The importance of Charity Work and giving back to our communities

After blogging about choices, New Years Resolutions and all sorts of motivational stuff, why a blog post about a tiny school out in the middle of nowhere?

Well, Dr. Tae Yun Kim, when she was growing up in war-torn post war South Korea, she had to walk for miles to school, and there was a serious shortage of teachers, supplies, food and pretty much everything.  She recalls walking to school in the middle of winter with sneakers that were so much to small that her big toes were sticking out.  Dr. Kim knows what important community communication hubs these schools can be!

Now, more than 60 years later and in the USA, she still thinks about school children and she knows first hand how important it is to keep the doors of local schools open, no matter how small or large they are.
When Dr. Kim heard that the Applegate School needed computers very badly, she jumped right in and donated enough funds to purchase 10 new notebook computers!
Sometimes well meaning people suggest she stop going to small schools and focus on big universities.

Of course I do that too, she says, but these small schools are so vital to local communities.  They are not only schools for the children, but they become community centers.  We need to do everything we can to keep their doors open!
Can you imagine how delighted the children were to have such a celebrity as Dr. Kim come and give a lecture, AND give a big check?

The power is in you, it is your personal choice what you do in your life, Dr. Kim says.  So let's act on it and do good whenever and wherever we can!

Part Three: The Power in Making Choices

And here, as promised, is the last and very important part about choices.  Look at the apple flower above!  What if it had made the choice not to open up?  What if it was too lazy to become the apple it was born to be?  What if it had chosen to remain the bud in the next picture?  Here is what Dr. Tae Yun Kim concludes her page on choices:

"Sometimes we tend to feel that making choices limits our options, and that by choosing a direction, we somehow eliminate all others.  No. Quite the contrary, every time you make a choice, you open up an entire web of possibilities connected with that choice.  If you dislike the outcome, the worst thing that can happen is you make another choice, and this opens up another entirely different number of possibilities adding to all the other previous choices!  There is no limitation in choosing!"

(These quotes came from "The First Element", pages 128 - 129)

This frosty little bud will later in the year open up to become the beauty you see above

So, let's not limit ourselves.  Let's make a choice - and either stick with it, or change it to another choice!  But let's not let our environment or anything or anyone else make choices for us!

One more time, Dr. Tae Yun Kim's powerful words:

The power is in us, it is our personal choice what we do in our lives!

The importance of making your own choices

First, the sun was almost up and clearly visible behind the fog

Yesterday I started sharing about the importance of making choices.  Because it is so important to make the right choices after setting those New Year Goals!

Dr. Tae Yun Kim says it best with one of her trademark sayings:

The power is in you, it is your personal choice what you do in your life!"

Then, the sun was up more fully 

 And to continue with Dr. Tae Yun Kim's wise words from yesterday, here goes:

"One of the reasons we hold back on making choices is because we delude ourselves into thinking we already have chosen something.  Let's say you don't have the employment you desire.  You don't like where you are, but you are afraid to make a move.  So you struggle along making yourself accept the situation, telling yourself you could leave if you chose to, all the while knowing you have no intention of leaving.  You simply go on feeling uncomfortable, unhappy, and anxious.

Then the fog moved in

This is a classic example common to many of use where we say we have made a choice.  But actually, it's pretty plain that the real choice remains unmade, frozen in fear.  Beware of deluding yourself.  Beware of convincing yourself you have made a choice, when in actuality you have only accepted a course of action."

....and the sun was playing hide and go seek

How about that!  Does that sound like you?  It sure sounds a lot like what I used to do all the time and now am trying to change!

And tomorrow, we'll get the icing on the cake regarding change!  Be sure to come back and read it all!

Making choices

With the Lunar New Year starting, and a new opportunity for a fresh start, I have been thinking about the goals I set.  Setting goals is a great start of course.  But, on a daily basis, it takes a lot of decision making to achieve those goals!  Right?

Here is the great insight of Dr. Tae Yun Kim on the subject of choices.  I love how she has the ability to get to the bottom of things and make them easy to understand.

"Making Choices is a powerful use of energy!  This means that on your road to your personal fulfillment, you will have many choices to make.  Instead of just drifting along like a piece of wood on a river, you actually direct your life by choosing this event, that path, this person, that area, and so on.  This may seem overly simplistic, and you may be thinking, "You don't have to tell me to make choices..I do it all the time!"

