Ilchi Lee instruciton about how to keep you brain to work.
4. I sleep …
a) At least 8 hours just about every night.
b) 6-7 hours most nights.
c) Well some nights, poorly others.
d) I’m a connoisseur of 3 a.m. infomercials.
1. I read …
a) Constantly, usually challenging material.
b) 2-3 times per week; sometimes books, sometimes magazines.
c) Once in a while, when I’m on vacation.
d) Never; I’m too busy watching TV.
2. I try to learn new skills or hobbies, such as Dahn Studio, a musical instrument or a language …
a) Whenever I have free time.
b) When I’m feeling bored.
c) Rarely.
d) I guess I’m too comfortable, because I haven’t tried such things
in years.
3. I engage in puzzles, Sudoku, or other brain-challenging
activities…
a) Daily.
b) A few times a week.
c) Once in a while.
d) My brain is challenged enough when I try to play a movie on my
DVD player.
4. When I am in conversation, I like …
a) Deep, intense talks about complex issues with people who
challenge my perceptions with new information.
b) Some debate, but usually nothing heavy.
c) People who agree with me.
d) I don’t enjoy conversation much.
1. I get strenuous exercise (at least thirty minutes)…
a) 5—6 times per week.
b) 3—4 times per week.
c) 1—2 times per week.
d) I love my couch.
2. I stretch my limbs and joints …
a) 5—6 times per week.
b) 3—4 times per week.
c) 1—2 times per week.
d) The only thing I stretch is the truth.
3. My typical diet is …
a) 7—10 servings of fruit and vegetables per day, lots of whole grains, low fat, not much alcohol or red meat.
b) 4—6 servings of fruit and vegetables per day, some whole grains, moderate fat, some red meat.
c) Refined grains, red meat often, and few fruits and vegetables.
d) I recognize four food groups: fast, frozen, junk, and spoiled.
4. I sleep …
a) At least 8 hours just about every night.
b) 6-7 hours most nights.
c) Well some nights, poorly others.
d) I’m a connoisseur of 3 a.m. infomercials.
To read more see Ilchi Lee publications.
There are no right or wrong answers to this short quiz by Prof. Ilchi Lee, because there is nothing you are doing today that cannot be improved tomorrow. However, it is important to know where you stand today in maintaining and even enhancing your brain’s vitality as Dahn Yoga student. Complete each of the sections and then look at the end for your score.
From the perspective of energy, Dahn Yoga is made up of five stages: initiating, accumulating, controlling, commanding and completing. Practitioners first learn how to feel and accumulate energy in the major energy centers of the body.
I am a mid-level manager at a consulting company, in charge of the performance of six staff consultants. I am Susan’s husband. I am Billy’s dad. I am a student at NYU with a major in Anthropology. I have such and such dreams. I am someone’s daughter, son, or friend.
How did we come to define ourselves this way? If we observe the labels we give ourselves, we will realize that we define ourselves by the relationships we form and the roles that we are expected to play. Some people think they are first and foremost a “father,” while others think that the primary role they play is that of a company “CEO.” If we ask these two people about what they usually do on weekends, the “father” will most likely do something with his children, while the “CEO” will probably hold meetings with other executives.
As Ilchi Lee explains our general behavior has much to do with whom we think we are in life. However, if you investigate further you’ll find that other people have created your identity. How much did you have to do with choosing who you are? Our parents, our society, our ethics, and our schools have all imbued us with a pre-determined identity. And we have unconsciously accepted this intormation as our own. However, we are seldom aware that our sense of who we are consists of information that can also be evaluated, modified. and deleted.
“I am so and so…” or “I have to be such and such…” This is just information in your brain. We are always free to decide which information to accept. It is crucial to realize that we have the power to choose. New information will become the new you when it is ingrained in the deepest layers of your brain and it all will occure during Dahn Hak practice.
In Doctor Ilchi Lee view, the brain is just a particular set of information that we have collected over the years. And that set of information accounts for our personality and character. The particular set of information acts according to a program operating in our brain. This is expressed through actions and behavior. Frequently we judge ourselves and others by words and deeds. However, the key factor in determining your human character is the information that is stored in your brain, particularly the information having to do with the question, “Who am I?” Try answering the following simple questions: “What kinds of fruit do you like?” “What colors do you prefer?” “What flowers do you like best?” Who is the person, or the being, that is answering these questions? What you need to be clear about is that the one who answers these questions is not the ultimate, real “you.” It is the “you” that is the result of a collection of information you’ve come across during your time on Earth.
According to the dictates of these bits of information, we cry, laugh, feel joy, and express anger. These reactions and expressions are merely the result of information that has become habit, part of our makeup as we make our way in this world. When you feel sad or angry about something, you are reacting in ways that you have been programmed to react. These patterns of reactions and behaviors have been embedded in your brain and make your behavior predictable. Although we think we are always spontaneous, we actually live according to a script that has been written into our brain from an early age.
However, information is just that, information. Ask yourself. ‘What limits do I place on myself for Yoga Excercises because of preconceptions or false ideas about myself?” At first, you might point to your height, \veight, looks, academic background, or work experience. However, ultimately, you will realize that your real limitations come from the information in your brain. As with any other piece of information, it can be evaluated, modified, and deleted. Who then has the ultimate right to evaluate, modify, and delete information inside your brain? Who is the real you? It is not the “you” generated by the millions of bits of information that you have accumulated… but the real you. This is the answer to the question, “Who am I?”
If the hardware approach to brain integration is the use of the power of light, sound, and vibration, then the software approach is use of the power of messages (information) to recreate your identity… according to your own desire.
