Helping others is important to me, but in doing it, I often look beyond my own personality, ego, and desires so that I can see what they really need without those filters and so that I can fully embody what another person needs in that moment and help them in a pure way.

Also important to me is expressing myself, meaning my true self, from my heart. Sometimes expressing my true self means helping others, but other times it means making my own music by myself, as with this blog. I have something that wants to stream out of me, untouched by others.

From what I’ve learned so far in my life, I believe that balance is essential. Both means of expressing my true self are important for making my heart energy flow. If I emphasize one more than another, instead of healthy heart energy flow, life feels too empty or frustrating.

I think that’s the main theme that has developed for this diary-like blog, which began without much of a theme.

This is my first attempt to record the Chun Bu Kyung, which is an ancient text from Asia made up of 81 characters. This text communicates the energy of the origin of everything. It also carries the energy of the evolution of everything. By listening to the sound of the chanting of the Chun Bu Kyung, you can feel your own essence and the essential essence of the universe.

Image from Dahnhak Healing Arts Blog

That’s why I wanted to record and share my own chanting of the Chun Bu Kyung. I want to spread that kind of energy in the world to help heal all of the darkness. My own chanting can become brighter and prettier with practice, but I don’t want to wait for that to share it. As I get better, I will upload those versions in the future. For better chanting, you can use the Power of the Chun Bu Kyung CD by Ilchi Lee.

Click here to listen to the audio file.

I like watching music competitions shows like The Voice in the United States and Show Me the Money in South Korea. I don’t really care about the competition part, because so many people who get eliminated are actually good. These shows are not the final arbiters of good music. However, the competition aspect provides a forum for opinions on different artists, and these opinions help me learn about music, performing, and human nature.

These shows are themselves necessarily collaborative, and some of them offer some kind of record deal or contract with a label as part of the spoils. The process of making an album with producers, other writers, and other composers and having it approved by management is also collaborative. There’s a necessarily process of collaborative creation.

However, not everyone wants that. Many times you don’t hear about the winners after the show unless you make an effort to personally follow them. I did that with Season 8 Voice winner Sawyer Fredericks. I follow him on social media, and I’m still listening to his music. I even went to his concert when he came to town.

Sawyer had written, produced and performed his music on his own before the show, but while he was on The Voice, he discovered the joy of being with and learning from other musicians. Sawyer is one of the Voice winners who put out an album with the record label that was part of the prize (not all did), and I remember him saying that it was an interesting process for him to write songs with other people. After the first album, he and the record label parted ways amicably he said, and in one concert video I saw, he happily noted that his upcoming album was completely written and composed by himself. He sounded quite happy about that, and he isn’t the first winner of The Voice to go out on their own.

I also work in a collaborative creative environment in which the content I produce always has to go through edits and approval by others. I also have to review and comment on other people’s work. Sometimes, we brainstorm together. This process is great for learning and making better content. However, sometimes it doesn’t satisfy my desire to express myself, especially my true self. Sometimes I want what I make to go out into the world exactly as it is. Hence, this blog. Unedited. Uncensored. I think that’s why I don’t mind that this blog is also unnoticed. If people actually read it, could I be so free?

I would like to be, regardless of who is looking. That is the next step for my growth—to put myself out there in a vulnerable way and stand up for what I have to say, even if it may be wrong two seconds later. I don’t agree with President Trump’s philosophies or policies, and I think consideration for others is important, but one thing I don’t mind about him is that he freely says what he thinks without fear, even if it brings him constant criticism. I think a happy balance between consideration and candor would be best, and I know people who are able to do this.

Now, back to making things that are hopefully marketable, approved by others, and, if I have a miracle, popular.

This evening, I did a one-hour training with bowing meditation, Belly Button Healing, gibberish singing, and connecting to divine energy. Although in the physical world, the training was led by another person, in the energy/spiritual world, it felt like the whole experience was orchestrated by my soul. Through it I felt the wisdom that I am not separate from anything around me and that just as in the training, my soul is orchestrating my whole life.

Sometimes I guard myself from my experiences because I’m afraid of going down the wrong path, but tonight’s experience moved me beyond that fear and the hesitation in life that often comes with it. I felt deeper trust in my soul and in my life as it is manifesting.

Maintaining that connection to the soul and subsequently to the Source of energy and consciousness is something I can only do moment by moment in the now. It’s something I feel responsibility for doing, and my insides keep driving me in that direction.

At the end of the training, I read a page in Ilchi Lee‘s new book, I’ve Decided to Live 120 Years: The Ancient Secret to Longevity, Vitality, and Life Transformation. It was about Longevity Walking, which you could also call chi walking. In this style of walking, you adjust your gait so that your energy circulates better in your body and you accumulate energy in your core. The page listed many reasons why moving your legs are important for a long, health life. For me, walking also strengthens my connection to my soul and divinity. It is necessary for me to be creative and sane. My conclusion from tonight’s training was that I need to walk often so that I can maintain and grow my precious connection to the only true power unconditionally.

Unconditional …
Love
Acceptance
Gratitude
Forgiveness
Trust.

These are the real powers in this world … and beyond. They can heal or fix anything, but they require devotion. True devotion. Never-ending … unconditional.

This is the love and quest of my life.

Ilchi Lee has often pointed out that the trees and rocks bear the changing of the seasons and the effects of weather with equanimity. This reminds me of being unconditional. No matter what, we can ride the waves of turmoil, always moving toward or staying in the center.