This morning I'd like to speak about mankind's foremost concern. First of all we should consider how we can live most effectively while here on earth. By studying the Principle you have already learned how we should live, but today I'd like to discuss the true way of life from a different point of view.

We need four things in order to live: sleep, food, exercise and stimulation. We cannot live without them. How we fulfill these needs is important for our lives, yet we make many mistakes in this respect. We think we need to eat three times a day, but from a historical viewpoint this custom of eating three times a day is quite new. We didn't eat three times a day before. Men began to lead a farming life about 5000 years ago, before that they were hunters. At that time men only ate once a day, which is ideal because when there is food in the stomach the blood gathers there, and that isn't good for other parts of the body, such as the brain. Our body has the most energy after digestion is complete. So actually we work best in the morning, after sleeping. This is the best time for activity.

We usually eat breakfast in the morning causing the blood to gather in our stomach again and then our brain doesn't work as well. We say that we eat in order to work, but in reality we are doing the wrong thing to prepare for work. When athletes have a competition they often go to the meet without eating. If they eat first they may have problems during the meet and lose. The best time for the body to work is after all digestion has been completed. But we eat again in the morning when our body is most ready to work. Then we go to school or to the office to work. We use our brain to concentrate, so blood gathers there. This isn't good for our brain or our digestion. So in the end we complicate everything.

We also know that it's not good to get angry. Is there anyone here who has stomach ulcers? There are many causes of ulcers. When we eat, blood concentrates in our digestive system, but if we get angry it rises to our brain and there is not enough left for digestion. In order to digest our food highly acidic gastric juices enter the stomach. When we are angry there isn't enough blood in the stomach to protect the stomach lining from the acidity. This leads to stomach ulcers. So if we are often angry or nervous we may get stomach ulcers. This is caused by our wrong way of life. Diabetes is similar. We become diabetic because we don't use the energy gained from eating but continue taking in food and our body becomes saturated. This can lead to diabetes. The cause of disease is quite often bad eating, sleeping or working habits.

Stimulation is also important for our health. We study God's word in order to know which way we should go. We also study God's words to receive stimulation. Stimulation is needed if our internal organs are to work properly. Thus in order to maintain good health, the body must be given proper stimulation. This also applies to our spiritual health. Our spirit cannot live without the proper stimulation. Cold showers are good because they stimulate our spirit and body. After jogging it's better to take a cold shower. Sometimes you take a cold shower when praying. This is good for your physical body as well, the stimulation helps the body function properly.

We often hear that jogging is good for our health, but if we jog in the wrong way it may harm our body. A man who wrote a book about jogging died while jogging, because he was jogging in the wrong way. Jogging itself is good, but his way of jogging was wrong. I think some of you jog as well. You should jog slowly, not too fast. When you run slowly the functions of the body work properly, even those which usually don't work. But if you run too fast it will be too much for your body. Machines are similar, each one has an optimal operating tempo and if we run it too quickly it will break down. Likewise, if we overexert ourselves, we will have problems. So running slowly is the correct way to jog. Walking is also good for our health. But we must know how to walk. We should walk briskly, otherwise it is ineffective. Even if we exercise, it won't be beneficial if we don't know these things; on the contrary it may even be harmful.

There are aspects of our lives in which we live in the wrong way. We hear that anger isn't good for our digestion, our head, our heart or anything. Of course we know from our study of the Principle that it isn't good for our spirit, but we should also be aware that it is harmful to our body. God created man to live without anger; it is contrary to Principle. How can we live without anger? To do this we need to pause for a moment when we are about to get angry. Do you understand what I mean by this? I mean we should see things from a distance, objectively; then we will be able to control our emotions and consider things properly. This requires training. It's important that we train ourselves to observe things, including ourselves, objectively. We often observe others, while neglecting to observe ourselves.

We live together with others. In such a situation it's important to establish harmony among brothers and sisters. If we can't preserve harmony, we can't do anything. This is in accordance with God's principle of creation. God, as a God of harmony, created man to live in harmony. All things were created to prosper and grow when united. Therefore when our harmony is disturbed, we have no strength, we can not bring any result and we also become unhealthy because God cannot dwell where there is no harmony. We know that we are living in a constant struggle against Satan and that in order to win we must have God on our side. Both God and Satan claim man. Sometimes Satan attacks us spiritually and sometimes physically. When he attacks us physically, he attacks through men who are united with him, so if God isn't with us it's impossible to withstand their attack. In order to defeat Satan we must fight together with God; if He leaves us, we will surely be defeated. How can we unite with God? What do we have to do in order to have God on our side? The purpose of our life of faith is to connect with God, to be on His side. Living a life of faith means living such a life that God can dwell with us. Then we can defeat Satan. God's desire is that each one of us become His child, His body and His representative. Another thing God wishes is to accomplish His providence. This is God's desire for us. So in simple words, we must become people with whom God can dwell and accomplish God's providence, these two things.