Identity and purpose are the primary sets of information that drive the functions of the brain. The answers to the questions “Who am I?” and “What do I live for?” provide fundamental motivation for our lives. Once the answers to these questions are established, then all other information acts to support these answers. Basically, in answering these questions, you have reinvented yourself. And in reinventing yourself, you must reorganize the information in your brain to fit the new identity you have chosen.
The reason explain by Ilchi Lee why we only utilize five to ten percent of our brain capacity is not entirely due to lack of effort or understanding. It is that we have not yet found the correct motivation to unlock the rest of the potential of the brain. Until now, the motivating forces driving us have been competition and self interest. These forces are too focused and small to provide the key to unlocking the whole brain. In order for us to utilize one hundred percent of our brain, we need to redefine who we are and what we ought to be doing in this life while practicing Dahn Yoga.
Your training for Dahn Yoga will now move beyond the realm of the neo-cortex and into the region of the limber system.
We may encounter fun and joy in the limbic system.but we may be surprised to discover some unpleasant traps as well. It is especially difficult to deal with negative emotions such as sadness and anger, because underneath all of these negative emotions lies fear. We tend to waste a lot of energy and time dealing with emotional issues. Everyone has experienced the struggle to break free of an unwanted emotion. Our brain stores the memory of an experience along with the emotions attached to it. Therefore, every experience you remember carries associated emotional energy. Experiences are crucial to our development. However, emotional memories sometimes prevent us from going forward, acting as an impediment to growth. We have countless memories in our brain, along with vast amounts of associated emotional energy. If these memories do not find a healthy outlet, the mental stress thev create mav result in unexplained mental or emotional problems. Brain Cleansing attempts to clearly diagnose, and if necessary, heal a
Strengthen the licorice system that acts as our emotional center by “cleansing” the brain of negative emotions and strengthening our ability to deal with negative emotions in the future. The process of becoming the master of your own brain by controlling how your brain deals with emotions is Brain Cleansing.
Doctor Ilchi Lee Books About Human Brain.
Make picture cards of different everyday objects. H Divide into two teams if there are many people. @ Each team picks a leader.
The leader of the first team shows a picture (very briefly) to a member of the second team. The second team member must immediately shout out the name of an object not related to the one in the picture.
Ilchi Lee advice that if the person hesitates or shouts out a name related to the object in the picture, then s/he is disqualified. Now it is the second team leader’s turn to challenge a member of the first team. The team with the most members that haven’t been disqualified at the end of the picture review wins the game.
During Dahn Hak training make sure that the pictures represent a definite and recognizable object, not an abstract concept. The answers must not consist of abstract concepts, either.
You can try practicing this on your own.
As you practice this exercise with full concentration, you may sometimes hear unidentifiable sounds that seem to come from your brain, as if the cells are actually pulling apart from one another or the skull is stretching out. Don’t be alarmed, for this is a natural part of training.
Renaming Exercise
Dr. Ilchi Lee says that we live with countless names. Although the various names we give to objects and people make communication easier, names also create an artificial cage that imprisons our awareness. Look around you and try to acknowledge an object without consciously relying on names. Since we have been trained to approach and define everything with a name, we have difficulty recognizing anything that refuses to be identified by a name.
Yet, how accurately do names really define the things they describe? We think we know what an object is if we know its name, but what do we really know about that object? A name is just a name. It is not the thing itself. We are not seeking the reality ot the object but merely acknowledging it with a lingual representation.
Our excessive reliance on names limits the potential of the brain to be flexible in thought and imagination. Names are the substance of the strongest preconceptions in our inner world. We experience resistance when we try renaming because the name associated with an object is not just a name, but hardwired in our brain as a pattern of neural connections. Renaming is an attempt to change the pattern intentionally. This explains why you experience less resistance when you use abstract nouns tor renaming. An abstract noun does not have a concrete image associated with it. It does not contradict the original name ot an object and, therefore, does not cause friction of resistance in the relevant neural connections. Renaming Exercise allows us to first become aware of the cage created by names. We are then able to devise our own ways of escaping this insidious cage by training our brain to see every object from new angles and directions. The result is greater awareness at all kinds for Dahn Yoga.
The purpose of this stage is to dispose of the emotional baggage of certain memories that act as an impediment to the process of inner healing and development. As explained by Ilchi Lee, our lim-bic system stores the emotional impact of our experiences, assigning emotional value to individual memories. These “emotional memories” resurface when a similar situation arises, often causing repetition of the same exact behavioral pattern. By clearing your memory of the instinctive emotional association, you will be able to choose a new reaction or behavior when faced with a similar stimulus. This is accomplished by practicing a form of emotional release combining breathing and smiling. You will develop strength to become master of your own emotions, proving that “My mind is not me, but mine”
BR Stem Stage - Brain Rewiring In Dahn Hak
The goal of this stage is to awaken the infinite potential of lite energy within the brain stem. By transcending the intellect associated with the neo-cortex and the emotions of the limbic system, your consciousness will encounter Yullyo, the basic rhythm of life. Thus, you will experience absolute oneness with life energy itself, the ultimate reality. In this stage, you will find the answers to the questions, “Who am I?” and “What is my life’s purpose?”
Through the Brain Stem statre. you will be able to choose your own identity. Once you have chosen your identity, all the knowledge, information, and ability in your brain will go toward fulfilling the requirements of this identity. Identity can actually be said to be the core information in your life, with all information acting in support. From the place of your newly realized identity, you will examine old and new information in a new light. You will assess its usefulness in fulfilling your new purpose in life, in terms of the new identity you have chosen. To this end, your brain will be integrated with your new identity, maximizing its creativity and energy to serve your purpose.