Kicking at Jung SuWon: much more than just physical

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim of Jung Suwon Martial Art Academy, clarifies the concept from the previous post:

If this is a bit too abstract at first, think of it this way: whatever materializes in our lives, were pictures in our minds first. Everything you see existed first as an idea that you entertained. When you want to change the picture, then you must work with the ideas, not only with the picture. For example, imagine you are looking at a picture of a slide projected on a screen. What you see on the screen comes from the slide in the projector. Any markings you make on the screen to change the picture will not change the picture on the slide. The slides in the projector are like ideas in your consciousness. Just as you must change the slide to change the picture on the screen, you must change your ideas, attitudes, and expectations to change the pictures of your world.

Kicking at Jung Suwon: Your thoughts create reality

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim continues to explain:

You might believe that what you think doesn’t matter; only what you actually say or do. Not so. Again, your thoughts are words, and your words are patterns which take form. Sitting around thinking strongly of how much you hate this certain person, or being convinced you cannot participate in Martial Arts classes, will fill you with an inner monologue that only creates a negative energy cloud around you and you will end up attracting the things you are thinking. If you are convincing yourself you cannot do something – you will end up not being able to do that something! This is negative visualization, and to stop yourself from doing it, try this: listen to your inner words. Frequently check to make sure you’re talking positively about yourself. If you find a monologue running that goes…”I’ll never make it…I’m no good…nobody wants me….nobody values me…I have nothing to offer…I am too fat…and on and on. Then you need to consciously stop and consciously create new words. I am succeeding. My talent is valuable and desirable. I have my unique contribution to make…I am attractive…whatever you need to say to help you on your way, not hinder you.

Kicking at Jung SuWon - it's not just in the legs!

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim explains why kicks aren't just for our legs...

As martial artists, we all know about how powerful correctly executed kicks are and how beautiful and graceful they can be. They combine power, speed, and beauty into true works of art. They are effective tools not only in self defense, and self expression, but they also tone your body in many ways.

But at the same time, they are so much more. They are tools for visualization, for achieving goals, for making your dreams a reality. How so?

One of my students was severely overweight when she started training. In fact she was so overweight she didn’t even want to start until she lost some weight! Finally she did, but while everybody participated with gusto, she would stand off to the side. When others shouted “He Can Do, She Can Do, Why not ME” she would say to herself, why not me? Because I am fat, that’s why!

Soon she started to come around. I explained to her the power of visualization. Every time she was doing a punch, or kick, she was now visualizing kicking away her fat, her temptations, and all the cakes, cookies and donuts she loved so much and that kept tempting her into sneaking those foods. Every time she was punching and kicking the bags, she wasn’t seeing the bag! She was seeing a giant donut, or a big piece of cake! You wouldn’t believe how hard she was able to kick, all of a sudden. Through visualization she not only gained strength and power, she also lost about 150 lbs, and has the most beautiful, graceful kicks as well! Her natural flexibility started to come through, and her confidence rose.

She had learned that visualization is not just idle daydreaming or wishful thinking. It is focused imagining, with the power of your will and persistence behind it. It is an immaterial activity that takes form first as a mental image, then as a material image.

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim: last part about personal choices

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim of Jung SuWon Martial Arts academy finishes her article about success and setting goals:

Here are some beautiful words from “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran, which describe how everyone is individual. We need to love and value and acknowledge the gifts that are uniquely ours.

“The musician may sing to you of the rhythm which is in all space, but he cannot give you the ear which arrests the rhythm nor the voice that echoes it….

For the vision of one man lends not its wings to another man. And even as each one of you stands alone in God’s knowledge, so must each one of you be alone in his knowledge of God and in his understanding of the earth.”


But to be alone with the Life Force of the universe is to be one with all that is, and this is certainly not lonely. This is fulfillment.

Give it a try! See how you do with this. Then let me know. I would love to hear from you again. And remember, you are an original, not a copy! You have the power to fulfill your dreams!

And in closing, let’s meditate together, in your favorite spot. Try this meditation that I have created just for you.