What was the world like before Satan came to be? In such a world God and the angels existed to support us. So God wants to use evil spirits and even Satan to accomplish His providence. Of course, God hates Satan and has been striving to drive him out of the world, but as long as Satan exists God tries to use him and evil spirits to fulfill His providence. It works this way: whenever we make a mistake Satan accuses us and we suffer, this makes us strive more earnestly to go the way we should. In order to avoid suffering we follow God's will, so in a way Satan is pushing us forward. If a husband and wife fight, Satan invades and destroys everything. In order to prevent this man and wife must unite. If we go in the wrong direction we suffer, similar to naughty children who receive a spanking from their parents. To avoid being spanked, we must work hard and be serious about fulfilling our mission. In this way God uses Satan and evil spirits to steer us in the right direction: toward Him.

If we work harder and make more effort for God's will because of Satan, then as a result of his contribution Satan will be saved as well. Therefore we should utilize everything to go to God's side. God wants us to utilize the enemy, not always be defeated by him. By utilizing our enemy we should proceed faster. There is such a thing as a fair wind, a wind which pushes one on one's way. We must use Satan and evil spirits as a fair wind to reach our destination faster. This is the wisest course. Sometimes we make mistakes, but it's up to us whether we go up or down as a result. If we become depressed, we have been defeated. But if we learn a lesson from the situation and make effort not to repeat it, it becomes a plus for us. The question is whether we use things as an asset or not. This is up to each individual. Things harm or benefit us depending on how we use them. We shouldn't let situations harm us, but use them for our benefit. When misfortune strikes, if we use it well, we can learn from it and quickly mature. We must learn from everything, whether success or failure. He who learns from everything and uses it for his benefit will be a success.

What is this world? The Principle explains that man has a spirit mind and that his body is a manifestation of this mind. Originally man's environment was to be dominated by his mind. Since man fell, however, the fallen world came about. In other words the fallen world is a reflection of man's fallen mind. People in this world are fallen, they all have fallen minds, as a result the world became a fallen world. Originally this world was a reflection of God's mind, which is the base of man's spirit mind. If man hadn't fallen, the world that is the shadow of God's mind and the world that is the shadow of our mind would have united into one. Man would have found true happiness, satisfaction and joy in such a world since it would have been a reflection of his ideal. Unfortunately, this world became a shadow of man's fallen mind, the complete opposite of God's original ideal.

Things can be changed according to our attitude. All creations possess sung-sang and hyung-sang. Men have a mind and a body. All things have a mind and a body, just on a different level from man's. Man's body is made of cells and each cell is made of molecules, yet a cell or a molecule cannot be compared to a man. Many molecules together compose a physical body, which is more than just a collection of molecules. There are also genes. Each being's character differs according to its genes. By changing genes scientists recently constructed things one could not possibly create by simply changing matter. The Principle states that spirit and matter are not separate, but one from the beginning. Even in the smallest particle these two aspects coexist. So by altering the genes, the internal character and thus the form of a being is changed. A seed is tiny, yet it has the ability to produce a tree. Character is not within the material, but coexists with it. Thus man can change things through his way of thinking. Mind is the center of everything, so having the right attitude is essential. We have a tendency to complain about our environment. We often say that because of this or that circumstance we became as we are, but that's not true. Certainly man is influenced by his environment, but man makes the environment and thus can change it.

It's not easy working here. Germans are different from us. The environment is also difficult, but it can be changed, and we are the ones who can change it. Our mind can influence the environment, so we shouldn't blame the environment. We must believe that we have the power to change it. That's why Father sent Japanese members here. We are few in number and it may seem that we don't have much influence, nevertheless Father wants to change Germany through us; that's why he sent us here. If we weren't able to do so, he wouldn't have sent us. There are many aspects of German character that need to be changed. We are here to help them change. But if we ourselves are influenced by the environment and become like them, what will happen? We lose everything. We must influence Germany, not be influenced by it.

East and West are different; Oriental culture centers upon spirit whereas Western culture is materialistic. We are trying to bring this culture centered upon spirit here to the West; we must teach Occidentals that spirit is the center and base of everything. When Japanese members accomplish something Germans couldn't, it shows that the environment wasn't the problem after all. In this way we can demonstrate that man can control his circumstances through his way of thinking. We must do this. Occidentals won't believe something until they see concrete evidence, so Father sent the Japanese members to present this evidence. In order to do so we must unite with God and lead a life of unity. We must pray, study and work more than Germans do, otherwise we cannot set an example for them. If we do the same as Germans do, we will not succeed.

