, church officials told the International Herald Tribune.
The day before the departure of the Little Angels troupe, the South Korean government removed the $5 million ceiling on investment in the North by South Korean companies and did away with the $1 million limit on machinery sent north to build factories.
The new rules permit South Korean companies to engage in any type of business in the North except those classified as strategic defense industries, including electronics, aeronautics and computer science. The government also decided to grant multiple permissions to go to the North for South Koreans with business interests there. "Our business dialogue with the North will resume," Dr. Pak said. Dr. Pak cited fields ranging from machinery to soft drinks to tourism as possibilities for investment by Tongil. "On our behalf, I will talk about business possibilities," he said. He is leading the entourage that includes 38 performers, all girls aged 9 to 14, and 30 adults. "We know the North is eager for South Korean investment," said Jean-Jacques Grauhar, who spent seven years as a business consultant in Pyongyang before moving to Seoul five years ago.
The fact that Dr. Pak, who helped found the ensemble in 1962 and the Washington Times newspaper in 1982, can go from South to North Korea on such a mission symbolizes a shift in South Korea's outlook since President Kim Dae Jong took office in February. Dr. Pak angered a previous South Korean administration by attending the funeral of Kim Il Sung and meeting with his son, Kim Jong Il.
Threatened with arrest under South Korea's national security law for unauthorized contact with the North, he did not return to Seoul from his residences in Tokyo and Washington until about a year ago, after receiving assurances that he would not have to face charges.
A North Korean performing arts group plans to visit Seoul, reciprocating a recent visit to the communist North by a choir from the South, a Seoul-based newspaper reported on May 12. The Segye Times, in its Wednesday edition, quoted an official of the Little Angels choir, which returned after performing in the North, as saying a basic agreement has been reached with a North Korean student art troupe.
It said details would be discussed later this year.
IRFF North Korea Aid Appeal
by Massimo Trombin-Luxembourg
As we know, in the last few years North Korea has been a famine-stricken nation. Several reports from international agencies and NGO bring desperate testimony about this tragedy. The official channels don't report the real condition of the people, for clear political reason, but they constantly request relief support. The problem is that in most cases, the government doesn't allow relief to be monitored during distribution.
Catherine Bertini, the managing director of the World Food Program, has warned the North Koreans that the amount of food aid will be reduced if they continue to forbid the monitoring of the aid distribution.
Recently a North and South Korean delegation met for the first time in 4 years, to discuss their relationship. The North requests 500.000 tons of fertilizer, the South a possibility for the reunion of families separated since the truce in the Korean war. The bottom line is that no accord was done to help the starving men, women and children in the North. At the same time more reports are coming in about people unable to work, because their energy is long gone. From some remote places some reports refer to human consumption, in other areas they are cooking the same noodles over and over again and drinking the boiled water to get the feeling that they are eating something.
At the same time, those with money can buy food in North Korea! IRFF has been working since 1994 in many ways and through different channels to find ways of bringing some help. Now finally in Europe, through our networking and friendship and with the help of Rev. Won Pil Kim, we do have a way to bring some substantial help, directly to the people. I will monitor this project directly on location, and report to those that will give support. For this reason anyone willing to help this food distribution program and to become a supporting member of "North Korean aid action IRFF-club member" for the starving people of North Korea, can send some funds to the IRFF account in Luxembourg, specifying very clearly the purpose of the donation. We are planning with our own strength, the first intervention by Autumn of this year. In case extra fund will come rapidly, we will act immediately.
The account number to send this donation is:
Bank: Banque et Caisse d'Epargne de l'Etat
Address: 1, place de Metz L-2954 Luxembourg
Account: 10/2/024383-74
Association: Foundation Internationale de Secours et d'Amitie (International Relief Friendship Foundation)
Massimo Trombin is the President of IRFF Luxembourg
In Memoriam Ambassador Sayed Qassem Reshtia
Geneva, Switzerland
We received the news from Geneva, Switzerland that Ambassador Sayed Qassem Reshtia passed into the spiritual world March 26. Amb. and Mrs. Reshtia were blessed in 1997 by Rev. and Mrs. Joong Hyun Pak in Geneva. Mrs. Reshtia said she is so grateful that they could receive the Blessing while they were both on the Earth.
