Did you know that there are currently over two billion Facebook users worldwide and each of them has an average of about 300 Facebook friends? We live in a world where technology gives us the chance to connect with more people more easily and often than ever before. At the same time, loneliness has become an epidemic and is considered a greater health risk than smoking. How come?
Many of us now work for clicks and likes, either professionally or socially. These virtual interactions have become symbols of value and opportunity in our society. But they may also be factors in the rise of depression, addiction, bullying, and suicide.
Body & Brain founder Ilchi Lee suggests that while technology has the potential to help us connect with people more than ever before, it also has a tendency to pull our attention outside of ourselves. This can be a problem, as it can amplify feelings of emptiness and disconnection. In his new book, Connect: How to Find Clarity and Expand Your Consciousness with Pineal Gland Meditation, Lee explains how the sense of value and connection that we feel from outward-focused social interactions—basically all relationships—satisfies us only as much as we have a strong connection with our own self-worth. And this sense of self-worth requires us to be connected with ourselves. It requires us to invest the time and energy to focus inside and connect.
Underneath all the thoughts, emotions, and preconceptions that we accumulate in life, it is said that our original mind is characterized by love, courage, and brightness. In short, our true nature is valuable. It doesn’t depend on our intelligence or achievements, or even the recognition that we receive from others. By connecting with this essential nature, we can realize that we already have what we’ve been seeking from the world.
The body is one of our greatest tools and teachers, and connecting with the body can be a way to feel more connected to our true nature. Body & Brain teaches yoga, tai chi, meditation and breathing techniques that can help anyone begin to bring their awareness back inside. In Connect, Ilchi Lee shares Pineal Gland Meditation, a technique that Body & Brain practitioners may find familiar as a form of energy meditation and visualization. Through Pineal Gland Meditation, we can connect with our true nature in a deep and meaningful way, beyond the level of intellectual understanding. This kind of experience inevitably strengthens our conviction about our self-worth and can help give us the confidence to act upon that awareness to create healthier, happier, and more fulfilling lives.
Have you suffered through emotional ups and downs associated with relationships? Relationships can be difficult. Over time, we can become cynical or closed toward others, having learned the hard way that it’s not easy to feel fulfilled through relationships. But rather than losing hope, these emotional ups and downs can motivate us to look inside for a stable source of satisfaction and fulfillment.
A strong and positive connection with ourselves changes the way we relate to others. We become less anxious and reactive. We can appreciate and love the people around us more easily, even when their words or behaviors don’t match our expectations and desires. We are better able to empathize with people and understand that, at the core, we are all one. Ultimately, by strengthening our connection with ourselves, we can live in harmony with others.
As Connect explains, and as you’ll know from practicing Body & Brain, we can start building a stronger connection with our self by connecting to the body. Body & Brain classes are designed to stretch, strengthen, relax, and awaken our physical bodies and enhance our physical health. After establishing this foundational body awareness, we can connect to our heartfelt essence through programs like Finding True Self (FTS) workshop. A healthy, heart-centered awareness helps us become more emotionally mature and stable. After FTS, we seek to connect to the brain’s most creative aspect, our divine nature, through programs like Brain Management Training (BMT) and Dahn Master Course (DMC).
Ilchi Lee’s Connect explains more about these three levels of connection and how you can use Body & Brain techniques to better connect with yourself.
If you’d like to learn more, you can find Connect at your local Body & Brain center or online at sites like Amazon. It’s available as a paperback, ebook, or audiobook.