OSU Commencement 2009

Yesterday, I was part of a historical event. It was the 388th commencement ceremony, the largest commencement ceremony The Ohio State University ever held, with 8,162 students graduated this spring semester. Our daughter, Yusun Kim, was part of it and we therefore didn't mind to spend 2 1/2 hours in the arena with some 30,000 other participants. She received a Bachelor of Arts from the College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

I must say, I was curious what a famous politician and astronaut would tell young people at the doorstep into the "real" world. Senator John Glenn spoke at the heel of all the awards including one honorary doctorate for his wife Annie Glenn, for public service.

That was also the focus of the Senator's message which focused on three points:
1) Why not?
2) You are part of something bigger than yourself.
3) Serve others.

At the first point he reminiscent on the progress of humankind in his own lifetime. He inspired the audience to keep an inquisitive mind and always be curious by asking "Why not?" The infinite probabilities of our modern world have put men on the moon, advanced medicine to find penicillin, technology to develop computers, cellphones among just a few conveniences.
That took him to his second point to remind us that we are part of a larger community. Senator Glenn told the crowd:
"No person lives solely as an island unto himself, particularly in a democracy such as ours."
"Those whose world is centered just on themselves live in a very small universe. We are fulfilled when we are part of something bigger than ourselves."

Glenn was referring to society at large, saying that a democracy such as the U.S. requires people to get involved and not just focus inward. He said that's also the way to find personal fulfillment.

That's why he inspired the audience to serve others. Young people need to get involved. By serving others, they can gather their best experiences and memories.

He also mentioned that June 14th is Flag Day: "Beautiful as that waving red, white and blue piece of cloth may be, it is what it stands for, what it symbolizes on this Flag Day, that stirs our feelings, our allegiance and our willingness to support the greater cause it represents -- even at personal risk."

Glenn finished with a familiar, “And in this stadium remember the teams and outstanding individuals who played here ... and now you, just like the OSU teams will represent The Ohio State University. To you, the class of 2009, make yourself proud, God speed, and to each and everyone of you, Go Bucks!“


The Ohio State University President Gordon Gee told students to dream, and dream big.
“If you cannot dream, you will not achieve it. Never, never let a bigoted remark stand.“ President Gee gave the advice especially in regards to high unemployment and a questionable economy. He told the graduates, that with a big dream anything is possible.

At the end of the ceremony we gathered our family and friends and waited for our graduating daughter. She finally arrived, waiving her certificate proudly, "Mom, Dad, I got my certificate, I did it." We had no doubt about it, since she had worked hard and truly deserved the reward.

Emv - MonaVie's New Healthy Energy Drink

At the TEAM convention in Louisville, Kentucky, this past weekend, June 5-7, 2009, Jeff Graham from MonaVie headquarters introduced the new energy drink. Emv is like no other energy drink on the market.
Great tasting and lightly carbonated, this healthy formula increases performance, endurance, and concentration by kicking up your energy level and keeping it there.

Emv contain 80% fruit juice, combined from seven fruits: Acai, Apple, Acerola, Camu camu, Cupuacu, Grape and Pear. Additionally, it contains a Proprietary Energy Blend: Isomaltulose, Guarana, Green Tea, Maca, Yerba mate, Ginseng, D-Ribose, and L-tyrosine.

Isomaltulose is a novel and natural carbohydrate energy source. It is found naturally occurring in honey and sugar cane extract.

Guarana is a Brazilian herb which contain a mild form of caffeine.

Green tea is popular due to its antioxidant polyphenol content.

Maca has been long known in folklore for its aphrodisiac and energizing properties.

Yerba mate is popular among the tropical population as a tea and promotes mental state of wakefulness, focus and alertness.

Ginseng has known medicinal qualities and is used to promote longevity and improve quality of life.

Emv energy drink gives you: clarity, focus, vigor, vitality and a long lasting energy supply.

The official date of release is June 20, 2009. Please visit my website to get more information and to order: http://www.the-team.biz/mv991215/TheProduct/TheBlend/MonaVieEnergyDrinkEmv/tabid/250/Default.aspx

Mind Your Own Business

"Make somebody happy today. Mind your own business." ~ Ann Landers

Mind Your Own Business or get rid of a pain in the butt.

