Family Harmony- Tofu as a Peacemaker
I have two daughters who have strong metal energy characters. They easily argued and were antagonistic towards each other especially in the morning because in the morning is the time of day when there is the least tree energy in the human body. I decided to provid tree energy foods such as tofu every morning for breakfast to supplement there tree energy, and it worked. One day, I saw their tense communication again and realized that I had not provided tofu or other tree energy foods for them that day. I apologized to them for forgetting and they laughed. Now, they say “let’s eat tofu” when they feel a tense atmosphere among family members.
An old Korean tradition is to provide Tofu as the first food to welcome someone and bring peace for a person who was just released from prison to decrease tension from a very tense period in there life and provide a peaceful transition to family life.
Family Harmony- The Color of Dinner Table Cloth
Family is a basic unit to learn interpersonal relationships. However, many family members have a hard time understanding and teaching each other. Understanding the principle of Yin-Yang Five Elements through Barun Maek could easily help the mother’s integration of the family. One of my students discovered that her family lacked earth energy, so it was hard for the family to gather together even for dinner. She changed her dinner table to an earthy-colored table. I gave her a yellow-colored table cloth as a gift. I visited her house several days later, and she proudly showed me the changed look in her house, and told me that everyone came to the table, so she did not need to worry about gathering the family together anymore. Furthermore, her child, who often had stomach symptoms, really enjoyed the yellow cloth and stayed near the table as much as possible.
Research Coordinator
This research project was coordinated by Eunji Lee Spitler. If you would like to work with her please contact her at spitlereunji@barunmaek.org
Korean