In this sermon to ALC leaders following pledge service, Dr. Pak's innate ability to inspire and encourage is clearly evident. Full of spiritual insight and nourishment, he reminds his audience of the power of their thoughts telling them, "the real you is what you think."

Once again we gather together in the beautiful city of San Diego. I didn't know so many brothers came. We have a big force here. How are you doing? You look great. We are having a piece of banana as holy communion. It is True Parents' tradition after Pledge Service to have some drink and a little food, cake or fruit or something. It is not just to fill our stomachs. Father feels it is very important for a family to pray and do Pledge together, then eat together. This is a very important part of the Pledge service. So you can do it in your home too.

When we went back to Korea, when Father and Mother were there, Mrs. Pak and I went to Hannam-Dong, Father's residence. We pledged together with Father and Mother, and then we had this communion afterwards. The brief moment of fellowship at that time was very, very precious. So we have our own precious time now. New York is three hours ahead of us, so Father must now be speaking at Belvedere and may be at the most passionate moment of his speech. We never know, it might go on another 10 hours. Do not discount the possibility.

Father spoke 13 hours in Washington. The first six hours I translated. The next seven hours I was just standing. But after six hours I was badly in need of going to the bathroom, but I simply couldn't ask to leave the stage. Father was so intense that I did not want to interrupt him. I did not want to break his chain of thought. So that was my time of indemnity. I was standing and supporting Father without disturbing him one iota. I waited and endured for seven hours. It was terribly painful. After seven hours, I was able to relieve myself and it was like heaven. Then I told Father about it after we came back and had breakfast. Not breakfast actually. It was dinner. We gathered at 5:00 in the morning and Father began to speak at 6:00 and it was a whole day and the evening. We had a late dinner as a matter a fact. A very late dinner. We spoke about it in fellowship, and Father laughed and laughed. He said, why didn't you tell me. I said, Father, I could not interrupt you. I could not break your chain of thought. Father felt sorry for me and had a little mercy upon me.

So, this is an exciting life. Even after serving Father for 31 years, in the 32nd year you still learn. You still don't know what to expect from one day to the other. Father is now fishing in New York. You know that when Father is fishing, fishing is not just a sport or fun for him. It is Father's battle. Father is fishing for the world, fishing for China, fishing for Korean unification, fishing for Japan, fishing for the AFC and the United States. When Father is fishing, his concentration is absolutely incredible.

On some days, Father struggles for many, many hours in the small boat, without a bathroom, without anything. He goes out in a small boat and may have a raincoat on a rainy day, but his whole body gets soaking wet. Father spends 12, 13, 14 hours and more on the water. Sometimes Father catches nothing. Peter Kim told me, before I went out with Father, that Father has said that sometimes when unholy men are in the boat the fish are disturbed and the whole day goes by without a catch. Well, that sounds right, except that day Bo Hi Pak was going out. If Father didn't catch anything, he was not going to blame anybody, but I was going to blame myself, knowing that I was the reason Father had no catch that day. So I offered a special prayer: Heavenly Father, it is OK for me not to catch anything. That is all right. But, Heavenly Father, please let our True Father make a tremendous catch today. That was my prayer.

Also I was thinking, I represent AFC, ACC, CAUSA International, Washington Times, and so forth. If Father does not make a catch that day, it will reflect on all these missions. They won't receive a great blessing. So I was trembling inside. In any case, Father had the biggest catch that day. Father caught 11 fish, In Jin Nim caught two fish. All together 13 fish: striped bass, the largest catch in 40 days. We took pictures of Father with his fish. I wish I could have brought one picture to show you. It was wonderful. Other members have gone out with Father for 40 days and never had the opportunity to take a picture with Father with a fish. I just went out one day, and not only was I there for the biggest catch, I got to take a picture with Father. That is going to be a historical picture. So that shows that the destinies of AFC, ACC, and CAUSA International are going to be great. We are going to have the greatest catch in our mission. That is what that particular day's fishing symbolized on your behalf.