Sayed Qassem Reshtia, born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1913, served as Ambassador to the countries of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Egypt, Japan and the Philippines. He spent 60 years in service to his country as historian, writer, journalist and respected elder statesman. He actively participated in the establishment of social and humanitarian institutions. He was active in government where he held many high positions, including Cabinet member. He was a delegate to the United Nations for many years and received awards and decorations from Afghanistan, Egypt, Yugoslavia, Japan and the Ivory Coast.
In 1979 Amb. Reshtia left Afghanistan, under enemy aggression, and received political asylum in Switzerland. There he authored novels, short stories, articles, political and historical research works. He was awarded an Honorary Cultural Doctorate in International Diplomacy by the World University Roundtable. His historical work "Afghanistan in the 19th Century" was translated into many languages and received the Khoshhal Khan award, the highest Afghan literary prize. His most recent books "The Price of Liberty, the Tragedy of Afghanistan" and "Between Two Giants" were published in 1984 and 1990 respectively. His political memoirs, published last year, became not only a best-seller overnight but also a historical reference book.
Ambassador Reshtia and Mrs. (Golalaï Kabir Seraj) Reshtia appreciated the value of the Blessing. The Ambassador is remembered as a great and dedicated person. Without a doubt, he served his world well, and abundantly.
Liselotte Perrottet, FFWPU, Geneva, Switzerland
Field Of Dreams
In this article we’ll continue our discussion about Religion and Science. The UTS recently published Reflections on Unificationism, with an entire section devoted to this subject. Check it out!
The Principle states that traditional beliefs cannot satisfy today’s rational minds, and that the prophesied New Truth must address this concern. It also implies that, for science itself to be fulfilled, scientific theories must include the spiritual world. Much has been done about the former, and as to the latter, more progress has been made than most people realize.
There are at least two ways to learn about the spiritual world. A gifted few know it by direct experience. Others attempt to understand it through careful research.
Many accounts have been published. All have common threads, yet vary widely in the details. Unfortunately for our purposes, virtually all of them lack precision.
History
Let’s begin our quest with a brief review of the history of Physics.
Isaac Newton wrote of a precise, "clockwork" universe. To the regret of every High School student since, he invented calculus to describe the motion of the planets. Beholding the grand order of creation, he reaffirmed his faith in God.
Centuries later, Einstein formulated the Theory of Relativity, with its curved space-time. Rejecting some troubling implications, he asked, "Does God play dice with the universe?"
Next, Heisenberg published his Uncertainty Principle. The idea of complete precision went out the window! Reality turns out to be "fuzzy," and often unpredictable.
Atomic particles have be made to "tunnel," appearing beyond fixed barriers without ever having passed through them.
Mind-bending thought experiments such as "Schroediger’s Cat" were posited; this involves a quantum state in which the unlucky cat gets to be both alive and dead, at the same time!
All subatomic particles, and energy itself, are known to be manifestations of "fields"; patterns which underlie all existence, and are shaped by the laws of universe. These "fields and vectors" can only be described using the difficult, higher mathematics of "complex numbers."
If the reader thinks this is too strange, it gets worse. The now-classic "two slot experiment" directly involves the observer. In its simplest form, just watching the experiment -or not- causes it to have a totally different result! This is called a "quantum superposition waveform collapse," which occurs as potentials sort themselves into reality.
In light of these astonishing findings, the idea of a nearby, yet unseen spiritual world appears a lot a more plausible. Sooner or later, theories will be formulated to explain it clearly. (Keep in mind that the line, "My breakthrough ideas were rejected by that old-fogy establishment," has been used to introduce all sorts of quackery.)
Analysis
As commonly described, the spiritual world is different in several ways.
No unbeatable "gravity field" anchors its inhabitants in place. As in dreams, one can easily take flight!
No "transmission" (of energy or information) problems interfere with the movement or creation of objects. Spirit people can obtain any item they desire, and fast!
No "lightspeed barrier" prevents them from crossing its vastness in an instant.
No "entropy" decays that world’s beauty or hampers its smooth functioning. (At least in the "higher realms"; apparently, the lower you go the worse off the inhabitants are.) In fact, its "patterns" are so stable that spirit people are immortal.
There are two main schools of thought about what makes the World Beyond so different. They are only simple kernels of greater ideas to come.
The first and most popular states that the spirit world has a "higher frequency." Perhaps in a literal, linear sense. All energy, such as light’s constituent photons, has distinct wavelengths.