MYOB roughly means: attend to your own affairs; keep your nose out of other people's business. Stay focused on your own work. Focus on productivity and excellence for your work responsibilities.
Most of us want to be involved with other people. It is a true human nature to build relationships and to be interested in others.
This is an important lesson I learned recently after I felt self-righteous enough to correct a co-worker's "wasteful, territorial and unnecessary work habits." She told me I was harassing her and complained to the boss. I never could see the whole situation from her point of view and felt unnecessarily conformed. By minding my own business and focus on the work I have to do, I got rid of a pain in the butt (or at least I am on my way to get it healed).

Where does the self-righteous behavior come from?

I like to tell you a short story which in some way affects all of us:
Once upon a time there were two young people, a boy and a girl. While they were growing up they had a lot of fun together and since they had the same parents, they behaved very much like all brothers and sisters. Sometimes they teased each other, sometimes they played and ran and sometimes they just discovered their environment which was very beautiful. A big wild garden surrounded their home. Their favorite game was to name all the animals, trees and flowers, etc. Since it was always warm, they didn’t even have any clothes on.
Everything went very harmonious, until one day, when their servant suddenly had greater interest in the girl. He took her away on some outings and different activities, but the boy didn’t think anything of it. The girl also had no clue why the servant had more interest in her and didn’t want the boy around anymore. But the girl was very trusting and believed everything the servant told her. Then one day, he said: “Did your father say, you should not eat of any tree of the garden?”
By now you probably realize that the story I am telling you is the oldest story (Gen. 3:1-23) in history. The serpent being Lucifer, the archangel of knowledge, first put doubt into Eve’s mind. Then by seducing her, she inherited fear and a whole lot other dysfunctional behavior.
There are four basic dysfunctional behaviors (fallen natures) we all inherited from our first human ancestors (read more in detail about the Fall of Man):
1) Failure to see things from God’s point of view.
2) Leaving ones proper position.
3) Reversal of dominion.
4) Multiplication of evil.
I am assuming that you don’t believe that our ancestors ate a fruit and suddenly became messed up.
We all live with an emotional baggage which comes from the original human parents. Here are some of the emotions connected to the four fallen natures (see page 23 in the link):

1) Failure see things from God's point of view
---- not knowing our true identity
---- not knowing our true purpose
---- unworthiness
---- not accepting ourselves
---- jealousy
---- self-righteous
---- judgemental
---- opinionated
2) Leaving ones proper position
---- not keeping our boundaries
---- being envious
---- controlling others
---- enslaving others
3) Reversal of Dominion
---- various disorders
---- being tutelage
---- disharmony in the family
4) Multiplication of Evil
---- gossiping
---- motivating others to do evil
---- motivating others to smoke/drink/etc.
---- persuading others to addictive behavior
---- multiplying fear

"The best way to predict your future is to create it." ~ Peter Drucker

Emotional Release Therapy
The purpose of the emotional release therapy is to see the whole picture and to understand the goal of the providence of God. We want to live in the presence of God to feel his love and to share that love with others. The ERT is very easy to learn and easy to do for oneself and others. Walter Weston wrote in Emotional Release Therapy - Letting Go of Life's Painful Emotions "Emotional pain produces a destructive energy that blocks you from learning and growing and from achieving personal and vocational success. Through releasing that pain, you may acquire the happiness and satisfaction you have long sought."

Result of emotional release:

* Feel closer to God
* Be grateful
* Greater inner awareness
* Be more intuitive
* Be more forgiving
* Focus on who you are
* Care more for people
* Be a better listener
* Complete healing

To learn more about Emotional Release Therapy, please visit Walter Weston's website: http://walterweston.com/. I met with Walter and experienced a wonderful release session. He also gives telephone consultations.

Memorial Day Tributes

My Memorial Day Tribute starts with this poem:

"It is the Soldier, not the minister Who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the Soldier, not the reporter Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Soldier, not the poet Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer Who has given us freedom to protest.
It is the Soldier, not the lawyer Who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Soldier, not the politician Who has given us the right to vote.
It is the Soldier who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who allows the protester to burn the flag." .........................