This conference is one of the greatest catches. Very, very successful. I feel very comfortable with this conference because the spiritual atmosphere is so beautiful. It is almost like I have already known the people here for 10 years. I have never had so many people come to me and say, your message was so deep, inspiring, and I am deeply moved, almost to tears. Our American Leadership Conference is maturing. The American Leadership Conferences are history-making events.

Father changed the priority from the western hemisphere movement to the Orient. You know that. However, Father did not reduce the budget for the American Leadership Conference. We will soon have the 17th conference, the 18th conference, and beyond. This is quite significant. Why did Father cut all the other budgets, but not ALC's? Father sees that the ALC is the instrument of God, igniting the new American revolution. This is the fruit of Father's 17 years of toil, sweat, labor, and imprisonment for this country. This quiet revolution is igniting hearts to change from selfishness to unselfishness. Yes, that will make America great. That will make our nation of America great.

Father is leaving this nation to you now. The AFC mission has grown tremendously in less than two years. AFC is the external instrument that Father uses, and the AFC is backed up by the ALC conferences. AFC could not shine that brilliantly. AFC is like a physical body, flesh and blood. But the ALC is like the soul. It is like every creation. In the Garden of Eden, God made men out of dirt. The body first. Then, God put in the spirit that became men and women. In the same way, we are building America. God and Father built the AFC as an instrument and container. Father is putting the true spirit into the body of this nation to complete the revolution.

It is important that you understand that the AFC is the external physical body of our True Parents for furthering the American revolution, and the ALC is the soul of that body because this is where Godism is given. This is where the True Parents' testimony is given. Last night, in front of all these current leaders and future leaders of our nation-state senators, representatives, assemblymen, former congressmen, mayors, admirals, generals, colonels, civic leaders, future political candidates-True Parents' testimony was given. This is amazing.

So where do we go from here? From here we go to the electronic means of doing ALC. That is the goal. No matter how often we hold a conference in one year, eight times, 10 times, still we are confined to reaching several thousand people. It takes much longer to change the atmosphere of the entire nation. To quickly change this nation toward our True Parents, we have to use electronic media.

When the 10th World Media Conference was conducted, Father's opening address and the beautiful introduction by Ambassador Douglas MacArthur II were given in Washington, D.C. C-SPAN carried over two hours of the beautiful opening session. William Rusher spoke and testified beautifully about Father and our movement, and it was televised throughout the country. It is the first time that happened in Unification history. Father's entire spoken message was televised. Ambassador MacArthur's testimony was televised. William Rusher's testimony was televised. The former president of Peru, Fernando Belaunde, spoke. All this was televised for two hours. It is so difficult to get even 30 seconds on the news.

Normally when the networks mention anything about us it is negative. They instill hatred in people. You know the media's crime is incredible in this country. They instill hatred toward Father in the innocent and beautiful minds of the American people. America is going to pay the price. But C-SPAN televised Father's message. Ambassador Phillip Sanchez was there, and it was a beautiful, beautiful morning. Father's message was so beautiful.

I realize C-SPAN is not the most watched television network. Nevertheless, when the airwaves carried Father's message throughout the country, leaving out no corners of this nation, what happened? More people than you imagine listened, and many of them were moved to write to Father and the World Media Association. We received numerous pledges, letters of praise, and requests for the text of Father's speech. We had to print more copies to meet those requests. Many people were astonished at the scope of Father's work, saying, I didn't know Reverend Moon is doing such a great work and giving such a great message. Father spoke about the free media, responsible media, and, going a step further, a moral media. Father spoke about God, freedom, and the media's responsibility to God and humanity. He also welcomed the Soviet and Chinese media delegations. This was an incredible demonstration of the beauty of Father's work. People could not help but be impressed.

