All human beings have a key allowing them to feel inner peace, empowering them to create peace in life and the world. That key is their brain, which is the greatest gift given to humanity. A peaceful brain makes a peaceful life and a peaceful world.
The world has so much strife and confrontation now because it has so many squabbling, confrontational brains. The quality and quantity of information in a person’s brain control a one’s life and determine whether there is peace in the world. To have a peaceful brain, we need to have peaceful information in it.
The Antonym of Peace
The antonym of peace is not war; it’s selfishness. People’s brains lack peace because they are so often full of the desire to control and possess and the need to satisfy selfish longings. While selfishness is a basic human tendency, there is hope for peace, because human brains are not artificial constructs. They are works of nature, and nature is not selfish. It does not try to control or possess.
Always underlying our selfish desires are our natural Hongik instinct and conscience. Our Hongik instinct is the innate goodwill toward all others and the caring mind and heart we all have inside us. But how can we access this instinct, regardless of the challenges or conflicts we may face?
The Most Important Question
Of all the lifeforms existing on the planet, humans alone are capable of asking themselves, “Who am I?” Their quest for the answers to this question takes them deep within themselves—the only place these answers reside. At the end of their journey, they encounter their true peaceful nature and meet the divinity that exists in their brains.
By divinity, I mean our brains’ capacity for creativity. All of us inherited the capacity for creation from the Creator, and we also inherited the desire to do good for all people, all creation—the Hongik spirit.
When we’ve discovered our divinity and our true nature, our conscience, we’ve discovered our source of peace. We can see past our selfish desires and negative thoughts. Then we have greater capacity to choose peaceful thoughts and actions. The power to choose is part of our creative power.
Once the brain is freed this way, liberated from negative information and oppressive values, we realize that existence itself is health, happiness, and peace. We come to understand that we don’t need to rely on others or institutions for health, happiness, and peace. We are confident that we have them within, whole and complete. And we wake up to the understanding that all life existing on the planet is one, having come from a single root. We are one with the earth, one with the cosmos. This is the ultimate enlightenment. We realize through the divinity in our brain that we are a cosmic, universal being.
Creating Earth Citizens
The Brain Education method I developed is designed to guide people to the peace in their brain, to all of these realizations. I call the people who have experienced the peace in their brain and the oneness of all beings Earth Citizens. They are people who use their brains creatively, having mastered them through Brain Education.
And through their creation, the peace they discovered in their brain can become peace throughout the earth. We can truly do great things when hearts concerned for all come together.
On June 15, 2001, the first anniversary of the inter-Korean summit of 2000, approximately 12,000 Earth Citizens (what I called Earth Humans then) came together in Seoul, South Korea for the First New Millennium World Peace and Humanity Conference. As part of the conference, we created and recited the Earth Citizen Declaration. Every June 15th since that day has been Earth Citizen Day.
I hope the number of people declaring themselves Earth Citizens continues to grow and reach 100 million. Then we will have reached a tipping point of Earth Citizens on the planet, and Earth Citizen values can become commonplace around the world.
Pledge of Earth Citizens
- As a responsible Earth Citizen, I agree to develop body, mind and spirit to get healthier naturally and become self-reliant.
- As an honorable Earth Citizen, I agree to cultivate the highest human virtues and greatness of human spirit.
- As a caring Earth Citizen, I agree to work with fellow Earth Citizens to create a peaceful, sustainable world.
To make this dream come true, I started the Earth Citizen Movement and founded the non-profit Earth Citizens Organization (ECO) to move the movement forward. You can learn more about ECO at EarthCitizens.org, where you can also take the Earth Citizen pledge and offer your support.