- Father Dennis Edward O'Brian, USMC (often incorrectly attributed to Charles M. Province)

The other day somebody asked me what it meant to me to be an American? My answer was as follows:
I was not born an American, rather became a citizen 10 years ago, when I had lived in this country longer than I had in any other country. For me to be an American means to be free, free to choose my occupation, my place of living, free to vote and to express my opinion, free to create my life. This freedom also provides the protection from foreign invasions as well as safety while traveling overseas. This is the only country in the world which declares: In God We Trust. America was founded by God fearing people who came here leaving everything else behind, ready to make a new beginning. They built a house for God and community worship first before they built their own homes. They came to build one culture and language disregarding their own personal heritage and traditions. One Nation under God has to be our motto and is the solution for all of our problems today. If the founding fathers of this country had the humility to bow their heads in prayer to ask for guidance and direction why can’t we today? I am proud to be an American and proud of my German heritage.




Let's give tribute to others who defended the freedom of their country (Germany):

During WWII, the only visible manifestation of opposition to the regime following Stalingrad was an unexpected and completely spontaneous outbreak of anti-war sentiment among a small number of university students, organised by a group called the White Rose, centered in Munich but with connections in Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Vienna. In January 1943 they launched a campaign of antiwar handbills and graffiti in and around Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich. Inevitably, they were soon detected and arrested. The three ringleaders, Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst, were given perfunctory trials and executed, as was Kurt Huber, a professor of music and philosophy accused of inspiring their actions, and several others.
In the spirit of freedom and bravery I also like to remember some people who stood up again tyranny. I recently watched the movie "Valkyrie." Contrary to many other historical accounts that Germany stood silently in the face of Hitler's atrocities, Valkyrie portraits, Graf Claus von Stauffenberg as a German officer heading one of the many resistances. He used his military influences and Hitler's own plan (operation Valkyrie) to get close to the "Fuehrer" and tried to assassinate him. Another strong force against the Nazis was General Friedrich Olbricht who was the master-mind behind the assassination plot, and General Hans Oster who were the driving force behind the German resistance.

Let us honor today the many great men and women who stand to protect our freedom and gave their lives for a better future by defending our God-given rights.

Liver Cleansing

Recently, I have been going more by my intuition in regards to making decisions. When a friend of mine mentioned that he had done a liver cleanse, after reading Adreas Moritz' book The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Flush, I remembered the many natural healing books I have on my shelf. I picked up Hanna Kroeger's God helps those that help themselves. I like her simple wisdom and the natural ingredients she suggests to use. In her chapter on Congestion as the Cause of Ill Health, she suggests: De congest Your Liver. It reads:

The liver is the most effected organ when it comes to metallic and chemical poisoning. You have to clean out your liver from old debris, metals as lead, mercury, arsenic, from chemicals DDT and so on.

Every time that you have the following symptoms a liver flush is indicated:

1. When you start to ache without reason

2. When you touch your right collarbone on the knob and it is painful to touch

3. When you become disenchanted with life

4. When you find fault with your neighbor

5. When you are comfortable with dark glasses

Then, it is time to clean your liver. Buy large cans of stewed tomatoes (I had my own canned tomatoes from my garden, they were so delicious). Better make your own, but do not add any fat. Eat as much as you can, also drink tomato juice, (for the next two days).
It is amazing how hungry you become, so at bedtime of the second day you will look forward to the following cocktail:
3 ounces olive oil
2 ounces castor oil
3 ounces whip cream
Stir

Drink this before bed when you are ready for sleep and relaxed. You may chew a little piece of lemon afterwards just for taste. It is a lot easier than it sounds. At 3 or 4 a.m. you will be having a nature's call and in all your life you have not experienced so much dark and ugly smelly waste. The next morning (3rd day) have a breakfast you desire and earned.
Accumulation of toxins in the body may occur due to failure of the detoxification systems: Liver, kidney, thyroid, adrenals, and colon. Accumulation may also be due to faulty metabolism or toxic matter at large.
After being somewhat nauseated and light headed I felt energized and most of all had no pain in my body. On the emotional level, I don't feel anger or aggression any more.


Here is a link to Hulda Clark 's website, who is also a pioneer in the natural healing field. She has many good drawings to understand what is going on in the body during the liver flush.