“Right now I am the Silent Master consciousness, and I can feel its wholeness and completeness whenever I have a need. I see myself growing. My Silent Master consciousness is present now to help me find my right place and right purpose. Because I am one with the Life Force of the universe, I can feel Love and energy already within me moving me forward. I am unique and individual, yet I am part of the whole. I can achieve my goals. I share what I am, lovingly and givingly, because my unique part to play is necessary to complete the whole. I am alone, yet I am alone with the entire manifest universe and every other individual. Together we are each alone, and together we are all-one, and together we each fulfill our unique purpose in harmony and peace.”

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim teaches more about personal choices

Here are some more thoughts of Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim regarding choices. At her Martial Arts school, Jung SuWon, she teaches these things in person:

When you are really ready to find this aspect of your being and realize the fullness of your potential, you will begin the process of self-discovery. I honor you. I respect you. That is why I am sharing my teachings with you. Although you and I can begin this journey together, it’s still going to be your journey. I can share with you my experiences, my teachings, my hopes and my expectations of your successful outcome, but it remains at all times your journey, your commitment, your perseverance, your goal – and your prize!

Since all that you need to know about your real self is within you right now, my wish is to encourage and guide you to the door of your own powerful being.

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim teaches about personal choices - continued

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim continues with the topic:

You should always strive to look at yourself impartially, like a doctor examining a patient for the first time – studying the symptoms, trying to gain insight into the source of the trouble, and prescribing the appropriate cure. Only by being willing to constantly look at your weaknesses can you constantly do something about them. This becomes a way of living, and this process requires the inner power steps of love and loyalty: love of your real self, and loyalty to your goals.

Love and loyalty are important, because when you actually start living out what your inner voice, your Silent Master Consciousness tells you, new challenges are guaranteed to arise to test your commitment. The higher a tree rises in the sun, the longer the shadow it casts. The greater your achievement, the greater the tests that come. Some challenges at this stage may appear just as negative as certain experiences prior to the knowledge of your Silent Master. But there will be a difference now, because you will know you are not a victim. Now you will know your true self is greater and more powerful than anything that threatens to take away your natural joy and freedom.

This is the kind of newness and excitement and discovery you were born to experience. Life is magic in that it unfolds every moment in a new way, darting off in a new, unexpected direction, depending on your focus. But life is also a science, which you can learn to operate and enjoy with exactness and understanding. To be reborn into your true identity is an exhilarating goal. The prize is worth the price of any effort.

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim teaches about personal choices

I have posted a couple videos - since video production is one of my passions. I feel they really hit the spot....

And today I am back to posting some beautiful words that Grandmaster Kim has shared with her readers:

Seems like we just celebrated New Year and then Easter came in a hurry, Spring is in full swing, and Summer is knocking on the door. Fall is almost here...We usually think about setting new goals and re-evaluation and rebirth only at New Year. But we should use every day as another chance in this life, a chance that we give ourselves to start fresh. Remember, it is our personal choice what we do in this life! It’s our very own choice!

Yes, I hear you, you’ll tell me how you didn’t choose your family, how you didn’t choose your learning disability, and how you didn’t choose being poor. I understand what you are saying, but hear me out: Whatever the circumstances are, no matter how bad they are, what is much more important is how we choose to deal with those circumstances!

Here is how it works:
You need to commit to make a change in your life for the better, you need to purify your body and mind, and you need to set true goals for yourself. And of course you need to put all this into action (and not just think about it!) and make it your new way of life.
I call this Re-birth. Rebirth is actually living the new definition of yourself. Now, instead of drifting along in life, acting and reacting with limited perception, you live with conscious awareness of your connection to your Silent Master consciousness. You now become your own doctor and surgeon, carefully bringing your new self into the world by constantly removing the strangling, stifling thoughts and feelings of your old self.

Rebirth is not something that happens and then ends. Rebirth is an ongoing process, a daily practice that goes on for your entire life. As you continue to move down your life’s path, you will constantly be made aware of changes you need to make and will constantly be reborn as you make those changes.

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim shares about setting goals/part 3

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim continues: Try to be aware at the beginning of your path of what might arise to hinder you along the way. This is not asking for trouble, looking for trouble, or expecting trouble. It is, in fact, a way of helping avoid trouble. When you become aware of possible obstacles, you give some thought in advance as to how you will deal with them.