Thus, seeing that world becomes a simple matter of "paying attention," and attuning our senses. Technologically, there many be ways of "stepping down" its frequencies, and viewing it with a constructed device.
The second school involves four-spatial-dimensionality; the arcane, geometric world of tesseracts and hyperspheres. To illustrate 0-4 dimensions, think: point, line, square, cube, tesseract. (Give it five or even more dimensions, to include time and the "expanding universe.")
Placing the spirit world at a dimensional remove would explain its closeness to -and yet, unbridgeable distance from- the physical realm. Also, its invisibility to ordinary means of detection. The only connection is through our minds and, perhaps, elements of our living bodies.
Hell cannot simply be "beneath" Heaven. Presumably, Heavenly lakes have fish on their bottoms, not demons! Deepest Hell is said to be totally dark; no Heaven shines in its skies. Not to mention the multiple layers in between. Earthly "up and down" are not enough to explain this multiplicity of vast, complete realms.
There are various, and individually varying, "sizes" of spirits. The human body has trillions of cells, and (according to Daemonim) it can be "covered" by thousands of spirits. Such spirits can even inhabit our tiny, individual cells! They can also "expand" upon leaving the body.
How can this be? A four-dimensional being will alter in size as it moves, for it only intersects with our three-dee world along one section of its "body." This is similar to a three-dee object crossing a two-dee plane. The area of its intersection changes as it moves through, and a watching two-dee being would not be able to "see" the entire object.
This four-dee concept is well-illustrated in two books, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott, and its sequel, Sphereland: A Fantasy About Curved Spaces and an Expanding Universe by Dionys Burger.
C. S. Lewis wrote of Heaven being very much "larger" than Hell, and of spirits "expanding" as they were conveyed upwards from one realm to the next.
Thus, angels might well be personal "conductors" between the spiritual levels. Hence the difficulty of ordinary spirits "returning to Earth" without a specific role and/or mission. Once returned (or never having left), they would be "in the Earth plane," a hair’s-breadth away from us, if only for a while.
Mind
There are four major "forces" in nature, gravity being the most familiar. Physics has now reduced these to invariant laws and a matrix of "fields." These fields are invisible to us mortals, and except to a handful of geniuses, almost inconceivable.
Common human experience posits a fifth, "spiritual" force. (This author once received an impressive dose of it, whatever it is, at Chung Pyung Lake.)
Such experiences are no longer "merely" subjective, as doctors are now learning that prayer does speed healing. It works even when the supplicants and patients are totally separated, within a clinical "double blind" experiment!
On another front, scientists are seeking a Theory of Consciousness. Roger Penrose, in his book Shadows of the Mind, shows that no computer could ever duplicate the feats of the brain. This devastates the mechanistic concepts of most biologists and programmers.
C. S. Lewis, in his Miracles, logically shows that the mind must be "supernatural," in and of itself.
Conclusion
Clearly, the "focus" of the mind shifts upon death (or during an out-of-body experience). Perhaps our consciousness is a "nexus" of spiritual energy, just as our bodies are patterns of physical matter. The human mind reaches into, and shifts between, both worlds.
Artificial connections to the spirit world will be difficult to construct. There are people who have been charged with the attempt.
Our own Richard Lewis points out that the "New Physics" does not uphold Eastern beliefs, as Fritjof Capra and others have insisted. In fact, Physics upholds monotheism in general, and the Principle in particular.
Spiritual energies are under conscious control. Not just spirit beings themselves, but every part of that world, at all times. It’s almost like some popularly-depicted "cartoon country." Which, considering the seat of "imagination" itself, might not be a coincidence.
Spiritual "fields" are very much alive! They are more fluid than dreams, for we can directly shape them to our will, down to the smallest detail. Thus, the spirit world is extremely difficult to "pin down" scientifically. On any given day, its components might not want to be experimental subjects!
Within that world, God, Satan, angels, spirits and providential figures interact and "make deals," and the Principle is their only law. That law is even more binding than human laws. It reflects directly upon our own morality, and the results of our upholding it-or not.
Some have posited that there is no "spiritual speed limit"; that the next world is infinitely fast. However, infinite velocity is the functional equivalent of omnipresence, for one would intersect with the entirety of the Cosmos before stopping anywhere. Also, reaching an infinite velocity requires infinite energy, which equals omnipotence.
A spirit could traverse billions of light years in the blink of an eye without even approaching such infinite limits. God stands above all realms; He alone is omnipresent and omnipotent.