Tribute to the Feminine Aspect of Our God

This is a picture of the "Eye of God," taken by NASA with the hubble telescope shows a nebula.

Yesterday, we celebrated Mother’s Day. Even though it is commercial or more secular holiday, we can also celebrate it from a principled point of view by honoring all of our blessed mothers and most of all, our mother God.

Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

Father Moon said in many of his speeches that the most important relationship is the one between God as our parent and we being His children. From another aspect, if we think of God as the creator, the subject, outpouring energy, creative and forceful, then the creation appears in the feminine role being responsive, objective, and soft with all its curves and grooves. In creation we can recognize many aspects of the motherly side of God. Think of mother nature as nurturing and life giving. Images of women representing mother earth, and mother nature, are timeless. In prehistoric times, goddesses were worshipped for their association with fertility, reproduction, AND agricultural bounty. The word nature originates from Latin meaning giving birth.
When we reflect on the attribute of a mother, God’s love comes to mind. In the bible,

I Cor. 13:4-7 “Love is defined as patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, hopes all things, and endures all things."

A Mother is very kind to her child. You are freer with your mother than with anybody else. It is the mother who protects you, nourishes you, consoles you, cheers you and nurses you. She is the one you first perceive. She sacrifices her all for the sake of her children.
A female executive who functions as a mother can maintain harmonious relationships and excel as an executive, because in the sensitivity of the female mode of nurturing she does not compete with men nor intimidate other women.
It is in maternity that woman fulfills her physiological destiny; it is her natural 'calling,' since her whole organic structure is adapted for the perpetuation of the species.

"My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her."
-- George Washington (1732-1799)

I just recently went to see my mother in Germany. She turned 84 on May 4, 2009. We were sharing a lot and I gained a greater respect and love for my mother during that time. My mother had a difficult life, being abandoned by her dad, who committed suicide, at the age of 3. Her mother made a life for herself and her daughter during a time when women didn't enter the workforce. They both survived WWII, but lost all their possessions during a bombing of their hometown in 1945. My parents married during the war and build an existence for themselves in East Germany. In 1961 they escaped to West Germany, just two months before the wall was build. For the love of freedom they left everything behind.
My parents had a few more years together, celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary by gathering their four children. Rather than going on a long deserved honeymoon, they invited all of us to a trip to the Alps in Southern Germany. My dad passed away in 1986, never experiencing the reunification of Germany which happened on November 9, 1989. The week I spend with her we prepared for her move to the nursing home. She decided to leave everything behind again, except for some personal belongings.
Despite all that, she still has a resiliency that is remarkable and inspiring. She has an attitude of “things will work out.” The amazing thing is I could never talk to her about spiritual matters or live after death.

This is a picture of my sister, mother and me, two years ago.

M-O-T-H-E-R
"M" is for the million things she gave me,
"O" means only that she's growing old,
"T" is for the tears she shed to save me,
"H" is for her heart of purest gold;
"E" is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
"R" means right, and right she'll always be, Put them all together, they spell
"MOTHER,"A word that means the world to me.
--Howard Johnson (c. 1915)

Restoration of the mother's role
Throughout history, God has been working his providence of restoration, to bring about a pure lineage. The mother's role was helped through the mother-son cooperation.
In the inaugural address of the Family Federation for World Peace, Mother Moon says:
Satan sowed the seed of false love within the womb of Eve, which gave birth to evil life. Therefore, God needed to purify a mother’s womb from which the heavenly son could be born. That purification period of separation from Satan had to begin at the time of conception and continue to age forty, so even though Jacob was victorious he did not meet that criteria. The great mother who assumed the responsibility to meet this condition was Tamar.
Tamar deceived her Father-in-law Judah and conceived Perez and Zerah.
On this foundation, the Holy Mother Mary emerged in the mainstream of God’s Providence. We all know that Mary conceived Jesus. She had to achieve something that could not be understood by common sense, nor easily tolerated under the laws of her times.