So, electronic media is the direction to go. We are now researching the way and the time will come. The World Media Association, we are the ones. We are the ones who will give the correct testimony about Father, as we did last night. This entire conference in itself is a testimonial. The lectures are a testimonial. The ideology they are hearing is a testimonial. Your presence is a testimonial. You are the fruit. Through you, they know Father. Through you as the fruit, they know the tree, Father.

Think about it. With the 430 people here, including you, we have now held the largest ALC conference. And judging from the quality of people participating, this is the greatest conference. They come from virtually all 50 states. They are the microcosm of the United States. When the atmosphere is this good, people change quickly, becoming so inspired and friendly. By the end of this day, they will be committed to the cause of a God-centered America. Think about it. If this congregation can change this much in two and a half days, we can do the same with the entire United States of America by electronic means. The time will come. I predict that time will come.

The American Leadership Conferences will continue. By the time we go to the 20th, 25th, 30th, 40th, 50th American Leadership Conferences, ALC will become an institution in America, the backbone of this country. This is as vital as George Washington's battle at Valley Forge. Our weapon is the truth. The theme of this conference is "the truth shall prevail." Truth shall make you free. This is the conference of truth. Truth about God, truth about freedom and light and America. Most important of all, the truth about True Parents shall prevail. Amen!

The message to you this morning: become political saints. I can see the maturity in each one of you. You look and behave mature. That does not mean you look arrogant. That does not mean you just put on the pounds. On the contrary, I am asking you to reduce the pounds. Dan Fefferman has done it. Bob Spitz made a special effort, and Patrick Hickey testified to me he was trying to reduce because I urged him to do so at the last conference. When I say you look mature, I don't mean you should put on pounds. I made a deal with someone yesterday. You cannot go beyond my belly. Mine is going to be your comparison. I have to reduce too. But I am 50 years old, and when you are beaten by me that is no good.

Ambassador Sanchez always exercises. I saw him many times in the gym during this conference. Congressman Ichord exercises. I have been admiring that man because he is so fit. He told me he flew to Paris, attended a conference for five hours, and flew back. He stayed on American time. The trip didn't bother him even one iota. He is absolutely fit. He is over 50 years of age. I need to go much further to keep up with the fitness level of Congressman Ichord.

I wish that I could have started my fitness program 10 years ago. But in those days, serving Father, can you imagine, one trip after another. Going to one city after another for the Day of Hope tours. It was like a whirlwind. When you stay with Father, you are always awake until 1:00, 2:00 in the morning. Then Father promptly gets up at 6:00 in the morning. I could not manage to go on any fitness program. Now I have done a little bit.

A strong spirit can only dwell in a strong body. I am a believer of that. So go on a fitness program. It is not that expensive. It is will power more than anything else. You don't have to join a fitness club. All you have to buy is less than a $100 investment: Buy good sneakers. Period. That is your fitness club. The best thing you can do is walk for 30 minutes or, better yet, jog. Jim Gavin is always going out jogging. It is a matter of discipline, habit. I am saying all this for your benefit. But generally speaking, you all look good.

The important thing is to not look defeated and never feel defeated. I know that budget cuts put a strain on you. Just struggling to survive is no good. One way or the other you will be defeated. You have to take survival for granted. You have been trained by True Parents. No problem, I can survive. My family is not going to be hungry or naked. You have got to have confidence in those things. But you have to worry all day long how you can raise more money for your state and become autonomous. I know some states are succeeding. Some regions are better than others.

I told you three years ago when we started at the Princeton conference -- that was a historical conference -- that it is almost like a marathon. Everybody starts out the same, but one year later, two years, three years, there will be a winner and there will be a loser. I don't want you to be a loser. That was my statement. Now I began to see each state, each region running faster and ever faster; some are behind and nobody dropped out yet. Good! But I want to see everyone victorious.

