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!