“A man is a representative of True Father, and a woman a representative of True Mother. If a husband neglects his wife, therefore, this means that he neglects True Mother. If a wife tells a lie to her husband, this means that she tells a lie to God.” ~ The way of God’s will

This mother's day we want to remember all the mothers today and throughout history. Mother's have sacrificed and suffered a lot. Not until the position of the first mother, Eve, has been restored can mothers fully enjoy their role and be the true expression of God's femininity.

“The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom." -- Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)

Germany – Reflection of a Recent Visit

My visit to Germany this time was for the sole purpose of celebrating my mother’s 84th birthday. As it turned out the same week a room became free at the nursing home, and we prepared her for the move. Many of the things my mom has kept for years reminded me of my childhood. It stirred some deep memories about the beginning of our family in East Germany. My family had always hoped and longed for reunification of the two Germanys . In fact, that was our favorite pastime to dream about what if… we had the same choices people had in the west to travel, or choosing our jobs, or just to have a choice between a few pairs of shoes instead of just one. Or we didn’t have to stand in line for hours to buy some bananas, oranges or chewing gum. We always had the basics for living but even as kids we welcomed second hand clothing a family sent us from the west because of better quality.
Like many other Germans I have been avoiding my past. I became an American citizen in 1999. I always liked visiting with my family back home but otherwise I didn’t miss it much. Not until my daughter started taking German in college and falling in love with the German culture did I have any other thoughts. Looking at some photo albums with my mom reminded me of the some of the pains of my youth. We left East Germany in 1961 just two months before the wall was built in Berlin.

From then on we were refugees. I changed school about six times during my teenage years and therefore had the hardest time to make friends again. We were always outsiders, even though we all spoke the same language, my classmates thought I was a Russian spy, ha, ha. On the deeper social level, all Germans carry the burden of guilt and shame of the Hitler era and the aggressions of WWII.

Just before I left for my trip I met a young man from Germany, Dominick. He was doing volunteer work with the Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly here in the U.S. instead of serving in the German Army which is mandatory in Germany. He told me that the World Cup 2006 which was hosted by Germany brought an unexpected boost in moral for the country. Germany didn’t win the soccer tournament. None-the-less, the World Cup was considered a great success for Germany in general. For the first time since WWII, Germany also experienced an increase in patriotic spirit and participants waved the German flag.

How to let go of the past? How to let go of guilt and shame? We can’t just forget it. Forgiveness is a process of letting go. Unfortunately, I don’t find much spirituality in Germany. The two main churches, Catholic and Protestant, conform to the increasing socialism in Germany. I was not surprised that presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, was so welcomed in Germany when he visited there last year. The churches are like museums rich with historical treasures but does God live there?

What about the unified Germany? Traditionally, the German culture is built on steadfastness and mutual consensus - not exactly qualities you need in today's global changing market. Germany has to learn to be more flexible, fast, creative and aggressive. Today, East Germany’s mass unemployment, unhappiness and depression are a heavy burden. Old communist ideas and even Neo Nazism found fertile grounds for their ideas. It has been twenty years since that memorable day, November 9, 1989 when the wall was opened in Berlin. It has been sixty years, since West Germany was founded as a free country.

Then, on October 3, 1990 East and West became again one country.
But is Germany really reunited? Not yet. Huge amounts of money have been spent to bring East Germany up to Western standards. The infrastructure has been updated to world class levels. But the economy is simply not speeding up. Many East Germans have left their homes for the West and better jobs. Often their mindset still contains the past indoctrinations of entitlement and victim hood. A great challenge is now also the big Islamic population, mainly Turks living in Germany since the economic boom of the sixties.
It will still take a while till all the wounds of the past will be healed. Now, Germany needs an internal unification. Each individual has to come to a resolution, to let go of the past, forgive whatever has been done wrong and possibly is still done wrong. On the collective level, myself included, I have to forgive and let go for what happened. Only then can I find peace with myself and my German heritage.

Once we let go of the need for self-punishment, we make room for God's grace and mercy. This punishment shows up as resentment and anger or other negative emotions or in the worst case as physical dis-ease (disease). All are appearances of the EGO, our past perceptions and beliefs which allowed us to keep captive and enslaved . Only in the presence of God can we recognize our true nature and identity and have no more need for self-punishment.

With the merit of the age a new freedom has been gained, a freedom which goes beyond country borders or ethnic boundaries.