A palm tree decided to grow out of an oak tree! 

Next time you are feeling anxious, question whether or not you are holding back on some action you need to take or desire to take because you are afraid to choose.  Fear comes in all kinds of forms and is usually paralyzing in some way.  Often fear convinces us that is easier to take a stance where we let things happen to us, when instead we could take a directed action leading to a preferred outcome.

If you like this first part, check back tomorrow for part two of these words of wisdom by Dr. Tae Yun Kim.

The essence of water

I am sure you all know that water comes in many shapes and forms.

There is the obvious - water can be fluid, in its natural and most frequent appearance.  It can also be fog, clouds, and snow and ice!

But, as Dr. Tae Yun Kim points out - the essence of water is always the same.  It just takes on different manifestations.

In addition - water in its fluid form, also takes on different shapes.  When you put it into a round dish, you might way water is round.  But, as Dr. Tae Yun Kim explains, when you put the same water into a triangle shaped dish, the water becomes a triangle.  

Just like that, we need to always be who we are meant to be, and never lose sight of our inner being. Whether we are at home and at work, or any environment, we need to maintain our own energy, our own spirit, our own essence.  

When we go to work, we dress according to our work situation, business clothes for office workers, fancy clothes when you go out to a social event, warm clothes in the winter, and so on.

We may even need to behave differently depending on our surroundings, Dr. Tae Yun Kim reminds us.  But, even though you may need to clown around at a party, or be firm and stern in a courtroom, or whatever the situation requires - we are always the same person inside.

Fluid like water, you find a way to be your true self in any situation!  

In her principles of Mental Conduct, Dr. Tae Yun Kim sums it up:

"We have the ability to do, the capacity to act, and the capability to perform and produce."  

Monday Sunrise

It's Monday again, and what a treat I had this morning!  Look at this - the sun was just starting to come up!

Dr. Tae Yun Kim's words came to mind as I watched the miracle of sunrise unfold:

"No matter who you are, no matter where you are, no matter what obstacles and limitations exist around you at this moment, you can change your life, your health, and your state of mind completely.  You can decide who you want to become."

To sum it up with Dr. Tae Yun Kim's trademark words:

"HE CAN DO, SHE CAN DO, WHY  NOT ME!"

It is indeed a wonderful life!

This is what my immediate outdoor world looks like on the ground level a lot these days.  Frost everywhere!
Dr. Tae Yun Kim talks a lot about our environment and that it is important to not let it overpower us.
For example, when it's this cold it would be easy to say, "it's too cold I can't work out today."  Or "It's too cold to work in the garden I'll do it some other day."

But is it?  Sure it's cold, but so we can dress warmer!  If it's frozen and you can't plant in the garden - now is a perfect time for cleanup and getting rid of old plants, those frozen tomato plants you never got around taking away, and so forth.

Dr. Tae Yun Kim reminds me that it's so important to learn from nature.

Look at the frost on this rose bush!  But inside, a lot is happening!

for example inside this bud - it is just waiting for warmer weather to pop out and bloom in full glory!  Until then though, it is patiently waiting inside it's home, and working on and waiting to fulfill its destiny.  It does not get discouraged by frost a or snow or rain - it just keeps on working on what it needs to do.

So let's be like these plants, and no matter whether our environment is friendly or not, let's do what we set out to do, let's work on our goals for the New Year, and let's remember the beautiful words of Dr. Tae Yun Kim:

The power is in you, it is your personal choice what you do in your life!

HE CAN DO, SHE CAN DO, WHY NOT ME!

Be like water!

It seems like every day I drive to work I get ideas about blogging.  Today, it was raining really hard, and I remembered just last week we had some incredible water experiences.

Dr. Tae Yun Kim has a lot to say about water, it's power, it's strength, it's flexibility, it's ability to adjust to just about anything.

Today, let's talk about the incredible power of water.  The video above?  That was a driveway before the rains washed it out and created canyons.

Dr. Tae Yun Kim puts it this way: Just think about it - the Grand Canyon itself was created by the force of water.  It took a lot longer than washing out a driveway, but it was that same kind of power that made it happen. Also think about water in a fire hose, how powerful it is!  However, if not channeled into a hose, that same amount of water will just flow out and create a lake, sitting there and not able to put out any fires, yet having it's own beauty, tranquility, and be home to may animals.