And what happens when you don’t reach your goal the way you stated it or planned it? Keep going. Being half way there is better than where you were before you set the goal. Give yourself credit and praise for the effort you’ve made, and keep going. It doesn’t matter how far behind you think you are in the race. And this leads me to another principle that’s very important in taking charge of your life: avoid excuses.


Are you starting to feel like taking some constructive action? I hope the answer is a loud, resounding “yes!” Action is a necessary part of every goal you set and intend to fulfill.

Excuses are a senseless waste of energy! 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. Have you had the experience of saying I know I should or shouldn’t…whatever…but I am doing it because….I hear things from my students like I know I shouldn’t keep spending my money on gambling bets…but, (then the excuse)…or,, I know I should tell my wife I’ve been seeing someone else…but, (then the excuse)…or, I know I should be exercising more…but, (then the excuse)…

In all these instances, 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. The next time you find yourself doing this, take one more step. Actually list the pros and cons of continuing lying to yourself alongside the pros and cons of being honest. I think you’ll see on the “honest” side, you open up the possibility to actually solve a problem, even though there might be some conflict; and on the “dishonest” side you set yourself up to continue the problem at the price of avoiding conflict.

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim: more about setting goals

At Jung SuWon, Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim explains further about details of setting goals:

One criterion you can use in determining whether or not your goal is realistic is this: is the desire that is driving you your own? Or is it based on the expectations of someone else? If you can honestly say that your desire is your own (not something you conjured up to please someone else), then even if it seems presently out of reach, you owe it to yourself to pursue it! Your Silent Master does not give you true desires for nothing. In fact, that is one way your Silent Master communicates with you and attempts to give you direction.

Then, once you have your goal, make it measurable somehow so that you know when you’ve reached it. Again, that may sound overly simplistic, but you may be amazed at how you refrain from doing this on a regular basis. We tend to state our goals vaguely and loosely like: Yes, I am going to lose weight…or, my new goal is to find a different job…or, I am going to move soon…..How much weight are you going to lose, and by when? What kind of job do you want, in what area, in what salary range, and by what date? Where are you going to move, to what kind of house, for what price range, and by what date? If some of these parameters are open-ended, fine…but at least include them in your goal.

Set up milestones along the path to realizing your goal, ways you can check your progress. There are usually steps that you will take to fulfill a goal, and as you reach each step you can determine if you’re truly moving forward of if you like where you are going. For instance, if your goal is to find a new job, one of your milestones may be simply getting a resume printed. Another might be finding an agency to help you. Another might be getting some interviews in an area you like. At each of these points, you will be able to evaluate your progress and make changes if necessary.

Choosing milestones, of course, is part of forming your plan. You can’t overlook the fact that you must proceed in some kind of orderly fashion, and this nearly always means forming a planned procedure to take. Here you will see the power of choice at work. Once choice about what action to take opens up a whole range of other choices. Your first choice will lead you to the next step and the next if you just make a start!

You may want to actually make a contract with yourself to really sew up your plans! I often recommend to students that they write out an “agreement” which states the goal specifically, outlines steps they will take, sets milestones they will encounter, and the terms of fulfillment. Then I ask them to sign it and read it as often as possible. The content of the agreement must permeate all four bodies: physically in the actions you take, mentally in your thoughts, emotionally in your feelings, and spiritually in your dreams, aspirations and subconscious mind.

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim's advice on achieving goals

Here is something I really like. Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim talks a lot about setting goals, but she doesn't stop there. Read on to see...

It’s easy to set goals, it’s easy to list down all the things you want to accomplish, the dreams you have. But what are we going to do about them? How can we reach them? How can we make sure they don’t remain words written down on pieces of paper?

So before we do anything else, let’s meditate together. You can either sit down in formal meditation position, or just find a quiet moment in whatever position is comfortable to you. Calm you thoughts, let them go…..breathe deeply and quietly….there you go….that’s better….continue as long as you feel like it. You will know when you are finished.

