Featured Article 8th-2 of 9 Articles Series for Dajiyuan in Korea

Excerpts from the Article Translated to English:

修身——健康中的六大要素（下）

Body Cultivation(修身)-Six factors of Health(Part 2)

The third major factor of health is regimen. The human stomach is about the size of two of one’s fists, and since most health problems come from overeating. Barun Maek participants tried to limit eating up to only 70% of one’s stomach. The bowl for cooked rice, which is a staple food in Korea, is the size of a fist. It is a reminder of the moderation required to control the amount of food one should eat during one sitting. 

Among the Five Elements, participants helped their children grow by using sour or nutty foods that help softness and kindness, which are the energy of the tree. Bitter or burnt foods such as bitter tea, coffee, and bitter vegetables that help give off the energy of fire, helped digest food after meals and gave them the courage to open their hearts to conversations with others. In the case of the husband of the participant, who suffered for more than a week after the car accident because the hiccups (reaction that occurs when Fire energy is insufficient) did not stop, the effects of the Five Elements energy through the taste is so great that the hiccups stops after drinking bitter tea. Sweet or earthy food helps participants focus on tasks, and spicy or fishy food helps them to the end by strengthening their will to help with Metal energy. When salty food was craving, it lacked the Water energy of the Five Elements, so it was taken as a signal to regenerate energies and rest.

A calm taste or no taste of food helps with Sixth energy. Inspired by grounding raw grain powder to purify the body, control desires, and save time through meditation and practice since the Shilla Dynasty a thousand years ago, the food, Barun Maek Shaeng Sheik, was used as a substitute for one meal a day to replenish Sixth energy. Participants overcame the difficulties of moderation, while Saeng Sheik intake, and experienced the benefits of slow aging such as improving wrinkles and degenerative health problems. Raw grains are nutritious as meditators proved 1,000 years ago, so it was wise of our ancestors to use grain-washed water for cooking without throwing it away.

The fourth major factor of health is exercise. The left side of the body is considered Yang, the right side is Yin, the back is Yang, and the front is Yin. The upper body is Yang and the lower body is Yin. Therefore, participants exercised the left and right, upper and lower, front and back of the body evenly to balance Yin and Yang. People who practiced the 10-minute Barun Maek exercise that activated the entire meridians every day corrected their body shape and felt less fatigue. It is not surprising that our ancestors emphasized the correct posture from prenatal education after we have experienced the effect.

The fifth is the environment. We could make up for the lack of energy of the Five Elements by interacting with the environment through sight, hearing, and touch. The sense of smell and taste can mostly be addressed through food consumption, so those two senses were not applied in this factor.  Among the colors and shapes of surrounding objects, sounds of musical instruments or sounds made by nature, and materials of various textures, the environment with the energy of the Five Elements that participants need was utilized. For example, a participant who had been uncomfortable for years due to a lack of Earth energy.  This discomfort manifested in a heartburn sensation in the mornings, that improved after playing the drum, an instrument that strengthens Earth energy. A world-class art performance where the entire members practice a meditation practice in a daily life was also an example of using the environment. The performance that project participants sensed the strong spirit of Sixth energy, which is considered to have come from a higher universe than the Five Elements, was so popular that it became an highly recommended event to each other due to the effects.

The Sixth factor is aligned better through morality. It is an attitude to make up for the shortcomings by examining the “Five kinds of virtue; benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and sincerity(Tree, Metal, Fire, Water, and Earth energy)” that corresponds to the lack of Five Elements according to changes in health conditions of people and around them.

Barun Maek project participants who have become healthy by examining the habits of the “Six major factors of health,” according to the “Yin-Yang and Five Elements Ancient Science and Traditional Wisdom” project, sympathized with the “traditional lifestyle and view of the universe” of ancient ancestors.

After the project, “Health care” is about looking in the mirror of the human body for participants to be considerate of others and to read the signals given by God by exercising one’s ability to the fullest, and has become necessary to fulfill the mission given by God. Believers have become more positive to their belief in the process of requiring “moderation” and “virtue.”

I grew up hearing stories of my ancestors that knew they were about to die… When that time came, they cut off  consumption of grain in preparation for their death, emptied their stomach, and laid down for several days, and died gently greeting their relatives who came to finally meet them after hearing the news from a long distance. I hope that the wisdom of our ancestors, who knew the energy that was naturally lacking, predicted the difficult year, season, and time, and realized their heavenly life span, will continue again.