Rumor has it that Dr. Sang Hun Lee is now revealing more from "the other side," and with great precision. Details are eagerly awaited!
FFWPU Blessing Activities in Brazil
by Christian Lepelletier-Brazil
The "Movement for True Family Values" is making progress under the direction of Rev. Oyamada. Recently the members started to concentrate on distributing the Holy Wine first, and then informing the people by giving them a leaflet introducing the Family Association for Unification and World Peace (the name under which the FFWPU is officially registered in Brazil), as well as explaining the four pledges of the Blessed Couples. People also receive an invitation to participate in the June 13 Blessing Ceremony at the Palmeira Hall in Sao Paulo, including a coupon response.
Members work in small teams. They prepare large supplies of small plastic cups (in Brazil we have mini plastic cups of 50 cc, used everywhere here to drink coffee), containers of Holy Wine or juice, and then they visit a soccer event. The members then hand out the Holy Wine at the gates where people are queuing before entering the stadium. In a short time many people receive the Holy Wine, and the members report the number of cups distributed. In a few hours one team can distribute a few thousand cups.
The June 13 event will be broadcast simultaneously with 11 others events around the world for the World Culture and Sport Festival, Blessing 98. The Palmeira Hall in Sao Paulo has 5000 seat capacity. We are planning to bring the people there in 50 buses. The ticket to the event includes lunch and a raffle price.
Besides the teams distributing Holy Wine directly, two evangelical pastors are working for a "National Campaign for a Blessed Brazil" with a network of Evangelical churches. They are offering a more traditional ceremony for couples gathered among their congregations, where they fill out registration forms and share the Holy Wine cup. These pastors reported already 183 000 couples pre-blessed in the churches of the Nordeste region of Brazil.
Now the total number of couples who received the Holy Wine in Brazil since last December is about 350 000.
We are pleased to announce the opening of the homepage of the Family Federation of Brazil in Portuguese language. Most of the work has been done by our brother Eduardo who is living in Rio. The site is still under construction. We are looking for more translators to contribute speeches in Portuguese language.
National Campaign
The "National Campaign for a Blessed Brazil" is spreading quickly through the Evangelical Churches of Brazil.
This campaign was started two months ago by two pastors, who were originally working in one of the main Evangelical denominations of Brazil. They attended several seminars of the "Inter Religious Federation for World Peace," one year ago.
The IRFWP sponsored 10 three-day seminars for the Christian Ministers, 1500 of them from all other Brazil were invited and listened to the "True Family Movement" lectures in 1996 and 1997 at the Guaruja resort in Sao Paulo State. These two pastors were part of the Blessing Ceremony last November and received the Holy Blessing with their spouses in the Sao Paulo Temple. They felt inspired to launch a "National Campaign for a Blessed Brazil" to contribute for the worldwide campaign to give the Blessing to 360 millions couples.
The two pastors contacted Evangelical Church leaders and asked them to cooperate to spread to the local ministers the teaching of the "Family Values" and the "Blessing" to their assembly, including the importance of the fidelity to God and to the couple. Starting in the states of Pernanbuc (Recife region) and Rio de Janeiro they will spread the movement in the 27 states of Brazil.
The Evangelical Churches have the tradition to commemorate the "Last Supper" ritual once a month during the Sunday Service, where they pass around small cups of wine to the congregation. The local pastor receives a sample of the special Holy Wine called the "Israel Wine", he will then multiply it and invite all the participants to renew their commitment to the "Family Values".
Today a report came in that 1281 local church congregations received the Holy Wine. Including the numbers of some other events, the total is over 4 551 000 persons, resulting from the work of this two pastors. Now the total number of Blessed people, including the mobilization of the members of the FFWPU in Brazil, is over 4,890,400 people.
FFWP Activities In Panama
Panama City, Panama
We have found an excellent follow-up program for members of the FFWP. This is a wonderful course for married women to improve their marriages called Fascinating Womanhood.
Any blessed sister who speaks English or Spanish ( materials are available in at least these two languages) can teach the course after studying the book. We teach the course at our HQ one evening a week for 8 weeks. The course can begin with any session, since the content of each session is fairly independent.)
Our FFWP women members are enthusiastic about the course and many have invited friends relatives to the course who have subsequently joined FFWP and attended FFWP workshops.