Now we are ready to think about following through with our goals, with actual pursuing our dreams. First thing: you need to give your goal a chance to come true! You have to give yourself a chance to realize your desire by setting specific goals and charting a specific course towards that goal. Daydreaming and wishing aren’t goals, no, a goal is something that can be realized when you follow through with appropriate action. Here are some principles I have been using all my life in setting goals that I want to fulfill. First and most important, make your goals realistic. Here you will have to use your own judgment and follow the inner direction of your Silent Master. Only you know what’s truly within the parameters of your life purpose. All of us are born with a specific purpose to fulfill, and we already possess the potential to fulfill it. That’s why we can follow our true desires, which will attract to us all the tools we need to do our work.

One of my favorite stories: The Frog and the Scorpion

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim is the ultimate story teller. When she tells a story, not only is it alive, and you feel totally wrapped up in it, there is also always a lesson in the story.
Here is one of my very favorites:



Once there was a frog and a scorpion who both wanted to get to the other side of a river. It was no problem for the frog. All he needed to do was jump in and swim to the other side. It was a different story for the scorpion, however, because he had no way to cross the river by himself.


Now, as a little background history, the frog and the scorpion had a rocky time together in times past. The scorpion had always been in some kind of trouble with the authorities, always instigating, always scheming, and always trying to pull the frog into his bad deeds. He always tried to put blame on the frog and always tried to sting him one way or another. Finally, the scorpion was captured and had to spend considerable time in jail for all the crimes he committed.

So now that scorpion was free again, the frog was on high alert. He remembered well the bad times caused by the scorpion and he wanted nothing to do with him. But the scorpion seemed like he had undergone a change of heart during his time in jail. He seemed meek and mild and well mannered.

He humbly asked the frog for help in crossing the river. “Say, Frog, would you be willing to allow me to ride on your back across the river?” he asked earnestly. The frog was surprised. This was very different from the demanding, “Do as I say or else I will hurt you!”

Still, the frog was not convinced. “Are you kidding?” the frog answered. “You’ll sting me and I’ll die! No, I won’t help you.”

“But wait, “ the scorpion pleaded. “Just think. If I sting you and you die, then I would die, too! So why would I do something that would hurt both of us?”

The frog thought about it. The scorpion did make sense. Besides, he also seemed like a changed being. Finally, after much hesitation, the frog said reluctantly, “Ok, do you promise not to sting me?”

Of course I promise,” the scorpion replied, and happily jumped on the frog’s back. So off they went into the river. But, about halfway across, the scorpion began to feel an irresistible urge to rising from deep within. He wanted to sting the frog! He lifted his stinger up high, and got ready to sting. Last second, he remembered that he himself would perish too, if he were to sting the frog.

But again, the urge came back, this time with such a vengeance that he barely caught himself in the last second. He had to grab his stinger and literally hold himself back, with all the strength he could muster. He knew that if he gave in, he would surely die.

After they were almost within reach of the shore, the urge to sting was too much for the scorpion, and, not having much experience with being disciplined, he suddenly, without any warning, stung the frog. Oh, the relief! How good that second felt, to sink that stinger into the frog!

But immediately he had to bear the consequences. “Why did you do that?” the frog exclaimed in stunned amazement. “Do you realize what you’ve done? Now we are both going to die! Why? You promised!”

“I know,” the scorpion said. “But why?” the astonished frog continued to ask. “Why?”

“I am sorry frog. I couldn’t help it,” gurgled the scorpion, sinking below the water. “It’s just my nature.”

Birthday Jung SuWon Style: part 2

Touched by his warrior spirit and boundless enthusiasm, I decided to honor his choice. “Bring a board”, I told some senior belts. “Let’s get him his real birthday present”. Out came a full size board, not the small size we use for children, but a regular one. David was getting nervous. He hadn’t expected this! Even before he knew what kind of break he was supposed to do, he was already sweating and nervous. But I teach my students, ready any time, any place, life happens right here and right now, and testing is not just on testing day! Every class is a testing in itself!