Water will find a way to get where it needs to go; gently if it can, forceful if it has to.

"Be like water," Dr. Tae Yun Kim says, "Be gentle whenever you can. Be forceful when you need to be. But do get your goals accomplished!"

The power of music

Ludwig van Beethoven used to love to walk through nature and get great inspiration and consolation from it

Dr. Tae Yun Kim often talks about the power of music, how the vibrations of music can influence us for better or worse.  It all depends on who wrote the music, who performs it and what state of mind they were in.

On the way to work this morning, I did something I usually don't do.  I listened to music.  Typically I enjoy the peace and quiet of the car ride, taking in the sights along the way, like hawks, a sunrise, clouds, the river and so much more.

Today though I felt like listening to music, and it so happened that Beethoven's 9th Symphony came on.  I have always liked Beethovens music, but particulary after Dr. Tae Yun Kim pointed out that he wrote - and directed! - most of his works after he was deaf.  He was completely deaf when he composed his 9th Symphony, and it is a very intricate, long, and amazing piece of music, written by a genius.

Dr. Tae Yun Kim also pointed out that Ludwig van Beethoven's life was full of struggle and hardships.  As a young child, he suffered great abuse at the hands of his father, was ridiculed in school for his dyslexia. And even though he went through periods of great depression, he never thought of taking his life, because he felt he had to work harder and faster to get all the music out into the world that was still inside him.

So when I listened to Beethoven's ultimate Masterpiece, I had tears of joy coming down - joy for this music to be born into this world by a master who wouldn't give up.

And joy for Dr. Tae Yun Kim, who's life has also been full of trouble and hardship, and yet she is still giving so much joy and happiness to the world through her work, through books, TV shows and so many other ways.

Please do yourself a favor and listen to Ludwig van Beethoven's beautiful work - I promise you won't regret it!  And once I figure out how to insert or link to this music, I will gladly share here!

The Sun is always there!

Dr. Tae Yun Kim has a way to awaken us to the miracles around us, and what they can teach us.

As I was driving to work this morning, I was greeted by a most beautiful sunrise!  The entire world was lit up and showered with the most beautiful light imaginable.

But as I got closer to work, heavy, thick fog settled in and while at first you could still see the sun, pretty soon all there was to see was, well, not much!

This reminded me of a gem of great wisdom Dr. Tae Yun Kim has shared with us.

"The sun is always there.  We may say, there is no sun today, it's all cloudy or foggy.  But in reality, the sun is there!  We just can't see it!  How often in life do we do that - let our environment influence us and we can't see simple solutions to issues even they are right there, but our mental fog covers it all up.  Remember, the power is in you, it is your personal choice what you do in your life!"

So, today, this Monday, let's not get anything between us and the sun, between us and our goals, between us and what we believe in.

HE CAN DO, SHE CAN DO, WHY NOT ME!

No more excuses!

One more blog about New Years Goals, and how to reach them.  As we know by know, Dr. Tae Yun Kim highly encourages us to not only set goals, but also work towards reaching them, and hold ourselves accountable.

But for one reason or another, sometime we don't seem to be able to do it. Why?  The goals seemed so very important, and somehow, they seem farther away than ever.  Here is a great revelation from Dr. Tae Yun Kim:

"When a goal is taking longer than expected to fulfill, there is a strong temptation to give up and make excuses for failure. Your excuses prevent you from doing the additional work you need to do for ultimate success.  Typically you do know the right thing to do, but you make an excuse!  You make the excuse because somehow you think this is more beneficial than being honest with yourself or someone else.  
Most excuses are fueled by the belief that you can't do what you know you should.  No such thing! Be aware that "I can't usually means I could, but I won't.  

For example, lazy persons most likely have some fear regarding their ability to achieve.  They use laziness to avoid testing themselves and confronting their fear of failure.  

If you find yourself saying "I can't," examine this statement very closely.  It rarely means I am not able.  Most of the time, you can!  You will just have to persevere with continued effort!"
(The Silent Master page 132)

So there you have it straight from Dr. Tae Yun Kim - check yourself and see if you are making excuses - and if you are - how about stopping?

Why it is so hard to get rid of negative emotions

Today's topic might be a little uncomfortable, but it's the beginning of a New Year and we want to achieve the goals we set, right?  So Dr. Tae Yun Kim encourages us to look deep inside ourselves and really get to the root of things.