Confidence reigns in your life. You have a plan. You are not nervous, you are not jittery, not arrogant, but confident. You know why. Because True Parents are with us. As I prayed this morning, I was thinking that your greatest asset and greatest power is the True Parents. God is depending on True Parents' success here on earth. So God is investing energy in them, and True Parents in turn invest in you and me. Our success, therefore, represents True Parents' success. True Parents' success represents God's long-awaited victory. So you are the extension of our True Parents. Having this consciousness is not enough. It must go deep into your subconscious, into your spirit mind. Your oneness with the True Parents must be in your subconscious. How can you tell if True Parents are the center of your subconscious? When someone is suddenly hit in the dark, some people say, ouch. Some people shout in fear. Some people say, oh no. When a mortal blow comes, some people say, oh my God. But we should be able to say, my True Parents. We should be able to say Aboji, Mansei. That is our code word.

When the greatest inspiration hits you, Aboji, Mansei. When the worst fear grabs you, Aboji, Mansei. It has to be automatic. It has to come out of your subconscious. This is because Father is the personification of God, God's feeling, heart, and truth. Father doesn't have to prepare a sermon. He opens his mouth, and God's words come out. When he is angry, that is God's wrath coming out. When he is really laughing and full of joy, God's joy is coming out. I see that so vividly. So if you think you are doing things by yourself, you are wrong. You will fail. You will be defeated. Always say, all things are possible in our True Parents who strengthen me. All things are possible in our True Parents who strengthen me. Say it. Strength comes from them. It is almost like a ritual. Ritual is sometimes very necessary. If you say it only from the lips, ritual has no meaning. But when you say it from the heart, ritual becomes very, very important. How can you put certain concepts into your subconscious if not by ritual? Repeat it again and again and you are pushing it down into your subconscious.

Father is giving you this blessed opportunity to become autonomous. Become a man. Become an independent man. Become a confident man. You cannot be confident alone. When God is with you and True Parents are with you, then you can be confident.

I have been given a mission in China. Father is telling me not to try to do it by myself. He will be with me, and God will be with me. When you go with that spirit, you will always meet someone who is prepared, who will automatically help without them knowing why they are doing so. It is true. Incredible allies will show up. The most incredible things are possible. When Father spends 12 hours on the ocean, he is not fishing for a particular fish. Father is fishing for the sake of China. His support is always with me. Yes, you are our True Parents' fishing rod. Father is fishing symbolically, spiritually. Somebody has to be the physical fishing rod of our True Parents. I always put myself in that position. I am fishing like Father. But my fishing pond is Washington. My fishing pond is in Tokyo, Seoul, and now Beijing. I am fishing over there. That is my pond. You see. It is simply incredible. That is the way you can win. Do not be defeated. That is the most important thing.

I want to read a poem that Tom Cutts gave to me:

Your subconscious is like a homing device, a computer system. The greatest computer system is within you. But when your mind gives your homing device an order saying "you failed," then your homing device delivers failure to you. A woman who always thinks about traffic accidents is issuing an invitation to have a traffic accident. And she will have one. Do you know why? Because the most perfect homing device or computer system is the one God gave man. You ask for an accident, and it will be given to you. The Bible says, ask and it shall be given. Knock and it shall be opened.

So the poem says: "If you like to win, but you think you cannot, it is almost certain you won't. If you think you will lose, you are already lost." This is beautiful. If you think you will lose, you are lost. "For out in the world we find success begins with a fellow's will. It is all in the state of mind."

It is all in the state of mind. So what is eternal life? What is the real you? The real Paul Yasutake is not what you see here. The real Paul Yasutake is what he thinks, every minute of the day. That is the real you. And that real you is going to go on for eternity. The carnal body, the corruptible body is only sustained as a vehicle for your soul. Your vehicle will not go on forever, but it has to be maintained and that is why I am recommending physical fitness. You need a strong vehicle to support you while you create something that does go on for eternity-your spirit.