John, come on up! And John, also 11 years old and also one of David’s best friends, came up. “Down on your knees, in front of the board” he was told. And John got into position. Beads of sweat were gathering on David’s forehead. He was getting a little shaky. To jump over a person, while performing a flying sidekick, he had never done such a thing! He was only a yellow belt!

“Do you trust me?” I asked him.” A loud and resounding “Yes Ma’am” boomed across the Do Jang. “Do you believe me when I tell you that you can do this?” Another “Yes Ma’am” came back.

With a surprisingly loud and roaring ki up, he started running towards the board. Can you imagine what must have gone through this young warrior’s mind as he was running toward the board? He was asked to do something he had never done before. And he was asked to do it front of his whole family, including his grandmother!

With another ki up he lifted off from the ground, jumped over John with plenty of room to spare, but fell right into the board, without getting to kick or breaking the board.

David was now really nervous and started to doubt. Could he really do it? Maybe this one time Grandmaster wasn’t right? Maybe just this once? Maybe he really just couldn’t do it?

I felt for this brave little warrior. I asked everyone in the Do Jang, “what do you think, can he do it?”

“He Can Do, She Can Do, Why not me! Yes Ma’am, he can do it no problem” the entire Do Jang was vibrating back.

With a big smile and an even bigger ki up, David tried again. He had complete and total focus and concentration. Nothing was between him and the board. No noisy mind. No questioning. Only focus on the task ahead. And the board shattered! The look on David’s face was priceless. Not quite realizing yet what had happened, it went from puzzled to the biggest smile you can imagine!

Moments like this are my biggest reward. To show people the power they have in them and for them to start seeing even the smallest glimpse of that, the possibilities ahead of them, what more can I ask for?

Birthday Jung SuWon Style - part 1

Here is one of my favorite real life stories, which I witnessed - as told by Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim:

My happiest moments are when I know I am helping people lead richer and fuller lives. Let me share with you a very heart warming story that just happened recently. This is about our younger generation – the ones that will be our leaders of tomorrow. It is so important to help them, to lead and guide them through this maze called modern world. Daily they are bombarded by peer pressure in school – their environment. When a new fad comes up, they all need to follow it if they don’t want to be considered outcasts.

One night, just as class was coming to an end, one young student, David, approached me, telling me his grandmother was in the lobby, watching. He said she had flown in from far away to visit with them, because it was his birthday that day.

I was wondering – at age 11, children usually love to go out to dinner, or to the movies, or have a party, or play games, or something of that sort. But he was here in a Martial Arts class? His parents added, well, we asked him where he wanted to have his birthday dinner and what he wanted to do, especially with his grandmother, but he said he wanted to celebrate his birthday with me, at Jung Suwon! And he told his grandmother that Jung SuWon was more important to him than movies or fancy restaurants, and that he wanted her to see what meant so much in his life!

And the rest of the story, well you'll see that on my next blog...

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim: Are you where you want to be?

If you are not where you want to be, now is the time to figure out where you want to go and how you’re going to get there. But there is no point making plans until you know what you want. And to know what you want, you have to examine your priorities.

Ask yourself: if you had only five days to live, what would you do in those five days?” The way you answer tells you much about what your real values and priorities are.

Ask yourself that question now. Don’t be surprised if you don’t spend your last five days at your job or painting the house (which perhaps you may have done faithfully every weekend recently). Chances are you’ll choose to do what really matters to you, what you really really love, what is really you. Chances are you’ll choose to be with your family or certain friends in a special way. Or perhaps you might choose solitude, experiencing nature’s beauty in a private way. Or dancing. Or playing music. Answer for yourself, and then ask, “With every day that I do have now, how much time do I give to these things?” (After all, you could be living your last five days right now!)”

The way that you answer that question gives you very important clues regarding your true direction in life. Your Silent Master consciousness speaks to you powerfully through your true desires. Of course I am not talking about destructive or distorted desires like obsessive smoking and drinking. The desires you feel through the exercise above are most likely your true desires, and you have them for a reason. They tell you much about who you are as a unique individual and your unique role to play here on earth. Your desires will never be exactly like anybody else’s.