For example, in her book, "Seven Steps to Inner Power" Dr. Tae Yun Kim talks about why it is not always easy to give up negative emotions.  Let's say one of our goals is to get rid of anger; or to get rid of depression.  Why aren't we successful?  Why is it so hard?  Negative emotions can be as strong as raging water, and just as destructive.

"Bear in mind that to some extent you may enjoy your negative emotional states.  Be willing to admit that perhaps you have found them comfortable, familiar friends.  Yes, on the surface you may say that it's no fun being angry.  But are you sure?  Are you sure there are not payoffs such as, When I am angry I like the feeling of being 'right'; When I am depressed, my husband pays more attention to me. (Manipulating others through negative states is what I call emotional blackmail.)"
(Seven Steps to Inner Power, page 42)

A special surprise!

I thought I would surprise you with this special slide show I found online!  What a treat!

Tae yun kim tae yun kim and tae kwon do from Tae Yun Kim

Nature is our Best Teacher

Dr. Tae Yun Kim uses examples from nature to illustrate her teachings, and does so very effectively.

I am sure you have noticed that you cannot hang on to a sunset.  It comes and goes within a matter of seconds.  It comes in all its beauty and then is done until the next day.  Wouldn't it be very weird if nature was so proud of a particular sunset it tried to hang on to it?

Many trees change their leaf colors in the fall, and then shed the leaves altogether.  In spring, new ones come and cover the tree all over again.  Those trees never keep their leaves just because they did a lot of good during the summer and were so pretty in the fall!  

Nature just knows what needs to be done - and does it.  How about people?  I can't say that of myself. In reading one of my favorite books by Dr. Tae Yun Kim, I found this gem that always keeps me on the right track:

"Clinging to a good picture you have created possibly keeps you from expanding into an even greater good.  Clinging to a disagreeable picture keeps you there!  So, don't hold on to as though it is the final story.  You don't hate, resent, fight, or quarrel with an undesirable situation, and you don't overly love or cling to a desirable situation.  Detachment means you are always ready, open and willing to experience change.  That is how you develop.  You can't develop and grow if you hold on tightly to something you have acquired no matter how good you think it is." (The Silent Master, page 100)

Let's be like nature and let things flow, and be open to positive changes in our lives!

Keeping a pure environment

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim, when sharing her life story, always mentions how she was first introduced to Martial Arts - she saw her uncles training in the morning mist.

As I went outside this morning I saw this beautiful sight, a light fog covering the nearby mountain. The air was crisp and clear and every breath was pure joy.

This complete purity reminded me of what I had just read in Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim's book "The Silent Master," a book I had read and re-read many times but still gives me food for thought every time I read it:

"Your mind is the environment in which your ideas, thoughts, and emotions reside.  As with any environment, the goals is to make it as clean and pure as possible.  I often find that people treat their cars better than they treat their minds and bodies.  their cars at least get regular tune-ups, good gas, and careful washing and cleaning.  But the content and quality of their minds - their thoughts and feelings - don't get any attention at all!

Since your Silent Master consciousness is perfect purity, you don't need to work to make yourself pure.  You need to work to eliminate the thoughts and emotions that are impure from your mind and environment.  You will be taking away what isn't you in order to leave what is you shining forth."  

(The Silent Master, page 65)

More on New Years resolutions

Let's have a moment of truth.  Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim has been talking a lot lately about the importance of holding ourselves accountable for our actions.  Or inactions.

She explains that just setting a goal isn't enough.  We need to see it through, even when it seems impossible.  We need to set milestones to see if we are on the right track and on time.

Even though 2017 is only 6 days old - have you allowed yourself to slide just a little?  Maybe you wanted to lose some weight, but figured that one cookie wasn't going to make a difference?  Maybe you wanted to work out every other day, but figured missing one work out wouldn't be so bad?

And if you want to give up because you were already veering off course so soon after, well, don't! See what Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim has to say about that.  Are you ready?

"Part of our fear of mistakes is pure laziness.  What's the worst thing that will happen if you make a mistake?  You will have to abandon that course of action and take another, which means, in short, a lot of work.  What does that mean?  That means you will have to think of another course of action.  You may have to be creative.  You may have to expend energy in thinking, evaluating, planning.  You may have to resist emotions, such as despair, futility, rejection, and fear.