If you think you are outclassed, you are outclassed. You have got to think high to rise. You have got to be sure of yourself before you can win a prize. Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster. The man who wins is the man who thinks he can win. But there are two kinds of thinking. You deliberately think "I win." But your subconscious thinks "I fail." Yes, you sometimes find contradictions within yourself. Feelings of guilt come when your subconscious is saying one thing, and you try to justify wrong actions. The division between conscience and subconscious creates a guilty feeling.

The subconscious responds only to the truth. The truth is inscribed in the subconscious as a permanent memory. So each day we have to put more good things into the subconscious. Communism is based on the emotion of hatred. The system is deliberately designed to engender hatred in the human heart and to spread hatred. That is destructive. That is poison to eternal life. What is the opposite? Love. Altruistic love. True love. Always Father says, true love, true love. True love cleanses your subconscious, and it will lead you to one victory after the other.

The other day I was attending an award ceremony for Tom Ward's grandfather-in-law, Congressman Fish. He is 101 years old. This is the first time in my life I met anybody older than 100. He is an incredible orator, and he gave a little advice on how to live long. He said it is not that difficult. Everybody can live to be over 100 years of age. Then he gave us very simple advice. He said, watch what you eat. Watch what you drink. Watch what you smoke. Of course, it is best not to smoke. Then finally he said, watch out, don't hate anybody. That was the advice. Hatred doesn't bother your opponents. Hatred bothers you. It is a poison to you. You are poisoning your subconscious with hatred. Don't hate anybody.

That is precisely Father's teaching. Father hates no one. Even people from the Soviet Union came and shook hands with Father. Father embraced them. People from the Soviet Union expected that Reverend Moon was going to hit them hard. But Reverend Moon only embraced them. The people who hit them hard were the ultra-conservative journalists during the three days of the conference. Then on the final day Father came and said, I welcome your efforts for glasnost and perestroika. I hope you will succeed. In the meantime I will give you a fact-finding tour of America. I want you to go to Montana and see the beautiful mountains. I wish you good fortune.

They all felt like, oh, we met the messiah, we met the savior. He is the only one comforting us. Nobody else is comforting us. Father hates no one. In that tradition, I hate no one. I have no enemy. Even Donald Fraser is not my enemy. I can sit down with him, I can talk with him, I can eat with him, I can drink with him, I can joke with him. No problem. Hatred is the worst enemy of humanity. And true love is the greatest weapon God gave us. You are the personification of true love. Then you become like True Father and True Mother.

As the poem says, "Success begins with a fellow's will. It is all in the state of mind." The man who wins is the man who thinks he can. And people live a long life if they think they can. So I was learning from Congressman Fish. I was exactly 59 years old standing before the 101 year old man. I looked at myself. I am a little boy. I am going to declare my new life at the age of 60. Up to 60, my life has been a dress rehearsal. Ambassador Sanchez is just 60 now, and he is now truly living the real life. That is why he was Blessed this year.

One of the reasons this conference is going so well is because the key organizers of this conference -- Ambassador Sanchez, Tom Ward, and myself have a spiritual bond. That makes the difference. So we truly are very, very blessed people. We have everything we need. Money always comes and goes, Father says, but real men and real women are the most precious commodity. God made you and me. That is the way you inspire yourself. That is the way you go on. Discipline your life. Become a political saint. Do not act like a politician. Do not even use the word politician. We don't have that word in our vocabulary. You will become political saints and statesmen.

I predict that many of you will become prominent. As you go this path and endure, you will prosper in your mission and God will make you prominent. Many of you will be elected to public office in local, state, and federal government. When Michael Leone presented to me the roster of each region with your pictures, I saw each one of you looking mature, beautiful, handsome. I said that this picture album is far better looking than the roster of the United States Congress or the United States Senate. I told Mike to prepare a beautiful album inscribed to True Parents so I can bring it to Father and Mother. They feel the same way. So your pictures will always stay in East Garden. Amen! A good link between East Garden and you.