Have you created a life that allows you to experience your own truths? Or have you created a life that has taken you so far from your inner truth that only during your last five days on earth will you allow yourself to experience what you love? If you find you are living here without enjoyment, without realizing your personal truth, then you have a right to change! That is what self-discovery is all about: fulfilling your true desires, not just thinking about them. As you find your true self, automatically you find your true place, your true activities, and your true fulfillment.

So you see, my dear fellow Martial Artists, death is nothing to be afraid of, only to prepare for. Let us live this life – every second, every moment - to the fullest, with peace, harmony, and joy in our hearts, and helping as many people as possible along our path. Let us make a difference in this world; let us be remembered with beautiful thoughts by those we leave behind.

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim talks about rebirth

Ever now moment you experience is a birth, a new opportunity to think a new thought or take a new attitude. When you arrive on the earth, it is a birth, a chance to create a life. But each new day is also a birth. Each time you leave behind an old outmoded self-concept, it is a birth. Each time you create a new situation in your life, it is a birth. Birth and “death” are simultaneous events because something old has to “die” to give way to the new. This process goes on minute-by-minute, day-by-day, from the time you arrive until the time you leave.

In one sense death is necessary to create change. Learn to love change and to welcome it. One of the results of fear is a reluctance to accept change and to welcome it. Fear is an immobilizing feeling and tends to keep us where we are no matter where that is. Perhaps we fear change because it indeed reminds us of death, and we don’t welcome the death of anything, even the death of the old. But always remember that death is really birth because it is a change from the old to the new. See change as newness ever dawning, leading you from one opportunity to another.

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim: Live in there Here and Now!

Unfortunately, death seems so mysterious, baffling, horrible and final that we don’t want to consider it in our daily lives. But we must have the courage to look squarely at the limited time frame death gives us, and act accordingly. You don’t know when death will come. The “someday” you wait for may never come, simply because you won’t be here to experience it!

Of course, in reality, what is really you will never die. Your Silent Master consciousness is eternal; only your manifestations – including your present body and life – come and go from your consciousness. So we’re talking now about the death of your physical manifestation, and not of your eternal true self.

The mystery surrounding the time of our exit from this life helps us concentrate on living instead of dying; but nevertheless we must remain aware that since we have a limited time span, we need to reach for our goals now. We must always live now to the fullest because that is the only time we have.

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim: the more serious side of life

Pinch yourself. Feel the pinch. Feel your body. Some day, this body will be gone. Some day, you will no longer be practicing your forms on the Do Jang floor. You will no longer execute this beautiful jump spinning roundhouse kick, or do your favorite break.

We do not know the time, but no matter who you are, and what you are doing with your life, we all, some day, will have to continue our journey without this body. So it is important to do, whatever it is that you want to accomplish in your life – right here, right now. “Carpe Diem”, the Romans used to say, “Carpe Diem, sed fugit interea irreparabile tempus”. Seize the day! Because time, that you can’t bring back, is fleeing!”

But in our here and now, especially in the Western World, many of us are seduced into a sense of “foreverness” about our lives, thinking that we have unlimited time to get somewhere or do something. Not that we say that consciously to ourselves. We don’t say, “I’m going to be alive forever;” we just act that way. We simply do not have the feeling from day to day that eventually we are going to die, or that our time here is limited.

Since we don’t live from moment to moment with the awareness that we could die at anytime, we take our time answering the questions mentioned above, or we avoid them altogether. Even if we ask a question like “Am I where I want to be?” it’s all too easy to reply “Well, I’ll get there someday,” and drop the matter right there. We tend to put off the fulfillment of our real goals to “when I retire,” or “when the kids are out of the house,” or “when I have time.”

“Someday” is never going to come. The only time there is, is now. When “someday” comes, it will be now. So what you think and do right now is what will happen on the mythical “someday”.

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim: Food and you

Food is also created from consciousness, as everything else. Since your body is the temple of your Silent Master, give it the loving food and exercise that expresses your intent to be pure, real, and whole.

