Here are my notes from Hyo-Jin-nim's speech Sunday 21 October 2007. My ability to convey what was actually said is limited. These, at most, convey some sense of what Hyo-Jin-nim said and are not a verbatim record. Hyo-Jin-nim's website is: www.canaanstation.com To see two of the projects that Hyo-Jin-nim is working on log on to: definingmoment.tv and definingmoment.eu
Joe Kinney

Rev. Andrew Compton is the MC. All welcome Hyo-Jin-nim and Yeon-Ah-nim and offer a standing bow.

Hyo-Jin-nim bows to the audience as he approaches the stage.

Today's topic is Communication.

I need a haircut. Right? It looks like I'm wearing a helmet.

Did your parents read you stories when you were young to put you asleep?

Did you have that experience? If you did, was that important to you?

What if the opposite happens? (Pointing toward a brother) Hey man, do what you got to do. Make the best with you got; do what's right.

And I'm known for making short statements (Laughing) but some times when you're a little kid, when your daddy or your mommy reads you a story, that's important to you. Why? That is nurturing; that's the way we grow in body mind and spirit.

What you are saying might not mean anything, might not be significant, but just the action in itself, that adds the value that can guide you into the direction that ultimately any parent would want the child to go.

You know, you kind of have to look at communication in a spherical way. What I mean is that you have a forward and backwards; you have to have some kind of historical background and tradition and think about putting emphasis on that, and future thinking, outward thinking, and balancing the left and right, whatever. On a reality level, for lack of a better term, liberalism and conservatism; and up and down, God and selfishness.

You have to build from there, and hopefully, as you try, the sphere gets bigger, as you blow more air into the balloon, so to speak. Love is elastic so it's like the balloon that doesn't pop. Although it has boundaries, it will expand and it shouldn't pop. It won't pop, theoretically.

The most difficult thing for me is being humble. I jokingly always say "A humble man is nobody other than a person who knows how to keep his arrogance to himself." It's very difficult.

The things that make vertical work are things that are basic: humility, self-sacrifice, unselfishness, love, forgiveness, compassion, all those goody-goody-two-shoes stuff. But those things are very difficult to achieve unless you can control the forwards and backwards, left and right and balance.

You know there's a fine line in everything. Right? In extremes. What about righteousness? The opposite is self-righteousness. What is the fine line that divides it? When you destroy. Destroy is a very strong word; I'm going to use it anyway. The union of the blood, that's self righteousness.

Loyalty is important too. Sometimes, even if you can't deal with yourself in the moment, at least you have the sense to walk away, right? I'm a good fighter, and I see some jackass, and he's provoking a fight. I can kick his butt, or I can walk away. Now that's difficult. Walking away is difficult. Humility is difficult.

I know that I can be very arrogant. I know that I can be very self-serving. If you do that long enough, you get greedy. I've seen that happen many times. But that's reality. That's what we face everyday.

You see people; good people go down because of that kind of stuff. Because they allow themselves to let something, something get the best of them. And what is that something? That's what we need to communicate about to each other.

You can't live alone. Right? No matter how smart you are. God doesn't want to be alone. Right? So let's just end it there. You don't want to be alone.

So you need to communicate. That's why we form a group; that's why family is important. That's the building block of a greater society. Right? Tribe, society, nation, world, right?

So if we want to establish an ideal kingdom of God on earth, basic sense has to be met. And you have to know what the hell, what the basic is and communicate, give and take. Look, love and forgiveness, that's the opposite isn't it? That's give and take isn't it?

Why? Because when you forgive somebody, you will receive greater love. You will take greater love. Take sounds strong, but basically that's what it is. That's why we forgive; because we will take greater love because we will receive it from something greater than ourselves, or even from each other, even from peers, even from your friends.

Just because you know how to do that they might think of you a little more differently, even in a group they'll think that you're a little more special than every body that he knows. Now that's something, isn't it? That's called growth, and that's what matters. Nothing else matters more than that.

Ultimately you want to communicate with God. How many people talk to God regularly? Please don't raise your hand (Laughter) because I'm going to chop it off. (Much laughter)

At least, be in control of yourself. And give the best you got to the ones that you love, the ones that you care about. Start from there. Think about the future; think about the past; think about the left and right; think about God and your selfishness, and give. If you've got something to say, say it. Share it.

And make that little ball grow; and make sure it's true.

From this point until the end Hyo-Jin-nim is in tears.

Let God judge, OK? Let Him do the judging. You don't want to get in to that mess.

Do what's right. Do the best you can. Do that first, and don't even think about anything else.

Let God do the judging. You will die!

So, speak the truth from your…

Because when you do that, you'll die for it.

Because the heart lives on. Right? Spirit lives on. You die.

Your arrogant ass will die.

And let's all be judged by God. OK?

It's all equal there. You can forgive somebody, but still there's a judgment for that person. You know what I'm saying?

So I did my best; I tried to learn what is right.

So, I'm all yours. Do what you want. Isn't that what it is? Isn't that the Christian belief?

Isn't that the essence of religion?

YOU FEAR GOD! RIGHT?

But no man. Right?

OK, I'll see you next week.