I want to conclude with a very simple, familiar conclusion. Be a good Unificationist first before you think about becoming great leaders or political saints and statesman. Study the Divine Principle. Do Il Jung prayers. Kneel down in front of Father's picture. Just like Abraham Lincoln showed his humility before God, you can declare your day of fasting and humility. After the Blessing, I told Ambassador Sanchez that tradition requires a seven-day fast to qualify for the Blessing, but at the age of 60 you can break it into two parts, three days and four days. For a man of 60, a seven-day fast is not easy. Do you know what Ambassador Sanchez said? "I don't want to be a second-class citizen in heaven." Beautiful. And he fasted for seven days. It doesn't even show in his face. The only difference is that his belt is a little bit looser. Then a couple of days later, he came to East Garden and had dinner with True Parents. He was given an additional mission. He is not only the publisher for Noticias del Mundo, but the New York Tribune as well. The Tribune people said, it's the first time we got an English-speaking publisher. When Ambassador Sanchez was told about the separation period, he took it literally. So he called Juanita, and said, we have to separate for a while. Juanita answered him, saying, what's new about that? It is actually a beautiful story all the way around. You can see that True Parents love him more and trust him more and give him more responsibility.

You are truly citizens of the kingdom of heaven. Your names have been inscribed in the book of life. Under your name is True Parents' name. Nobody in spirit world will pay attention to the name Bo Hi Pak. They will ask, who is Bo Hi Pak? But when they see Bo Hi Pak with the title "Son of Our True Parents," the entire spirit world will jump, trying to get on the bandwagon and reap the benefits. You are like Abraham, spreading the blessing to all here on earth and in spirit world. That is why we pray in the name of True Parents. That prayer in the True Parents' name will be accepted. God listens to that prayer.

If you pray in your own name, God and spirit world could care less. Who is that guy murmuring down there? There is no meaning to those words. But when the words are accompanied by the name of True Parents, they are all of a sudden so powerful. That is the beauty of our lives. You have to pinch yourself to realize what a great life we are living. How lucky we are. How fortunate we are. Out of five billion people, we are handpicked by True Father and Mother. Blessed by True Parents. Here we are with citizenship in the kingdom of heaven. Your name is inscribed in the book of life. Your children are born without original sin. So when you have all this, you can never be defeated by the mundane things. You don't worry and suffer over day-to-day things. Problems will never overtake you.

Do not be beaten. If you feel and think you are beaten, then you are beaten. It's as simple as that. The AFC is going to be powerful, no matter what the media says. Look at the people. When they hear the truth, they are so inspired. It is almost like skeletons putting on flesh again when they hear the words of love and life. That is the power you have. AFC is going out with that kind of power. This is such a beautiful and invincible movement we are spreading in America. You need only one of this kind in all of history. And we are going to be winners, we are going to be bubbling enthusiasts.

Without enthusiasm nothing can happen. Do each of you feel that way? Amen! Shall we do it! We can. We can do it. This is why this conference is so important. When we come here and see other people getting inspired, you get inspired, I get inspired. I tell the same testimony, but each time I get more inspired and mature. I am growing up every day. So are you. Do not be defeated. We are doing it. We are winning. The major victory is won. We are harvesting Father's victory. We are the most important people for True Parents in America because Father invests his most precious time, energy, blood, sweat, and tears in you. He is praying for you. Think about the fact that you have that kind of backing. How can you not be inspired, not be strong, not be confidant? Money or no money, that is secondary. You are abundantly rich.

So I want you to become a true leader. People will come to you for advice. Political leadership will come to you. Who in the world would ever have thought that I would become a principal speaker and give the opening address? But that is happening not because I can do those things, but because of whom I represent. So do you. Nobody else, no political leaders will have this kind of training over and over and over. Who else has had this kind of training? Nobody.

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