Talking about food: eating is an energy exchange and when you prepare and eat food, you are harnessing the energy in the vegetables, grains, and meats to interact with your energy, thereby creating more energy. Naturally you always want to eat the best quality food you can. But some people ask me what to do when they’re traveling and have to eat fast food at times. Because food exists in consciousness, it has the energy of consciousness. When you eat, you bring this energy into your body. If you’re in a situation where junk food is your only choice, remember that your positive attitude helps you get the best energy you can out of the food until a better selection is available.

It’s your attitude toward what you eat – no matter whether it’s vegetables or hot dogs – that is the most important thing. Of course, vegetables or and hot dogs have different nutritional value. Choose the purest and highest quality food you can in the circumstances.

The energy in foods is not all the same. Apples grown in an environment of greed, commercialism and neglect will not have the same energy as apples grown in an orchard where the farmer lovingly attended the trees, gave it the best plant foods and soil, and eliminated poisons from the environment. The consciousness involved in the creation of the apples is different in each case.

Likewise, when you prepare your food, the energy you put into the process will affect the quality of the outcome. Was your food prepared with love and care and the will to nourish? Or was it prepared with feelings of anger and resentment, anxiety and hurry? When you eat food prepared either way, it will have a nourishing quality that corresponds to the energy and intent of the preparer.

For example, remember when you invited your girl friend, or boy friend or some loved one, to a special dinner. Remember how you started out by carefully shopping for the best foods available, even making special trips to Farmers Markets, bakeries and butchers shops. You spent hours preparing that special meal, thinking only happy thoughts and how wonderful this dinner will be with your loved one. Remember the excitement and the good feelings once you were eating it together?

On the other hand, remember a time you were really upset at someone or something, and just threw together a meal in a hurry, still upset and angry. How did that meal taste? How did you feel afterwards? Chances are, you had an upset stomach or got otherwise sick.

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim: more about the body - mind connection

Let your body help you develop better mental concepts. Since your body is connected to consciousness, watch your physical states and see what they may be telling you about your thinking. Your body shows you – in one way or another – your mental state. Depressed people slouch and shuffle. Happy people have a bounce and lightness in their step. When your body is acting tired and sluggish and you know you’re healthy and have had plenty of rest, what is your body telling you? What is it you don’t want to do? What are you “too tired” to confront or overcome? What are you “sick and tired” of?

Even if you are not a “physical” person – especially if you are not a physical person – try demanding more physical action from yourself. Let this demand send a message to your mind that you want to be more free and more unlimited, whether that means getting some kind of healing, or gaining more stamina, or simply expanding your concept of yourself.

When you push yourself physically and make demands on yourself for greater physical freedom, you can’t help but grow spiritually. You are insisting that the freedom of your original self manifest physically and materially. This is why physical training is an important part of the Jung SuWon training I teach. By disciplining the body into accepting more power and more ability to perform, your mind responds with more power and more ability to perform. This interplay is energizing. The more limitations you overcome, the more of your natural energy you can experience.

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim on Body-Mind Connection

Discipline of your body works to discipline the mind. Discipline your mind and you strengthen your body.

Appreciation is the first step. What if you could use only certain parts of your body? Have you ever thought of what you would do if you had only one arm? Or no arms? Or no sight? Most people who enter my martial arts school are physically healthy and take their bodies for granted. It’s for this reason I sometimes have them try to do what they think are normal, everyday things without the use of their legs or arms or eyes. Very quickly they learn how complex the movements of their hands can be, or how precious their sight is. Your body is a miraculous gift. Utilize it, care for it, and strengthen it. Don’t waste it or take it for granted.

If you want greater physical freedom, you must understand that your body will respond very much to your mind, and your mind will respond to what you do with your body. Free physical movement is a picture of the free mobility of consciousness. Have you tried to play a good game of your favorite sport when your mind was preoccupied with a worrisome situation? You may have noticed that when you’re tense and nervous, your body doesn’t move freely and easily. The tense state literally tends to keep your muscles rigid. And just the reverse is true. When you are happy and relaxed, your physical movement is generally free and easy.

Even the medical profession recognizes the connection of body and mind in the physical therapy process. A person who must learn to walk again after an accident goes through many emotional and mental changes in the process of reconnecting with the walking muscles. Therapists work with the patient’s attitudes as well as with their muscle groups.