Ilchi Lee - Brain Wave Vibration: Getting Back into the Rhythm of a Happy, Healthy Life

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Copyright 2009 by Ilchi Lee

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

This book should be regarded as a reference source and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Seek the advice of your physician before beginning this or any other fitness program. The author and the publisher disclaim any liability arising directly or indirectly from the use of this book.

Second paperback edition: November 2009

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009939001

ISBN-13: 978-1-935127-36-9

ISBN-10: 1-935127-36-5

If you are unable to order this book from your local bookseller, you may order through www.bestlifemedia.com or www.amazon.com

Printed on 30% post-consumer recycled paper.

For the many people working to create
health, happiness, and peace in the world.

A human being is a part of the whole,
called by us universe, a part limited in
time and space. He experiences himself,
his thoughts, and feelings as something
separated from the resta kind of optical
delusion of his consciousness. This delusion
is a kind of prison for us, restricting us
to our personal desires and to affection
for a few persons nearest to us. Our task
must be to free ourselves from this prison
by widening our circle of compassion to
embrace all living creatures and the whole
of nature in its beauty.

Albert Einstein

FOREWORD

I LCHI L EES PREMISE IS simple but compelling. We are all human; what we have in common is more profound than what divides us; we must find the wisdom and the will to rise above our parochial geographic, religious, and cultural differences and to embrace the human universals. To promote these values and to graft them onto the collective consciousness of humankind, Ilchi Lee has undertaken a multi-pronged effort that is nothing short of astounding in its diversity, energy, and global reach.

Advancing our understanding of the brain, brain health, and public education about the brain has been among Ilchi Lees foremost interests and the focus of his activities. He is the founding president of the University of Brain Education, president of the Korea Institute of Brain Science, and president of the International Brain Education Association (IBREA). The educational outreach of these organizations includes online lecture courses; conferences on various aspects of brain development, and mental and emotional health; annual Brain Olympiads; and a magazine titled Brain World. These organizations are remarkable for consistently involving in their activities a diverse group of educators, clinicians, and scientists, including myself. It is precisely because of its global outreach that I find my role as a scientific adviser to IBREA so gratifying and ripe with opportunities for making a difference worldwide.

Ilchi Lees work has been honored with numerous awards and has been warmly received in important forums around the world. Many of his educational initiatives are conducted in association with the United Nations, which offers a unique platform for making a global impact.

As an individual, Ilchi Lee is a multifaceted personality. He is a teacher, a philosopher, a musician, a martial arts practitioner, and a talented organizer of global initiatives. He is also a prolific, insightful, and original author with several influential books to his credit. Brain Wave Vibration stands out as capturing and summarizing the essence of his philosophy and training methodology. In our times of stress, strife, and uncertainty it conveys with great force a message of optimism, hope, and equanimity. It is written with simplicity, clarity, and depth.

Brain Wave Vibration consists of two parts and several appendixes. The first part, titled Principle, synthesizes some of the state-of-the-art insights and findings of neuroscience, Eastern philosophical and spiritual traditions, and mental and physical health cultures. The books narrative is particularly impressive in its seamless interweaving of diverse approaches and cultural traditions. The strength of the Western intellectual tradition is in its rigorous analytic nature. It tends to take things apart and examine the components in isolation from one another, but it has been historically less successful in putting things back together, resulting in a somewhat compartmentalized and disjointed view of the world.

By contrast, the Eastern intellectual tradition tends to emphasize unity and fluidity, yet sometimes lacks rigorous definitions and analytic approaches. These differences have been historically a source of societal disconnect stymieing mutual understanding and cross-cultural integration. Ilchi Lee is able to take the best from each tradition and create an impressive synthesis integrating the two. He is also able to integrate into a coherent narrative elements of diverse domains too often treated as separate: neuroscience, cultural anthropology, the arts, and philosophy and ethics, to name a few. As a result, his book conveys a powerful message of cultural unity and universalism through a unique bridge between brain science and practical applications. The combination of scientific (including neuroscientific) and experiential foundations constitutes the approach espoused in the book and makes it attractive to the reader.

In the second part, titled Practice, Ilchi Lee describes a range of ingenious exercises designed to enhance physical, cognitive, and emotional well-being. The exercises are described in considerable detail. They are quite diverse, and together they amount to a comprehensive physical workout. But the underlying premise is that these exercises also contribute to mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being, and enhance the functions of the brain.

Some of the impetus behind the design of the exercises came from Ilchi Lees own experience of overcoming the effects of an accident and hisas it turned out, very successfulefforts to regain his own health. The ability to look adversity straight in the eye and turn it into an opportunity is what defines a persons caliber of character. It speaks to the strength of character and personality, and this strength of Ilchi Lees personality and character comes through in much of his work and accomplishments.

Ilchi Lee describes how the Brain Wave Vibration exercise began with a single person, recovering from the effects of a stroke, who joined him in a park in Korea. Today the following is vast; it extends across countries and continents. Some of the success stories resulting from practicing Ilchi Lees exercise routines are recounted in the appendix Stories of Healing and Hope. The array of individuals who have benefited from the exercises is impressive. They come from various countries, walks of life, age groups, and occupations. It is clear from these accounts that the benefits bestowed by the exercises are multi-faceted, improving many aspects of ones physical, emotional, and spiritual health, as well as ones ability to overcome the effects of stress and to communicate with other people.