The course is valuable for three reasons. First, we offer the course as a social service "to strengthen the Panamanian family" and the content of the course is of such high quality it is a valuable social service and shows people that we are people truly serious about creating loving marriages.
Second, women become accustomed to going to our center and because they are so positive about the course they begin attending other FFWP activities.
Finally, all our UC blessed sisters have completed the course. They serve as hostesses and report that the course has greatly helped their marriages as well.
This is no quick fix, pop psychology course. The author is a deeply religious and successful wife and mother of 8 children. The content teaches the art of loving and understanding your husband and how to enjoy being a wife, mother and homemaker by living for others. Her material is convincing, engaging and badly needed. I myself have benefited from the book for twenty years.
In Panama , we would like to offer other courses to practically help strengthen families eventually having a "Family Institute" where people can study to create good marriages and families.. I am planning to develop another course based on material from Steven Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective Individuals and the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families and our own True Family Values book.
These are the best course materials I have come across, but I would be very interested in suggestions for other books on the family and marriage.
One leader recommended a Christian book called "Marriage Savers" which teaches how non-professionals can give simple marriage counseling to help save troubled marriages..
Information about how to order the Fascinating Womanhood book and workbook is at the Fascinating Womanhood website, http:// www.andelin-2000.com
The FW book is available in English and Spanish. The workbook is available in English only.
Easter Speech in Los Angeles: "She has Risen"
by Godwin d’Silva-Los Angeles, CA
As we looked anxiously across the skies waiting for the plane to appear, it suddenly appeared out of a white puff of cloud hovering over Los Angeles airport (LAX). This was truly the most perfect day seen in Los Angeles in a long time.
The previous day was the storm before the calm; and how appropriate on Easter Morning April 12, the weather cleared for True Mother’s Hoon Dok Hwe speech.
The plane landed and the VVIP entourage was quickly escorted to the Westin Hotel at LAX. This Hotel has the largest lobby, ballroom and Presidential Suite in the whole LAX area. In fact, True Father held a religious conference back in 1988 in this hotel. The story (as verified by the Hotel) goes that Father was quite unhappy with the decor of the presidential suite and had made suggestions on how to improve it. The Hotel at that time was known as The Stoufer ; the management then changed the suite according to Father’s recommendations. Here ten years later how wonderful it was for Mother to stay at the suite transformed according to Father’s specifications!
At the Presidential suite, Mother talked to the leaders and Tribal Coordinators gathered there. Emphasis was given to learning and speaking Korean. Mother urged everyone that learning to read, write and speak Korean will help us understand Father’s words more clearly. Mother added that the Korean text of Father’s speech takes up a lot less words and pages as compared to the Japanese or English text.
Korean language can explain the heart of God more thoroughly than other languages.
Leaders were then asked to continue and bring more people for the evening’s event
The program
Over 160 VIPS attended a special VIP reception prior to the speech. We had Ministers, Scholars, Business Leaders and others attend. Minister Tony Mohammed from the Nation of Islam attended this VIP reception The Nation of Islam attended this function with over 120 members of their congregation.
The program began promptly on time with a pre-speech entertainment offered by the International Children’s Choir, St. Thomas Missionary Baptist Church and others. After the entertainment Rev. Michael Jenkins come up to start the main program. The main auditorium was packed with over 1500 people gathered there attentively listening and following every word of True Mother.
Presentations of the Hoon Dook Hwe books were made to various Professors, Clergy and dignitaries from the Los Angeles area.
Mother talks to Father via Video Phone.
Our Los Angeles community under Rev. In Hoi Lee is certainly very innovative; we offered as True Parents Wedding anniversary gift a video phone. It was a very pleasant surprise for True Parents. Through the Video Phone Father and Mother could not only talk but also see other on a TV screen. Rev. In Hoi Lee had planned this gift very effectively by shipping one end of the video phone ahead to East Garden. We heard that Father was truly impressed with this innovation . At this post celebration event Mother was entertained by several people including Sister Sureeta from the Nation of Islam.
Then in the closing moments of the evening post celebration program; Mother and Father in turn sang songs with the ending in a big crescendo of everyone dancing on stage. Rev. Joseph Lee from the Heavenly Vision Baptist church danced around too and seemed like he was having a thoroughly good time.
Truly this was the best Easter we have had in LA. Traditionally it is said that "He is risen" on Easter morning. Now we can boldly claim "True Mother (She) has risen !!!".