If you are mentally lazy, making mistakes will be one of the best excuses you have for giving up, for deciding that maybe your goals isn't so important after all.  What a senseless waste that would be!  Why expect so little out of life?"

So, let's get back on track and stick to our goals!  It's a wonderful life!

How to overcome feelings of guilt

It's so easy to get depressed over mistakes we make, and stay discouraged.  It's easy to let yourself get dragged down by guilt and bad feelings.  Either we feel it's expected of us to wallow in our mental mud, or maybe we like the compassion that we might get for being down.

Well, Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim will have none of that.  She has a way of motivating me and making me feel great.  I absolutely love this excerpt from her book "The Silent Master."  It's from page 48.

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim says:

"You need to realize that you don't need to feel guilty forever.  Guilt has its purpose for a little while.  It makes you realize you need to change.  But once you take action to create change, guilt is no longer purposeful.  In fact, at that point it's obstructive.  So if you are ready to make a change, right now, first let go of the guilt.  Realize that your guilt is a feeling about something that's over.  whatever the "fault" or whatever the mistake, it isn't a part of the true you now.  It's over.  It's gone.  Begin the process of healing with feelings of joy instead."

So let's have a life full of joy!

Facing Strengths and Weaknesses

This is the thing about being human.  Every person in the world has strengths and weaknesses.  I am not sure when or where us humans decided we had to hide our weaknesses and only show our strengths, or in other extremes, have to punish ourselves for our weaknesses.

We seem to have managed to screw things up a bit here, but Dr. Tae Yun Kim gives me very simple ways to not only realize I have both strengths and weaknesses, but also how to deal with this.

"To really put your best face forward, you must be willing to look as hard at your weaknesses as you do your strengths and say, "I am a mixture of both."  Why?  So you can eliminate the weaknesses.  How? By looking carefully at yourself and getting to know yourself.  Take a piece of paper and pencil and actually list your strengths and weaknesses.  Listen ten of each.  See how easy or difficult this task is.  See how well you really know yourself.

So, look clinically at your strengths and weaknesses.  You don't need to make value judgments on yourself.  When ou find your strengths, decide to keep them, but do not become overly confident or egotistical.  When you find your weaknesses, determine to eliminate them, but do not fall in a mire of depression, dejection, or self-condemnation."

I love how Dr. Tae Yun Kim puts it.  So simple and so true, no emotions messing up the picture!
Let's do this!  :)

Goals for 2017

I used to think, I just have to set some goals and then I am done.  Right?  I was excited about them, and had them in the back of my mind, and the first weeks of the year I actually worked on them.

But then they slowly faded into the background.  What happened?

Dr. Tae Yun Kim is the Master of setting goals, "future memories" as she calls them, and then achieving them.  To her, its a matter of life and death. If a goal is worthy of being set, it is worthy your every effort to make it happen.

It's so easy to say, "I can't do it because of this or because of that."

With the sharpness of a sword Dr. Tae Yun Kim sees through my mental fog and asks this crucial question:

Your really can't?
Isn't it more like you won't?

If you really think about it, how many time have you said you can't when it was actually an I won't?
I know I am guilty of this!

But here is another nugget from Dr. Kim:

Remind yourself each and every day of your goal.  Every day!
And set goals every day what you will accomplish that day, to make sure you reach the year goals!

Ready?  Let's go!

HE CAN DO, SHE CAN DO, WHY NOT ME!

Welcome 2017

Hello Everyone,

I wish you all a most Happy 2017 - can you feel change in the air?  I love every New Year because it gives me the opportunity to do better than the year before, to set new goals and a new chance it life!
My teacher, mentor and master, Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim, always encourages me to reflect back on the past year, check my goals and review them.

What did I accomplish?  What percentage of each goal did I get done?
Well this is embarrassing, but last year I did not do even three quarters of what I had written down as goals.

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim has this to say about mistakes in her book "Seven Steps to Inner Power."

"How did we humans get the idea that to be perfect we couldn't make mistakes?  Never making a mistake does not make us perfect.  Never repeating a mistake (after we learn from it) is as perfect as we need to be."  (page 26)

So rather than being depressed and having a pity party, I will take charge, and every day use the tool Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim has given me:

look at your list of goals every day.  Work on them every day, and report to yourself.  You will be amazed at how much you will get done!

HE CAN DO, SHE CAN DO, WHY NOT ME!