Many European members don't want to live in centers with other members; they prefer an individual life. In the future, however, in the ideal world, even such people will live together with others. Of course each person has their own individual character, but in the ideal world we will all live as one community. It will be a world in which we will have close relationships with one another; we will share a common destiny. Since we have received the Blessing, we will live together as couples. The basis of community life is a couple, man and wife living together in oneness. A man and his wife are actually one, they share a common destiny. When the man perishes, his wife perishes as well. If we live with such an awareness of sharing a common destiny, when the parents are going under the children cannot overlook it. A man cannot ignore his wife's predicament, but must help her overcome, otherwise he will perish as well. We cannot progress unless we unite and help each other. Brothers and sisters are the same; they share a common destiny. We need this awareness. We must prosper together.

We always say that we must unite. In the fallen world people feel: "Others are others; I don't care what happens to them. I care only about myself." How can we love others if we have such an attitude? Until this attitude is changed, the ideal world will never be realized. Others are not others, but a manifestation of myself. Once we realize this, we can love others. In order to gain such an awareness or realization we must see things through God's eyes. From God's point of view the universe is one, since it is His body. Everything is one within God; through the creation process the things which were united in God were divided and came to exist individually. We can unite because at one time we were united within God, otherwise we couldn't. The reason siblings can unite is that they are born of the same parents. All things were one within God before He began His process of creation. Through this process each individual was created representing a unique part of God. If we are aware that we were one within God, we can feel a sense of unity with each other. Otherwise, there is no foundation for unity. If there were no God there couldn't be a unified world; we would all be strangers, with nothing in common. Thus we can see that an awareness of God's existence is absolutely necessary to realize the ideal world.

Since God is invisible many people don't believe He exists. We can explain God to such people in the following way. All men search for happiness. Whether atheist or believer, everyone is searching for happiness. But no matter how hard we try, it is impossible to establish the ideal based on the supposition, God doesn't exist. Men revert to being animals if there is no God. Since animals have neither conscience nor reason it would be a world in which people try to fulfill their desires by force, no more than that. God is the source of conscience and reason. How can we establish true happiness in a world where there is no foundation for conscience and reason? In such a materialistic world there can be no thought of helping others. Why help others if this life only lasts a hundred years? There is no profit in helping or sacrificing for others. The idea of love cannot survive in such a world. We can see that there can be no ideal without God. When we consider this logically we come to the conclusion that if there were no God we would have to create one since there can be no love or ideals without Him. We need God if we want to have a world of love and ideals.

According to the ethics of egoism, value is determined by that which profits the individual. What is the result of such an ethic? There is no common ethic; everyone has a different view of what is valuable and only conflict results. Absolute values and ethics can never be brought about through egoism. Unless there is a God, there can be no common ethics. How great it is to know of God's existence. The root of all wisdom lies here. Philosophy and religion cannot solve anything unless they acknowledge God's existence. We are now solving the most fundamental questions in mankind's long history. The greatest wisdom of all is to know God. No matter how much we know about other things, if we don't know this, we know nothing. Our purpose and our ideal is to become a man God desires and go on to build the world He desires. This is what we are doing now. This is easy to say, but many people don't even know this simple truth.

You learned about dialectics during this workshop. When we mention dialectics we usually interpret this to mean dialectical materialism, Marx's theory that progress and development occur through the confrontation of two opposites. But you should know the true definition of dialectics. Dialectics is the method of proving or disproving an idea or theory through discussion or dialogue, not by study and evaluation of evidence, but through discussion. The ancient Greek philosophers used this method. One would propose something, the other would oppose it for the sake of argument and they would try to discover the truth in this way through the use of logical argument. This is dialectics.

Truthfulness means acknowledging reality, i.e. that which exists; to do otherwise is falsehood. The core of all truth is that God exists. This is the simplest and most fundamental truth. So through the Principle we can solve the toughest philosophical question ever. Philosophers have been discussing the same question since the days of ancient Greece: does God exist or not? Since we know God and we know what He is like, we have already discovered that which philosophers have been seeking throughout history. So we can see that the Principle is the completion of all religion and philosophy. No matter how much philosophy one studies or how many books one reads, he will never be able to understand as much as someone who has studied the Principle. When we read philosophy books we often get a headache rather than gaining any new insights. Through our study of the Principle we have tackled the fundamental questions of life, so we must completely discredit the philosophy that claims there is no God. This is one of the most important missions God has given us. Thank you. Let's take a break now

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